“Now, tell me what happened in 1962,” Abdul Sa’ad said, leaning back on a silk cushion to listen.

Arabia, 1962

Arabia, 1962

YOUSSEF WAS HEARTBROKEN. He had fallen deeply in love with Aisha, the daughter of Safooq. A bright happy twig of a child, who used to run and play as ably as any boy, she had become the prettiest girl in the tribe. Nicknamed “the Swallow” for her spritely grace and her sparkling dark eyes, at fourteen she was a beautiful woman ready to marry. Safooq was besieged by offers for her, but Youssef and Aisha had eyes only for each other. Both Sheikh Zaid and Safooq favored the match and a bride price was agreed upon, but the marriage could not take place because Bandar refused his consent.

Aisha was Bandar’s bint ’amm, his father’s brother’s daughter. According to the ’urf law of the desert, as Aisha’s first cousin, Bandar had the exclusive right of preference to her hand. This tradition is so strong, that the very term “bint ’ammi” means “my wife” in Arabia. Bandar wanted Aisha for himself, but she despised him and according to the Moslem sharia law, she could not be forced into marriage. Things were at an impasse and the entire tribe was in an uproar over the affair. Everyone took sides. But despite all the efforts and entreaties of Sheikh Zaid, Safooq and even his own father, Faraj, Bandar remained unmoved. If he could not have Aisha, then no one could.

Night after night, Youssef and Aisha would secretly meet to dream and plan, but it was hopeless. Although many in the tribe despised him, Bandar’s hatred seemed to feed and grow on the spite he felt. “Aisha will marry me or die an old maid,” he had declared.

Youssef became so desperate he even talked of elopement, but Nick dissuaded him. If they eloped, Aisha would be considered merely a concubine, a dishonor that might force her to commit suicide and would certainly compel Safooq to blood vengeance. Nick convinced Youssef to try to reason with Bandar one more time. They agreed to pool everything they owned to make an enormous gift to Bandar. With Sheikh Zaid’s help, they managed to put together a million riyals, a fabulous sum for a woman.