“Hey!” her brother called out as he poured himself and his father a glass of bourbon.
“You’re not a boy,” Zarah giggled. “You’re my brother!”
“Has Rashid’s bride been chosen?” Isla asked, sitting more primly on the edge of another chair, looking curiously at her parents. She saw Rashid stiffen slightly, but then he relaxed and looked at his parents curiously.
Lila looked to Majid, trying to hide her concern. “Your father has been offered several potential brides but to date, he’s resisted pinning anyone down.” She said that with scorn because her handsome, wonderful husband’s biggest fault was his sexist attitudes. He wanted to quickly select husbands for his daughters but wanted to let Rashid have a few more years of freedom.
Majid rolled his eyes. “Woman, you know the issue there! He’s a man! He needs to…” he started to say but then stopped as he looked at his two daughters. “Well, never mind. We’ll discuss this later.”
Lila accepted the chilled glass of white wine Rashid brought to her, all the while, shaking her head. “We will not discuss this further, my love.”
Majid looked at his son who was holding back his amusement over the bickering of his parents. “Don’t laugh, son. Wait until you marry! I’ll bet that you’ll be manipulated just as easily by your bride as I am by mine.”
Rashid bowed slightly, pretending to accept his father’s guidance. But in his mind, he knew he’d never allow a female, especially his wife, to disobey his commands. He would have a biddable wife who was beautiful and intelligent, but who would trust him and his decisions.
Lila stood up and raised her hand. “Enough about your future spouses. I’m sure they will all be absolutely wonderful and I look forward to each and every one of you getting exactly the man or woman you deserve,” she said and looked darkly at her son who was arrogantly leaning against the door frame. Her look was blatantly saying that she expected his wife to be just as biddable as he was, which was not at all. “It is time for dinner and I’m truly grateful to have all of you here again at last.”