It's almost 4:30pm and I make my way down to the lobby and wait for Mahmoud to drop off his wife. He enters the hotel with his smile.
Hello, Ms April.
Hey Mahmoud, how was your day?
Good
Then we step outside.
Oh Where is your wife?
She is parking the car.
She appears with two little girls with long swinging black ponytails. His wife's face shines the only skin peeking through her hijab with red lipstick and bright dark eyes. Her black abaya has sparkling black sequin down the front and around the hem. She is stunning. We hug one another and she squeezes me tight. She then leads the two little girls in front.
What are their names? I am not sure if they understand English.
Mona turns to them and slowly repeats.
Name? What is your name?
The little one puts her hand in her mouth. Then drops her hand.
Sara. and returns her hand back on her mouth.
The older one says,
Layla
How old are they?
Sara is 5 and Layla is 9.
I am so glad to meet you all. This is wonderful.
We walk to the Marina and step into a shiny white boat and I wave at the driver.
Assalamualaikum. Praise be to God. I say.
Wa a le kumsalem. Peace be upon you. He replies.
Mahmoud says that in Oman it's customary to say Asalamualekum. Praise be to god, rather than Saba heir her, Good morning which is most commonly used in Egypt.
The girls are shy and quiet but they are smiling the entire time forming dimples in their faces. I want to pinch the little ones' cheeks. The driver hands us chips and water for our ride. Mahmoud says,
Honestly, Ms April this is the first time we are doing this. I have never had my family meet with guests. But I told my wife that you were special and she agreed.
Yes, welcome to oman. Please next time you visit stay with us and I will cook traditional omani food. Mona says.
Oh that is so gracious of you. Shokran. Thank you. I say.
She pulls out her phone and takes a video of us. Then sits closer and shares a video of her daughters doing sign language. Mona says,
I teach my daughters how to sign.
Pointing at Sara, she say,
The 5 year old demonstrates the arabic alphabet in sign language.
Alif, be, te, the… and so on.
I follow her with my fingers forming the letters. When she is done she rewards herself by opening the chip bag. Snacking as we cruise to sunset. His wife is a sociologist and at her work she works with foster children. They say that they want to foster children or adopt but the waiting list of parents wanting to adopt children is too long. She shows me one of the babies.
I wish I could bring him home. She says
Mahmoud says,
In the beginning we wanted many children but…and he points to his little one. She was not easy to handle. The first daughter was easy to handle but… (directs his chin towards his little one) … is too clingy. The little one looks at her mom and bats her eyes. She never wants to be left alone and cries at school and before she goes to school. Her sister has to be with her at all times. Layla is very caring about her little sister.
Mona caresses her daughter's long thick hair and says.
At school, the teacher wants me to cut their hair but I want their hair to be long. So I tie their hair and tuck them under the hijab for school.
I like her, a rebel and give both girls a smile.
She continues,
I like to dress them in modern clothes like today. Shorts and T-shirts but Mahmoud prefers traditional omani dresses. Something like a one piece pink dress with sequence and laces.
She pauses.
My friends don't want to marry.
I am intrigued as this has been the case in my travels. More women are OK about being single with no children.
Really? Out of how many friends?
About 5 out of 10 friends say they want to be single.
The stats are higher than I would have imagined in a conservative place. Quite high even though her friends are perhaps more affluent and educated. I look over at Mahmoud and he sits quiet.
This is good I think, she says.
I shake my head and think about how modern and forward thinking Mona is covered in black from head to toe. Perhaps she dreams of a future that is different for her daughters. While Mahmoud wants to keep things as the old sages have taught him. To keep conservative, perhaps he thinks that he is keeping his daughters safe from the world that he knows and the unknown.
Mahmoud breaks my silent thoughts,
We have goals to travel eventually.
Where do you want to go first?
India. But we want to have our third child.
Then you will have to wait another few years to travel. You should travel first then have the baby. I suggest.
As they both consider this…he continues.
We would like to travel twice a year. We already bought a house and now we are trying to save.
You both are making good goals.
Yes we are trying to manage our money and save as much as possible because we don't want to work for long. In Oman, the retirement age is 60 but no one wants to work that long. With our bad diet we can’t. So most people stop working when they are 48 years old. They eat a lot of beef and bread and they don’t like to walk or exercise, it's too hot.
I am surprised as I have had access to such a glorious amount of tasty veggies throughout the trip. I assumed that this was their diet as well. Then I recall Sultan's plate of rice and camel meat with gravy and not a piece of greenery on site.
Oh look, the sun is going down!
Beautiful splash of orange brightens the sky. The lights reflecting, spreading and following us onto the water. Videotaping the sunset, I pan the boat waving hi to everyone. They all wave and I say hi to the driver as well. He waves from behind the glass panel. When the ride ends I feel immensely gratified and satisfied as though this was the best day in Oman. at least the most meaningful. Walking over to the cashier's booth to pay for the ride, Mahmoud says,
I already paid.
Mahmoud, thank you.
I am so grateful to him and honored that he would introduce his whole family to me. I enjoyed getting to know them. What a gift to meet such a sweet family. I whisper to his wife.
I have heard Mahmoud's version of your love stories. Now I want to hear yours.
She covers her mouth and laughs.
Perhaps you can share your story next time I return. Inshallah, God willing.
Aiwa, yes, I am so glad to meet you. Please next time. come. stay with us. you and your family visit our home.
Likewise.
Mahmoud has already visited DC and California. So I say,
Please visit us in Georgia, USA and I would take the girls to Disney World. You can stay with us.
And I think, ‘get inflatable mattresses for the girls.’
Their faces light up with the prospect of visiting the US again.
The night was perfect. A little breeze touches my shoulders and I hug the girls and his wife and stand back to wave goodbye to Mahmoud.
Thank you for a beautiful time in Oman. It was so special meeting your lovely family. We will keep in touch.
Mahmoud reminds me,
Ms April, your driver will take you to the airport tomorrow morning and have a nice trip to the United Emirates.
I want to hug him and grab the side of my pants and give him a big smile and wave. Let's keep in touch.
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