"You should see the campus. It's awesome." Khalid's eyes shone with excitement.
"I have seen it." She grinned. "And if you don't want to stay in one of the MIT dorms you could come live with us while you're studying there."
"Now, now." Her dad smiled sheepishly. "Khalid has to get in first. An application to MIT is no laughing matter."
"We all know Khalid is a genius." Quasar ruffled Khalid's hair. "And MIT will be lucky to get him."
White flowers ornamented almost every surface in the elegant brownstone. It was wonderful to see the place filled with life, even with noise and too many people trying to use the bathrooms at the same time. What a difference from the hushed and somber atmosphere at her first wedding, which her friends had warned her against and her cousins were forbidden to attend.
All the ladies had their hands hennaed the night before, another Omani tradition she'd skipped over last time. She expressed her admiration for the women, and Quasar came up behind her and gave her a kiss. "You look stunning."
It was the first time he'd seen her long white gown-even Omani brides usually wore white these days-with pearl beads sewn into swirling patterns on the skirt. Strapless and cut low in the back, it made her feel daring and sexy as well as beautiful.
She'd been so sure she'd never feel that way again, until she found Quasar reading the one book she wanted in her favorite bookstore. "It's so strange that I had to go back to Oman to find you."
"And that I had to go back to Oman to find you." He kissed her softly on the lips, then led her through the house and out into the decorated garden. The leafy canopy of old oak and maple trees filtered the bright afternoon sunshine. A white pavilion, decked with flowers, was set up for the imam to perform the brief marriage ceremony.
She couldn't believe how involved Quasar had been in planning the wedding. He really seemed to want to discuss every detail, even though he was in the middle of a deal big enough to make the front page of the Financial Times.
Salim, always one to take charge, moved through the gathered crowd, ushering them out into the garden. Celia and Sara organized the children around the pavilion with baskets of flower petals to toss at the moment the marriage became official.
"Where's my shawl? I don't think the imam wants to see my bare shoulders." Dani bit her lip and grinned mischievously.
"I put it under the pavilion so you'd have it when you needed it," answered Quasar. "Let me get it for you."
"What have you done to my brother?" asked Salim. "I don't remember him being thoughtful."
"He seems determined to prove to me that I'm making the right choice by marrying him."
"Determination is a core Al Mansur trait." Elan walked up, carrying little Hannah, whose eyes glittered with freshly dried tears. Fortunately her face also glowed with a dazzling smile. "It's particularly exasperating during the toddler years. But it's one of the things that makes us so loveable."
Quasar returned and draped the silky white chiffon carefully over her shoulders and hair. "See, you can be both traditional and modern at the same time."
"And American and Omani." She winked. They'd found a live band composed of Harvard students who swore they could play both traditional Omani music and classic rock. Just watching them try promised to be fun.
"The Al Mansur family is officially global," Sara chimed in.
"Speaking of the Al Mansur family, when do you plan to add to the lineage?" Celia moved next to Dani. "I think it's quite miraculous that Dani managed to get all the way to her wedding vows without getting pregnant."
"Or did she?" Sara raised a brow.
Dani laughed. "No plus signs on the pregnancy test for me. I've just started my job at the Harvard Art Museum Research Center and I'm hoping to travel to their ongoing excavation in Sardis next year. Besides, Quasar and I intend to enjoy each other for a while before we add to our family." She loved that he hadn't put any pressure on her at all to have children yet. They had plenty of time for that.
Quasar took her hand and they walked together along the stone path toward the pavilion where they'd be joined in marriage. Tears welled inside her, but this time they were tears of happiness.