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Adel Murad
The Last Supper
An Egyptian Short story
This is an adaptation of a contemporary Egyptian short
story, written by the novelist Yousef Gohar. It was recently
published in the local press, and depicts aspects of Egyptian life
far away from the tourist scene. It also shows
glimpses of Egyptian lives and the interaction within rural
families. The story could be true of life in Egypt 50 years
ago, or indeed this year. Nothing much has changed.
The title and names of the main characters have not been changed.
Six months after getting married,
formalities dropped between Bahiya and Fawzy. One night,
Bahiya found enough courage to look her husband in the eyes, while
he was kissing her, and ask him with a trembling heart, "Will
you get us a TV set?". Fawzy fell silent for a while,
and Bahiya was shaking like a leaf. In her village, before she
came to Cairo to get married, women did not demand anything of
their husbands. She expected Fawzy to slap her face or at
least shout at her, but he only murmured in a soft voice,
"God willing". That is it. No crisis, no fright.
She could not believe she was safe. She almost fainted with
relief.
Fawzy was not a hard man. He was not like her father who
shouted at her mother daily and divorced her when she questioned
him one night about coming home late.
Fawzy could not help but notice Bahiya's respect and owe of
him. He played the role of the master quite well with her.
Yet, when he tried to play the same role outside his household,
people of the alley laughed at him. He forgave everyone
except his boss Usta Mohsen the barber. Usta Mohsen knew
that Fawzy was recently married, but continued to treat him like a
lowly hand, and commanded him with the shout, "Boy!".
Fawzy started working at the barber shop when he was ten.
His job was to swat the flies away from the customers. Now
though, twelve years later, he is a good barber himself. He
also has a wife. How dare Usta Mohsen call him a boy, and
send him to buy his wife's shopping from the market?
One night, he said to Bahiya, "I can't take this anymore.
I will have to open a barber shop of my own."
Bahiya took off her gold bracelets, her only security after she
left her family's house, and gave them to Fawzy. He looked
at her gratefully and said, "I have not I forgotten what you
always wanted. God willing, I will buy you the TV set."
Bahiya lived a radiant dream, watching many customers come to
her husband's shop. It shouldn't be long now before she has
a TV set. She dreamed about the many films and songs she
will watch, and the loud volume she is going to hear and make all
the neighbors listen to.
Months went by, and every time Fawzy noticed that she is
about to ask again, he would say, "God willing".
She would smile and dream of the latest set she saw in the nearby
shop.
Months turned into years, and the dream remained a dream.
The first year business was slow. The second, Fawzy wanted
to add another chair and replace the mirror. In the third
year, Fawzy put up a neon sign announcing, "A private section
for Ladies". He also employed a pretty girl as a
cashier.
He finally came to Bahiya and said, "At last now we can
buy the TV set!" But she was not keen on the idea. Her
dream had fell to the bottom of her wishes. She was not the
same woman any more. She was fed up with the loud radio next
door. She found enough courage to plant a kiss on her
husband's cheek and say, "If you really want to buy something
for me, I want my gold back. I feel ashamed every time my
father visits me and I always hide my arms.
Fawzy fell silent again. At least with the TV set he can
pay in installments, but in the gold market everything is sold for
ready cash. He hugged Bahiya close to his chest and said,
"God willing". This time he meant it.
The following year, was not a happy one. A tax inspector
visited the shop. He came on a day when the shop was full of
waiting customers, and thought business is booming throughout the
year. When Fawzy received an official letter from the
government he felt important for the first time in his life.
But, he screamed with horror when he read how much tax was due.
He went home crying and saying to Bahiya if he had earned half as
much he would have bought her back her gold. The only help
she could offer was to ask him to consult Usta Mohsen, his old
boss about what to do.
Usta Mohsen looked Fawzy up and down and said, "You come
to me after the deed is done. Neon lights, a private section
for ladies.. and a pretty girl on the till. Do you think I like to
leave my shop in that state with broken chairs and cracked
mirrors? I do that so I don't have to pay tax".
"Anyway, if you ask me, the only way out of this crisis is
to pay some money to the tax inspector. They all take money
to cancel your tax."
Fawzy followed Usta Mohsen's advice. He paid with three
years in jail, for trying to bribe an official.
But the shop was kept open. Bahiya ran the shop better
then her husband did. She waited for him to come back.
When he was released she received him with music throughout the
alleyway. He could not see her alone until dawn, she smiled
at him and said, "I paid all the taxes, and the lawyer's
fees. I also bought the next shop and expanded ours!"
Fawzy was gloomy. He looked at her and moaned, "How
about the gold. Please don't tell me you bought back the
gold! I had nightmares about not buying you the gold before
I went to prison."
She replied, " I only wanted the gold so you can see it
on my arms and hear its rustle. After you went, the desire
vanished. In a few years time, our daughter, Fawakeh, will
need some gold to get married".
But he insisted on getting her back the gold bracelets .
This time she had her full courage to say, "If you really
want to fulfill my dream, let me go Makkah to do my Hagg
soon". Fawzy thought for a while. He knew that
the Hagg season was a few months away. He finally said
quietly: "God willing".
Bahiya waited.
Fawzy had a friend from jail who came to have a haircut every
few weeks. His friend had a persuasive tongue and ambitious
projects. Fawzy took him for a partner in a project to build
a new perfume factory. He mortgaged his shop and house and
gave his friend the money to start the big project. The
friend took the money and disappeared.
One night Fawzy smiled at his wife reassuring her that she is
definitely going to Makkah this year. She said nothing.
She could not tell him that the pain started with her when he was
in prison, but she endured. She had no time for check ups
when she was running the shop. When Fawzy was dreaming of
the perfume factory, she went to the doctor who told her it was
cancer and she needed an operation urgently. But she did not
want to worry her husband after he was cheated out of his money.
The pain went for a while. She thought she was cured.
Now the pain is hardly bearable; it is also incurable.
Fawzy insisted that she was going to do the Hagg this year, but
she uttered she could no longer make the trip. Instead she
asked him to buy a private plot of land to build a family tomb,
"It is horrible after a hard life to be buried in a common
grave", she cried. He was convinced she meant it, and
finally said, "God willing".
One evening, Fawzy came home shouting, "Bahiya, guess
what? I caught the thief. He was terrified of going
back to jail and gave me back all the money. Now we can buy
the plot of land and build a private tomb."
Bahiya did not answer. He shook her arms, but she did not
move. He looked at her. She had a bashful smile on her
face. He was a little too late. She waited for him,
but he was a little too late. His supper was ready on the table.
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