Chapter 9
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
I had no idea how things had become so complicated. The moment I left Awatef’s office, Shoroq called me, asking me about the meeting.
“If I said it was bad, I’d be lying,” I told her. “It was beyond bad. It was awful.”
“What happened?”
“I’ll explain later.”
After lunch, I told her the whole story while she played with Fadia.
“What’ll you do now?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Think about it, I suppose.” I took Fadia into my lap and picked up one of her favorite dolls. “She’s a bit of a mess, isn’t she? Let’s straighten her up a little, shall we?” I said.
Fadia began to pull at the doll’s clothes, straightening her outfit and preening her hair with her fingers, talking to her.
“You ought to tell Mr. Khalifa,” Shoroq said. “The relationship is with him. A
