A bootblack was standing in front of him and giving him a pleading look. Isa noticed him and read more than one meaning in the look which the man was giving him. Isa gestured to him to sit down and then gave him his shoes to shine. He was eager to console himself by confirming his idea about this man. “Are there any vacant flats around?” he asked.

“At this time of year,” the man replied with a smile, “there are more flats available than worries in a man’s heart!”

“I’m really looking for a vacant room.”

“In a pension?”

“I’d prefer a family!” Isa replied with a wink.

The man smiled and relaxed a little. “There are more families around too than worries in a man’s heart!”

Isa laughed happily. Then he had a thought and pointed toward Riri’s place. “What about the proprietress of Take It and Thanks?”

The man’s expression changed. “No, no!” he replied earnestly. “She’s a proper woman in every sense of the word.”

Isa looked at him in a way that seemed to be telling him to continue.

“Don’t waste your time,” the man said. “I’ve nothing to do with her.”

“You don’t understand me,” Isa replied. “One look at her is enough to confirm what you’re saying. She has a lovely little girl.”

“Yes, Ni’mat. She’s her daughter and she’s legitimate too!”

Isa smiled, trying to look unconcerned. “But you never see her father,” he said. “Isn’t she married?”

“Of course. Her husband owns the place.”

“Why doesn’t he run it himself?”

“He’s in prison,” the man replied after a moment’s hesitation.

“What for?”

“Drugs! He’s been done an injustice, I swear by God.”

“May the good Lord release him! But are you sure he’s the child’s father?”

A cautious look flashed across the man’s eyes. “Of course!” he replied.

“No, no!” Isa said with a brash confidence. “Either you know the truth and refuse to admit it,” he continued with a laugh, “or else I know more than you do.”

“What do you know?”

“I’d like to hear it from you. Otherwise, how can we do any business with one another if you start off by lying to me?”

The bootblack put polish on Isa’s shoes. “They say,” he replied with resignation, “that the good man wrote his name on the birth certificate!”

“But why?”

“He’s old and a good man. He had no children and loved the woman. So he married her in the proper way!”

“A good man indeed,” Isa replied, finding it hard to swallow his saliva. “He doesn’t deserve to be in prison.”

“That’s why she keeps the place going and waits for him patiently and loyally.”

“He deserves that and more,” said Isa. He gave the man ten piasters and wished him well for the future.