Getting ready to bike over to Leah and Salim’s house, Shafiq felt as scattered as a deck of cards thrown from the roof.
He had never much bothered about his appearance, but now he started wondering, which side does my part look better on? He tried combing it on one side and then the other but couldn’t tell which he preferred.
He knew he should ask Omar for advice, but felt too impatient. So he tried to imagine what his easygoing friend would say.
Just be funny and free. Don’t worry about the part in your hair. And remember, it doesn’t really matter how you look if you say the right thing.
Racing over to Leah and Salim’s, Shafiq expected the couple would be too busy to pay attention to him. And knowing that Odette was no longer around to embarrass Kathmiya, he hoped for a few minutes alone with her.
That bubble burst quickly. The room was filled with as many people as used to crowd around Salim back at his parents’ place, only this time the living room was smaller and as soon as Shafiq sat down, he realized he was trapped. Leah sat quietly by her husband pretending to laugh at the jokes and decry the outrages but really, Shafiq knew, understanding less than half of what was going on.
“When the camps in Poland were liberated in January,” said one of the lawyers, “oh, what they found…”
Leah looked unsure of whether to cheer or frown, but Shafiq noticed that no one was watching her anyway.
“Dead Jews,” said another guest. Now Leah looked disturbed in earnest.
“Poles were killed too,” Salim said.
Shafiq shifted restlessly. He wanted to see Kathmiya, not review the horrors of war.
“All this madness has to end.”
“And what about Iraq?”
Shafiq lost track of the conversation as soon as Kathmiya entered. He stared at her until she looked back at him.
Smile. Wow. Like a sunrise.
When she passed close to clear the olive pits off a dish, he leaned in and whispered, “I wish I could write you a note.”
She turned and looked straight at him. “Write?” she asked, puzzled and dismayed.
Shafiq realized, dismayed, that he should have consulted Omar before speaking to Kathmiya. Because that was absolutely the wrong thing to say.