Unintended Consequences (Act One) Completed

Chapter 4: Say What Now?

"Boarding school...in Canada?"

"Yup." 

Unique nodded slowly and then added that detail to the long list of things she should be aware of before they appeared in public together. The couple was moving into the third hour of their mutual interrogation and it was becoming increasingly clear that they had nothing in common. Rayyan's world was full of polo ponies and corporate mergers. Unique's story was less glamorous and consisted mostly of a good person trying to make the most out of bad situations. 

"Do you need another break?"

Rayyan checked his watch for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. 

"If you have somewhere to be, just go. I think we can muddle through with just this today," Unique assured him, putting her pen and paper down and unfolding her legs. 

Rayyan let his eyes trace the shape of her thighs and hips and felt a stirring in his groin. Even as a boy his taste in women was often on the opposite end of the spectrum from his friends. While he learned early that leggy blondes were the preferred type among the rich and powerful men that he encountered, he himself had never found anything particularly fascinating about them. In fact, almost all of his personal preferences were in opposition to his station in life. He preferred home-cooked meals to gourmet food. He preferred beer and coffee to wine and tea. He liked his women thick and sassy instead of thin and refined, and he preferred women who could walk around bare-faced to those who spent small fortunes to achieve their look. 

In short, Unique was his ideal, but he wasn't in a position to tell her that.

Position. Damn it.

There goes that damned word again. It had held him back from so many things in life, he was beginning to wonder if his mother's marriage to his step-father was an unhappy circumstance or a curse. 

"You didn't really tell me much about yourself," Rayyan asked, trying to sound interested. 

"There's nothing much to tell. I grew up with my grandmother in D.C. I went to Howard and I've been working as a human resources officer ever since."

"Human resources? Do you like it?"

"It's cool." Unique nodded her head in affirmation but her eyes didn't light up. 

"But it's not your ideal?"

"Not really."

"So what's your ideal job?"

Unique scowled at him. "Don't you think you're being a little too personal?"

"You're my wife. I should know everything about you," Rayyan said calmly, following her movements with his eyes as she poured herself a cup of tea and found her way back to the sofa.

"I don't think they are going to quiz you on my hopes and dreams."

"Maybe not, but it would be great to be able to mention little things like that in conversation," Rayyan didn't let up. He wanted to know what it was that made her happy. 

"I work with kids on the weekends. Nothing fancy, just some creative writing and drama. Things like that. We write and produce our own play three times a year. Unfortunately, there isn't much funding so they can't afford to pay me, but if I could I would do that full time."

Rayyan observed how her eyes lit up as she talked about it. It was clear that she loved it very much. He'd felt that same excitement when he created his first game. It was a simple sim that he designed for a class project, but he was hooked after that. 

"SO why don't you?"

"What?"

"Why don't you teach full time. I'm sure you know the right people. Just draw up a proposal and start working on getting funding," he suggested.