Cairo - Joys and Tears - Chapter 10

After condolence days, Nashaat brought Fayza and Malak to live with him in Cairo. The fourteen-year old Malak feared the change especially that she knew that Nashaat would marry. She liked Samiah but the effect of the Egyptian movies that ruined the image of the in laws especially female ones made her fear the new arrangements. Malak was twenty five years old and was happy that she would live in Cairo. She had artistic talents and she hoped someone would observe her drawings one day. Nashaat turned down Abd El-Aziz and Farida´s request that the girls live with them.

´I don´t know why you refuse that the girls live with their sister?´ Aziz asked.

´Aziz, you´re a brother. But girls should live with me. Don´t forget that Fayza is a young lady and Malak is a teenager. Sometimes decisiveness might be needed. You may hesitate to give them instructions and Farida is not decisive at all,´ Nashaat said. He thought for a second then added, ´I´d like you to be with me when I talk to Soliman about these new arrangements. When I proposed to him it was supposed that Samiah wouldn´t live with my sisters.´

´I think he would support you. Don´t forget that he brought Samiah to live with him after their father died,´ Aziz said.

´I should talk to Samiah as well,´ Nashaat said.

Both Samiah and Soliman welcomed the idea. Samiah thought that the presence of the girls with her might reduce Roh´s trial to control her life. Roh welcomed the idea much as she felt that these arrangements restrict the privacy of the new bride and groom.

´I think we have to do something for the girls to take them out of the depressing mood,´ Roh said.

´It would be appropriate if we waited for sometime,´ Nashaat said.

´Malak is too young to wear black for one year. She has to feel that Cairo means happier life for her or she would be imprisoned in her sadness for a long time,´ Roh said.

´Let´s women do that job, Roh and Farida could arrange some days out and they may take them to cinemas. Let´s meet here everyday so that girls go out,´ Soliman said. He looked at his sister and added, ´it would be a good opportunity that Samiah and your sisters know each other better.´

´I think I should find a wider place. I´ll start tomorrow to see apartments in Heliopolis. But I want to talk to Samiah in private please,´ Nashaat said. They went to the balcony and it took few minutes and they returned smiling.

´How come Nashaat thinks that I have objections to his sisters living with me,´ Samiah said.

´You shouldn´t have asked her,´ Roh said. "Any good wife should be proud of her husband when he does the right thing.´

´But, I think that it will be her life and she should tell freely that she accepts the new arrangements,´ he said.

´You are a gentleman Nashaat,´ Soliman said.

´Of course he is,´ Samiah said while looking at Roh from an angle of her eyes.

When Serag knew that Nashaat was trying to find a larger apartment he phoned him.

´Hello, Nashaat,´ Serag started. ´Don´t you consider me a friend or what?´ Serag said.

´Of course, you´re one of my best friends. I never forget your services during the elections. Has something happened in the Parliament?´ Nashaat said.

´No, everything is okay as long as our sincere members are there. But you had to tell me that you want a larger apartment. Of course, Colonel Soliman cannot ask his colleagues for a favor for his brother in law. You had to give me the chance to do that. After all we don´t forget our sincere persons,´ Serag said.

´I should be most grateful if you find me one,´ Nashaat said.

´I found one. It is few meters away from Colonel Aziz´s apartment. You sisters can go to Madam Farida at anytime as it would take a two-minute walk. It is a governmental property. The owner was one of the corrupted politicians that the revolution confiscated their property. You just come tomorrow to my office and you sign the contract. I´ll arrange for moving your furniture and everything after painting it. I´ll send a decor specialist to supervise painting. It will take two weeks to finish it,´ Serag said.

´Thank you Mr. Serag,´ Nashaat said.

´It is my duty to serve sincere people and don´t forget that the bride is sister of one of our heroes,´ Serag said.

After Nashaat married Samiah, there were no problems regarding the relations between Samiah and the two girls. The main problem was that Nashaat sometimes listened to Roh´s opinions. This made some arguments between him and his wife. Moreover, Samiah became pregnant while Roh had two miscarriages.

Fayza started to socialize herself in Heliopolis Sporting Club and drew some pictures that showed her talent. She asked Nashaat to have drawing lessons who in turn asked Hassan Al-Sheikh to find one. Hassan told Serag who asked him to send Kamal Abd El-Wahid. The security gay liked to put everybody in trouble when needed. Hassan introduced Kamal, a young teacher. Kamal´s dreams were greater than being a teacher in governmental schools. He saw himself a talented artist who one day may make a breakthrough. He was a communist and a hardliner and that was the cause that Serag wanted him to know Nashaat. One day he might use this as card to press on Nashaat. Letting a communist enter his home was something serious then days. The Political Police arrested Kamal several times. He saw the new revolutionary regime another unjust system that tried to deceive workers and farmers for the sake of the bourgeoisies. He falsely thought that Hassan was a sincere communist.

