A Desert Rose

Chapter 10 - The Cookies

Chapter 10

Zahir did not come to speak with her again that night.  Sheena brought her dinner but Aimee did not eat.  She just sat on a chair by the window staring out at the night-sky wishing for a glass of whiskey.  Sheena kept busy.  She brushed the tangles from Aimee’s hair and manicured her fingertips and toes.  Rubbed ointment on the scrapes Aimee had gotten in her jump off the wall.

Aimee was worried that she would not be able to make it back to the computer to talk to Marc tomorrow night.  Clearly Sheena was not going to leave her side any time soon.   She had learned that Sheena just sat outside in the hallway when Aimee sent her away.

Finally she just crawled into bed knowing she would need her sleep is she was to face Zahir the next day.

*****

Aimee was quite surprised to learn the next morning that Zahir had already left the night before and stayed in an apartment in the city.  He must have been too mad to be in the same space as her.  It hurt her a little but she brushed it aside.  So be it, he needed space to calm down.

She felt a little less emotional after a good night’s sleep.  Marc will figure something out.  She must just be patient.   She was informed that Zahir had withdrawn his permission for her to use his phone so she had to think of a plan to get to the computer again without anyone knowing.

The day passed slowly at perhaps it was because she dreaded Zahir’s return.  Aimee was bored out of her mind and finally wandered into the kitchen looking for something to do. 

The staff there was quite surprised to see her and tried to out-do each other by offering to make her elaborate delicacies.  The problem was she wanted familiar and soothing, comfort-food. 

An idea started to form.  She wasn’t much of a baker but there was one recipe she knew.

“Chef, could I occupy your kitchen for a little while?” She asked the head chef, whose name she forgot, so she just called him Chef.  He wasn’t from Saudi Arabia but one of the other Emirates.

“Of course Ameera, tell me what we can help you with.” 

A smile curved around her lips.

He gave her two assistants and showed her to the pantry.  She quickly gathered the ingredients and with her two assistants it wasn’t long before they were baking up a storm.

She used a basic cookie recipe her grandmother had taught her and added everything she could find in different variations.  Pecan nut and date.  Macadamia nut and white chocolate chip.  Chocolate chip and chilli.  Cinnamon, Cardamom and raisins.  She even tried adding mint to one but the delicate leaves burned. 

Every once in a while the chef would wander over from where he was preparing dinner and taste a new combination.  When she was red in the face from the hot ovens and heaps of cookies surrounded her she poured herself a large glass of cold milk, picked a selection of cookies and sat right there at one of the benches. 

The cookies melted in her mouth still slightly warm from the oven.  For that few minutes she was content. 

Sheena walked in looking for her and her eyes grew large when she saw the heaps of cookies.  She was even more surprised to find an apron-clad Aimee covered in flour dunking cookies into her milk. She glanced around the kitchen and everyone had some type of cookie in their hands. 

“Here, have one,” Aimee pushed a plate towards her.

Sheena looked around the kitchen again and no-one seemed to be paying attention so she gingerly picked up a cookie and bit into it.