And when they finally pulled up in front of their home, it looked like a sprawling family house, no different than the ones she had seen in the suburbs of New York. This one was only a little larger and had beautiful arches over the doors and windows. Both of Paul’s female cousins were waiting for them on the front lawn, and they threw their arms around Paul as soon as he emerged from the van. It was a shock for him to see them since they had been five and nine years old when he last saw them. And now they were beautiful young women, with velvety brown eyes, the same honey-colored skin as his own, and Katie suspected they had dark, almost jet-black hair like their brothers, under their head scarves. They had stayed home to prepare an enormous lunch for Paul and Katie. The two girls and their mother had been hustling around the kitchen since dawn.
They all left their shoes at the front door, and the moment they walked into the house, with all the young people chattering loudly, Jelveh hurried into the kitchen to finish cooking the lavish meal. The house was filled with the delicious smell of cinnamon and oranges and lamb, which sparked familiar memories for Paul, as Kate wandered into the kitchen and offered to help Jelveh. She introduced Kate to Shirin and Soudabeh and commented proudly that Soudabeh was going to be getting married later that year. The four women worked together with the help of three young girls who worked for them.
“She has been betrothed to her future husband since she was thirteen,” Jelveh said happily as Soudabeh beamed. “We arranged a marriage for Shirin last year. Once her older sister is married, Shirin can get married too, next year.” Kate realized it meant that the younger one would be getting married at fifteen, which wasn’t uncommon here, and Paul had told her that in traditional families, marriages were often arranged. Both girls spoke excellent English and giggled when they talked about getting married.
Once the meal was properly organized, Jelveh offered to take Katie to her room. The men went outside to talk and catch up. They were thrilled to have Paul home. What Katie had seen so far was no different than any family scene in the States.
Shirin and Soudabeh led Katie upstairs, to a room on the second floor, near their own. It was a small cubicle with a narrow bed and a dresser for her things, and a small window high up on the wall that she couldn’t see out of, but it shed sunlight into the room. The room was sparsely decorated, and Katie saw as she walked by them that the two girls had similar rooms. Shirin commented that the boys had larger bedrooms, on the upper floor, and Soudabeh said that their parents’ bedroom was at the opposite side of the house, and their grandfather had a suite of rooms downstairs. He had come to live with them after Paul had left, and they said he had been sick.
Katie put her bag down in her room and left her passport in her backpack, with her credit card and traveler’s checks. She had the money in rials that she had exchanged in her pocket, with some dollars. She had been told not to bring her computer to Iran, when she got her visa. They had told her that there were Internet cafés everywhere where she could get Internet access. And she had a BlackBerry in her pocket.
As soon as she had put her things down, the girls beckoned her back down the stairs to the kitchen, where Jelveh and the girls put the lavish meal on platters, and the three servants helped take the food to the dining room.
The family was not fabulously rich, but it was obvious that this was a wealthy household. Jelveh was wearing a sober-looking black dress and a very nice diamond watch, and Kate noticed that the two girls were wearing gold bracelets, and the men in the family wore large gold watches, even Paul’s cousins.
And just as Jelveh was preparing the meal, Katie heard the adhan for the first time. It was the midday call to prayer, announced on loudspeakers all over the city, as the muezzin made the same haunting sound that they heard five times a day. And everything instantly stopped. There was no sound in the household as each member of the family listened to the seven verses in the call to prayer. Katie was mesmerized by the sound. Paul had told her she would hear it at dawn, midday, midafternoon, just after sunset, and for the last time two hours after sunset. It was the reminder to the faithful to stop and pray five times a day.
When the muezzin’s call ended, the house sprang to life again.
The food that Jelveh had prepared with the girls’ help was delicately scented with saffron, fruit, and cinnamon blended in. There were chicken and lamb and fish, and it all smelled delicious to Katie as the men came in from outside and Katie realized how hungry she was after the long trip, although she had eaten two meals on each flight. She had no idea what time it was in New York, but she felt as though it was in another world, on another planet, a million miles from here. She had only been in Tehran for two hours, but Paul’s family was making her feel completely at home.
Everyone took their places at the table, and Katie sat down between Shirin and Soudabeh, while the three serving girls passed the platters and the whole family chattered excitedly at once. Paul’s homecoming was a major celebration for them all. The men were speaking animatedly to each other in Farsi and laughed a lot. Paul seemed completely at ease with them, as though he had never left, and Shirin and Soudabeh were busy asking Katie questions about fashions in New York, just like girls their age anywhere in the world. And every now and then Paul smiled at Kate reassuringly, and she realized it was going to be a long two weeks without physical contact, or being affectionate with each other. But it was a small price to pay in exchange for the experience of coming to Tehran. She was glad that she had come.
“Are you all right?” Paul asked her across the table at one point, and she smiled at him and answered, “Fine.” He knew this was very different for her, especially not speaking the language, and he wanted her to feel at home. His aunt, uncle, and cousins had done a great job so far of welcoming her. And Katie loved the food as well. She helped herself from several platters and enjoyed the pungent food and delicate spices.
The boys talked to her about going to visit the university the next day, and Katie said she wanted to see it and the bazaar most of all. They promised to show her all the sights while she was there. And Katie couldn’t help thinking that they were making every effort to make her feel at ease with them. Paul’s grandfather spoke up then in Farsi, with a puzzled look. He asked Paul a question, to which Paul said no.
“What did he ask you?” Katie asked with interest. She had the feeling that his grandfather had asked about her, since he had glanced at her several times.
“He asked if you were my girlfriend,” Paul said quietly. “I said no.” It was the agreement Paul and Katie had made before they came, and Katie nodded. It was best if they didn’t know. If they did, it would only complicate things for Paul.
After lunch Jelveh suggested that all three girls go upstairs and rest. Katie followed them to the floor above, and both of Paul’s girl cousins joined her in her room, where she unpacked her bags, and they admired her clothes. Shirin held all of it up in front of her and would have loved to try it on, but didn’t dare ask, as Katie put her belongings in the chest and closet and rapidly unpacked.
She then decided to put her money and BlackBerry away-it seemed silly to carry them in the house. She reached in to tuck them in the pocket of her backpack, with her passport, but as soon as she unzipped the pocket, she saw that her credit card, traveler’s checks, and passport were gone. The pocket was empty. Someone had removed them during lunch, since she had checked her backpack just before. Katie felt a wave of panic rush over her. It was a strange feeling being without them. She wondered if maybe Paul or one of his cousins was playing a trick on her and hoped that was the case.