Nashaat´s business was so successful that he thought about having a branch in Syria or the Northern Province as its name was changed after union with Egypt. What encouraged him was that Aziz was sent there. He arranged for a trip to see conditions there. Roh asked Soliman to visit her brother and her sister in law Farida there and he agreed. Roh knew about Nashaat´s trip when he was discussing the matter with Soliman who encouraged him to do. Samiah had no idea about Nashaat´s plans. When Nashaat returned home it was late. Samiah was in her eighth pregnant month.

´Are you going to Damascus?´ she asked.

´Yes, but, after you give birth. I cannot leave you pregnant in your last months alone,´ he said.

´Roh plans to go there,´ she said.

´I have no idea about that. Even if she plans to fly to Damascus, this is none of my business,´ he said.

´She plans to go with you. She asked Soliman to visit Aziz and Farida and when he agreed she phoned me to ask me if I need anything from Damascus,´ she was crying.

´First you have to know that the main problem between me and my father; May God bless his soul, was because I refused to marry Roh. I don´t like to talk about it but I think time has come that you should know the story. Roh is a sister and nothing more. Even I don´t like her interferences and sometimes I wonder why don´t you stop her but I think that you don´t want to angry Soliman,´ he said. He thought for a while then added, ´tomorrow you phone Roh and tell her that will accompany me and we decided that Aziz and Farida may not have enough place for us all so that we´ll stay in hotel while she stays at them. I think Farida will be happy when she sees our kid.´

´We cannot leave the girls here alone,´ she said.

´Then, we´ll take them with us,´ he said.

´This´ll cost much,´ she said.

´I don´t care about money. I never cared about it. It was my dream to make this business. You know that we have enough money. What is important is that you should not be angry. And please don´t talk about Roh more. You may stop her. However, my sincere advice is that you should not angry your brother so be diplomat when you handle the matter,´ he said.

´I´ll go to tell Malak and Fayza that we will go to Syria,´ she said smiling.

Nashaat was in his office with a client wanted to buy big amount of his products to export them to Europe. It was a good opportunity for him to let the world know his factories´ products. While he was negotiating the discount to encourage the client to take a big amount, he heard arguments between his secretary and a woman. The sound of the woman was not strange. He contacted the secretary through the Dictaphone and knew the voice. It was Roh´s.

´Madam, please he is in an important meeting. Just wait for five minutes,´ he heard the secretary.

Roh did not respond. She opened the door and entered into the office.

´You may wait five minutes until we finish,´ Nashaat said decisively.

´I think we finished. I agree to your terms Mr. Nashaat,´ the businessman said.

When the client left she smiled and said, ´sorry, but I thought you are sitting with a woman.´

´I´m married now. I don´t mix work with pleasure,´ he said.

´You still have some adventures,´ she asked.

´Of course not,´ he said.

´I think I have to take care of my sister in law Samiah,´ she said.

´I see,´ he replied indifferently.

´Could you tell me why you´ll take Samiah and the girls to Damascus?´ she asked.

He asked the secretary not to let anybody into the office.

´Tell her that she has to let me in without delay,´ she said.

´Then I´m going to tell her not to do her job. It is her duty to arrange my schedules,´ he said.

´I´m above your schedules,´ she said. ´Now let me know why you are taking the girls and Samiah. She´ll have a baby and it would be difficult to enjoy the trip and take care of the baby.´ She lit a cigarette and crossed her legs while puffing smoke into his face.

´First time I know that you smoke,´ he said.

´Now you knew,´ she said.

´Farida has the right to see the baby,´ he did not tell her that Samiah was angry that both of them would travel together. ´The girls will be happy because they will spend sometime with Farida.´

´And Samiah will be happy that we won´t be alone,´ she laughed.

´You´re crazy. You´ll take us to a very dangerous path,´ he said.

´I´m not the Wafd Party or the project that you had argued with your father about it. You refused everything when he tried to set plans for your life. You forget that I was special. If you married me I would set plans and your father would agree to what you wanted to do,´ she stood up. She stared into his eyes and said, ´I´ll ask Soliman for a divorce.´

´Are you crazy?´ he said annoyingly.

´I can´t stay until he takes a second wife. I was at my gynecologist. He told me that after the two miscarriages, it would be impossible to have a baby as I have an infantile uterus.´ She cried and added, ´I couldn´t go anywhere but here to talk to you. I know I was rude with your secretary but I wanted to talk to you.´

´You may go to Europe. Medicine there is more advanced,´ he took her between his arms. His tears fell.

´You cry for me Nashaat,´ she said. She wore her black glasses and they left together. Before leaving she said softly to the secretary, ´sorry.´

He drove the car without having an idea about the destination.

´Go to Mina House at Pyramids,´ she said while sitting beside him in his car.

´Why Mina House?´ he asked.

´Sometimes the revolutionaries have lunch in Hilton. Today Soliman is in a meeting in the command-ship,´ she said.

They had lunch in Mina House Hotel. He asked her not tell Soliman about the divorce. She insisted that she would tell her husband that she was infertile.