The Woman With The Headscarf

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» i feel like I'm constantly apologising for not managing my time well. 😭 anyway, been working on a book behind the scenes and it's related to BTS, would you guys be interested in reading something like that? «

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It was awkward.

Lamees kept her face hidden behind the menu for as long as she could to avoid having to meet Gunner's mother's eyes and to talk to her. When they had ordered and were waiting for their food to arrive, the woman across from Lamees finally introduced herself.

"My name is Aqua," Gunner's mother informed her. "I work as a therapist." Then after a pause, she added, "Although I had to take some time off work since I can't... I can't seem to focus much these days." She gave Lamees a tight lipped smile and stared down at the table.

Lamees nodded, understanding. She knew exactly how she was feeling.

After a moment's hesitation, she spoke in a low voice, "I'm Lamees." She wanted to say more but that's all she could think of saying right now.

"That's an...interesting name. What does it mean?"

"Soft," she answered, which caused Aqua to smile widely. "It suits you," she told Lamees genuinely.

Lamees looked away then, unsure of how to carry the conversation further. She still wasn't sure if this woman wanted something or if she really wanted to make it up to her. Friend or foe?

Their food arrived just then and Lamees dug into her fries rather hungrily. She hadn't had much of an appetite all day and she was close to starving now. For a minute, not one of them spoke and as the silence grew, so did the uneasiness. Well, as far as Lamees could tell, Aqua seemed to be completely fine and unbothered by the silence.

"You know, he's usually not one to keep secrets from me so this... is a bit of a shock," his mother said finally. "The fact that you guys dated for... gosh, I'm not even sure how long it has been..."

"Almost two years now," Lamees mumbled, keeping her head low, worried where this conversation seemed to be inevitably going. She was bracing herself for the impact.

"Wow. That's...unbelievable." Her tone didn't indicate that it was meant in a bad way. She just seemed a bit taken aback, if anything but the smile stayed on her face. "Who would've thought that he'd be able to keep this a secret for so long."

She plucked an olive from her sandwich and put it in her mouth and when she found Lamees looking at her, she shrugged as if caught in a guilty act. "I like to eat them separately."

And for some reason, Lamees couldn't help but smile back at her. "My mother also likes to eat cheese separately. She gets these little cheese cubes that she munches on from time to time."

"Sounds like something a French would do," she remarked and Lamees giggled to herself. "But she is French."

Aqua looked up from her plate and an incredulous look crossed her features. "My, you just keep getting interesting by the minute."

The rest of the half hour flew by for both of them as they talked about various different French styles and trends. Turns out that Gunner's mother actually had a French boyfriend once in high school.

"Part of the reason I stuck with him for so long was because he was French. I used to be obsessed with everything French when I was growing up. The city of love was my dream destination."

"What happened then? With you and that guy from high school?"

"Oh, we broke up," she said in a matter-of-fact voice. "He was really clingy. Constantly texting me and I've always needed my personal space from the start so I had to let him go. Oh, don't look upset now. He was fine, he was with another girl just after two days of our breakup."

Lamees was about to say something when Aqua's phone rang and she frowned when she read the caller ID. She answered immediately. "Yeah? Where are you?"

She was quiet for a while and Lamees finished the rest of her meal, marvelling at how well she'd been bonding with a woman who she'd hated just a few hours ago. Of course, everything that Aqua had said and suggested back then wasn't all forgiven, but she did seem genuinely nice and it was possible that she wasn't a racist. But just in case, Lamees's guards remained up.

"Okay. Just try and get some sleep, okay?" Aqua was saying now and Lamees wondered whether she was talking to one of her patients. Her voice had a more gentle tone to it and she was speaking low, as if trying to soothe someone.

After she hung up, Lamees forced herself not to ask her about who it was. But she didn't have to.

"Sorry, that was my husband," Aqua explained. "He took the day off work without telling me and so I have to keep a close eye on him."

"Is he... okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, not really. He's taking this thing too hard. With Gunner and everything."

And instantly, Lamees felt that familiar stab of guilt slicing through her, hard. She started fidgeting and pulled onto the ends of her scarf nervously.

Aqua, as if sensing her emotions right away, leaned forward and told her. "It's not your fault."

"Isn't it? How can you say that when just this morning you were saying that it was all because of me? You don't need to lie to me. I'm not gonna fall for it." She folded her arms across her chest and hugged herself.

"Yes, I did say all those things this morning but that's because I wasn't thinking straight. I'd just found out that my suspicions about Gunner were correct and that you were in a way involved in this whole mess. How else was I supposed to react? Of course I jumped to defend my son and of course I thought of rescuing him first. And Lamees," she paused and Lamees looked up because that was the first time she'd said her name. "I'm sorry that it hurt you but I'm not sorry for the way I acted out of a mother's natural impulse. I was only trying to help him."

Lamees turned the woman's words over in her head and even though, she would've hated to admit it, what Aqua was saying made sense. Of course she reacted like a protective lioness, vicious and fierce with eyes only for her son's benefit and well being. Her own mother would've acted that way.

Lamees swallowed and then let out a sigh. "I understand."

Aqua wasn't expecting that response but she nodded after a while. "Good. We're on the same page then."