a venerable retired army officer
16
Chapters 15-18 Chapters 15-18 Summary Afify admits Umm Hamida to her flat as her dearest friend. Over coffee and cigarettes, Umm Hamida announces her daughter’s engagement to Abbas, rather than reporting success in Afify’s quest. Afify has been generous while waiting impatiently, and has concluded the delay is intentional. Still, Afify hopes for good news and keeps the conversation going with gossip about the Kirshas’ troubles. Finally, Umm Hamida gets around to announcing Afify is to be a bride. Her heart suddenly racing, Afify blushes and feigns bashfulness. Umm Hamida is triumphant and declares God and the Prophet condone marriage.
The groom, Ahmad Effendi Talbat, is a civilian employee in the police department. He wears a suit—and even shoes—to work, sits at a big desk piled high with paperwork, deals with visitors and police officers all day, earns at least £10, plus allowances, and is thirty years old. Afify is shocked at being ten years older; Umm Hamida plays along. The family traces back to Lord Hussain. Talbat associates only with the best people and would have married long ago had someone as bashful, noble, and wealthy as Afify come along. He would like to see her photograph. Afify finds a framed one at least six years old, and then grows apprehensive, wondering what Talbat expects. Umm Hamida changes the subject to Afify’s trousseau, indicating the groom is offering no dowry. When the matchmaker departs, Afify goes over every detail in her memory and is resigned to spending precious money. Surely it and God will veil her blemishes. The fifties are not yet “years of despair”. She cringes at the gossip she knows is about to begin. It seems the perfect time to go have her horoscope read and obtain a lucky charm.
Zaita must disappoint a venerable retired army officer who is already a beggar but wants to be more successful. Zaita cannot deform such old bones. Instead, he will turn dignity into a precious type of deformity. It takes Zaita a while to recover from being called “reverend”, and explains how much harder it is to make a person appear crippled than to actually cripple him. Zaita intends to teach him to impersonate a nobleman down on his luck, so people in cafés will not see him as a beggar. Zaita frowns at his first attempts at playing the role and orders him to operate in a different quarter of the city. After the customer leaves, Zaita notices Husniya alone and tries to converse with her. She laughs at the officer’s story and says Jaada is taking his biannual bath in Gamaliya, which means he will not return before midnight.
Zaita gets lost in fantasies about formidable Husniya after mentally eliminating her gangly, cowardly husband. Telling him he stinks and looks revolting, Husniya demands Zaita leave and threatens to split him in half. Zaita disparages Jaada, but Husniya is loyal and confident. Zaita’s lust builds. He believes she is flirting when telling him he ought to bathe, but she finds his occupation disgusting. He declares he improves people’s ability to earn and again demeans Jaada. Husniya declares he is a devil, but
