The magazine

Your honor

- What should I say?
- Say it, for example, they are still studying and they will determine the exact period.. and it will be between four to five years...
Shawkat interrupted him, annoyed, saying:
- Yes, my brother.. Four, five years?!
- Uh.. and after Hani finishes the papers, we will know the exact period, which will be much less than what you said to her.. and here she goes back to tell her that you made a loud noise and shouted at him, and she shrieked, and that was until she reached the time limit for that..
Shawkat looked at Nabil and said to him with admiration:
- Son of a dog! This is you, you came out and I'm afraid.. Go to the club and don't come except when I'm talking to you, God willing, stay at night.. Don't go home at all unless I tell you.. Understand?
- Your concept.
Nabil said as he opened the car door and got out of it. He moved towards his car and Shawkat watched him in the car's mirror as he spoke to himself, saying: "Your father's son is right.. No, Nabil.. I liked it, son of His Eminence." Then he started his car's engine and drove off. On the way, he made a call to Shweikar, from which he learned that she was still in the club. He asked her to wait for him there, and they would have lunch there, and he would tell her about his adventures in the negotiations with Raafat al-Gamil.
***
Shawkat sat at a table under the shade of an old tree in the club. On the opposite chair sat Shweikar smoking her cranberry-flavoured cigarette. Shawkat turned around looking for the waiter. Often he finds someone who remembers his old position and rank. After the waiter finished the lengthy greeting, he politely asked him about his requests. Shawkat smiled and pointed towards Shweikar and said:
- Look at the Hanem.
The waiter turned to Shweikar and asked her:
- Shwikar Hanem, Your Honor, enlightening the whole club.. The club is getting dark, by God, after you left it.
- Mercy at all.. It's very hot. I'm going to drink sunrise now.. and bring coffee on the wind for a fork with it.. an hour and come so we'll have lunch here.
- At your command, sir.. Do you prefer something specific for lunch? Tell the chef about it?
- No, tell him, but we will have lunch here, and he knows and will act.
The young man bowed his head and left quietly cursing the Faculty of Commerce from which he graduated to work as a waiter in a club cafeteria, even if the club had members from the elite class of society.
Shawkat looked at Shweikar after making sure that the waiter was away and said to her:
- But I don't want to drink coffee.. I wanted to drink cinnamon with ginger.
Shweikar looked at him with a look mixed with astonishment and anger and said to him:
- What is cinnamon and what is ginger.. Do you want to expose us and that's it?! She goes to drink this cinnamon in the presence of the sheikhs who pity her soul.. Here in the club, there is no cinnamon.
- How is there no cinnamon?! They have cinnamon and I drank it before here.
- Forget about cinnamon, anise and this nonsense.. What did you do with Raafat?
Shawkat went on to tell her the words that Nabil had taught him, which he kept repeating to himself all the way from Raafat Al-Gamil's company to the club until he memorized it. The waiter approached carrying drinks after Shawkat had finished speaking. Shawkat looked at her waiting for a response, but she remained silent and features were drawn on her face. Stiff and expressionless until the waiter left, she said to him:
- Do you know if I had agreed to sell the factory, what would I have done?
- What is Shushu?
- I was going to take you off.
Her response and answer came quickly and shocking at the same time, this second time and within a few days Shweikar revealed to him a face he had not seen from her, with all this simplicity and after all this life she would ask for khula' and take him out of her life, hold a cup of coffee and sip from a long sip as he tries not to Ainkh meets her eye, but what will he do during the period during which the factory will be under the supervision and management of Raafat? A question that began to bother him, he could not bear Shweikar's words and her method in the recent period, and if he could bear it now and contented himself with silence, then he knows that the excessive pressure will generate an explosion inside him, this explosion on his part, no matter how strong or weak it is, it has only one result, which is the end of their relationship. What if the relationship between them ends and he divorces her, or she is the one who divorced him? He does not preoccupy himself with material matters at all, as he will definitely and willingly leave her the apartment overlooking the Nile, and will deduct a large part of his military pension for her without resorting to the courts, but he does not want scandals at such an age, and he does not want to be shaken.
He finished his coffee and an idea began brewing in his mind. If this idea succeeds, it will make him get rid of Shweikar without losing her, he will get rid of her tongue that looks like a cooler, and maybe she will go back to watering him from her love, he smiled at her and told her that he was hungry. Finishing her drink, he reluctantly agreed, giving her a goofy smile.
***
Salem was the first to meet Nabil in the Equestrian Club, he ran towards him with confusion appearing on his features, he grabbed him by the hand while pulling him to follow him, Nabil stopped him and asked him:
- What's wrong with you, Uncle Salem?
Salem stopped and left Nabil's hand and stood in front of him and said:
- Dignity will be born, sir.
- Isn't this normal, Uncle Salem.. Karama is pregnant, so she must give birth.
- I don't mean sir.. I mean you will be born now.. today I mean..
- How did you know?
Salem smiled the smile of the veteran expert and said:
- Oh sir, this is my job since I am a family.
- Ok come show me.
Nabil hurried towards Karama's stable, and behind him Salem jogged with his light bag, the trace of an old kick of a rebellious horse. The pelvic joint was removed from its place and the doctor put it back on. Nabil entered the stable and found Karama in its place, new clean straw spread on the floor, as she inspected the place with obvious nervousness and did not stop moving inside Her room. Nabil called out to her, but she did not look at him or care. He whistled his whistle to her, which she was accustomed to, as a call and a special signal between them.
- Why is she working like this?
- You look at the place, sir.
- What place are you appointing?! Is it your first time entering it? She has been living in it all her life.
- You choose the best place to be born in.. so that whoever you will give birth to will be safe.
- Is she in a forest, Uncle Salem?! Someone will prey on him?!
- Glory be to God, O sir.. The instinct of our Lord created it according to it.. It will continue to rot like this until you choose a place and settle in it and be born.. The issue is not the issue of the place being safe or not.. This we say with our mind that God has guided us with.. But the beast is still on his instinct.
- Glory be to God.. well say, Uncle Salem..
- Good, Nabil sir?
- She is almost like this in front of her, and she was born?
- Look, sir, it is within hours, I mean.. Look, Your Honor..
Salem pointed towards a corner of Karama's barn and said:
- It is a hundred percent that you will choose this.
- Do you mean this corner?
- For this reason.. The first, Your Excellency, is that there is no more light.
Nabil came out and Salem followed him. When they had completely left the stable, Nabil asked him:
- And don't do what you said about it.. Can we do something to help her, I mean, or isn't there anything we can do?
- Seriously, there is no help.. But your honor may just be afraid for her and give her some dates or dates.. It will give her energy and help her in childbirth, and your presence will also reassure her.
Nabil asked Salem to bring dates or dates, Salem went hurried while Nabil sat on a chair under a tree near the stable, he is going to finish feeding Karama and wants to do something he deems important and necessary, Salem came back with some dates and gave them to Nabil, Nabil cut the dates into small pieces and put Some of it was in his hand and he returned again to Karama. He extended his hand to her with dates and called her several times.