“Zander,” she huffed out a breath. “That’s too much. I’m sure you have much better things to do than to cook for me.”
“I can assure you, there is nothing I’d rather be doing than making sure you get enough to eat. Besides I won’t just be cooking pancakes and bacon.”
“You won’t?” Fatima gave me a confused look.
“No, this afternoon, I will prepare many dishes for you. You should have more options than just breakfast food.”
“But what if I can’t keep anything down? That’d be such a waste of time and ingredients.” Fatima protested. She was not used to putting herself first.
“Making sure you and your child are well fed is anything but a waste of time and resources,” I assured her.
She looked like she wanted to keep arguing, but the mention of her unborn child made her think twice.
“Fine,wecan make a buffet lunch if you think that will help.” She put a large emphasis on the we.
“No,Iwill make you a variety of dishes, and you will rest whileIdo so.”
Fatima opened her mouth and I held up a hand to stop her. “You are growing a child. I am not. I will cook and you will rest.”
“Bossy male,” she huffed.
“Stubborn female,” I huffed back, which made her smile. I’d won this battle. Everything with Fatima was hard won but it was worth it.
After she ate Fatima was looking more energized than usual. It gave me hope that if she actually ate three meals a day, she might be able to survive this pregnancy suffering needlessly.
“Can we find a cooking stone before we begin our hunting lessons?” she asked. I knew what she was doing. If she had a cooking stone of her own, she would try to cook for herself instead of letting me do so. But when I looked into Fatima’s rich, dark brown eyes, I knew I could deny her nothing.
“We can do that,” I nodded. “There should be some smooth stones by the river.”
I helped Fatima into her coat and together we walked to the water. Both large and small stones lined the riverbank. We shifted through them together looking for the perfect cooking stone. It needed to be smooth enough to cook on, but wide enough to fit nicely over the fire.
I caught Fatima looking up at the mountains in the distance and teased, “there are far more rocks in the river than the horizon.”
“Oh, sorry I was just lost in thought,” she smiled and brought her gaze back to the river.
“What thoughts are keeping you preoccupied today?” I couldn’t help but ask. I wanted to know everything about Fatima even down to her day dreams.
Her cheeks grew red and she gave me another one of her shy smiles. “I was just thinking about how much I miss traveling. I used to travel a lot back on earth. I thought I’d be able to do a little traveling here too, but now with the baby on the way,” she paused to gaze down at her stomach. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Where would you like to go?” I asked. I would take Fatima anywhere if it would bring a smile to her face.
A mischievous grin turned up the corner of her mouth as she answered. “Taylor said there was a beach nearby. I thought I’d start there then ask you guys if you’d seen any interesting places on your long hunting trips.”
“The beach is cold this time of year,” I commented.
“Well, I wasn’t planning on going anywhere right now,” Fatima laughed. “I doubt I’ll be able to travel again for a long time. Maybe with this little one is old enough we’ll go somewhere together.
“Why not?” I asked as I folded my arms over my chest. It would be easy for me to take her there.
“Why not what?” she asked with a confused expression on her face.
“Why not travel to the beach right now? It is early yet in the day. “I could fly you there and back before lunch.”
The beach had never been very interesting to me, but I’d gladly take Fatima there if it would please her.
“You could?” Her voice was filled with hope and her eyes with longing. I knew then that I’d take her anywhere she wanted. All she’d have to do was ask.
“Of course.” I got down on one knee and beckoned Fatima over. “Climb on, and I will take you.”
