Always Standing Steady

Never More Alive

051005RJUL16: July 5, 2016. 1005. Manhattan, New York, United States of America.

"Can you pull that pin out for me?" Sicily asked as she finally gave up the struggle against her hijab.

I pulled the pin that held the draping in place, allowing Sicily to finally tug it off. She left the scarf wrapped around her neck. Sicily and I had just flown back from Egypt where we had been sent to look into allegations of purposeful missile misfires by the current American specifically forces team; they had launched military grade missiles very close to a mosque. Nazirah had flown in to meet us then flew back to Jaipur where she was attending a wedding of a family friend on her paternal grandmother's side. Ezra had been in Tel Aviv for peace negotiations and brought Diego with him because he wanted someone he trusted keeping an eye out for any attempted attacks. The two of them flew into the Newark airport where a car picked them up.

Secretary Angelus had summoned my team to Manhattan for a new assignment that she had offered no clues on. All I knew was that the car she sent for Sicily and I was driving towards the theater district. Sicily pulled out the pins that held my hijab on and did a quick re-knot to make it look like a stylish American scarf. Both of us were still dressed very formally because we did not have time to change after leaving the hearing. Sicily wore a black, strapless jumpsuit with a white, long sleeve blazer for respectful modesty; a pair of closed-toe heels she had borrowed from me; and the grey hijab she had borrowed from Nazirah. I wore a floor length, dark green skirt to hide my prosthetics--somehow they made people not want to listen to what I had to say--with an off-white long sleeve blouse and the floral patterned hijab that I had also borrowed from Nazirah.

Before Sicily and I had gone to the hearing, Nazirah had carefully styled both our hijab a to fit in with the current Cairo style while still looking professional. Part of my team's job was to get in and out without being spotted, that meant drawing as little attention to ourselves as possible; in many cases, it meant wearing hijabs or burqas to blend in. Whenever we did this, Nazirah could barely keep her hands off of either of us as she constantly changed hijab styles or colors because she felt that another style would better match an outfit or be more stylish.

The driver pulled up outside a theater. She motioned to the pockets on the backs of the seats in front of us. Both Sicily and I pulled out an envelope. Inside it was a program for what we were going to see--the ballet of Dracula, apparently--and a ticket that put us all in one of the special box seats near the stage.

Sicily and I thanked the driver as we climbed out of the car. The driver got our suitcases and duffle bags out of the trunk of the car. For a very tiny human being, she was strong enough to lift both of our very heavy bags.

The two of us presented our tickets at the door then checked our bags. In was there in the lobby of the theater where the rest of our team caught up with us. They had not had time to change either. Both Diego and Ezra still wore their Israeli-made suits; visible from beneath Ezra's collar was the leather cord on which he wore his Star of David pendant and his half of our mobile Mezuzah. Mine was still packed away in my bag. At least we were both wearing our wedding rings this time: mine on the ring finger of my left hand, his on the pointer finger of his right hand.

Nazirah still wore the same sari she had sent me a picture of while in Jaipur. The other bridesmaids wore the traditional sari that left their arms and waists bare. Because Nazirah was too uncomfortable showing that much skin, her grandmother had altered her bridesmaid sari to have long sleeves and cover her waist. From the group picture that she had sent me, I saw that Nazirah had compromised by wearing the same loose head covering as the other bridesmaids. I assumed that she made Diego and Ezra cover their eyes and turn away in the car so she could put in her usual hijab that completely covered both her hair and her neck. She looked a lot more comfortable now that she was all covered up again.