Page 71 - A Woman Is No Man

though he’ll climb a woman’s back to get there. Don’t let anyone tell you
otherwise.”
“But Khaled seems like he loves you so much,” Isra said.

“Loves me?” Fareeda laughed. “Look at all I do for that man! I spread a
full sufra for him every day, wash and iron his clothes, scrub every inch of
this house so he can be at ease. I raised his children, these men and this girl,
all while he was away. And you say he loves me?” Her eyes shifted to Isra.
“Learn this now, dear. If you live your life waiting for a man’s love, you’ll
be disappointed.”
Isra felt sorry for Fareeda. How tired she must have been raising her

children alone in a foreign country, waiting for Khaled to come home and
love her. She wondered if that would be her fate as well.
“Do all the men in America work this much?” she asked, folding a
white T-shirt.
“I used to wonder the same thing when we first came here,” said
Fareeda. “Khaled worked so many hours a day, leaving me alone with the

children, sometimes until midnight! I was angry with him at first, but I
realized it wasn’t his fault. Most immigrants in this country work like dogs,
especially the men. They have no choice. How else can we survive?”
Isra stared at her. Surely Adam was different, not like the men of
Khaled and Yacob’s generation. Things were hard right now, yes, but soon
that would change. “Will Adam always work this much?”
“Oh, you’ll get used to it,” Fareeda said. “Soon you’ll have children,

and there will be other things to worry about.” When Isra only looked at
her, eyes widening, she added. “Believe me, you’ll be thankful he’s at work
and not at home telling you what to do. I want to rip my hair out when
Khaled takes a day off. Do this, do that. It’s a nightmare.”
But that’s not the kind of relationship Isra wanted: she didn’t want to be
like Mama or Fareeda. She knew things were hard now because they barely

knew each other. But surely everything would change when they became
parents. Adam would have a reason to come home then. He would want to
see his children, hold them, raise them. He would have a reason to love her.
She turned to Fareeda. “But Adam will be home more when I bear children,
right?”
“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” said Fareeda, her legs unfolding and then
folding again. “Don’t be a fool. Have you ever seen a man stay home to

help raise children? That’s your job, dear.”