“It’s not your fault, Your Excellency.”

“Anyway, congratulations again. And rest assured you are going to get your full rights one day.”

He left the room satisfied in some degree, but his irritation soon got the upper hand and the joys of promotion were forgotten. He cursed everybody without exception and said to himself in terror that life went faster than any kind of promotion.

Before he left the Archives Section, his staff came to congratulate him on his promotion and say goodbye to him. When it was Onsiyya’s turn to shake hands with him, he noticed, in a welter of confused emotions, the swelling of her belly with its promise of happiness. Already a wife and expectant mother! No doubt her husband, Husayn, would be particularly glad about his transfer to the administration.

He took his seat as Second Deputy Director, but he felt superior to all those around him. He stood first in the Director General’s confidence, being an authority on administrative matters, regulations, and the budget, not to mention his mastery of law and economics, his general knowledge, and his erudition in languages. But he asked himself, “What’s the use of all these advantages when life flies by or a sudden illness descends?”

He knew that both the First Deputy and the Director of Administration were younger than he. Consequently their positions were unlikely to become vacant unless an unpredictable miracle, a sudden death or a road accident, occurred.

“Forgive me, O God, for my wicked thoughts!” he prayed. Each of them (he kept thinking) enjoyed good health, a carefree nature, as well as a closed mind. And nothing, nothing save the lofty position he longed for could make up for the tremendous sacrifices he had made at the expense of his life’s happiness and peace of mind. Perhaps he had never felt at any time in the past as he did now the need for the sort of wife who would help him up the ladder before he reached retirement age or fell sick or died. So he asked Omm Husni to speak again to Omm Zaynab, the marriage broker, about him, now that God had raised him to grade three as Deputy Director.

He was extra careful nowadays when he visited Qadriyya in the prostitutes’ quarter, and he decided to disguise himself as a member of the lower classes so that nobody would recognize him. So one night he went to her wearing a loose galabiya, a cloak, and a scarf. She did not recognize him until she heard his voice.

“Been sacked from the government?” she asked, almost beside herself with laughter.