***

Alina lent me one of her fashionable, expensive floor-length evening gowns (I’m afraid to imagine how much it costs), which was a little small for me, so all my (though not very) forms were covered. Despite the fact that it was closed, I felt as if I was wearing an open swimsuit.

– Honey, this color is very suitable for you. You need to buy more things in blue tones. – Mom looked at me and grunted approvingly.

– Who bought this? – She opened her eyes wide, and looked at me with an innocent look. It was evident that mom carefully selects the words.

– Please, just don’t swear. Your sister and I hired a personal stylist. In fact, he helps us buy these stylish outfits.

I took a deep breath, swallowing a stream of new questions, which I am sure no one answered.

– Come on. – She took my hand and led me to the side of the restaurant, which simply shouted with all its appearance that it was very expensive.

Without further ado, we were led to a table from which we really saw a beautiful bay that had already begun to absorb the sun into its abyss.

– I ordered the best dishes! – Father proudly notified us.

– Are you sure we can afford it? – I asked, sinking into a luxurious chair upholstered in white velvet, and began to look around.

– Of course it’s expensive! – He answered lightly.

The restaurant was not very many people. A waiter immediately approached us and brought a plate of fruit.

– This is a gift from the establishment, – he specified in Russian, – we wish you a wonderful evening.

– Thank you, – my father politely nodded to the young man and fell into a businesslike manner in a chair. Just like a baron.

I looked around, amazed at the luxurious atmosphere. Never aspired to wealth, fame or greatness. I have always believed that rich people are vicious, overly powerful, do not recognize the framework and limitations. I do not understand how all this had fallen on my family. At that moment, the waiter came up and put a plate in front of me. At that moment I felt that he had knocked over a glass of water on me.

– Ah! – I blinked perplexedly and looked at my wet dress, which instantly absorbed all the water.

There was a fuss at the table, and the waiter looked at us anxiously, never ceasing to apologize. My mother ran up and handed me a napkin.

– Sorry, I do not understand how this happened. The glass slid from the tray and…

– It’s okay, – I tried to smile, taking a short look at him, wiped the water from my dress and got to my feet – it’s just water. I’ll be back soon. – I turned to my family. – Where is the toilet? – I tried to distract the pale waiter from guilt.

– Please, – he pointed toward the bar, – I will accompany you.

I nodded and turned my attention back to the family.

– Please have dinner without me. Nothing bad happened.

I smiled at the waiter, making it clear that I was ready to go.

– Once again, I’m sorry … – along the way, the waiter tried for the hundredth time to apologize to me.

– In fact, nothing terrible happened … – I continued to wipe the dress on the way to the toilet, when I suddenly stumbled over my own leg and crashed into someone. – Oh, please forgive me – I looked up and saw a curious look directed at me.

– It’s okay, – the man across from me was dressed in a white kandura, and despite the fact that he was certainly a purebred Arab, he spoke Russian very well. – Are you okay? – He politely asked and reluctantly looked from me to the waiter, whose pallor gave way to green. It seemed that a little more, and he would collapse unconscious.

– Yes. All is well. It will be even better if I can get into the toilet without incident. Sorry to bother you – I smiled and took a few steps to the side, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw a sign pointing to the women’s toilet.

I put myself in order and returned to the hall. Neither the waiter nor the person I came across was anywhere, but my parents proved something to a man in an expensive formal suit.

– … this is a real shame. You understand that you spoiled us an important evening! – My mother was very arrogant.

– Mrs., we apologize to you, – said the man with an Arabic accent. I think this is a manager, or possibly an owner. At least this can be judged by its impeccable appearance.

– What’s going on here? – I asked frivolously, returning to my place and looking around all those present. – Mom, who dared ruin your evening?

She rolled her eyes, showing with her whole appearance that I did not notice the obvious.

– The waiter! He ruined the expensive dress, caused you inconvenience and in general, what kind of service?

I took a deep breath and looked at the man, who began to noticeably nervous.

– I beg you, do not pay attention. We have absolutely no complaints about you. All is well. Thank. – I smiled and looked at my family, watching with lateral vision, as a man, after some hesitation, still decided to eliminate himself before we changed our minds. – Why arrange this show?

– We deserve at least a drop of respect! – Mom looked at me offended.

– Mom, nobody owes you anything here! We are guests in this country.

– Actually the opposite … – she stopped, and I raised my eyebrows inquiringly, waiting for the continuation. – Okay, let’s have dinner already.

I exhaled exasperatedly, realizing that being here was starting to depress me.

