laws of nature'. Yes, he had to remember that. He quickly changed into his house shirt. Then as he left the room he told his brother, Ahmad, 'I want to talk privately with Father in the study. Please give us a little time to be alone.'
When Abd al-Muni'm asked his father to join him there, Khadija raised her head to inquire, 'Good news?'
'I want to talk to Father first. Then it will be your turn.'
Ibrahim Shawkat trailed after his son silently. The man had recently gotten a new set of dentures. His languid complacency had returned, after he had been forced to confront life in a toothless condition for six whole months. They sat down beside each other, and the father asked, 'Good news, God willing?'
Without any hesitation or introduction, Abd al-Muni'm said, 'Father, I want to marry.'
The man stared at his son's face and then knit his brows jovially as though he had not understood. After shaking his head in a bafiled way, he remarked, 'Marriage? There's a right time for everything. Why are you speaking about this now?'
'I want to get married now.'
'Now? You're only eighteen. Won't you wait until you get your degree?
' 1 ca/it.
Then the door opened, and Khadija entered. 'What's happening behind this door?' she asked. 'Are there secrets you can tell your father but not me?'
Abd al-Muni'm frowned nervously. Ibrahim, who scarcely understood the meaning of his own words, answered, 'Abd al-Muni'm wants to get married.'
Khacija scrutinized her husband as though fearing he had gone insane. She cried out, 'Get married! What do I hear? Have you decided to leave the University?'
In an angry, forceful voice, Abd al-Muni'm responded, 'I said I want to marry, not that I'm dropping out of school. I'll continue my studies as a married man. That's all there is to it.'
Looking back and forth from one to the other, Khadija asked, 'Abd al-Muni'm, are you really serious?'
He shouted, 'Absolutely!'
The woman struck her hands together and riposted, 'The evil eye has struck you. What's happened to your brain, son?'
Abd al-Muni'm stood up angrily. He asked, 'What brings you here? I wanted to speak privately with my father first, but you don't know what patience is. Listen! I want to get married. I have two more years before I finish my studies. Father, you can support me for these two years. If I weren't sure ofthat, I would not have made this request.'
Khadija said, 'God's grace! They've destroyed his mind.'
'Who has?'
'God knows best who they are. I'll let Him take care of them. You shouldn't have any doubts as to their identity, and we'll soon learn.'
The young man told his father, 'Don't listen to her. Even now I have no idea what girl will be mine. Choose her yourselves. I want a suitable bride, any bride.'
Flabbergasted, she asked him, 'Do you mean there's not some special girl who is the cause of this whole calamity?'
'Absolutely not. Believe me. Choose for me yourself.'
'Why are you in such a hurry then? I'll select someone for you. Give me a little time. Say a year or two?'
Raising his voice, he said, 'I'm not joking. Leave me alone. He understands me better than you do.'
His father asked him calmly, 'Why the rush?'
Lowering his gaze, Abd al-Muni'm answered, 'I can't wait any longer.'
Khadija inquired, 'How come thousands of other young men like you can?'
The boy told his father, 'I'm not willing to do what they do.'
Ibrahim thought a little. To put an end to this scene he said, 'That's enough for now. We'll continue this discussion another time.'
Khadija started to say something, but her husband stopped her and took her by the hand. The couple left the study to resume their places in the sitting room, where they went over the topic, considering it from every angle. After a lot of give-and-take, Ibrahim felt inclined to support his son's request. He took it upon himself to convince his wife. Once she had accepted the notion in principle, Ibrahim said, 'We have Na'ima, my niece. We won't need to tire ourselves out searching for a bride.'
Capitulating, Khadija said, 'I'm the one who persuaded you to renounce your share of your late brother's estate for Aisha's sake. So I have no objection to the choice of Na'ima as a bride for my son. I'm very concerned about Aisha's happiness, as you know. But I'm afraid of her melancholy brooding and am very apprehensive about her eccentric behavior. Haven't you hinted to her repeatedly that we would like Na'ima to marry Abd al-Muni'm? All the same I think she was ready to accept Jamil al-Hamzawi's son when al-Hamzawi proposed it.'
'That's ancient history. A year or more has passed since then, and praise God nothing has come of it. No matter how good a position he has, it would have done me no honor to have a young man like that marry my niece. As far as I'm concerned, a man's family origin is everything, and Na'ima is very dear to us.'
Sighing, Khadija agreed, 'Very, very dear. What do you suppose my father will say about this foolishness when he learns of it?'
Ibrahim replied, 'I'm sure he'll welcome it. Everything about it seems like a dream, but I won't regret it. I'm positive that it would be an unforgivable error to ignore Abd al-Muni'm's request, so long as it's within our power to grant it.'
133
No changes worth mentioning had taken place at the old house on Palace Walk, but the neighbors Hasanayn the barber, Darwish the bean seller, al-Fuli the milkman, Abu Sari', who ran the snack shop, and Bayumi, who sold fruit drinks — had all learned in one way or another that al-Sayyid Ahmad's granddaughter was to marry her double first cousin Abd al-Muni'm today. Al-Sayyid Ahmad did not break with his time-honored traditions, and the day passed like any other one. Only members of the family were invited, and the day's major activity was preparation of the dinner banquet.
It was at the beginning of summer, and they were all assembled in the parlor: al-Sayyid Ahmad Abd al- Jawad, Amina, Khadija, Ibrahim Shawkat, Abd al-Muni'm, Ahmad, Yasin, Zanuba, Rid-wan, and Karima. The only two family members missing were Na'ima, who was adorning herself on the top floor, and Aisha, who washelping her. Sensing that his presence might dampen their spirits at this festive family reunion, al-Sayyid Ahmad went off to his room shortly after welcoming everyone and waited there for the religious official to arrive.
He had liquidated his business and sold the store, choosing to retire, not merely because he was sixty-five but also because Jamil al-Hamzawi's resignation had forced him to assume much of the work at a time when he was no longer up to it. Thushe had decided to retire, contenting himself with his savings and what he had gotten from closing out his store. He calculated that this amount would suffice for the rest of his days. His retirement had been an important milestone in the life of the family. Kamal had begun to wonder whether they had not underestimated the role Jamil al-Hamzawi had played in all their lives and especially in their father's.
Alone in his room, al-Sayyid Ahmad silently pondered the events of the day, as if he could not believe that the bridegroom was his grandson Abd al-Muni'm. He had been amazed and incredulous the day Ibrahim Shawkat had raised the matter with him.
'How could you allow your son to speak to you so bluntly and to impose his will on you?' he had wanted to know. 'Fathers like you are spoiling the next generation.'
He would have said no, had it not been for the delicacy of the circumstances. Out of consideration for Aisha's misery, he had renounced his customary stubbornness, since he could not bear to disappoint her, especially after all the little comments provoked by Fuad al-Hamzawi's silence. If Na'ima's marriage would lessen the anguish of Aisha'sheart, then welcome to it. His distress had prompted him to grant his consent, and he had allowed children to force their wishes on adults and to marry before finishing their education. He had summoned Abd al-Muni'm and had made him promise to complete his studies. Citing passages from the Qur'an and from reports of the Prophet's
