The Automobile Club of Egypt

43

Straight after the dawn call to prayer, and right on time, two taxis turned up on al-Sadd al-Gawany Street, and Umm Said, Saleha, Mitsy and Aisha all rushed down to the street and got into one of the cars. In the other, Gameel the lawyer sat with Fawzy and Mahmud and a man wearing a blue suit. Umm Said, sitting silently next to the driver, noticed Mitsy’s face in the rearview mirror. Praise be to God. This was another of His miracles. An English girl, who had come from the far ends of the earth, to enter their life and live with them. As she looked out the window, she became aware of the constant whispering between Mitsy and Saleha and thought that these two girls, whenever they were together, would always have something to say to each other and could never sit saying nothing. Scenes from her life went through Umm Said’s mind. She could see Kamel as a child and reminisced over what a happy and sweet boy he had been, what a sense of responsibility he had, unlike his selfish brother Said. She recalled the sudden death of her husband and Saleha’s unfortunate marriage and divorce and the night of Kamel’s arrest. His imprisonment was still like a deep wound gnawing away at her nerves.

“Kamel has been put in prison because he is a brave nationalist. I am very proud of him,” she would always say to people trying to comfort her, but deep inside she really wished that he had never become involved in the whole affair. Her innermost self really wanted to rebuke him — but in the softest way possible. She would smile and tell herself, as if addressing him, “I’m not angry with you, Kamel. I could never be angry with you, whatever you do, but couldn’t you have waited until you graduated before taking up the struggle? Couldn’t you have thought about us, son? There are thousands of young men to fight against the occupation, but how many of them provide for their family as you do?

After approximately an hour, the taxis pulled up in the courtyard of the foreigners’ prison. Mahmud, Fawzy and the man in the blue suit stepped out, and Mahmud rushed over to help his mother and the women out of their taxi. They all stood in front of the building as Gameel quickly went through the entrance formalities. They walked through the massive doorway and down a long dark corridor until they reached the prison governor’s office. Gameel opened his briefcase and took out a document.

“Please go and take a seat in the waiting room,” he said.

They went through a side door into the waiting room. They all sat there, saying nothing, except for Umm Said, who kept muttering, “God grant forgiveness, great and merciful God.”

A few minutes later, the lawyer appeared at the door and said, “Please come with me.”

They all followed him, and as Umm Said headed for the usual visitors’ room, the lawyer said, “Not that way. Please use the other door.”

They looked at him in bewilderment, but he laughed and told them, “The governor is letting us use his office.”

They trooped into the governor’s office, and Kamel soon appeared. He was neatly shaved, his hair carefully brushed and even his blue prison uniform looked clean and pressed. His mother rushed over to him, embraced him and burst out crying. He leaned over to kiss her hands, and then Saleha gave him a hug. When it was Mitsy’s turn, she laughed and shook his hand.

“You look well!” she chirped. “And I can confirm that you are still good looking.”

The man in the blue suit went over to him and introduced himself.

“Muhammad Irfan. Notary.”

Kamel shook his hand warmly. After a little while, they all sat down around the notary, who was sitting in the governor’s chair and had placed in front of him a large file. He opened it, uttered the customary invocations of God’s beneficence and power and started speaking of marriage in Islam. Then, taking Kamel’s hand he placed it in Mitsy’s and, covering them both with a white handkerchief, he went through the formalities of the marriage contract. Kamel looked happy, and Mitsy was emotional as they were congratulated. Aisha could not control herself. She raised her head and, putting her hand in front of her mouth, started ululating. The happy noise sounded odd in the gloomy atmosphere of the prison.