Page 113 - Leadership in the Indian Army

go to war-Mammy too had thought Babi's bookishness endearing, that,

once upon a time, she too had found his forgetfulness and ineptitude
charming.

"So what is today?" he said now, smiling coyly. "Day five? Or is it six?"

"What do I care? I don't keep count," Laila lied, shrugging, loving him

for remembering- Mammy had no idea that Tariq had left.

"Well, his flashlight will be going off before you know it," Babi said,

referring to Laila and Tariq's nightly signaling game. They had played it

for so long it had become a bedtime ritual, like brushing teeth.

Babi ran his finger through the rip. "I'll patch this as soon as I get a

chance. We'd better go." He raised his voice and called over his shoulder,

"We're going now, Fariba! I'm taking Laila to school. Don't forget to pick

her up!"

Outside, as she was climbing on the carrier pack of Babi's bicycle, Laila

spotted a car parked up the street, across from the house where the
shoemaker, Rasheed, lived with his reclusive wife. It was a Benz, an

unusual car in this neighborhood, blue with a thick white stripe bisecting

the hood, the roof, and the trunk. Laila could make out two men sitting

inside, one behind the wheel, the other in the back.

"Who are they?" she said.

"It's not our business," Babi said. "Climb on, you'll be late for class."

Laila remembered another fight, and, that time, Mammy had stood