steal my son.”
Noora mouthed a silent “ah.”
Hessa recovered the caw of her voice. “For my son to be deprived of Aisha’s goodness would be a tragedy. You understand that, don’t you?”
Noora nodded.
“A man must get married to his own people, his kin. If he doesn’t, he would just be asking for trouble.” The flicker thathad grazed Hessa’s eyes just moments earlier was gone, and now she was staring at Noora with the cold blackness of night.
Noora nodded again.
“And the woman who doesn’t take account of this simple rule is not worthy of respect.”
That afternoon, as they sat side by side at the edge of the pool, Noora told Rashid about her meeting with Hessa. “It was the strangest thing. She complimented me first, said my skin was like honey, and then she suddenly changed and gave me these nasty looks.”
“Well, women can’t be expected to be as reasonable as men. Their minds work differently.”
Noora twiddled her toes in the water and searched for the hidden wisdom in what he had just said.
“And a mother’s feelings are always different. Special.”
That she agreed with, but she still wanted to know why Hessa had thrown those accusing looks at her. “It was as if she were blaming me for something. And I didn’t know what it was. Have you heard of any rumors? Do you know this woman?”
Rashid’s laugh sounded forced. Still, it brought a smile to her face.
“It’s not funny,” she teased.
“No, but you’re funny. You probably imagined the whole thing.”
“No—”
He cut her off. “Look, I don’t want to talk about who said what and why. I hear that all day. I want to talk about you and me.”
“What’s there to say?” Noora had told him all the details of her life already.
“Well, you know how I feel about you.”
She kept quiet. Talk like that brought out the weakness in her. Dunked under the pebbles, her big toes squished the smaller toes.
“I think about you all the time. I can’t eat properly or do anything.”
She did not enjoy the lack of control she experienced when he spoke that way, but there was nothing she could do about it. She fingered the edges of her shayla and twirled complicated shapes into it.
“I dream about you every night after I leave you. Then, when the sun comes up, I can’t wait to see you again.”
She pulled her knees to her chest, trying to control the tiny tremors that were spreading from her inside to her outside. She had to speak quickly, change the subject. Fixing her eyes to the middle of the pool in front of her, she said, “ Masha’ Allah , you people are so lucky. You don’t need to worry about water.”
Rashid grunted and flopped on an elbow. “No one knows about this place.”
“Yes, but if there’s a long drought, you’d share it.”
He grunted again. “This is my place and I show it to whomever I choose.”
“This is God’s place and His blessing, and it should be shared.”
“There is no need. There’s enough water in the village well.”
“Yes, but with all this water that’s always being filled, you can build a falaj system. Just think, all those carved channels to feed your crops. You’ll never go hungry. And not just that, you can grow so many other things.”
“No!”
“You’re just saying that,” she persisted. “You don’t really mean it.”
“Stop talking about water! It’s here and it’s mine. And that’s it.”
All the little shakes and quakes that had spread to her limbs dissolved. How could his sweet words turn bitter so quickly?
Then his gentleness returned just as abruptly. “I don’t want to talk about water,” he said. “I want to talk about you—about us.”
It was better to stay quiet, just listen.
“I care about you.”
Her fingers sat stiff on her thighs. Under the pebbles in the water, her toes felt cold.
“I care about you,” he repeated. “I want to marry you.”
For the next few days, Noora was busy preparing Aisha’s bridal dress.
Noora mouthed a silent “ah.”
Hessa recovered the caw of her voice. “For my son to be deprived of Aisha’s goodness would be a tragedy. You understand that, don’t you?”
Noora nodded.
“A man must get married to his own people, his kin. If he doesn’t, he would just be asking for trouble.” The flicker thathad grazed Hessa’s eyes just moments earlier was gone, and now she was staring at Noora with the cold blackness of night.
Noora nodded again.
“And the woman who doesn’t take account of this simple rule is not worthy of respect.”
That afternoon, as they sat side by side at the edge of the pool, Noora told Rashid about her meeting with Hessa. “It was the strangest thing. She complimented me first, said my skin was like honey, and then she suddenly changed and gave me these nasty looks.”
“Well, women can’t be expected to be as reasonable as men. Their minds work differently.”
Noora twiddled her toes in the water and searched for the hidden wisdom in what he had just said.
“And a mother’s feelings are always different. Special.”
That she agreed with, but she still wanted to know why Hessa had thrown those accusing looks at her. “It was as if she were blaming me for something. And I didn’t know what it was. Have you heard of any rumors? Do you know this woman?”
Rashid’s laugh sounded forced. Still, it brought a smile to her face.
“It’s not funny,” she teased.
“No, but you’re funny. You probably imagined the whole thing.”
“No—”
He cut her off. “Look, I don’t want to talk about who said what and why. I hear that all day. I want to talk about you and me.”
“What’s there to say?” Noora had told him all the details of her life already.
“Well, you know how I feel about you.”
She kept quiet. Talk like that brought out the weakness in her. Dunked under the pebbles, her big toes squished the smaller toes.
“I think about you all the time. I can’t eat properly or do anything.”
She did not enjoy the lack of control she experienced when he spoke that way, but there was nothing she could do about it. She fingered the edges of her shayla and twirled complicated shapes into it.
“I dream about you every night after I leave you. Then, when the sun comes up, I can’t wait to see you again.”
She pulled her knees to her chest, trying to control the tiny tremors that were spreading from her inside to her outside. She had to speak quickly, change the subject. Fixing her eyes to the middle of the pool in front of her, she said, “ Masha’ Allah , you people are so lucky. You don’t need to worry about water.”
Rashid grunted and flopped on an elbow. “No one knows about this place.”
“Yes, but if there’s a long drought, you’d share it.”
He grunted again. “This is my place and I show it to whomever I choose.”
“This is God’s place and His blessing, and it should be shared.”
“There is no need. There’s enough water in the village well.”
“Yes, but with all this water that’s always being filled, you can build a falaj system. Just think, all those carved channels to feed your crops. You’ll never go hungry. And not just that, you can grow so many other things.”
“No!”
“You’re just saying that,” she persisted. “You don’t really mean it.”
“Stop talking about water! It’s here and it’s mine. And that’s it.”
All the little shakes and quakes that had spread to her limbs dissolved. How could his sweet words turn bitter so quickly?
Then his gentleness returned just as abruptly. “I don’t want to talk about water,” he said. “I want to talk about you—about us.”
It was better to stay quiet, just listen.
“I care about you.”
Her fingers sat stiff on her thighs. Under the pebbles in the water, her toes felt cold.
“I care about you,” he repeated. “I want to marry you.”
For the next few days, Noora was busy preparing Aisha’s bridal dress.
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