shop compromise

nd then what? The voice came, as always, from within his own mind. Reza straightened, his stiff joints cracking as he moved. He steadied his breathing. Then I will study, he said in a calm voice. I will read each story again and again until I have committed them all to memory and their power becomes clear to me. She had heard him get down from the dow. Sighing, Alif rapped twice on Robert Smiths grainy blackandwhite knee. A flicker of green out of the corner of his eye: Intisar was online. Alif let out a breath and felt his guts working. A1if: Why havent you answered my emails? BabelDunya: Please leave me alone His palms began to sweat. A1if: Have I offended you? BabelDunya: No A1if: What is it then? BabelDunya: Alif, Alif A1if: Im going crazy, tell me whats wrong A1if: Let me see you A1if: Please For a leaden minute she wrote nothing. Alif leaned his forehead against the edge of his desk, waiting for the ping that would tell him she had responded. BabelDunya: At the place in twenty minutes Alif stumbled out the door. * * * Assalaamu alaykum, he said. She turned, jet beads clinking softly in the hem of her veil. Large black eyes regarded him. Im sorry, she whispered. He crossed the room in three steps and took her gloved hand. The Malay busied himself at a wash basin in the far corner, head down; Alif dered if Intisar had given him . For Gods sake, he said, breath unsteady. Whats happened? The shayukh do. Religion does The Malay shifted, looking over his shoulder. Without speaking, Intisar pulled Alif into the back room and shut the door. Do not shout, she hissed. Youll cause a scandal. This is a scandal. Dont be so dramatic. Dont patronize me. Alif curled his lip. How much do you pay that Malay? Hes very accommodating.

A Stop it. Intisar lifted her veil. I dont want to fight with you. A wisp of hair clung to her jaw; Alif brushed it aside before bending to kiss her. He tasted lips, teeth, tongue; she withdrew. Its too late for this, she murmured. No, its not. Ill protect you. Come to me and Ill protect you. One plush lip quivered. Youre such a , said Intisar. This isnt a game. Someone could get hurt. Alif slammed his fist against the wall and Intisar shrieked. For a mot they stared at each other. The Malay began pounding on the other side of the door. Tell me his name, Alif demanded. No. Your mothers cunt Tell me his name. The color seeped from Intisars face. Abbas, she said. Abbas Al Shehab. Abbas the Meteor? What a stupid, stupid name. Ill kill himIll run him through with a sword made of his own bones Dont talk like something out of a comic book. You dont know what youre saying. She shoved past him and opened the door. The Malay began shouting in an incomprehensible dialect. Ignoring him, Alif followed Intisar out through the tea shop. She was crying. Go home, Alif, she quavered, jerking her veil back over her face. Make it so I never see your name again. Please, God, pleaseI cant stand it. He tangled his legs between a table and chair and stumbled. Intisar disappeared into the twilight, a black o against the fading air. Chapter Two

Sitting in the back of his wardrobe was a box. It was hidden behind a pile of ter clothing the maid had stacked there the previous spring, layers of tissue paper separating sweaters and wool slacks. Alif maneuvered it free and set it on his bed. His throat spasmed; he waited. It spasmed again. He couldnt cry; wo would descend on him and ask questions. He disciplined his body. When he was sure of himself, he lifted the lid of the box: inside was a folded cotton bed sheet. Unfolding it halfway, he saw a small stain, now more brown than red, shaped something like the Indian subcontinent. The stain had appeared during a week when Alifs mother accompanied his father on one of his innumerable business trips. Alif had encouraged the maid to visit her relatives in a nearby emirate while his parents were away, insisting he could manage on his own. The maid was skeptical but needed only a little convincing to agree. Alif gave Intisar a key to the front gate and told her to dress in her plainest robe; if the neighbors saw her, they would assume she was Dina. When she arrived the first evening, Alif lifted her veil without speaking, struck dumb by the face he had imagined and reimagined for months. In an instant he forgot all his tal projections of Lebanese pop stars and Egyptian movie actresses. She could have no face but this face, with its mercurial dimple, mouth slightly too large, those elegant brows. Hed suspected she was beautifulshe spoke like a beautiful woman. But nothing had prepared him for the force of that beauty.

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Its so cool to come into one of the stores over the Holidays. So many great items are available that arent usually there.