"How kind of you! What time is it?"
"Not later than midnight. I left the gathering around eleven and walked straight home."
"Your meeting must have been out of town then, maybe as far as Banha."
"Why? Am I late?"
"Wait a moment till the crowing cock provides your answer."
"Perhapshe hasn't fallen asleep yet."
Stripped to his shirt and underpants, he sat on the sofa to remove his shoes and socks. He saw her shadowy form sit up as the bed creaked. Then he heard her say sharply, "Light the lamp."
"There's no need for that. I've finished undressing."
"I want to settle accounts with you in the light."
"Settling accounts in the dark is more fun."
She snorted angrily and got out of bed. From his nearby seat he put out his arms, grabbed her flank, and pulled her over to the sofa. Sitting her down beside him, he remarked, "Don't make a row."
She escaped from his grip and replied, "What's happened to our agreement? I let you get drunk in bars as often as you want on condition that you return home early. I accepted that against my better judgment, because if you did your drinking at home, you'd save a lot of money that's just wasted. Yet you come home shortly before dawn in flagrant disregard of our agreement."
"What hope does a man have of fooling a woman who's grown up playing the lute in a troupe of musicians?" Yasin asked himself. "If she can ever prove you've been unfaithful to her, will her response be limited to a quarrel or… what? Think it over carefully and don't forget that her loss would not be a laughing matter. I love her best of all my wives. She knows exactly how to help me and takes our marriage seriously. If I just didn't get bored…."
"I was with my usual group and stayed with them until I set out for home. I have a witness you know. Can you guess who he is?" He laughed out loud.
But she answered coldly, "Don't change the topic."
Still laughing, he said, "My companion tonight was my brother Kamal."
Contrary to his expectations, she was not surprised. Her patience exhausted, she asked, "And who's testifying for the girl?"
"Don't be difficult. My innocence is as obvious as the sun". Then he grumbled, "By God, it makes me sad that you're suspicious of my behavior. I've had more than my fill of playing around. All I want now is a quiet life. The bar's simply an innocent pastime. There's nothing objectionable about that. A man has got to see people…."
In a passionate voice she replied, "Shame on you! You know I'm not a child. Putting something over on me is a difficult feat. It would be better for both of us if there were no room for suspicion."
"A sermon or a threat?" Yasin asked himself. "Why can't I have a model life like my father's? The man does what he wants and finds stability, love, and obedience when he returns home. I wasn't able to realize this dream with Zaynab or Maryam, and it seems unlikely I will with Zanuba either. This beautiful lute player must find nothing to regret while she's in my care."
He declared firmly, "If I'd wanted to violate God's laws any further, I wouldn't have married you."
She yelled sharply, "But you'd been married twice before, and marriage didn't prevent you from doing forbidden things then."
He exhaled a puff of breath reeking of alcohol and said, "You're in a different situation from my other wives, dummy. My first wife was chosen by my father, who imposed her on me. My second wouldn't let me touch her unless I married her. So I did. But no one imposed you on me. You didn't lock me out before we got inarried. Marrying you brought no promise of any novelty I hadn't experienced before. So, dummy, why did I marry you, unless marriage itself- in other words, a settled, stable life — was my goal? By God, if you had a speck of sense, you'd never doubt me."
"Not even when you return at dawn?"
"Not even if I come home in the morning."
She cried out sharply, "Stop! If that's all you have to say, then a most cordial goodbye."
Frowning nervously, he snapped back, "A thousand goodbyes!"
"I'm leaving. God's earth is vast, and God will provide me a living."
With deliberate scorn he commented, "Do what you like."
In a threatening voice she countered, "I'll leave, but you'll find I'm a thorn that's not easily removed."
Still trying to sound scornful, he said, "Nonsense! Ridding myself of you would be like taking off a pair of shoes."
Changing her tune from defiant challenge to complaint, she yelled, "Should I jump out the window so we'll both feel better?"
He shrugged his shoulders. Then, standing up, he said in a lighter tone, "There's a better solution. That's for you to jump in bed. Let's go to sleep and send the devil packing."
He went to the bed and stretched out, sighing as if he'd been wanting to lie down for a long time. She commented to herself, "Anyone living with you is destined to have trouble."
"I'm destined to have trouble too," Yasin complained to himself. "Your sex is responsible. There's not a single one of you who can keep me from wanting others. You're all powerless to conquer boredom. But I won't voluntarily resume a bachelor's life, and I can't sell a store every year for a new marriage. So let Zanuba stay as long as she doesn't try to control me. A crazy man needs a clever wife … clever like Zanuba."
"Are you going to stay on the sofa till morning?"
"I won't close my eyes. Leave me alone and enjoy your sleep."
"Some things are so necessary they're inevitable," he reflected. Stretching out his arms, he took hold of her shoulder. Then he drew her to him as he murmured, "Your bed!"
She resisted a little before yielding. As she climbed in bed she said plaintively, "When will I be granted the peace of mind other women enjoy?"
"Relax. You must have complete confidence in me. I deserve your trust. A man like me isn't happy unlesshe goes out at night. You won't find any happiness by making me unhappy and giving me a headache. All you need to do is to believe that my evening was spent innocently. Trust me. You won't regret it. I'm not a coward or a liar. Didn't I bring you to this house one night when my wife was here? Would a coward or a liar do that? I've played around enough. You're all I've got left in life."
She sighed audibly as though wishing to say, "If only you were telling die truth…."
He stretched his hand out playfully and remarked, "My goodness! That sigh broke my heart. May God strike me dead."
Responding to the touch of his hand ever so gradually she said prayerfully, "If only our Lord would guide you."
"Who'd believe a lute player would make a wish like that?" Yasin asked himself.
"Don't ever quarrel with me. Quarreling drains our energy."
"The cure is working," he congratulated himself. "But it won't in all sit uations. If I'd had Ayusha tonight, it wouldn't have been so easy."
"Don't you see that your suspicions were misplaced?"
110
When Yasin entered the store and approached the desk, al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al-Jawad was absorbed in his work. An examination of his son's face revealed immediately that Yasin had come to ask for help. There was a distracted, glazed look in the eyes of the young man, who smiled politely and leaned down to kiss his father's hand but seemed to perform these ceremonies unconsciously as his mind strayed God only knew where. When al-Sayyid Ahmad gestured for him to have a seat, he moved the chair close to his father's desk before sitting down. He looked at his father, lowered his eyes, and smiled palely. Al-Sayyid Ahmad wondered what had motivated this visit. Concerned about his son's silence, he asked curiously, "Good news? What's come over you? You're not your normal self."
Yasin looked at him for a long time as if appealing for sympathy. Then, lowering his eyes, he said, "They're going to transfer me to the farthest reaches of Upper Egypt."