Koolaids by Alameddine Rabih Page A

the boys to? He can’t take them to the office.”
    â€œHe has an apartment at Ramlel Baida. Much better than the one you live in. I can show you photographs if you want.”
    â€œYou have photographs of my husband having sex with boys?” He roared with laughter again.
    â€œI wish. Those would he fun to look at. No, I have pictures of the boys getting into the apartment building. They are all under seventeen, in case you’re interested.”
    â€œThen you can’t prove anything. They are just rumors. They are just old rumors.”
    â€œSamia, look at me,” he said gently. “Your husband fucks little boys. Not only that, he provides young boys for his friends to fuck as well. He has been doing that for twenty years. Who do you think brought all the boys to Arafat all those years back? Why do you think the Syrian brass like him so much?”
    â€œThat is just a rumor.”
    â€œOkay. Okay. You still haven’t answered my question. Why did you marry that fat . . . prick? How many years older is he? Thirty?”
    â€œTwenty-six. And it is none of your business. Obviously you think you know more about my marriage than I do. Make up your own answers.”
    â€œIt can’t be the money. Your family is rich. It can’t be connections. Twelve years ago, he was nothing but a small-time pimp. We know it can’t be the sex. What would make a beautiful eighteen-year old marry a fucking asshole like Marchi?”
    She pulled her purse and stood up. “It is none of your fucking business,” she said angrily. “I want to go home. You can kill me now, otherwise I am just walking out of here and going home.”
    He was smiling again. “I’ll have a driver take you. He could drop you at your house. He’ll cross over at the Franciscaine.”
    â€œNo, thank you. I would rather walk.”
    â€œNo, you would not,” he laughed. “My driver will take you. He can get you to your house in fifteen minutes. It’s much easier.” “Fine. Fine. I just want to get out of here.”
    â€œI want to see you again.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI want to see you again.” He was standing beside her at the door.
    â€œYou are sick,” she said. “You are very sick. I would rather die. You are very sick.”
    â€œI assume your husband is not having sex with you—”
    â€œYou are a sick man,” she interrupted him. “I want to get out of here.”
    â€œBut if he does touch you again, I will personally cross over and kill him myself.”
    â€œYou are a sick man.”
    â€œMy name is Nicola Akra, by the way, but you can call me Nick.” He smiled.
    The heat was stifling as she left the building.
    â€¦
    Subject: Charges against Nicole Ballan
    beirut , Lebanon—A lawsuit against the former beauty queen and her boyfriend was filed by the State Prosecutor. The couple are charged with filming a homemade porno movie. Two other men are charged as well with the distribution of the film. If found guilty of making the film with the intent of selling it, both parties face sentences of one year in jail.
    Nicole is a beauty, one of those extraordinarily beautiful Lebanese girls. The boyfriend has such a big penis, even the straight men have no compunction talking about it. The film became the centerpiece of Lebanese conversation for a hell of a long time. A couple decides to give the public what they want and their lives are ruined in the process. Nicole had modeling contracts with a couple of French firms who withdrew their offers when the scandal erupted. She was also unable to get a visa to any European country. She is stuck in Lebanon. She opened a store in the Zouk, a northern suburb in Beirut, selling abbayes. Nobody wears abbayes much these days, and those that do wear them only as house robes, yet her small store has a line of men desperately trying to get in and buy something. They come from all over