Exiles in America(102)

“What happened?” Zack asked.

“Nothing. They began to talk about private matters. There was no place

for me. Plus they were speaking Farsi.”

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C h r i s t o p h e r B r a m

“Oh yes. The brothers are often like that,” said Elena. “As thick as thieves

and indifferent to others.”

Zack sensed Daniel and Elena exchange a look—he was walking between

them—but he couldn’t tell if it was friendly or unfriendly.

“I have a very big favor to ask,” she suddenly declared. “Will you invite us

to dinner again?”

Zack turned to Daniel, wondering what he made of the request. Daniel

looked equally surprised.

“Hassan wants to talk with Americans,” Elena explained. “He wants to

meet our friends. Not to worry, he knows nothing about his brother’s private

life. But I would enjoy the dinner, too. Hassan is looser when he is a guest in

other houses. I can actually sit down with the men. We live very differently

with a mullah in the house.”

“You mean he’s like a Muslim priest?” said Daniel.

“Oh no. I was speaking hyperbolically. He is a businessman, one who

found God and politics. But more Catholic than the pope, if you know what

I mean.”

“And that’s why you and Mina are wearing scarves today?” said Zack. “He

demands it?”

“Oh no. He never demands. He offers, he suggests, he gives. ‘Here is a

beautiful scarf. It will keep you warm. It will give me pleasure to see you wear

it. And not to be a fuddy-dud, but it will make me feel better knowing strange

man can’t see your hair.’ ” She let out a heavy sigh. “It’s easier to say yes than

to say no.”

“And Abbas goes along with this?” said Zack.

“What can he say? He becomes very quiet around his brother.”

Zack turned to get Daniel’s reaction, but Daniel was looking down, watch-

ing his boots crunch over the snow.

“He does not punish or threaten,” said Elena. “Do not think that. He is

like a too-loving mother-in-law. With God on her side. But after three days of

Islamic love, I want to be a grown-up again.”

Zack’s immediate impulse was to say yes to dinner. He wanted to help

Elena, and he was curious, very curious. But he had to discuss it with Daniel.

E x i l e s i n A m e r i c a

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“We’ll have to check our calendar,” he said. “I can’t remember what this week

is like.”

“I can’t either,” said Daniel, still looking down. “I think it’s full.”

No, he wouldn’t want dinner, would he? Zack understood, although he

hoped he could change Daniel’s mind.

“You do not have to tell me today,” said Elena. “You can call later in the

week. But I need a night out. Desperately. And maybe we can remind Abbas

who he really is. He is only playing a part around his brother, but he plays it

too well.”

“You mean he believes that stuff?” said Daniel.

She shrugged. “Who knows? He acts skeptical yet respectful. He says he

is humoring his brother, but I think it is more.” She paused. “If you invite us

to dinner, you can see for yourselves,” she concluded with a smile. Then she

hurried ahead to join the others—they were entering the yard of the Capitol.

Zack turned to Daniel, but Daniel looked away with a frown that sug-

gested he hated the idea of dining with any of them.

They caught up with Elena, the brothers, the children, and Jocko under

the arcade of the Capitol. The building was open despite the snow, although

the first tour wasn’t scheduled for another fifteen minutes. There were no

other tourists in the covered area.

“Built in 1753,” Hassan cheerfully read from the painted wood plaque

fixed in the wall. “So it’s a brand-new building. More than a century younger

than the most recent mosques of Isfahan.”

Hassan was still not the man whom Zack expected to see. He had removed

his hat and unbuttoned his coat and stood there in a handsome blue suit, which

he wore without a tie, as bald as Daniel and bearded like Zack. He was stockier

than his brother. He did not look like a mullah or politician but like a doctor,

maybe even a psychiatrist. He looked more like a shrink than Zack did.

Zack took Jocko back from Mina. “We can’t take a dog inside,” he told

her. “We’ll just say goodbye here.”

“Abbas!” Daniel’s voice sounded loud and abrupt in the brick chamber.

“Would you and your brother and Elena like to come to dinner this week?”

Abbas stood up straight, almost at attention. “What day?”