‘Not many people would have been able to stay friends with Clementine after that.’
He shook his head. ‘As I said, I never blamed Clem. I blamed myself. I should’ve been driving that car, and if I had been, everything would have been different. We wouldn’t have been in the exact place and time when the driver of the other car fell asleep at the wheel and came across to the wrong side of the road. Clem lost so much too, you know. She lost her best friend, and for the rest of her life she’ll probably blame herself.’ Daniel looked at his watch and stood. ‘I’m sorry, Sofia, but I’ve gotta go.’
‘Will I see you again?’ she asked, standing too.
‘Absolutely. I’m not letting you go without a proper goodbye this time.’
* * *
AS THE FIRST light of morning crept through her window, Sofia got out of bed, made a cup of tea and took it out to the balcony. Would Behnaz’s next tenant sit in this same chair and watch over the square? Would they build a life here or would they just be passing through, a short stop on a longer journey? Below her, the men had left the mosque and Hadi and Ahmad had rolled up their shutters and carried goods out for display. It was time for her to get ready for work.
‘Walk with me, my friend,’ she said to Rashid when she found him and a policeman outside the gate. She noticed that the police and the tape were now gone from Babur’s chaikhana but Babur wasn’t there opening up. For the second day no one called to her or stopped to talk as she crossed the square, and as they approached Ahmad and Hadi the two men fell silent.
‘As-salaam alaikum,’ Sofia called.
‘Wa alaikum as-salaam, Dr Sofia,’ they replied in unison.
With the policeman taking up his position at the bottom of the stairs, Rashid accompanied Sofia to reception where they found Iman polishing an already spotless desktop, her eyes red and the bin beside her desk full of tissues. Rashid returned downstairs.
‘Hug me, please,’ Sofia said, holding out her arms. As Iman came around her desk to embrace her, Sofia noticed that the door between her waiting area and Jabril’s surgery had been opened. ‘What’s this?’ she asked, letting Iman go.
‘I don’t know,’ she said, swiping away the tears filling her eyes again. ‘I was just looking.’
Sofia put her hands on Iman’s shoulders. ‘It’s going to be okay,’ she said, looking into her eyes. ‘Do you hear me? It’s going to be okay.’ When Iman nodded she let her shoulders go.
‘Omar told Hadi that someone was trying to kill you, but Behnaz said he’s lying. They’re not trying to kill you, are they, Dr Sofia?’
Sofia sat on the corner of Iman’s desk. ‘I don’t think so, but we don’t know exactly what this is until the chief finishes his investigation.’
‘Everyone’s saying Chief Wasim will never find the killer because it’s someone powerful.’
Sofia didn’t comment as she pulled the patient list toward her to discover it was blank.
‘Everyone cancelled,’ Iman offered.
Sofia gave the list back to Iman. ‘You know I’m going to have to leave, don’t you?’
‘Leave where?’
‘Here.’
‘You don’t have to go.’
‘I think I do,’ Sofia said, hopping off the desk. ‘Look, it’s probably only going to be for a short time, until Chief Wasim finishes his investigation. Let’s just think of it as if I’m going on holidays back to Sydney, like I always do.’
‘Okay.’ Iman opened her mouth to say more but decided against it.
Giving Iman the rest of the day off, Sofia sat down at her desk contemplating what she was about to do. Within ten minutes she had checked that Dr Suraya Samar, the female doctor who took Sofia’s place whenever she was on holidays, could locum for the next three months. She then rang her travel agent in Kabul, asking her to book a ticket back to Australia. There was a seat available on a flight that evening, she was told, otherwise she would have to wait another three days.
‘That soon?’ Sofia said. She heard the woman tapping away on the keyboard again.
‘Or standby next Friday.’
Sofia hesitated only a few seconds.
When she’d finished at lunchtime she was sitting at her desk, wondering where to start packing up the surgery and how to tell Iman, when Zahra rang to report there was still no change in Jabril’s condition. When Sofia told her the news, Zahra was at the surgery within the hour. Carrying two chairs to the window they sat looking out over the square, although Sofia was careful to take the chair facing the chaikhana.
Neither Omar nor Behnaz could be seen in the square, and while Hadi and Ahmad were hidden by the awning, there were people shopping and moving around as if nothing had changed. Like any normal day, Sofia thought. She and Jabril had been part of their world but they weren’t the centre of it, and life had to go on. Sofia looked at Zahra and gave her a smile. ‘How are you feeling today?’
‘Okay. I think he’ll pull through. The doctors aren’t saying that yet, but it’s what I believe.’ She looked at Sofia, as if daring her to deny this. ‘Daniel came by again this morning,’ Zahra offered.
‘What did he say about Jabril?’
‘That he has every faith in the surgeon and the treatment Jabril’s getting. That doesn’t sound too good,