CHAPTER 2

– Will someone explain to me where this all came from? – I was losing my patience as I looked around the huge hall of my parents’ new restaurant, which was getting ready for opening three days later (which I only found out a few hours ago!). – Where did the old restaurant go? Where did the new come from? What’s going on here? Did you get a loan? Contact the mafia? I do not know what to think.

My father stood opposite me and patiently waited for me to tell him all my questions. No replies were received. I took a deep breath and ran a hand over my face.

– Ira, sit down. You need to cool down a bit.

He tried to take my hand, but I lifted it up, looked at him angrily and ran out of the restaurant, hoping to recover, but there was unreal heat on the street and many passers-by. Inhaling the hot air, I closed my eyes, trying to understand what was happening. I do not understand what they are hiding from me. I felt that something was wrong with them, but now I am finally convinced of this.

I stood with my eyes closed, exposing my face to the sun, wanting it to burn all the questions in my head and energize me so that I could calmly understand what was happening. I will not be able to leave my family, knowing that they are hiding something important from me.

– Sorry? Are you okay? I sharply opened my eyes, meeting curious eyes the color of molten chocolate framed by thick black eyelashes.

– Yes, everything is fine – sharper than I wanted, I replied. – If you are in a restaurant, then it is still closed!

I defiantly turned around, not giving the stranger the opportunity to answer, and almost lost my balance, but still managed to confidently enter the restaurant. There was no one in the hall. I grabbed a towel, and, not understanding who I was specifically angry at, I began to wipe the glasses more than necessary. In less than a minute, the door opened, letting in a stream of hot air.

– Excuse me, can I see Yuri Sergeyevich? – I turned to the sound of the voice, having the opportunity to see the visitor.

A young man in an expensive suit of dark blue is most likely sewn to order, since for such a height (two meters, no less) it is almost impossible to find at least something from the clothes in an ordinary store, and even so that she was sitting strictly in shape. Black hair, dark skin, which stands out against the background of a dazzling white shirt. The serious eyes that looked at me a minute ago on the street. A strict facial expression indicating that I am facing a person who occupies a high position in society.

– I can find out the reason why you are looking for Yuri Sergeyevich? – the man smiled slightly, not taking his eyes off me.

– This is about our contract. Tell him that Mr. Ali has come. – an expression appeared in his eyes, as if his name should tell me something. – He will understand.

Without taking my eyes off him, I thundered the glass onto the table, and next to it I threw a rag, turned sharply, and headed for the kitchen.

– Mr. Ali, you see. I found an errand girl. – I continued to walk, gripped by incomprehensible anger. My father was not in the kitchen, and I had to go through all the rooms that I knew, fortunately, I found him in office.

– Dad? Are you here? – I stuck my head in the door.

Father adjusted his glasses on his nose and looked at me, and then returned to the papers on the table.

– Yes, come in. His eyes ran along the lines on paper, and his lips were pursed, which meant that he was thinking deeply about something.

– Some Mr. Ali is looking for you there, – I specifically emphasized the last two words.

Father froze, and then abruptly jumped up, dropping the papers onto the table, started rushing about the room and finally ran out of the office, as if they had burned him with boiling water. What, after all, is happening here? With every minute spent here, I notice more and more oddities. Following my father into the restaurant hall, I watched him rush to Mr. Ali to shake hands and begin to explain something energetically to him. I went to the table closest to them and began to straighten the tablecloth to hear at least something from what they were talking about.

– …of course! As you wish!

– I don’t think that now is the right time for this, but tomorrow I’ll think it’s just right – Mr. Ali looked behind my father’s back, meeting my gaze.

I was noticed, and I had to move away from them, but I saw how my father looked in panic at the interlocutor, who shook his head and began to say something. My father’s ears turned red. It was noticeable that he was nervous, which happened to him extremely rarely. For some time they continued to speak, after which Mr. Ali left.

Despite the fact that I am completely unfamiliar with this person, he evokes in me not very pleasant feelings. Something is unclean here. I wonder if you can hate a person at first sight?

– Girls! My dear, beautiful girls! – Father literally sang every word. Seconds after Mr. Ali left, his panic and nervousness gave way to joyful excitement.

– What? What happened? – Mom left the kitchen and ran up (if you can call it that, given her narrow evening dress) to her father.

– Sit down! Where is Alina? Oh good! Then we’ll tell her everything. Ira, come to us. – He sat us at the same table and began tapping his fingers on it. – In general, tomorrow the whole family is going to a royal reception!

There was silence, explained by numbness and shock, after which the mother cried out and threw herself on her father’s neck.

