Meeting in Paris

Part Three

        Nadia called relatives and friends and told them about the death of her husband Rafeeq، She also assigned her son Yusef to complete the burial permit. She informed Yusef that the body would be washed in the hospital, and then the body would be taken to St. Joseph Catholic Church on Mohamed Farid Street in downtown for prayers.

         The funeral would be held at the events hall attached to the church. Yusef  called his wife Hoda with the sad news and told her to come to El Salam International Hospital with their infant son Sheriff The reason was that the body would be washed in the hospital and then they would go to pray for him in the church.

      Nahed also called her husband Ashraf and told him about her father’s death and told him to come to the hospital to complete the procedures with Yusef . Indeed, no more than half an hour passed and Hoda, her son Sheriff, and Ashraf, Nahed’s husband, were all there.

             When Nadia saw them, she took them all to take a last look at Rafeeq before starting to wash and shroud the body. They all stood around the bed looking at the body, remembering what had happened between them.  

               Nahed remembered the first meeting between her and his husband Rafeeq when they met together at university. Rafeeq was a year older than her and was in the Faculty of Commerce, and Nadia was in the first year of the Faculty of Arts, Department of Philosophy. The meeting was a clash between Nadia and Rafeeq. She was busy with the lecture schedule and Rafeeq was standing waiting for one of his colleagues.

Nadia: I am very sorry because I did not notice that you were standing.

Rafeeq: He smiled and said nothing happened.

Nadia: I apologize to you.

Rafeeq: You insist on apologizing.

Nadia: Yes.

Rafeeq: Then I hope you accept that we have a drink of soda together in the university cafeteria.

Nadia: She smiles and says but on one condition.

Rafeeq: What is this condition?

Nadia: I will pay the bill.

Rafeeq: He smiled and said there is no objection. The two of them went to the cafeteria and ordered two sodas.
in Egypt.

        Rafiq was kind and compassionate to the needy and he took great care of the poor employees in the company and the workers as well, but there was only one flaw, which was that he drank a lot of alcohol, and thousands of times Nadia tried with him to quit this bad habit but he did not listen to her, and his love of alcohol was the reason that his body was attacked by many disease

        Nadia after she took up the job as a philosophy teacher, she prepared for postgraduate studies, and then she prepared for her master's degree, and then she obtained a doctorate in philosophy, and she was appointed at the university as a teacher of modern philosophy in the Faculty of Arts, Yusef  and Nahed remembered how supportive Rafiq was to them from childhood until they grew up, yes he was an ideal father to them and he was even a friend to them, they never felt with them the difference between a father and a friend because they were both together.  

         Then Dr. Madhat entered and told them they had to take the body to the funeral home so that the washer could do his work and prepare the body for prayer in the church and then finish the burial process in the family's cemetery

          And after about an hour and a half the wash er had finished his work and they took  The body was in a car for the dead and they went to St. Joseph Church in Mohamed Farid Street in downtown, and when they entered the church with the body.

        Nadia found many friends and relatives waiting for them, they placed the body in the place prepared for prayer and all the priests and monks began the funeral prayer, and after finishing the funeral prayer in the church they went to the cemetery and carried out the burial procedures followed by Catholics, and after finishing the burial, each person present left to meet in the evening in the hall designated for condolences in the church.

           Nadia went to the villa to change her clothes and prepare for the condolences in the evening, and so did Yusef, Hoda, Nahed and Ashraff , and after Nadia finished taking a shower and changed her clothes and found that Magda had prepared a light meal for her, because she knew that Nadia had not eaten anything since the morning, and when Nadia saw the food she refused to eat but Magda pressured her until she ate something light to escape Magda's pressure.

       And in the evening Nadia got in the car with Magda  Her car was heading to the funeral hall in the church, and when Nadia arrived, she found her son Yusef and Nahed's husband Ashraff waiting for her, as well as her daughter Nahed and her son's wife Hoda. After a while, the mourners came to the funeral hall and the priest preached to them and played special hymns for this occasion.

        The funeral ended and Nadia went with her son Yusef and his wife Hoda, as well as Nahed and her husband Ashraff to the villa. Magda and the waiter prepared dinner for them, and they all went to the dinner table and started eating dinner.

     But they were all sad about parting with their companion. They did not stay for long at dinner. Yusef, his wife and son went up to their room, as did Nahed and her husband Ashraff ,Then Nadia went up and she could not go up the stairs.

   So Magda helped her. Magda arrived while supporting Nadia in the room and they entered together. Magda helped Nadia change her clothes, and Nadia lay down on the bed after taking a sedative pill so that  To help her sleep, Magda covered Nadia with the blanket and turned off the lights and Nadia went into a deep sleep until the next morning.

      And the days of mourning passed and Yusef and his wife and son returned to their home, and so did Nahed and her husband Ashraff, and Nadia returned to her work at the college, and after finishing work at the college Nadia returned to her home and found Nahed and Hoda waiting for her and they spent time together until night came

       And we will meet in the next part, God willing.