The Romance Adventure

Chapter 18

Even though Zak had reassured Reni everything would work out with his mother as they drove back to her riad, insecurity and angst flooded.

By this point in her stay, she knew he technically wasn't supposed to come up to her room, but the owners had never complained about the ways of liberal American guests.

She was surprised Zak hadn't mentioned the law that banned non-married couples from sharing a hotel room and assumed he was more interested in spending quality time with her than worrying about the antiquated laws prohibiting couples from staying together out of marriage.

She let them into her room and sank onto the couch, exhausted.

Restless, Zak paced for a few minutes before standing by the window, arms crossed.

Reni let the silence build between them before patting the couch.

"How are you?" He sat next to her.

"What do we do now? Run away? Oust Bisma from her position of power?" The words sounded hollow, and her voice broke. "Elope someday and live in a glass castle by the sea?"

He turned toward her, his eyes grieving. "You have to understand. My mother's opinion matters to me. I can't just ignore her feelings."

"I come first, right? When we get married, if that were ever to happen, it has to be you and me, not you and me and your mom, especially because your mother will never like me. I've done everything I can to win her over, but she sees me as an interloper. The American woman who's stealing her son." Reni, seeing the conflict in his eyes, turned away. "I understand I'm not the daughter-in-law she wanted, but it's not fair to let her dictate our lives. This might be our forever, but the way it's going it looks more like our end."

"What do you want me to do? In Morocco, family is of the utmost importance."

Reni turned back and met his gaze. "I will not come second to your family."

Zak stood, pacing again. "It's not fair, but family is important to me. I can't just cut them out of my life because they don't approve of you."

"My family is important to me too. They don't trust you. They think you might be scamming me for a green card, but I'm here believing in you, trusting in us."

Zak turned, shocked. "They think I'm trying to get a green card? Why did you not tell me this."
An edge of doubt crept into the words. "You know that the idea is ridiculous, right?"

"Do you even have to ask?"

"I chose to travel here and be with you. You need to do the same and put me first. Put this relationship first. I'm not asking you to cut them out, but we have to have a life of our own, free from their constant judgment. We can't let their disapproval hold us back, or we will never go forward. I can't get engaged to someone who doesn't put me before his mother."

Zak paused, inhaling deeply as if trying to draw in the right words. "I love you, but it's not that simple. My mother has always been controlling.  If we ever eloped, it would only make things worse. She'll never forgive me."

"At this point, that's not even a possibility."

"The idea has merit." Zak moved closer. "I love you and want to be with you, but we have to figure out the family situation and do it the right way."

"I wasn't being serious when I said it." Reni blurted the words. She wanted to deny the fact, but a small part of her had hoped that Zak would love the idea and want to marry immediately over everyone's complaints and arguments against them. One part of her needed him to state she was his everything. "Though I hear Las Vegas has a great Elvis impersonator doing ceremonies." The joke fell flat.

Zak pulled her off the couch and into a hug. "I don't want to lose you. You mean the world to me, but my family has always been there for me. I can't just abandon my mother." His arms tightened around her. "I refuse to lose either of you."

"We deserve happiness." The idea of saying F- you to everyone sounded better and better the more she had contact with Bisma. "We can't live our lives for other people. If that means eloping after an engagement, then maybe it's what we must do. Unless I don't mean that much to you, then this really was a mistake."

"You and I are not a mistake. You don't sound so sure about me anymore. Do you want to be together? Get engaged?"

She pulled back and touched his arm "I still do, and I'm not asking you to abandon everyone. I want our happiness to matter most. Maybe that's selfish, but I don't care. We can find a way to make things work with your family, but we can't let their opinions control our lives."

Zak peered down at her, deep in thought, internal struggle obvious in the set line of his mouth. "What if we try to talk to my mother together again after the horseback riding trip? She'll see how much you mean to me. She'll change her mind."

Reni let out a rueful laugh. "Doubtful. It's not like she wants you all for herself, but she doesn't want me in your life or as a daughter-in-law. I don't fit the fantasy she made up about your future with a perfect Moroccan beauty who'll pop out even more perfect grandchildren while seeing to your mother's every wish."

"Stop." His lips quirked into a smile. "That's not true."

"You have blinders on when it comes to Bisma." Reni didn't find any of this humorous. "There is nothing I can ever do to make that woman like me."

"She needs time."

"If you say so." Reni shifted. "I'm tired. We have an early drive. Maybe we table this conversation until later."

Zak kissed her, heating the room and Reni's body. "This is the truth. I won't let her dictate my decisions. I want to be with you, and if that means facing my mother's disapproval, then so be it."

"You say that in the moment, but she means a lot to you."

"I love you. Together, we can face anything that comes our way."

"Always the optimist. I'm sure tomorrow will be a better day."

"It will. There are horses in your future. I'm taking you away so we can forget the family drama for a while."

"Where are we going?"

"The trip takes us to many different places both on the coast and inland. You mentioned how you went on riding vacations in the past, and I thought you'd enjoy it."

"You were right. Sounds amazing." She did a couple of little jumps on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise to combat the day spent with my family. It had to be tough for you." He rand his fingers through her curls. "I wanted to give you something to make up for it. I printed the itinerary." He pulled three sheets of paper from his jacket pocket and handed them over. "Our adventure starts very early tomorrow." He pulled away. "I should get back. I've been away so much between work and your trip, my mother is upset."

"Of course she is."

"She is not upset with you. It's me."

"Well then, I'd hate to see what she's like when she's mad at me."

He gave her a gentle kiss. "We must leave very early. Get a few hours of sleep, and I'll be back at four."

"Wait. Four in the morning."

"Yes. It is a long drive."

"This day keeps getting better and better."

Zak left, and Reni threw on her pajamas. She wanted to sleep, but when her head hit the pillow, she could only replay the conversation with Bisma. Part of her was so angry at the older woman and her inability to understand their relationship, while another part felt like she'd failed Zak.

Taking the journal from her purse, she put all those feelings on paper. Would they be good when creating a future character, or would they be a forever reminder of when her relationship started to fail? 

She finally fell into an exhausted slumber, only to be aroused by her phone's alarm.