A TIME TO HEAL

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

"WHAT'S UP with you and my brother?" she asked again.

"Blunt much?" I asked when I recovered, frowning to let her know how annoying I thought she was.

"It's a family trait."

"Apparently."

"So?" She came over to join me by the fridge.

Her eyes were dancing with laughter, and I couldn't believe she found humor in the situation. She was obviously enjoying my discomfort.

"We are best friends." I cringed as the words fell out of my mouth.

"Oh, he told me that but I couldn't believe it. How can Kelvin be best friends with a girl?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's so unlike him, he's too much of a player. I literally had to warn him to stay away from my female friends when we were growing up."

"Hmm." I wasn't interested in hearing about Kelvin's younger days.

"He dated half the girls in my secondary school. I thought you were his side-piece, you know what I mean?"

"I'm not," I replied, hotly. She was getting on my last nerves.

"Just wanted to be sure. Are you sure you guys are not screwing?"

"What's with the twenty questions anyway?" I asked, ignoring her question.

"I just can't wrap my head around your friendship. It's absurd, and I'm pretty sure Alex agrees."

"Have a little faith in your brother, will you?"

She laughed like I'd just cracked a joke. "Faith? In Kelvin? No way. He once dated his teacher."

"He has a girlfriend...fiancé rather as we both know. And he is loyal to her, why is that so hard to believe?"

"Past experiences, maybe."

"We all did stupid things as kids. I believe he's not that person anymore."

"Whatever makes you both sleep well at night. I like your purse by the way."

I was carrying the bag Akin got for me. "Thanks." I breathed a sigh of relief at the change of subject.

"I didn't catch your name the other time."

"Fatimah, what's yours?" I asked even though I knew the answer to the question.

"Danielle," she answered.

"And your sister?"

"Liz. Are you a Muslim?"

"No."

"Why are you bearing a Muslim name then?"

"It's an Arabic name. My parents had their honeymoon in Qatar so they picked an Arabic name when I was born."

"That's a good story. Did you make it up?"

"Why would I lie?" I asked.

I was getting more irritated by her presence.

"It was only a question."

Danielle was blunt and unpretentious and as much as I loved those qualities, she came on too strongly. I still couldn't tell if I liked her or not. I knew that she was annoying, and I couldn't wait to get out of the kitchen.

"Are you dating anyone presently?"

"Not yet. I'm still testing the waters."

"Hmm, okay. Do you want wine?"