Excerpt
Now Hakim finds the opportunity to get back to the subject which has been
on his mind for the past two days.
“Please tell me, my uncle, what you know about Jennifer’s dad and the
Admiral? What work, in particular, do they do for the CIA?”
Ibrahim looks at him closely, “It is a long story,my son; however, you deserve
the truth. I promise we’ll discuss that on our trip to New York; leave it alone for
the time being. By the way, let me ask you a question. How do you see your
relationship with young Jennifer? How do you see yourself in the next little while
with her, or is she just a flirt whom you’ll leave behind when you return home?
You know, you may find yourself with a lot more responsibilities than you have
in mind so far.”
Hakim is unprepared for such a discussion, but Ibrahim is right; he has to
make up his mind regarding his relationship with Jennifer, sooner or later. He
asks himself the same question sometimes and doesn’t have the answer. He’s not
sure where he wants their relationship to go, not yet.
“I don’t know, my uncle; I like Jennifer. I like her a lot, but I haven’t thought
of anything beyond the present. She’s just a girl I see these days.”
“You mean she hasn’t touched you in a special way?”
Really, has she touched him in a special way? He wonders. He turns and looks
deep into his uncle’s eyes, and the old man who knows life sees in Hakim’s eyes a
young man in love. He smiles at him and says, “I see that she has touched you in a
lot of different ways, my dear son. That being said, you are a young man, and a
young woman will always be welcomed next to you. Whomever you choose to
have next to you is going to be my favorite one. Remember, always remember
the priority of things and devote the necessary time to each. You will learn as you
go. She also has to know how far she can go with her wants, when you need to put
extra time into the family business. Women are always welcome in the life of a
man, particularly a young man. Our relationships with them are of a certain
kind; each of us has his own way of defining that, and each of us learns from his
own experience with a woman who we are and what we like in life. But always
remember that you give your woman the part of you that belongs to her, and the
rest of you belong to you and nobody else.”
Hakim appreciates his uncle’s comments and doesn’t hesitate to let him know.
“I know, my uncle, I appreciate your advice on everything. Your opinion is
always most important to me. That’ll never change, I promise.”
“Thank you, my dear son.”
Before they part Hakim learns he has to be at the hotel the next morning at
about seven, as their flight is at 10:15 a.m. and they have to be at the airport two
hours earlier.
Manolis Aligizakis 