Being Mrs Dantata

05

The KFC package he held was the first thing he noticed. Amal grinned and slammed her book shut, sitting up immediately after. "Sa'ed!"

Zayd scoffed. "Hello to you, Mrs Dantata."

She was in front of him in seconds, her eyes trained on the package. "I like what I see."

"Better than me?"

She brought her eyes to his, her smile dazzling. "Of course not. I'll always love you more than anything but," Her eyes went back to the package. "This is more appealing right now."

"I didn't buy it for you."

She glared at him. "Sa'ed."

He laughed. "I'm kidding, Amal. We stopped at a station nearby and I couldn't stop myself." He allowed her take it from him. "It's not for only you."

"Obviously." She then kissed his cheek. "How was work today?"

He removed his suit jacket. "All shades of crazy. Summayya and Hajara told me to brace myself because there's more. Also, I have some good news for Prince Halim. If all goes well, at the speed we're currently taking, we should be done with shell construction by the end of the year. By next year In Shaa Allah, we'll deal with interior so the home owners can move in. Them moving in won't disrupt our finishing work."

She stared at him, pride written all over her face. "I'm really, really proud of you, Sa'ed."

He smiled sheepishly. "I have a nice cheerleading team that's led by the most beautiful woman so..."

She laughed. "Oh God."

He went on to remove his cufflinks. "What were you reading?"

She walked back to the sofa and put the package on the side stool before she sat. "I came across it online earlier so I placed an order and they had it delivered within an hour." She raised the book so he could see the title. "I like it so far. It kept me busy."

He loosened his tie. "I'm glad." With a sigh, he joined her on the sofa. The two paintings that sat side by side on the wall made him smile; a floral painting of her and a floral painting of him. Both of the paintings being gifts they gave each other. "They look better each and every time."

Amal followed his line of sight, her smile small. "They do. We're beautiful people."

"We are." He then remembered. "Oh, Amal!" He faced her and the smile that appeared on his face threatened to split it in two. "We had a corp member posted to Zayd's today."

She put the book aside and gave him her undivided attention. "You guys requested for one?"

"Nope. She was just posted there and it took us by surprise but well, we've accepted her."

"Is she nice?"

He nodded, still smiling. "She is. You and I met her yesterday and if I recall correctly, we hoped she got posted to somewhere nice."

When it clicked in her head, Amal gasped. She leaned forward. "Hanan?!"

He nodded yet again. "Yep. I was so surprised. The coincidence is crazy."

"Tell me about it!"

He made himself more comfortable. "Hajara already spoke positively about her but then she – Hajara – wanted me to make the final decision so she sent Hanan to my office. She looked nothing like yesterday, Amal."

"You mean that in a good way, right?"

He nodded. "I do. She was in her khaki today and it made her look younger. It's nice on her though. She's on the smaller side too."