Lovebirds

two

"Grandpa, you've got some explaining to do."

Hearing her voice, the elder Muller looked up from his desktop in the office, a bright smile across his lips as he stood up to embrace his grandchild. "Ah, my little dove finally showed up," he grinned, arms outstretched to embrace her.

Naira stopped him with the palm of her hand. "No, you made me run around in circles in this maze of a business where everyone probably thinks I'm the daughter of some homewrecker, which isn't true in the slightest. They don't believe I'm your grandchild, so why the hell would anyone decide to help me when I ask, especially with how vague your instructions were, they might as well have thought that I broke into the building," she rambled, pacing in front of her confused grandfather as her hands wildly moved around to match the annoyance in her speech. 

Mr. Muller's smile fell at the mention of his employees giving her grief. "Who was giving you a hard time?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, damn, Grandpa. What do you know, I forgot to ask a bunch of strangers that don't like me about their names and addresses. Next time, I should even ask for their social security numbers, I'm sure that will go well," she said in a sarcastic tone. 

"You sound exactly like your mother that it's scary," sighed Mr. Muller. He stepped closer to her fuming form, an arm wrapped around her shoulder, pulling her to his side. "Little dove, there are many people who will say things about you. They whisper about what is unfamiliar to them, but that doesn't make you any less capable for this job. I promise you."

Naira gazed up at her grandfather, staring into his cerulean eyes as if she was looking at a cloudless sky, free of darkness and misty rain. Though her grandfather had entered his elderly years as shown through his wrinkles and silvery hair, his eyes still held a youthful joy to them, still reflected wisdom beyond his years. 

She knew there was a lot of untold history about the struggles her parents endured and their relationship with her father's parents, but at the moment she wasn't sure how a man like her grandfather could ever be like those that whispered rumors about Muslims and belittled them for their beliefs. 

Her parents never spoke much about the past unless it was to teach her brother or her a lesson. This topic always seemed off-limits. 

Exhaling a deep breath, she gave him a tired smile, weary from the day's events. "I guess I was just taking my anger out on you, Grandpa. I'm sorry," she whispered, hugging him back. 

Naira inhaled the familiar scent of coffee and cologne, feeling comforting arms wrap around her and giving her shoulder a slight squeeze when they pulled away. 

Her grandfather's height towered over her, the shadow of his success looming across her visage, yet his bright, blue eyes still held the same gentleness, the same amicable waves of an ocean waiting to soothe her worries away. She saw his love for her etched between the flecks of white that danced around his pupils. 

A playful gleam entered his eyes. "You know, maybe you should start keeping a record of all the people that disrespect you."

"I'll do it when you give me a good set of instructions."

"Oh, please," scoffed her grandfather. "This old man knows how to test a prospective employee on her first day. I knew you'd figure it out eventually."

Naira raised a brow at him, a hand on her hip. "Right, so this whole info malfunction was all part of some genius business scheme of yours."

"Precisely."

"Grandpa, you're a bad liar," said Naira, not impressed. 

Loud knocks were heard behind the closed doors, insisting and obnoxious as a group of deep chuckles followed soon after, the simple sounds of a group of men rough housing before being professional. Their whispers and laughter rumbled even through the barrier between them.