Heaven in the Desert Ch. 04

After 30 minutes of discussing his big plans, he fell asleep, his head falling onto Ariana's shoulder.

Ariana stared outside the window as her mind wandered.

"Stop the car." She yelled abruptly and the car came to a screeching halt.

She carefully moved Quadir and stepped out of the car, moving to what captured her eye in the distance.

Aaryan got out of his suv and walked toward her car as he tracked her movements with his eyes.

"What is she doing?" Aaryan asked Rafiq.

"She said she has never seen a waterfall in the mountains before." Rafiq answered.

"Wait for us here." Aaryan said removing his jacket and tie and running after Ariana.

Ariana lifted her dress and slowly stepped knee deep into the beautiful blue green waters of the waterfall.

She sat on a rock close to the shore and listened to the rushing water as she faced the starlit sky.

"They don't have waterfalls in America?" Aaryan asked sarcastically. He had removed his shoes and walked in the water to her rock.

"Can I tell you something without you laughing at me?" Ariana asked when he reached her rock, she was visibly embarrassed.

"I promise not to laugh." Aaryan said as he smiled with his fingers crossed behind his back.

"I didn't know things like this existed over here. I thought it was all..." She gestured with her hand "...desert."

Aaryan let out a big laugh.

"Hey." Ariana said and tried to splash his face with water.

"The ideas you Americans have." He said continuing to laugh. He sobered when he saw the pout on Ariana's face.

"Join me." He said extending his hand.

"But I'll get all wet." She said looking down at her clothes.

"You're always wet around me." He said with a knowing grin.

She splashed his face with water as he chuckled. She tied her dress around her mid-thigh and stepped into water.

"Tell me about the conflict." She said as she put her arms around his neck.

"They are fighting over resources. The Awaan have a stream that runs through the mountain so they have access to fresh water and can grow a lot of leafy green vegetables like lettuce and spinach, and other vegetables like carrots and potatoes. The Imitti have this coastal area, and here they grow things like garlics, onions, spinach, squash and celery." Aaryan explained.

"Do they grow during the same season?" Ariana asked running her hands through Aaryan's hair. Aaryan flexed his hands that were around her hips.

"No, the Awaan have a short growing season around late summer and the Imitti grow during the spring, fall and early summer." Aaryan answered.

"Well start there. They need to help each other in their off seasons. If they do, they will both have more crops and they can trade the resources they don't have. It is a win-win situation." She said as he pulled her toward the shore.

"The only problem is, they don't want to work together." Aaryan said sitting down on the grass and pulling her into his lap.

"I was thinking about that." She said straddling his waist. Her dress had risen higher.

"And the way I see it you have three options...Option 1: You can force them by law to work together." She said in concentration.

"Go on." Aaryan said caressing the tops of her thighs.

"Option 2: You can highly suggest that they work together but not formally force them to do so...and Option 3: You can lead by example and bridge the gap between both sides." She said looking at his face for answers.

"Hmmm." He began contemplatively. "I agree with all of the options you gave...however...I think Option 3 is the best." He said quickly turning over and pulling her down on top of him on the grass.

"Aaryan!" Ariana screamed.

He silenced her alarm with a hard kiss on the mouth. She immediately yielded and softened to him.

"You will make an excellent Queen. You did...well today." He said as he continued to kiss her.

"I just like solving problems. Speaking of which..." She said suggestively as she brushed against his cock with her calf.

"No sex remember." Aaryan teased and she swatted his chest.

They laid that way for a while. Ariana laying on chest, stroking his hair and staring at the stars, while Aaryan held her and closed his eyes.

"This is a very weird situation that we are in." Ariana said tilting her head to the side.

"What do you mean?" Aaryan asked, looking at her.

"If this was a normal situation we would be dating or we would be boyfriend and girlfriend." Ariana said looking at Aaryan closely.

"Girlfriend? I have never had a girlfriend before. I've never even been in love before. There has never been time for such things." Aaryan said with a confused look on his face.

"I know that you want to marry me, but don't you think before we walk down the aisle we should have some form of commitment?" Ariana asked.

"Like an engagement?" Aaryan asked.

"Yes, like an engagement. It will let all of the men at the office that I am off the market and show our level of commitment to one another." Ariana said with a serene smile.

"Is anyone bothering you?" Aaryan asked with clenched fist.

"Not really anyone besides Fadil..." Ariana said with a chuckle.

"This way we can let him down easy." Ariana said as she stroked his chest.

