Page 93 - A Woman Is No Man

Deya

Winter 2008

I just got off the phone with Nasser’s mother,” Fareeda told Deya when she

returned from school that afternoon. Her eyes were full of satisfaction.
“He’s coming to see you again tomorrow.”
Deya poured Fareeda a cup of chai in the sala, only half listening. She
couldn’t stop thinking about the woman from Books and Beans. Should she
skip school to go meet her? What if her teacher called Fareeda and said
she’d missed school? What if she got lost trying to find the bookstore?
What if something happened to her on the train? She’d heard stories about

how dangerous the subway was, how women were often mugged, raped,
even murdered in its murky corners. There was no way she could afford a
cab with the measly vending-machine money Fareeda gave them. But she
had to try—she needed to know why the woman had reached out. She
couldn’t live with not knowing.
“I’m surprised Nasser wants to see you again,” Fareeda continued,

reaching for the remote. “Seeing as you’ve managed to scare off every
single suitor I’ve found you this year. Somehow the boy saw through your
nonsense.”
“I’m sure you’re happy,” Deya said.
“Well, of course I’m happy.” Fareeda flicked through channels. “A good
suitor is all a mother wants for her daughter.”
“Is this what you wanted for your daughter, too? Even though it meant

never seeing her again?” Fareeda had married Sarah to a man from
Palestine when Deya was still a small child, and she hadn’t seen her since.
“That was different,” Fareeda said. Her hands were shaking, and she set
the remote down. Mentioning Sarah always hit a nerve. “You’re marrying
right here in Brooklyn. You’re not going anywhere!”

“But still,” Deya said. “Don’t you miss her?”
“What does it matter? She’s gone, and that’s the way it is. I’ve told you
a thousand times not to mention my children in this house. Why are you so