How Green Becomes Wood

"I came over from Egypt to attend boarding school when I was fourteen," Daizi replied, "a year after my now-husband came from Iraq. I think it would have been around 2006? But I went back before my senior year here, and probably would have stayed if my now-husband hadn't come to bring me back to him. All of my family is still in Cairo, or," she lay her left hand on her stomach, the light glinting off of her wedding ring, "almost all of my family." Of course, she included the twins and Cooger in that, but she couldn't really gesture in a way to include them properly. She supposed she could of modified her statement to be almost all her Arab family was still in Cairo, but she wasn't one to divulge her entire life story to strangers, and having to explain their complicated dynamic didn't seem particularly necessary.

Daizi turned her head slightly, letting her hair fall further to the side, and then added, "So our family is much less established here than either of yours--but my line back home dates back to Ancient Times, and my husband may well be the first person in all his line to leave Iraq."
 
"Egypt is a lovely place," Mrs. Fletcher sighed. "My husband and I, rest his soul, went over there once for our fifteenth anniversary. The tour guide was absolutely dreadful! Truly awful, but the land was so beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous! We always said we'd go back one day." She sounded a little wistful at that. Then she reached out and patted Daizi's elbow. "Never leave things until too late, my dear! There will never be enough time or money or anything else. One must learn to make time and be thrifty so that you can do something now and not later. It is such an old-person thing to say, but it is true."

"You are certainly not an old person, darling," Sally assured her.

Mrs. Fletcher twittered in amusement. "And you are far too sweet for your own good, dear."

"Egypt, Egypt, is that the great wall or the pyramids?" Mr. Thompson asked, genuinely bewildered.
 
"I'll keep that in mind," Daizi said softly, thinking about how she and Dark had almost missed out on their 'baby-moon' had the twins not intervened. Her left hand, still resting where it had been, gave a few sweet strokes. Then she smiled a tiny private smile, before turning to Mr. Thompson. The question surprised her, but she wasn't cruel or patronizing about it, "Egypt has the Pyramids. China is the one with the Great Wall. I've not visited that one," She turned back towards Mrs. Fletcher, "not because I've been putting it off, don't worry. Although now I might be, I've got two foster boys at home, and international travel with them in complicated, and one is extremely anxious about going anywhere away from home. And I wouldn't trust getting on a plane myself anytime soon---I was supposed to speak at a conference in Nova Scotia this October, but I've had to cancel it, it just seems like too much of a risk."
 
"Well, dear, you must do what you feel is best for your baby," Mrs. Fletcher told her, "and it is good to listen to the advice of your doctor, but don't forget: no one knows your body like you. If you feel you cannot fly even if other people tell you you can, as an example, then don't fly. There is no shame in it. Just the opposite, in fact." She smiled warmly and gave Daizi's hand the softest, gentlest of pats with her warm, dry hand that smelled slightly of scented lotion. "You are going to be a lovely mother."

"Anxious not to leave home, eh?" Mr. Thompson said, squinting at her. "That's unfortunate. Of course, you don't want to pressure the poor lad too much, but sometimes the best way to overcome a mind fear like that is to do exactly what the mind is telling you not to do. Maybe suggest that to him, hmm? Young boys love to see new things!"

"But here we are, two old fossils lecturing you on how to do things when you clearly are already doing a fine job," Mrs. Thopson tutted. "Don't mind old fogies like us, dear. Old people like us like to advise and lecture because it makes us feel useful. Our society as a whole is not very good at making us feel useful, so we find our own ways and get into all sorts of trouble." She smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "We should move on and let you two continue your rounds."
 
Daizi nodded, feeling very young again while chatting with these two. It was nice, with her own family member an ocean away, she sometimes felt a bit starved for guidance, now that her life had been thrown so far off balance (although it did seem to have resettled, or come close to it), "We're talking about the possibility of having me speak virtually, and have my boss stand in for me..." Daizi paused to push back all of the immediate emotions at simply being told she'd be a lovely mother. Mrs. Fletcher didn't even qualify it or treat it like it was some remarkable feat.

When she felt she had successfully mastered herself, she went on, "And it is sad that he is afraid of it. I think next year we might plan a little weekend trip somewhere, try to acclimate him to it. And really, it's quite alright, you've not overstepped yourselves any. But, yes, I wouldn't want to force Sally to linger here, I'm sure she's got an untold number of people she still needs to meet with. Right?" Daizi asked, turning towards her friend and gently taking her arm once more.
 
"Yes, I am afraid so, though none of them as interesting as you two dear," Sally smiled. "Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Fletcher, it was a pleasure to see you again! We really must get together sometime when it is not all fancy dresses and uncomfortable shoes."

"Yes, we absolutely must!" Mrs. Fletcher smiled. "I do so enjoy your flattery."

