The day the engagement was announced at Ali Bey Sulaiman’s mansion was one to remember. Men and women were not really separated from each other; they occupied two drawing rooms connected by a common entrance which was considered a beautiful work of art in its own right. Isa’s mother and her sister-in-law, Hasan’s mother, were sitting’ among the female guests in the red room, while Isa’s close friends, Samir Abd al-Baqi, Abbas Sadiq, Ibrahim Khairat, and his cousin Hasan, were all sitting in the green room among the family guests and relatives. The important guests were being welcomed in the large room adjoining the entrance. These included Ali Bey Sulaiman’s friends, all of them Palace men or people connected with the law, and party men who were acquaintances of Isa. Isa’s mother and her sister-in-law withdrew into themselves as they sat there in the glare of the brilliant lights which were shining down on them. Neither of them seemed to have any connection with the world around her. Isa’s mother was wearing an expensive dress and her age gave her a certain dignity. Her senses were weak—especially her sight and hearing—and this made her less receptive to the festive atmosphere. She withdrew into herself and made no effort to give any kind of impression that might be considered appropriate for the future groom’s mother.

Susan Hanem,20 Ali Bey Sulaiman’s wife, made a special effort to be nice to her so as to make her feel more at home. She had been fond of Isa’s mother for a long time—at least since she had become Ali Bey Sulaiman’s wife—and her affection for the old lady had been one of the reasons that had led her to agree to accept Isa as a future son-in-law. A chronic liver disease and a bad kidney condition had left Susan Hanem in her mid-fifties with only her height, proportions, and immutable grace to mark what had once been great beauty. “Don’t forget you’re in your own home,” she told Isa’s mother very kindly.

Hasan started a fierce argument about politics with Isa’s friends even though he did not know them well. Isa listened to him for a while from a distance. He had thought that Hasan would not come to the reception and his behavior astonished him. Hasan could defy time itself if he wanted, Isa was convinced of that.