AYAD

Chapter 9

The following day was a better one. Gracie was dressed to the nines and ready to help change some lives.

She cleared out her schedule so she could manage back to back group therapy sessions. It was fast-paced, yet conversational. The work day went by quickly.

As Gracie walked out her work place, she saw a little old lady pushing her churro cart along. Gracie gasped in pleasant surprise. The first thing that came to mind was Dabir, she just knew he would love one.

She bubbled over in excitement and walked over as quickly as her heels would allow. "Hi! Do you have any more?"

"Yes, how many do you want?"

"Fourteen, please! Can you put it into a box or something?" She reached into the purse on her arm and pulled out cash. She wanted to have one with Dabir, but also enough for everyone in the family and the staff

After the transaction, she practically skipped into the car where Hakeem waited for her. "Back home?"

"No, can you actually take me to AES?"

Hakime gave a confused expression but shrugged. "As you wish."

They were then stuck in traffic for 45 minutes, it was rush hour. It felt like all of eternity before they finally pulled up in front of the headquarters for the major media conglomerate.

Gracie stepped out of the car, and dialed Dabir's number as she walked towards the lobby entrance. It seemed as if she had just walked into wall-street, with all the hustle and bustle.

"Gracie, what's wrong?" Dabir asked. His heart skipped a beat from worry, people usually only would call him when there was a problem.

Gracie couldn't contain the smile on her face. "Nothing's wrong! Are you busy right now?"

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, Dabir, I'm not trying to worry you." Her big brown eyes continued to take in the room. "Come to the lobby, I have something for you."

"You're downstairs?"

"Mhm! I figured it was best to call, I knew I wasn't going to get past the elevator without all that security stuff you guys have."

"Oh. Okay. Security will let you through in a moment. You can go to the front desk."

She wore a soft pink dress and matching heels, her hair was straight and down her back. She felt like a black barbie as she walked through the sea of professionals all dressed in gray or black. It didn't help that she was holding a box filled with an obscene amount of churros.

A few moments passed before a gentleman dressed in black approached Gracie and led her to the elevators. He had to punch in lengthy passcodes to get them in, up and out again. When they got outside the office, he knocked loudly on the solid wood door.

Dabir opened the door, with his eyes on Gracie immediately. He pulled his gaze away from her to look up at the security official. "That will be all, thank you."

The man nodded and turned to leave. Gracie was let into the office, it was just as remarkable as it was last time they were there. "What can I do for you?" His tone was warm and kind, he pulled a chair back for her to sit in.

"Oh nothing....Except! Rate these on a scale from one two ten!" Gracie opened the box displaying the golden-brown, cinnamony-sugar delights. Dabir reached in to grab one, but Gracie slammed the box shut. "Aren't you going to ask what it is first?"

He smirked. "Okay. What is this?"

She couldn't fight back her smile either, "It's a Latin American dessert, 'cause we are going international now! It's called churro, and from what I know, it's a fried dough with cinnamon and sugar. Inside is soft, the outside is crunchy, it's great and you will love it."

"You came all this way for me to eat doughnut?"

"It's NOT a doughnut, but yes, I came all this way for you to get fat with me." She answered victoriously.

"Can I eat it now?"

"Go for it, D."

He took a big bite, and followed it up with another. He gave Gracie a silent thumbs up. "Yes."

She quickly covered her mouth to avoid showing chewed up churro. Something about his yes, cracked her up. "Exactly! It is a yes! I knew I was going to find a non-Arab dessert you like!"

"It reminds me of Sahlab. I used to have it all the time before I moved to America."

"What's in it?"

"It's—how do I describe it, like a milk pudding."

"Milk pudding? How does that remind you of a churro?"

"It reminds me, I didn't say they were similar."

Well... Maybe it tastes better than it sounds, do they sell any nearby?"

"I'll make it for you."

Her eyebrow raised, "Since when do you cook? Or eat for that matter! Have you even eaten anything besides this? It's almost 7 and I know you've probably been here since like 6 in the morning."

"There's a lot to do here."

"There's something every day, but you still have to take care of yourself. Come on, let's go grab dinner with the rest."

"I don't like family dinners. You don't either, I'm not going."

"I never said I don't like family dinners!" She defended before immediately lowering her shoulders, "Is it that obvious?"

Dabir snickered. "There is a place down the street I like, let's go there."

"Deal deal deal." She followed him out then abruptly stopped, "Wait! I forgot! I have to take these churros back to the house because Raamatu is going to love them. That woman's got a big time sweet tooth on her!"

He smiled from ear to ear, his green eyes twinkling. "As you wish."