Page 70 - A Woman Is No Man

Fareeda, admire her even. Fareeda, with her loud, boisterous opinions.
Fareeda, with her unusual strength.
Now Isra and Fareeda folded laundry, the last of the day’s work. The air

between them was damp and smelled of bleach. Fareeda sat with her back
against the washing machine, legs crossed under her, arranging black socks
in matching pairs. Beside her, Isra sat in her usual way, legs folded tightly
together, both arms in her lap as if to make herself smaller. She reached for
a bright pair of men’s boxers from the pile of unfolded laundry. She didn’t
recognize them. They must belong to one of Adam’s brothers, she thought.
She could feel her face flush as her fingers touched the fabric, and she

quickly turned from Fareeda. She didn’t want to seem immature, reddening
at the sight of men’s underpants.
“It’s nice to finally have someone to help me,” Fareeda said, folding a
pair of faded jeans.
Isra smiled wide. “I’m glad I can help.”
“That’s the life of a woman, you know. Running around taking orders.”

Isra pushed aside a pair of mint-green boxers and leaned closer to
Fareeda. “Is that what you do all day?”
“Like clockwork,” Fareeda said, shaking her head. “Sometimes I wish I
could’ve been born a man, just to see how it feels. It would’ve spared me a
lot of grief in life.” She reached for another pair of socks, stopped, and
looked at Isra. “Men huff and puff about all the work they do to support
their families. But they don’t know—” She paused. “They have no idea

what it means to be a woman in this world.”
“You sound like Mama.”
“She’s a woman, isn’t she? She would know.”
There was a pause, and Isra reached for a piece of laundry. She
wondered how Mama and Fareeda had come to suffer the same lonely fate,
to have both lived a life without love. What had they done wrong?

“I thought things would be different here,” Isra confessed.
Fareeda looked up. “Different how?”
“I thought maybe women only had it so tough in Palestine, you know,
because of old customs and traditions.”
“Ha!” Fareeda said. “You think women have it easier in America
because of what you see on television?” Her almond eyes narrowed to slits.
“Let me tell you something. A man is the only way up in this world, even