Page 52 - A Woman Is No Man

Isra had never seen so much food on one sufra. Hummus topped with
ground beef and pine nuts. Fried halloumi cheese. Scrambled eggs. Falafel.
Green and black olives. Labne and za’atar. Fresh pita bread. Even during

Ramadan, when Mama made all their favorite meals and Yacob splurged
and bought them meat, the food was never this plentiful. The steam of each
dish intertwined with the next until the room smelled like home.
Fareeda turned to Khaled, fixing her eyes on his face. “What are your
plans today?”
“I don’t know.” He dipped his bread in olive oil and za’atar. “Why?”
“I need you to take me to town.”

“What do you need?”
“Meat and groceries.”
Isra tried to keep from staring at Fareeda. Even though she was not
much older than Mama, they were nothing alike. There were no undertones
of fear in Fareeda’s voice, nor did she lower her gaze in Khaled’s presence.
Isra wondered if Khaled beat her.

“Do I have to go too, Baba?” Sarah asked from across the table. “I’m
tired.”
“You can stay home with Isra,” he said without looking up.
Sarah exhaled a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I hate grocery shopping.”
Isra watched as Khaled sipped his chai, unfazed by Sarah’s boldness. If
Isra had spoken to Yacob like that, he would’ve slapped her. But perhaps
parents didn’t hit their children in America. She pictured herself raised in

America by Khaled and Fareeda, wondered what her life might have been
like.
After a moment, Khaled excused himself to get ready. Isra and Sarah
got up as well, carrying the empty plates and cups to the sink. Fareeda
remained seated, sipping her tea.
“Fareeda!” Khaled called from the hall.

“Shu? What do you want?”
“Pour me another cup of chai.”
Fareeda popped a ball of falafel into her mouth, clearly in no hurry to
obey her husband’s command. Isra watched, confused and anxious, as
Fareeda sipped her tea. When was she going to pour Khaled another cup of
chai? Should Isra offer to do it instead? She looked at Sarah, but the girl
seemed unconcerned. Isra forced herself to relax. Maybe this was how