"I will take great pleasure and letting my brother know you are "off the market" girlfriend." Aaryan said and Ariana giggled.

He kissed her and then helped her right her clothes before they began walking back to the car.

They locked pinky's and he opened her car door and helped her inside.

She rode back to the palace with Quadir resting in her lap and a serene look on her face.

She had a family now.

*******

A few days later, Ghaniyah stopped by for their weekly informal Wednesday dinner.

"I'm glad you arrived early Ghani, we have much to discuss." Ariana said as she got the ingredients ready for the Chalua.

She had already mixed minced garlic, chopped onions, 1 ½ cups of water, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, ½ cup of vegetable oil, cumin, and cilantro together and added it to the cooked lamb.

Now Ariana was preparing the spinach and rice.

"Yes. I hear congratulations are in order my dear child."Ghaniyah said embracing Ariana and kissing her on both sides of the cheek.

Ariana blushed deeply as she lightly cooked the spinach in cooking oil and tossed it in a skillet.

"I know this is the right decision. I can help him and he can help me and we can have a wonderful life here together." Ariana said as she looked at Quadir in the distance.

"I'm so glad you have come to right decision. Now I don't want you to worry about any of the details, I will take care of everything but the dress. We can meet with the designer soon and go over what you want." Ghaniyah said as she prepared the basmati rice.

"That is great..." Ariana said, with a hint of sadness clouding her tone.

"My dear...what is wrong?" Ghaniyah said, putting the spoon down and reaching over to Ariana.

"My mother...my mother wrote me last week and...I don't know what to say or do." Ariana said looking at Ghaniyah for answers.

"What is this conflict between you and your mother?" Ghaniyah asked in a motherly tone.

"My father died when I was 12. He had a stroke while behind the wheel of his car. I was devastated...After he died, his best friend helped us a lot. He would take my brother's to games, help me with my homework, look after my mom, etc." Ariana said with tears in her eyes.

Ghaniyah touched her arm lovingly.

"When I was 13, I caught him and my mom having sex. My father hadn't even been dead a year yet and she was already moving on with another man, and his best friend no less." Ariana said with a clenched fist as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Oh honey." Ghaniyah said pulling Ariana into a hug.

"What if she had been sleeping with him the whole time? That's a very fast time to just fall in love with someone. How could she do that? How could she do that to my father like that?" Ariana said crying openly.

"Sit."Ghaniyah said gesturing toward the table. She turned the rice down low.

"My husband has been gone for 11 years. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of him. I see him every time I look at the amazing children we were blessed to have. I see him in these walls, in the memories we shared, in the happiness we once had. That kind of love does not just go away." Ghaniyah began.

"I still love my husband but after he passed I fell in love again too." Ghaniyah said with a chuckle.

"How?" Ariana said pulling her hands away.

"The heart is a strong resilient organ. It can be damaged many times over and repaired. You can think you will never get over some heart ache and then you simply do. The heart has the capacity for more than one great love. I love my husband, and no matter who I love or who loves me after that, it will not undo anything that he and I had. I still have the utmost respect for him and his legacy, and I will never speak ill of the time we had." Ghaniyah said.

"It is unfair of you to think that your mother should spend the rest of her days alone. It is childish and it is wrong. I'm sure you know that his best friend is a good man that treats your mother right. If you open yourself up to him, it will not erase any of the memories you had with your father or undo any of the love that you have. Don't be afraid. No one can ever replace your father in your heart." Ghaniyah continued.

"I just feel guilty." Ariana said in frustration.

"Don't, your father would want you all to be with happy. Let it go. Make amends with your mother. Your father would not be happy seeing you two fight like this. You are happy here with my son, yes?" Ghaniyah said holding Ariana's hands.

"Yes." Ariana answered.

"Don't you think your mother deserves that kind of happiness too?" Ghaniyah asked rhetorically.

"You are right. As always you are right. How do you know so much?" Ariana said with a sniffle and chuckle.

"Truth is, I don't. But that is my secret." Ghaniyah said patting Ariana on the hands and once again stirring the pot of rice.

"Please go and tell Aaryan that the food is ready." Ghaniyah said.

Ariana wiped the tears from her face as she walked down to Aaryan's office. She found him asleep at his desk. She knew that he had been up late the previous night working on a solution with his advisors for the northeast region.

She looked at him as emotion washed over her.

She stroked his hair and whispered in his ear, "I love you." She quietly left the room and had dinner with Ghaniyah and Quadir.