Free A Family Affair by Fern Michaels Page B

even if young, they wear the sandals, so to speak, with trusted advisers until they come of age.
    “In the event we divorce, you get to keep all your monies, but you must leave the kingdom and never return. There will be many papers for you to sign. I myself went through all this when I left for America. I signed until I thought my fingers would fall off. It is our way, and we can change nothing. We agree now, speak of it now, and then we never have to speak of it again.”
    Trish turned thoughtful. “Should we divorce, who gets the children, assuming we have children?”
    Malik knew this question would come up. “The children would stay here. You would have my promise that they would be tutored in both faiths. When they came of age, they could seek you out on their own. This is written in stone, Trish. I cannot change it even if I wanted to. In the event we have no children by the fifth year of our marriage, you will leave Dubai voluntarily. I will remain. And then, like my father, never marry again.”
    “Would I be allowed to see the children if we were divorced?”
    “Unfortunately, the answer is no. We will not divorce, Trish. That is a promise I make to you from my heart. I’m sure we will have as many children as we want. But not right away. We need to spend our first year together. I know this is like a blow to the gut, but it all needed to be said. I know you agree now, but when you are back in the States, you might want to change your mind. I hope that doesn’t happen.”
    “It won’t happen, Malik, because I love you. We’ll make this work for us. I don’t see any other way. Don’t look so somber. It wasn’t that much of a punch to the gut. I more or less thought it would be something like that. I’m marrying you with my eyes wide open. So, now kiss me, and let’s seal our fate.”
    Trish looked deeply into Malik’s eyes and saw only love and honesty. “All right, I agree. But, Malik, what if we have no children?”
    Malik burst out laughing. “I don’t see that happening, do you, Trish? I see us with a large family to love. Let’s start off with two girls who look like you and two boys who look like me.”
    Trish smiled because she knew Malik expected her to smile, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She hadn’t liked this conversation, had known in some way it was coming, but, still, she didn’t like it. Two too many negatives. Please, God, don’t let this be a mistake on my part.
     
    Trish looked down at her watch. Just minutes until it was time to leave for the airport for her return to the States. Compared to the way Soraya was dressed, she felt like a bag lady. She wore comfortable sandals, linen capris, and a loose-fitting top the color of a misty mountain. Soraya was dressed in one of her many Chanel suits with high heels. Everything about her screamed designer and wealth. She herself had only the one piece of luggage, whereas Soraya had three huge suitcases and two trunks. Where she was going to store these things in Trish’s small town house was a mystery to her.
    She’d tried to explain discreetly that her friends and she herself did not dress up every day. She’d also tried to explain that appointments for facials, massages, manicures, and pedicures had to be made in advance and couldn’t be done daily. If Soraya heard her, it was not evident in her manner. In her gut, she knew Soraya was going to be disappointed in the lifestyle back in Vegas. Then again, maybe not. Malik had taken life in the States in stride and had made it work for him. But by the same token, he had committed to living the college life and wanted to blend in, to be part of it. This was just a vacation for Soraya.
    In the end, Trish had shrugged it off. What would be would be.
    Trish was in the grand center hallway, sitting on a settee and waiting for Soraya, who had returned to her suite to change her shoes one more time, and Malik. She felt sad that she was leaving and yet anxious to return to the life