Time to leave

When the silence arrived, Laila scraped her throat before she not so smoothly changed the subject of her conversation with Steve by saying, "Speaking of your recovery, I wonder how it will fare Maria. Being your nurse for the next few weeks and all.". Her words were followed by some awkward laughter, while Steve let out a genuine chuckle. "Well, that wasn't quite the topic we were talking about, but very well. I don't mind any chance of talking about my sweet Maria. I for one think she will do wonderfully, don't you?"

Again, Laila laughed a bit awkwardly before she said, "Yeah. I suppose she will do fine in taking care of you, but I do wonder how she will take care of her work. I remember her telling me that she had used up all of her days off. So, how is she able to stay here for three more weeks to take care of you? Did she discuss any of that with you?" Steve looked a bit confused and with a hint of worry on his face he asked, "She finished up all of her days…? What are you trying to say here? That she is taking on unpaid leave?" Laila glanced away as she hesitantly said, "Well…Not exactly. She tried to take unpaid leave but they rejected her request." Steve's expression turned serious and with slightly furrowed brows he asked, "So, how is she able to stay here then?" Laila looked back at Steve and said, "That was the question I asked myself as well. Then, as we were cooking dinner, I decided to ask Maria directly and I think you should ask her as well. I wasn't sure if I should bring it up or not and what I should tell you, if and when I did decide to speak to you on her behalf. But in the end, I feel that she should be the one telling you the truth. Not me."

Steve nodded and stared in the distance as he said, "Thank you for telling me this much and making me aware that I have been a bit too blissfully unaware of things. I have a pretty good idea of what has happened, but I'll be sure to ask Maria myself directly and take action accordingly." "I'm glad you understand.", Laila responded. "That is all I intended to do. Make you aware that Maria is trying to do everything on her own as she always has. She tends to not want to be a burden to anyone and tries to solve all her problems and carry all the burden on her own. There is a chance that she will try and deny everything. Pretend nothing is wrong. But if she does, I'll be happy to fill you in at that point. For now however, it just doesn't feel quite right. I think it might just cause her to pull back even more and that won't help anyone in the current situation."

Soon the dishes were washed, and conversations had been had, making Maria and Noah return to the living room. Maria walked in with a big smile, but Noah's expression showed that it was just her pretending nothing was wrong and that nothing had happened in the kitchen. Laila became a bit concerned after seeing the look on her husband's face but decided to ignore it for the moment as this was not the time to address it. This was confirmed by Noah instantly putting on a smile when he noticed Laila's look of concern and taking a seat next to her.

Maria too looked at Steve with a curious look on her face, as his facial expression brought up some questions as well, but just like Noah, he quickly put on a smile and pretended that nothing was going on. Just like that the friends chatted for a bit more as they shared a cup of tea, when little Dominic announced that it was time to leave. Laila let out a big yawn and quickly apologised, but the hint had been received. Noah got up and said, "I guess that our cue to leave has arrived. My dear wife has gotten tired, so I think it is best that we head home. I imagine you two must be tired as well and have plenty to take care of on the first day here. All your stuff is still in suitcases and if I don't give Steve some alone time with you, he will hold it against me forever I think." After saying that last sentence Noah chuckled and Laila did too, while Maria blushed a little.

Steve laughed a little before he said, "If you know, you should have left sooner. At least your son has some self-awareness and tells you when it is time to leave, as you are completely oblivious about it on your own." Noah just chuckled and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I am leaving already. Besides, children are supposed to surpass their parents, so hearing you say that only makes me happy as my son is surpassing me already before he is even born. Even if it is on a matter like this."