Page 122 - A Woman Is No Man

Fareeda stared at him. “I’m the reason this family has food to eat.” Her
voice was surprisingly clear. She didn’t recognize it as her own.
Another slap. “Shut your mouth, woman!”

“I won’t shut my mouth unless you stop drinking,” she said,
unwavering. “If you don’t, I’ll tell your children the truth! I’ll tell them that
we barely have enough food because their father is an alcoholic. I’ll tell
everyone! Your reputation will be ruined, and your children will never
respect you.”
Khaled had shifted back, his head heavy with whiskey, his knees unable
to hold him. He lifted his head and let out a shuddering exhale. When he

opened his mouth to speak, nothing came. If it wasn’t for his pride, Fareeda
was certain he would have cried. From that day on, Khaled had brought
home his wages to her. Something essential between them had shifted.
“Oh, for goodness sake!” Fareeda said now, not meeting Khaled’s eyes.
“Let’s not get into this mess in front of our new daughter-in-law.” She bit
into a chicken thigh and turned to face Adam. “Listen, son, you’ve been

handling everything for years. Your brothers know nothing about business.
It’ll only take you a few months to get the store up and running, and then
Omar can take over.”
Adam sighed. He looked over to Omar, who sat quietly at the opposite
end of the table, eyes fixed on his plate. After a moment had passed, Omar
lifted his head to find Adam still watching him and, flushing deeply, said,
“Thank you, brother.”

Fareeda refilled Omar’s plate. “We’re family,” she said. “There’s no
need to thank your brother. Why, if everyone went around saying thank you
for every little thing they were supposed to do, we wouldn’t get anything
done, would we?” She scooped a spoonful of rice onto Ali’s plate. “Eat up,
son. Look at how thin you’re getting.” Then she turned to Nadine, who sat
with her hands in her lap. “You too, dear. Come on.” Nadine smiled and

reached for her spoon.
Fareeda could feel Isra staring at her. “You need to eat, too, Isra. You
haven’t gained much weight this pregnancy.”
Isra nodded and refilled her plate. Though Fareeda hadn’t mentioned it,
she was worried about the gender. Why hadn’t Isra asked the doctor for an
ultrasound while she was gone? Because she was an idiot, Fareeda thought,
scooping another serving of rice onto her plate. But she should stop

worrying and enjoy this moment with her sons. Yes, she should savor it. It