“You both go and eat, I will eat late…”
“I will get coffee.” Samar offered.
“No, I will get coffee. You sit here with Mom.” Amaal cut him off. “Milky coffee, everyone?” She patted her mother’s shoulder and took steps back. “I’m also getting you a sandwich, Mom. You will eat, ok?”
Amaal turned and strode down the alley. She walked around the corner and broke down just as a hand pushed her into a side alley and pulled her head into his chest. She gasped, then relaxed when he squeezed her into him — “Your mom will see you.” He pushed her deeper into a dark alcove and turned, taking her weight on him. “Cry.”
Nothing was left to hold onto then as she clawed at his chest and cried. “His… B…b…BP… if it doesn’t come inn… Samar do something!”
“It will come back under control.”
She shook her head. “He can’t go Samar he can’t go. Why! Why do I find myself outside an ICU every few years?!”
“He will be ok, and we will take care of him. For now,” he cupped her head and patted. “I will take care of everything. All you need to do is hold yourself for your mom. She is holding strong for you. We will get through this like that. Hmm?”
She was shaking.
“Hmm?” He vibrated into her forehead again.
She shook her head.
“Amaal.”
She startled back and gaped at him. His eyes were barely visible in the dark of the alley. But his fingers bunched in her hair — “Your Dad is not going anywhere today of all days. He has yet to see our wedding and our children, and a whole lot more. Don’t cry now.”
“You can’t order me to not cry!” She snapped, pushing him away, enraged because her tears weren’t stopping.
“Ok.” He said softly, but did not snap back. “I can request you.”
Amaal did not look at him.
“Please, stop crying.” He pulled her head back into his chest, his voice so soft that she wasn’t sure it was Samar.
“You don’t have a leg to stand on to tell me this!” She alleged, pulling back out. “You have been on the sidelines of my life for so long. Why are you even here now? You got me the plane and thanks but I cannot deal with you right now with everything going on!”
“Ok.” He cupped her cheeks. “I will stay in my line and only do the needful.” His thumbs pushed her tears away. They kept flowing. She did not meet his eyes, not understanding why he was behaving so nicely when she was snapping. He would be the one to snap back doubly hard. Amaal hiccuped.
“Now come with me, drink some water, and we will order coffee for your Mom. Then I will see if I can access your Dad’s reports. Hmm?”
“You can’t do anything!”
“I can at least read them and reassure you that if IV thrombolysis is successful then the worst has passed.”
“Then why did he pass out immediately after and is still sleeping?!”
“There is brain swelling, it happens. And even that will resolve with time.” He crooned, kissing the edge of her forehead, holding her head to his lips. “Just give it time. It seems difficult right now, I know. You have done this once for me, too. But just hold on for now, Amaal. I am here with you, and I will not leave, whatever happens, ok?”
“He will not die, no?”
“No.” Samar pulled back and looked into her eyes. “He will not die.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
————————————————————
Amaal sat with her mother, drinking coffee that tasted like nothing, but was sustenance at this point. She didn’t know what strings Samar was pulling but he went in with her father for the scan. Her mother let him. Amaal didn’t know what time it was, was it day or night? She just sat there, waiting for them to tell her that her father had woken up. And everything was back to normal.
