Walking into the research center, Khaled could feel the tension seeping out of him. The calm familiarity of the academic environment made him realize just how much stress he had been under. At the palace, he was always the Sheikh Mirza. Servants were deferential, councillors were insistent and demanding, and his father was patient but remorseless as he instructed Khaled in matters of state. Through it all, he was conscious of how little he knew about the politics of his nation and how ill equipped he was to rule his people. But here his colleagues were eager to show him their latest work and discuss their ideas with him, because he knew what he was talking about. The respect they showed him was no accident of birth. As a scientist, he’d earned his position and that felt good.
Olivia followed him round the labs, showing interest in everything and asking intelligent questions of the researchers. Over lunch, she joined easily in the mocking banter they traditionally subjected him to.
“He’s only a part-time scientist,” Tim, the lead scientist on the field project, said to her. “A layabout compared to the rest of us.”
“Really?” Her eyes sparkled. “I suppose he gets you to do all the work while he takes the credit?”
“Exactly.” Tim grinned.
“Ignore him,” Khaled said. “He’s only jealous because no one’s interested in his precious little sea urchins.”
“Actually, Nature is publishing my article in the July issue.”
“Hey, that’s great. Well done.” It all helped, not only by raising awareness of their work here, but also with the continued funding of the center.
“What’s the article about?” Olivia asked, but Tim had no chance to answer because one of the research assistants burst into the common room.
“It’s Carrie! And it’s twins, but they’re healthy.”
“Who’s Carrie?” Olivia asked Khaled amidst the general outcry of celebration.
“It’s your lucky day.” He grinned down at her. “She’s one of our dugongs. She’s just given birth.”
“Baby dugongs?”
“They still don’t have the cute factor,” he said teasingly.
“I don’t care. Can I see them?”
“Of course.”
After lunch they walked the short distance to the reserved swamp, careful to keep in the shade. He showed Olivia into the hide, a glass-fronted hut built into the swamp as an observation station. Carrie’s keeper gave them a brief nod of acknowledgment, then turned her gaze back on to the ugly creatures in her care.
“All well?” he asked.
“Amazing,” Annie, the keeper, said.
“Come here.” Khaled indicated a small stool for Olivia to sit on. “It’ll take a minute for your eyes to grow accustomed.”
He knelt beside her and pointed out Carrie’s murky outline in the shallow water.
“Where are the babies?” she whispered.
“There. See?” He indicated the two small humps attached to Carrie’s teats. “They’re feeding.”
“Feeding well,” the keeper said with some pride. “She’s a natural.”
“Where’s the father?”
Annie smothered a chuckle. Khaled shook his head ruefully. “Nowhere to be seen. And to be honest, it’s impossible to know who the father is. When the females are in heat, all the males have a go, I’m afraid.”
“Poor babies. They deserve a better father than that.”
He laid a hand discreetly on her knee. She was thinking of her own childhood, he was sure.
“They’re fine. Dugong females are the best mothers. She’ll look after the calves for years until they learn to fend for themselves.”
“They’ll have to learn quickly.”
“They will. That’s how things work in the natural world. Survival of the fittest.”
“Not just in the natural world. In business, too.”
“True. People can be as ruthless as any force of nature.”
“Yes, but we have more choices. Less excuses.”
He squeezed her knee gently. “Let’s not talk about that now.”
They watched in silence for a few minutes. The calves finished their feed and fell asleep instantly.
“They’re beautiful,” she whispered.
“You may be the only person on the planet who thinks so.” Annie raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, maybe there are two of you.”