If you only knew the real reason! “It’s better this way,” he said, “I must not raise my hopes too high.”

“Yes,” she agreed, “let time be your ally in this search.”

“Please let me buy you lunch, at least once.”

“You are the guest, not I.”

They ate in silence. He noticed a thousand questions going through her mind, mirrored in her eyes. He thought of the previous night. How strange to be two people at the same time, divided between two women, one a raging fire, the other a gentle spring breeze.

“Are you taking a holiday to carry out your search?”

She’s probing now. He felt slightly uncomfortable. “I’m not employed in the real sense of the word. I have private means.”

“Land?”

“My father owns some property.” He could see that she wasn’t convinced. “I run his properties for him. Believe me, that’s harder than holding down any job.” The second lie! How he hated lying to her.

“Well, as long as you’ve got something to do. Idleness is man’s worst enemy.”

“That’s very true. These past two weeks have proved it. But what do you know about idleness?”

“I can imagine it. Anyway, I’ve read about it.”

“You have to try it to really understand it,” he said bitterly.

“That’s true.”

“It’s difficult for someone your age to have experienced enough, at least the way I have.”

“If you think I’m still a child, you’d better think again!”

How delightful she is. I think I love her. He mustered more courage and said, “You know everything about me. Now tell me something about yourself.”

“What do I know about you?”

“You know my name, what I do, why I’m here. And also how fond I am of you.”

She smiled. “Don’t mix fact with fiction!”

That is the only fact, he told himself. A dark cloud hid the sun momentarily and plunged the café in a deep gloom. “Well, I know your name and job,” he said.

“What more do you want to know?”

“When did you start working?”

“Three years ago, when I graduated. I’m still studying, though. Higher studies, you know.”

Thank God, she doesn’t ask about my qualifications. She’s too tactful for that.

“You, er, live in Giza?”

“I live with my mother. Our family is in Qalyoub. My uncle lives in Heliopolis. We also have someone missing from the family.”

“Who?” he asked, surprised.

“My father,” she said, trying to hide a smile.

How incredible. He remembered his dream. Lost fathers are plentiful, it seems. Maybe they’re looking for the same one. “How did you lose your father?”

“Not like your brother. Don’t you think I’m giving away too much?”

He looked at her reproachfully and yet curiously.

“Actually, my parents separated when I was just a baby,” she continued.

“He abandoned you?”