The Beginning and the End

FIFTY-THREE

It was Thursday. Hussein was lying in bed reading the morning paper, which he usually laid aside until the afternoon. Hearing a knock on the door, he thought it was Hassan Effendi’s servant. Going to the door to open it, he found himself face to face with his mother! His mouth agape, he took her hand between his.

“Mother, in Tanta! I can hardly believe my eyes!” he exclaimed.

Pressing his mother’s hands, he kissed her cheeks; or rather, they exchanged a kiss. Turning back into the room, he asked her with surprise, “Why didn’t Hassanein tell me you were coming so that I could meet you at the station?”

She took the chair he offered her.

“I found little difficulty finding where you live,” the mother said with a smile. “It’s much more difficult to find the way to a house in Shubra itself! Hassanein suggested that I wait until he could write and tell you of my coming. But I saw no reason to disturb you in your illness. In the meantime, I couldn’t stay in Cairo knowing that you are here both lonely and ill.”

At the sound of the word “ill,” he awoke from the ecstasy of their meeting, a depressing fear gripping his heart. But with his potent fear came a similarly potent power to combat it.

“Mother,” he said, “I’m sorry I’ve disturbed you. But I didn’t expect this happy result, your coming in person.”

Her face overflowing with kindness and compassion, she examined him carefully. “What’s wrong with you, my son?” she asked. “How are you now? Tell me about your illness.”

He exerted his utmost to hide his confusion so that it would leave no traces on his face. He was sure he didn’t look like a sick man. In fact, with a better diet, his health had improved since his appointment to government service.

“Nothing serious,” he said simply. “I had a bad intestinal upset. It only lasted one day and part of another.”

“We were all very worried about you, especially as you had reassured us about your health in your previous letter,” she said, fixing her eyes on him. She paused. “Good God!” she continued. “We thought there must be something seriously wrong with you if you weren’t able to send us any money this month.”

He felt her words pricking him like a sharp needle. With a faint smile on his face, he hurried to say, “I had to spend more than two pounds for a doctor and some medicines. And as you know, I don’t have any reserve for such emergencies!”

“Never mind. I’m delighted to see you in good health. Now you must send a letter at once to your brother to reassure him and Nefisa, who were extremely worried when I left.”

Then she cast a scrutinizing glance about his room. In fear and anxiety, his attention fixed on the new suit hanging on the peg. He was mentally preparing himself to invent a new lie. But she only commented. “Your room is clean and its furniture is good. Come on and show me your flat.”

“My flat only consists of this room,” Hussein said, laughing. “There’s an extra room which I lock up because I don’t need it.”

“This means that for one room you pay the rent on a whole flat? Wasn’t the hotel cheaper?”

“On the contrary, the flat’s rent is fifty piasters less than the hotel.”

“You’ve told us that you don’t need a servant to clean the flat. Doesn’t the cleaning give you trouble?”

“No. It’s easy for me, as you know.”

She smiled gently. “My son, you seem happy and comfortable, which pleases me.”

The crisis now apparently over, he said with genuine relief, “It’s I who am happy, Mother. I’ll have your company for a whole month.”

She could not help laughing. “Only this night,” she said. “There is no room for me to sleep in. Besides, I shall be too much of a burden to you, since you buy your food from the market.”

Before he could open his mouth, there was a knock on the door. He went to open it. Samira heard a voice speaking with a countryside accent: “My master Hassan is asking why you’re late today.”

Then she heard Hussein excusing himself, telling of his mother’s arrival from Cairo. Closing the door and returning to sit on the bed, he saw his mother looking at him with inquiring eyes.

“That was the servant of my neighbor Hassan Effendi, the chief clerk of the school,” he said.

She knew from her son’s letters that this was the man who had persuaded him to rent a flat and served as guarantor so that he could buy his new furniture.

“From what the servant said, it seems to me that you spend your leisure time at his place,” she remarked.

Imagining for a moment that she could read all his secret thoughts, he avoided her eyes; he felt the sting of fear creeping into his mouth and obstructing his throat.

“I often do,” he said. “He’s a good-natured man, and besides, he’s my boss. I’ve found his company a substitute for coffeehouses and their corruptions. One has to entertain oneself in one’s leisure time.”

Samira rose. She went to the bathroom to wash her face. Removing her overcoat, Hussein took it and brushed it with his own brush, praying to God that her visit would end peaceably. He was worried and afraid his secret might be discovered. His mother’s presence here where his secret lay agitated him. He cursed the stupid circumstances which made him fail to send her the money. Returning to her place, the woman began inquiring about his life. But their conversation was soon interrupted by a second knock on the door. Rather indignantly Hussein went to open it. The same servant had returned.

“My elder mistress,” she said aloud, “wishes to greet Madam, your mother.”

Samira hurried into the hall to speak to the servant.

“There’s no room here to receive her. I shall visit her myself.”

The servant went away. Samira and her son returned to the room.

“There’s no need for this visit,” Hussein said. “Since you can’t stay here very long, we shouldn’t part even for one minute.”

“These are customary courtesies,” she sighed. “Obviously, I’m concerned about courtesy to your boss’s family.”

They resumed their conversation until the brightness of the daylight faded away. When twilight came, Samira rose and put on her overcoat.

“It’s time for me to visit your neighbor’s wife,” she said.

With gloomy eyes, the young man watched her until she left the flat. Heaving a deep sigh, he wondered if she had any doubts about him and how this trip would end!