"Just because it is flattery does not mean that is not true!" Sally returned happily.

"It was good to meet you, Daisy, absolutely wonderful. You tell your young man he has quite a catch!" Mr. Thopson told Daizi with a wink.

"I believe she said it was 'Daizi,' not 'Daisy," Mrs. Fletcher pointed out to him.

The pair said their goodbyes and shuffled off happily, already commenting on what lovely people Sally and Daizi were before they were out of earshot.

"I hope to someday have a friend and be like them when I am old," Sally admitted to Daizi as she watched them go.
 
"It was lovely meeting you both too," Daizi replied, "and don't worry--He knows. He, well, he absolutely refuses to let me forget." She sighed happily, leaning slightly against Sally, and after listening to what the older pair had been saying as they walked off, told Sally, "I hope so too. I've said for years I can't wait for that stage in my life. Although, now I'm much more willing to wait for it, because I don't want my daughter or the twins to grow up too quickly... Although with the twins, it's inevitable, since they're already fifteen, so we've got only three years before they're adults."

Daizi paused, listening to the sounds in the room, and then asked, "So, who is next? How many people are here, anyway? It sounds very crowded."
 
"I have no idea how many people are here," Sally admitted, glancing around. "They keep mulling about and mingling so much that I cannot keep an accurate count. However, there are only three more people that I am duty-bound to talk to, and as luck would have it, they are all standing together in a group not far from the buffet table. I do not know about you, but my feet could use a rest, and I am getting rather hungry. Let's see how short of a hello we can keep this before we go and sit down with something to eat."

The three Sally indicated were all long-winded professors of their subject, though none of them had done any hands-on work in said field for nearly a decade, meaning they were a good deal out of touch with what went on and the technological advances. They were only too happy to speak to Sally, and she smiled and nodded and made the appropriate responses while they went on about "their day" and told her all sorts of interesting facts and shared knowledge as if she were a simple student. One of them went so far as to congratulate her for getting as far as she had and how excellent that was for a woman. Sally just smiled and nodded and thanked him demurely, though every muscle in the arm Daizi's hand rested on was as tense as steel bands. Daizi they ignored entirely after politely welcoming her. Finally, they drifted off to other topics, and Sally was able to excuse herself and guide Daizi toward the tables.

"You would think I was the one who worked in a museum with those dinosaurs around," she grumbled. "Thankfully, none of the men I work directly with are like that, but I have half a mind to donate those three to some sort of exhibit."
 
"I'm starving," She admitted quietly, and it went without saying her feet hurt, and so she followed Sally to the last few people she needed to meet. It didn't offend her much to be ignored, and she was more offended by the way they were speaking to Sally. Not wanting to say anything to cause trouble, she just lightly set her hand on Sally's, so let her know she empathized.

At the end, she shook her head and said, "Don't stick them on the paleontologists, they have enough to deal with. And it'll just further the rivalry. And if they go to the archaeologists, then my life will be more bothersome because I work so closely with the archaeologists."
 
Sally chuckled softly, quickly relaxing as she walked with Daizi to the buffet. "Thank you, truly, for coming, Daizi," she said softly. "It means a lot to me. Not only did you save me from embarrassment by being my date, you also give me so much support. This event is bearable with you here. I am looking forward to going home and soaking in a hot bath, but, first... let us see here. Mini sandwiches, mini cake pieces, mini pie pieces, mini meats on mini skewers... everything is so small! I suppose so you don't get caught having taken a big bite and have to chew awkwardly before you can answer a question. What tickles your fancy?"
 
Daizi paused for half a second, and then gently squeezed Sally's arm, "No, of course. Sally, I understand exactly the sort of hell dealing with some of these people can be. The social sciences are more accepting of women, but you still meet a lot of chauvanists, and I'm disabled, which means I meet people who aren't sexist but still am surprised that I made it this far and are exceptionally patronizing about it. So I couldn't leave you to do it alone, I never could."

She turned towards the food table, although she couldn't see it, and said, "I do miss hot baths. I'm limited to warm. But I suppose to start... the sandwiches amd the fancy party equivalent of kebabs? As much as I want to eat exclusive dessert forever, it's probably not the healthiest choice."
 
"I'll tell you what," Sally said in amusement, "I'll make you a plate of the so-called healthy stuff first, and then you can eat as much of the so-called unhealthy stuff after that. It's good for the soul, after all! I'll do that, as well, mainly so that I can follow your good example and not stuff my face with cake." She fetched two plates, telling Daizi what each thing was as she set them on the plates. Some things, she had no name for, but they looked tasty. Then she guided them both toward a table and reasonably comfortable chairs.
 
"That sounds like a plan," Daizi replied, "I wouldn't mind normally, eating the desserts first. It's a day out, right? So it's okay to not eat like you would on a normal day, but I'm trying to make sure she stays healthy and gets all the nutrients she needs. I neglected that enough during the first trimester when I couldn't eat anything."

