because he was concerned about him. Of course, this concern of his revealed how confident he was of himself and how little he trusted his son, and neither sentiment was entirely free of conceit. As usual, his anger abated as quickly as it had flared up. His peace of mind returned, and his features relaxed. Matters began to appear to him in a new, agreeable, tolerable light.
'You want to be like your father, ox?… Then don't adopt one side and neglect the others. Be Ahmad Abd al- Jawad completely if you can, otherwise know your limits. Did you really think I was angry at your extravagance because I wanted you to get married at your own expense? Far from it… I simply hoped to find you had been careful with your money so I could marry you off at my expense and leave you with a surplus. This is the hope you disappointed. Did you suppose I wouldn't have thought about choosing a wife for you until I caught you philandering? What a wretched excuse for sex that was, wretched, like your taste and your mother's. No, you mule, I've been thinking about your married bliss since you became a government employee. How could it be otherwise, since you were the first to make a father of me? You're my partner in the torment to which your damned mother has exposed us. So don't I have the right to give you, in particular, a festive wedding? I'm going to have to wait a long time to marry off the other ox, your brother, who’s a prisoner of love. Who knows who'll be alive then?'
The following moment he recalled something directly related to his present situation. He remembered how he had told Mr. Muhammad Iffat about Yasin’s 'crime' and how he had scolded him and yanked him by the arm in a way that almost made him fall on his face. That revelation had been apropos of his request for the hand of the man’s daughter for his son. The fact was that the two men had already agreed on the marriage before he brought it up with Yasin.
Muhammad Iffat had asked him, 'Don't you think it would be appropriate to change the way you treat your son, as he grows more mature, especially now that he has a job and has become a responsible adult?' He had laughed before continuing: 'It’s clear you're a father who doesn't ease up until his sons openly rebel'.
Al-Sayyid Ahmad had answered his friend: 'It’s out of the question that the relationship between me and my sons should change with time'. He had felt a boundless confidence and pride in this answer but later had acknowledged that his treatment actually had changed, although he had tried to keep anyone from detecting his hidden intention to change. He had added: 'The truth is that I'm no longer willing to lift my hand against Yasin or even Fahmy. I only yanked Yasin like that because I was so angry. I didn't mean to get carried away'. Then, reverting to a time in the distant past, he had continued: 'My father, God’s mercy on him, raised me so strictly that my severity with my sons seems lenient, but he quickly changed the way he treated me once he asked me to help him in the store? Then after I married Yasin’s mother, his treatment changed into a father’s friendship. My self- esteem became so great that I opposed his final marriage, because he was much older than the bride. All he did was to say, 'Do you oppose me, ox?… What’s it got to do with you? I'm better able than you to satisfy any woman.' I couldn't keep from laughing, and I apologetically set about conciliating him'.
While al-Sayyid Ahmad was recalling all of this, a saying came to his mind: 'When your son grows up, make him your brother'. Perhaps more than ever before he felt how complicated it is to be a father.
That same week, their mother announced Yasin’s engagement at the coffee hour. Fahmy had learned about it from Yasin himself. Khadija instinctively recognized that there was some relationship between the engagement and her father’s anger at Yasin. She suspected his anger had arisen from Yasin’s desire to get married, going on the analogy of what had happened between her father and Fahmy. She stated her opinion bluntly, but in the form of a question.
Glancing at their mother with shame and embarrassment, Yasin laughed and said, 'The truth is that there’s a very strong link between the anger and the engagement'.
In order to make a sarcastic joke, Khadija pretended to be skeptical. She said, 'Papa can be excused for getting angry, because you won't do him much credit with a close friend like al-Sayyid Muhammad Iffat'.
Yasin countered her sarcasm: 'Father’s position will become even more difficult when the aforementioned personage learns the bridegroom has a sister like you'.
Then Kamal asked, 'Will you leave us, Yasin, the way Aisha did?'
His mother replied with a smile, 'Of course not. A new sister, the bride, will join our household'.
Kamal was relieved at this answer, which he had not been expecting. He was relieved because his storyteller was staying to entertain him with stories, anecdotes, and conviviality. But then he asked why Aisha had not stayed with them too.
His mother replied that it was customary for the bride to move to the bridegroom’s house and not vice versa. Kamal wondered who had established this custom. He dearly wished it had been the other way round, even if he had had to sacrifice Yasin and his droll stories. He was not able to state this desire openly, and so he expressed it with a look directed at his mother.
Fahmy was the only one saddened by the news. Although he was happy for Yasin, marriage had become a subject that awakened his emotions and stirred up his sorrows, just as talk of victory stirs up the sorrows of a mother who has lost her son in a triumphal battle.
43
The carriage set off to take the mother, Khadija and Kamal to Sugar Street. Was Aisha’s wedding the harbinger of a new era of freedom? Would they finally be able to see the world from time to time and breathe its fresh air? Amina had not let herself get her hopes up or become too optimistic. The man who had forbidden her to visit her mother, except on rare occasions, was equally capable of preventing her from calling on her daughter. She could not forget that many days had passed since her daughter’s wedding. Al-Sayyid Ahmad, Yasin, Fahmy, and even Umm Hanafi had visited Aisha, but he had not given her permission to go, and her courage had not been up to asking. She was wary about reminding him that she had a daughter on Sugar Street whom she needed to see. She remained silent, but the image of her little girl never left her mind. When the pain of waiting grew too great to bear, she summoned all her willpower to ask him, 'Is my master planning to visit Aisha soon, God willing, so we can be sure she’s all right?'
Suspecting that her question was motivated by a hidden desire, al-Sayyid Ahmad got angry at her, but not because he had decided to prevent her visit. It was typical of him in such cases to wish to grant permission as a gift, without a prior request. He did not want her to think her request had had any influence on him. He assumed she was trying to remind him with this sly question. At an earlier time he had thought about this question apprehensively and had been annoyed to realize that such a visit was unavoidable. So he shouted at her furiously, 'Aisha’s in her husband’s house and doesn't need any of us. Besides, I've visited her, and her brothers have too. Why are you anxious about her?'
In her despair and defeat, her heart sank and her throat felt dry. Al-Sayyid Ahmad had decided to punish her for what he considered her unforgivable cunning by remaining silent, as though the subject was closed. He ignored her for a long time, although he glanced stealthily at her sorrowful expression. When it was time for him to leave for work, he said tersely and gruffly, 'Go visit her tomorrow'.
Her face, which was incapable of hiding any emotion, immediately became radiant with joy. She looked as happy as a child. It did not take long for his anger to return. He shouted at her, 'You'll never see her after that, unless her husband allows her to visit us'.
She made no reply to this remark but did not forget a promise she had made to Khadija when they discussed bringing up the topic with him. Hesitantly and apprehensively she asked, 'Will my master allow me to take Khadija?'
He shook his head as though to say, 'God’s will be done… God’s will be done'. Then he replied sharply, 'Of course, of course! Since I've agreed to let my daughter get married, my family’s got to join the demimonde parading through the streets. Take her! May our Lord take all of you away'.
Her joy was even more complete than she had thought possible. She paid no attention to the final curse, which she often heard when he was angry or pretending to be angry. She knew it came from his lips and not his heart, which felt quite the opposite way. He was like a mother cat which appears to be devouring her kittens when she is actually carrying them.
The wish was granted, and the vehicle started on its way to Sugar Street. Kamal seemed happiest of all, for three reasons. He was going to visit Aisha, he was on an excursion with his mother and sister, and he was riding in
