Does he expect lovemaking? Masra felt her body stiffen and tried not to show it. She recalled the American films she secretly viewed with her girlfriends from the university before the world collapsed. The kissing made her squirm in the darkened theater. The girls touched lips afterwards to experiment with the American custom. It was pleasant enough but they had trouble imagining doing that with a man who was not their husband.
Masra pulled Mallory’s hand away from her face and moved it to her lap. She held his hand with both of hers and plunged ahead. “Please,” she began. “This is hard for me.” It seemed very likely the only chance she would ever get and so she took it. “There is so much about you I do not understand. I am told Americans are devils but I don’t believe that. I have come t