She followed Sally to the chairs, and sat down to eat her dinner, "I wonder what our families are doing right now. Is Peter good at making his own dinner or did you tell him to order something in?"
 
"He'll have ordered something in by now," Sally told Daizi. "Likely something with shrimp. He adores shrimp! He has since he was little. It was a struggle to get him to eat anything else, things most other kids would love to eat. Then I believe he said he was going to watch an old movie he's been meaning to watch for some time now." She picked up one of the tiny canapes. "How about your two teens? Is Xander still cooking? Or will your Mr. Dark make something for them?"
 
"Alec has never tried shrimp, we learned that recently, so now we need to come up with some shrimp dish for him. Peter is more than welcome to come that day, when we finally introduce the twins to shellfish. I'm not sure if it'll Dark or Xander who is cooking tonight. They trade off, I try to do it on the weekends. But everyone in that house is convinced if I stand for five minutes my health will never recover, so I've been doing less around the house, which I kind of hate because it makes me feel like I'm not pulling my weight." Daizi shrugged, shifting in her chair. Under her breath she mumbled something unintelligible as she did so, and then she straightened her dress and ate a bit before saying, "and I know if I said that they'd give some line about how I am pulling my weight because I'm growing a person and that's just so much more work than folding towels or cooking dinner. Well, all of them except for Xander, who is too horrified by all of it to ever acknowledge it as bluntly as that."
 
Sally chuckled softly. "I can imagine where you are coming from, truly, I can, but, in truth, I didn't really have that kind of focused attention on me so often, and when I did..." she leaned closer, "I took full, unabashed advantage of it. I loved it!" she whispered in glee. She sat back and continued, "And then Peter was born, and for the first month or so, I never wanted for helping hands, but then the novelty wore off for other people and they had to return to their daily lives." She raised her glass to Daizi "It might be driving you insane right now, Darling, but I say enjoy it while it lasts! Because for now, all eyes are on you, but when the baby is born, all eyes are going to be on her."
 
Daizi chuckled lightly, leaning a bit closer in towards Sally, "I've never liked being fussed over. I hate people acting like I can't do anything, even though I know that they're not trying to behave that way. It's important for me to remain self-sufficient... I ask for help when I need it, I just wish..." She sighed, shaking her head, "I guess I probably shouldn't complain about my family being too helpful. And I don't really care if everyone only looks at her after she's born... I've been waiting to meet her, or someone like her, for thirteen years. Or, fourteen now, I suppose. She deserves to be the star when she finally makes her debut."
 
"I suppose self-sufficiency would be far more important to someone in your situation than for someone like me," Sally agreed, "though, if I may stick my foot where it likely doesn't belong, there is a difference between someone who thinks you cannot do something, and someone who shows their love for you that way. It's not that they don't think you can, far from it, the idea likely never crossed their mind, it's that they want to because it makes them feel good about contributing. It's more about them than you, if you think about it. There are only so many ways a person can show their support other than just blathering 'I support you' a bunch of times during the say." She took a sip of her drink. "But, then again, I wouldn't have the faintest idea of what it is like to live like you every single day. I only know that I so dearly love being pampered. It really is a fault of mine, you know, and as such, I have a hard time believing that others don't enjoy it, too."
 
"I know, I know," She sighed, temporarily dropping her head, "I try to tell myself that when I get frustrated. But I feel like... If they want to show their love to me, I'd rather they do it in a way that doesn't stress me out. It'd be like if this baby and the boys decided to show their love for Dark by fingerpainting the wall. It comes from a place of love, it just doesn't make you feel... Well." Daizi finished the last bit of her food and then sat back, folding her hands, "They've been a bit better about it, anyway. Or they try to be, I know they're trying. It's just difficult, since I'm high risk and it's all gone wrong in the past. But she's doing really well, and I feel good, or as good as anyone does, and Dark knows that but it's hard to get the twins to understand it, since Xander--according to Dark-- acts like he's about to faint anytime I mention my pregnancy."
 
Sally tried very, very hard to hide the fact that she wanted to laugh at the idea of Xander fainting at the idea of pregnancy. She gave herself a moment, her face perfectly composed, and finally said, "That is a difficult situation," she agreed. "I am glad to hear they are trying, but it is a difficult situation. I suppose it could be worse. It could be Dark encouraging you to sit and put your feet up and not bend or sit or lift or literally anything. I have a girlfriend back home who's husband was like that with their first. She told me it was so nice and sweet for about two weeks. By the end of the second trimester, she had to leave the house on multiple occasions just to keep from attempted murder. Of course, that does not necessarily help your situation, but it makes me smile every time because once he told her she shouldn't be outside 'in this weather' when it was sixty-eight and sunny with only a hint of a breeze."
 
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