I Have Made Up My MindJune 1, 2012
Gamal called me shortly after midnight. His voice was hoarse. I had been fast asleep when the phone rang. He called me ‘sweetie’, but I didn’t feel sweet at all. Then he said that he had made up his mind – he would vote rather than abstain; he would vote for Shafiq. Almost in the same breath, he announced to me that he was going to initiate divorce proceedings. ‘Why now?’ I asked. He didn’t like the question. What was he thinking? Was I meant to say ‘hurrah!’ and jump on a plane to London?
‘I don’t understand you. What is it you want, Ann?’ he said. ‘To go back to sleep,’ I answered, which was a mean thing to say, so I apologised. He apologised too, for having woken me up. We sounded nothing like lovers anxious to fall into each other’s arms.
I asked h
