Second Chances: a Coincidences novel

Chapter 25: Fallen Friendships

            "So this was a rather lovely lunch you had whipped for us both" I said, though I was using a little too much slang that I was wondering if Hamdan understood anything I said.

"Yes, this was definitely a lovely lunch and it was better with you here" he smiled, taking a sip of his tea.

"I'm a huge fan of chicken Majbous. I love chicken and I love rice" I smiled.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. So what are you up to the rest of the day?"

"I don't know. Probably go home and read a book and listen to music, or watch a movie or some other productive thing. I'm sort of contemplating maybe going to university."

"Nice, where?"

"Either here or in Lebanon, I have not made up my mind. It depends since my family is always traveling so I might have to settle for online classes for some semesters. I haven't decided because realistically, I don't want to be away from my family for long periods and since my uncle is a famous singer, traveling is inevitable."

"If you do online classes it should work well for you. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Eventually, once I pull myself together."

"I know your friend's passing was really hard on you but again, I'm not going to have you prosecuted for smoking weed. I love your uncle and his family, and I simply became concerned because I dealt with the same concerns with my brother."

"Rashid?"

"Yes" he said and his eyes began to look somewhat glossy, like the memory of his brother torturing him day after day.

"Yeah, he started by smoking weed and I didn't make too much of an assumption at first and I even joined him. But it eventually became obvious he was doing it out of recreation and not for the reasons you were doing it for. Eventually, he spiraled and started doing harder and worse drugs."

"I'm so sorry for your loss. My brother started off the same, smoking weed and when that was not enough for him, he turned to the hard stuff and alcohol."

"I'm sorry you've had to deal with that."

"Thanks, really appreciate it. But at this point, I can only pray he gets better and that he learns his lesson, finally after all these years of him being a drug addict and alcoholic."

"I wish you and your family well on this."

Santi and I have not been close in a long time. As kids, we got along beautifully and once he headed into high school, he started making friends with the wrong crowd. We still got along but little by little, I began to notice changes that I did not like, and eventually, it became obvious what he was really doing.

Only at the time, my dad shamed him enough to where he stopped but after the accident that claimed his life and took him from us, he went back to doing his drugs to numb the pain of loss.

With my family's help and even God's, I would never go down that path. I wanted a better future for myself and my family.

After Hamdan and I conversed for a while longer, his bodyguard, Saeed Hilal, took me back home.

Entering the house, I saw my family, all four of them. Khaled looked at me with less than angry eyes and come to think of it, he did not seem angry at all. Though I was going to forgive him because at the end of the day he was my cousin and I loved him, I was going to give him a quick piece of my mind.