Page 49 - Leadership in the Indian Army

1 hey sat across from her, Jalil and his wives, at a long, dark brown

table. Between them, in the center of the table, was a crystal vase of

fresh marigolds and a sweating pitcher of water. The red-haired woman
who had introduced herself as Niloufar's mother, Afsoon, was sitting on

Jalil's right. The other two, Khadija and Nargis, were on his left. The

wives each had on a flimsy black scarf, which they wore not on their

heads but tied loosely around the neck like an afterthought. Mariam, who
could not imagine that they would wear black for Nana, pictured one of

them suggesting it, or maybe Jalil, just before she'd been summoned.

Afsoon poured water from the pitcher and put the glass before Mariam

on a checkered cloth coaster. "Only spring and it's warm already," she

said. She made a fanning motion with her hand.

"Have you been comfortable?" Nargis, who had a small chin and curly

black hair, asked. "We hope you've been comfortable. This…

ordeal…must be very hard for you. So difficult."

The other two nodded. Mariam took in their plucked eyebrows, the thin,

tolerant smiles they were giving her. There was an unpleasant hum in

Mariam's head. Her throat burned. She drank some of the water.

Through the wide window behind Jalil, Mariam could see a row of

flowering apple trees. On the wall beside the window stood a dark
wooden cabinet. In it was a clock, and a framed photograph of Jalil and

three young boys holding a fish. The sun caught the sparkle in the fish's

scales. Jalil and the boys were grinning.