the chasm (14)

"and when is that exactly?" I asked .

" tonight"

" madry terki, a7es ana shako, they're your friends"

" baby,my friends are so cool, im sure they wont mind, besides I want them to meet you"

" as your girlfriend? It's not like im your wife or..or anything" I blushed when I realized what I just said.

" enty 7abeebat galby"

" aww , terkeyoo you're so good with words"

" hehehe afa 3alaich, so what's gonna be? You coming?"

" hmm I guess I can meet some NEW people!" I said excitedly.

" ba3ad 3umry..! Enzain jana oboy, ana baroo7 7ag elwalda ashofha sheno taby, tamreny ebshay 7abebti?"

" mayamer 3alaik 3adow, bas wait!"

"hala?"

"wain ashofek tonight?"

" I'll meet you at 7 ebaitna el qadeem, ba3ad mayabela edlala, bas 9ef6ay bel me9afe6 ely wara elbait o get in the car with me, 7elo?"

"7elo"

" good, yalla 3ayal baby, I'll see you tonight, bye"

" bye"

Ok. this was hard. I didn’t know what to wear for the damn dinner, I didn't even know what kind of dinner was that!

After two hours of knocking the hell out of my closet , I settled for a baby pink MILLY cashmere sweater along with my favorite skinny jeans. I let my hair down and applied no- make-up make-up, that is a girl's best secret. I accessorized my outfit with classic Chanel pearl earrings , a silver watch and finally my navy Balenciaga city bag.

I entered the living room and to my utter surprise, my dad was there sitting on the couch with the twins around him . okay, so between all those days he was away, he chose today to get back home. just my stupid stupid luck.
" baba, you're here!" I pretended to be excited.

" ee yuba, ta3aly 7ebbay ras uboch" he demanded.

I approached him, kissed the crown of his head and sat down next to him.

" meta radait men esefar yuba?" I asked.

" elyom e9eb7 , shlonich yuba o shlon ederasa, mata5arajtay?"

" enshallah hal course , hal course 5atheta extra 3ashan arfa3 mo3adely"

" zain zain, wain ray7a?"

" ray7a 3end fara7 ebnet3asha barra weya some friends"

" salmay 3alehom o latet2a5erain "

"enshallah, bas yuba gool 7ag omy eny 6ala3t ok? "

He nodded.

"bye"

" ma3a elsalama " he said.

My father was one of these fathers who were always away from home, he traveled every week, and we didn’t see enough of him , and what really bothered me was that he didn’t know anything about me , and it's not like he cared or anything.
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I parked behind terki's old house , he was already there waiting for me in his car. I locked my car and head to his.

" hala..hala wallah ebshai5at el zain" he said when I opened the passenger's door.

" hehe, hala feek" I blushed.

"shloonich?? Walaht 3alaich" he said. he was wearing a white sweater that made him look even darker.

"eb5air el7emdella, wallah ana akthaar"

"7ayati entay.." he said.

He held my hand tight and drove off.

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Terki parked in front of one of those beautiful looking flats in al-messila. I have to admit, I was really impressed.

" yalla jooj nezlay" he said.

We got off of the car hand in hand and walked to the trendy wood gate. Terki pressed the buzzer .

" who is it?" an obviously maid voice spoke over the intercom.

" terki, open the door" terki said.

The door was opened automatically shortly after that , terki still holding my hand headed inside the beautiful decorated apartment. I tried to take in the décor but I couldn’t since Terki was walking a bit fast.

We reached the living room , two men were there chatting happily, one was black but very attractive and the other one looked so Kuwaiti. Two girls were sitting there too, I acknowledged one of them. deema. I thought he said "a college buddy and his wife"! deema is NOT a college buddy!

" esalam 3alaikom" they all stood up when terki greeted them.

" halaaa bel6ayeb el 7abeeb" the Kuwaiti guy said while embracing terki in a manly hug.

" this is jana " terki introduced me to the Kuwaiti guy.

" halaa jana shlonich ?sha5barech?" he said sweetly.

" jana this is my best friend jassim" i liked jassim immediately , he was such a sweetheart.

Then he introduced me to the wife shaikha , she was very sweet. And the black dude, jay he was a dear friend from college, as terki called him.

" and this is deema, you guys met before" Terki said.

we shared pleasantries, there was lots of hugs and kisses for that matter.

" enzain le meta ebnogaf!come sit down jana, while the boys finish their whatever ..chatting" shaikha said.

" haha, sure that would be lovely"

we sat down , and started chatting randomly, shaikha was so cute, she had a long black hair , a round face and small features. she was wearing a light green dress with gold prada wedges. deema on the other hand was wearing a very short red dress , ruby red lipstick and what seemed like the highest heels in her closet. i felt like a fat teletubby next to her! and the feeling of discomfort began when she started blabbing about terki. " i remember eb california lamma kenna enro7 el beach ana o terki waaai 3ajeeeb, 9ij 9ij a7la tan eb california" she said. i swallowed hard, i coudlnt bear the idea of her in a swimsuit around Terki. she continued talking about him and ignoring me completely , the bitch.

" ma'am, the dinner is ready" to my relief , the maid's voice interuppted us.

i felt more uncomfortable over dinner , the five of them were talking college memories and i had nothing to say,instead i focused on the Delicious crabcakes and the spicy thai shrimps.

" so how did you and Terki meet?" asked jay. i couldn’t help admiring those crystal earrings that were decorating his earlobes .

" at a wedding" i grinned.

terki put his arm around me " no actually, we met in a hospital" he winked.

"lamma kentay emsawya salfa o tabcheen o 7altech 7ala a5er shay e6la3at bas eedich maksoora" he teased.

i stuck my tongue out at him.

he got closer and wispered into my ears " i fell for you the day of our accidents, in that hospital"

my face turned crimson and my heart raced a mile a minute. that really did me in.

" aww thats so cute!" shaikha said.

" i knew all of Terki's girlfriends" deema said " i was one of them haha, did he tell you?" okay that was it , i wasnt going to take any more ice-maiden shit from her.

" no he didnt actually consider you as a gf, he said you two dated breifly o bas, shaikha 7abebti wheres the rest room?" i said brightly.

" oh , it's over there, on the right" shaikha looked taken aback.

i got in the bathroom, i was getting can-I-go-home-now -please uncomfortable, I didnt fit in with those people, they were so different from our traditional kuwaiti lifestyle. i simply didnt fit in.

Terki stood up when i approached the dining table . "im done, el7emdella" he said obviously sensing my discomfort and i really loved him for doing such thing to me.

" jassim , shaikha e7na lazem namshy, mashkoreen wayed 3ala hal ga3da el7elwa " Terki said.

" it was nice meeting you all" i smiled at them.

" taw ennas! ge3daw " shaikha said.

"sorry shaikha 7abebti wallah magdar at2a5ar, enshallah next time"

"enshallah 5anshofech 3ad soon, enty our friend now" she winked.

"sure 7abebti , mashkooreen wayed o sefra daima"

"bel3afia" shaikha and jassim both muttered.

i shook jassim's and jay's hand, ignored ice queen and left with Terki behind me.

as soon as we got outside terki turned me around "are you upset??" he asked.

" hmm la 6af"

"enzain wait ..missy, im not done with you yet.." he said huskily and pushed me against the wall.