– Indeed? – father nodded vigorously. – Finally, I have a worthy occasion to demonstrate my evening dress! Oh, you need to call the salon to get us all tomorrow, otherwise Ira looks like she was plowed for a month without stopping.

– Royal what? – I stuttered from shock, I asked. You are crazy? Or are you kidding me?

– We are going to dinner with the king and his family. Tomorrow at seven in the evening. So get ready and behave yourself! Especially you, Ira. – Father poked me with his crooked short finger. – You don’t live here, so you know little, but nothing… I’ll get you up to speed, but now think about looking perfect.

– Dad, can you hear yourself? – I got to my feet, waving my arms. – Which king? What is the reception? Where are we and where is the royal family? – I took a deep breath, trying to calm my heartbeat. – I will not leave this place until you explain to me what is happening here, – I calmly but firmly told them.

Parents looked at each other and returned to their places, and I continued to stand in front of them, arms crossed on my chest.

– We asked for cash assistance from the government of the emirate, and His Majesty Sheikh Amir did not refuse us. – I slowly sat down on a chair, not taking my eyes off my parents. I knew that all this is not just, and, of course, there will be consequences.

– Why on earth should the king of this country help foreigners? I said a little discouraged. “What should you give him in return?”

– We… will return them by installments. – Father answered as if he had borrowed from old friends. – He has a lot of money, so he does not mind. – He looked like nothing terrible had happened. There was silence, which the father first decided to break. – By the way, dear… this month the airport is crowded, so tickets are almost impossible to buy. That’s what I thought about … – he hesitated, and I frowned, not understanding how he could change the subject so suddenly. – I will be near the airport today, so I can reserve you a place, only you… give me your documents.

– How is this related? – From the very first day when I arrived here, I did not stop being angry. – Reception, tickets, documents. – I got to my feet, rummaged in my bag, took out a folder with documents and handed it to my father, and then started looking for a bank card.

– No money needed! – He jumped to his feet, grabbed a purse of money from my hands to close it and return it back to the bag. – I can pay for my daughter’s ticket, so relax and enjoy your stay here.

“I doubt that I will succeed” – I thought, and returned to the table.

Royal welcome. As if I’m now in the 17th, and not in the 21st century. Who invented this and why should I go there? To these two questions, unlike hundreds of others, I received a clear answer. The reception is held in honor of the prince, and I need to be there to “… at least somehow express my respect and gratitude for the invaluable help provided to my family.” With these words, my father took me to sleep last night.

In the morning, my mother did not leave the room, trying to put herself in order (a hairdresser, make-up artist and stylist came to her) in order to prepare, according to her, “for the most important event in her life.” And where did my normal life go? How I want to return to Moscow! There, probably, my faithful friend Romka is waiting for me, not to mention my roommate, and my best friend Lerka. Yes, and it’s time to look for a job already, it’s not in vain that I studied linguist for five years. Lera promised to speak with a friend at a language school and arrange an interview for me. Ah, Lerka! My dear friend. I wonder how are you there? I quickly type her message and go to the shower.

To: Lerusic

“My dear friend, how are you? What’s new?”

In the shower under a stream of hot water I try to relax, but nothing works. Thoughts constantly swarm in my head, and tension and irritation do not leave me. The main thing is to survive this evening, in a few days I will return home, and everything will fall into place. I quickly wrap myself in a bath towel and go from the shower to my room and see a message from a friend that becomes a balm on my soul.

From: Lerusik

“Oh hello slippers! How are you? I’m doing fine, but without you at home green longing!”

“Oh, beauty, not slippers. Stupid auto fix.”  ²

I laugh and quickly type in an answer in which I say that I miss you too and will return home soon. The next two hours I spend on styling, and as a result: perfect curls, collected in a careless beam on the right side, restrained natural makeup and miniature silver earrings with transparent artificial stones that perfectly complement my evening long dress from flowing black satin with lace top and long sleeves. Take a deep breath and put my feet in plain leather ballet flats.

– Darling, we should already leave. – Dad knocked on my door several times, after which it became quiet. I took a deep breath, looked at myself in the mirror for the last time and left the room. My whole family was waiting for me in the living room. Dad was dressed in an expensive tuxedo (he even bothered to tie a bow tie, which is strange, given how he always reacted negatively to such things), mom was dressed in a milk-colored silk evening dress, floor-length, and Alina looked amazing in an emerald dress, emphasizing her green eyes and blond hair, burnt out in the sun.

– My gorgeous girls. Real diamonds! – exclaimed the father.

Together we went out into the street where Azat was waiting for us, got into a car and drove in an unknown direction to me.