"So what? You think your daughter is the only one with degree!?"
Gol did not dare to tell Hamid of his own failures; instead she said:
"She is the only one in our family with master degree. We need to do something for her. It has not been easy for her to work and go to college and practically support all of us. She hasn't have a day of rest since the death of her father." Gol was so angry at her son- in- law that she was glad she had said things that was in her mind for a long time.
"We can't throw money away for parties. We have two kids." Hamid, even more enraged, said.
Gol wanted to tell him about the way he spent Hana's money for his drinking and traveling; but instead she decided not to challenge this parasite. All these years her daughter had worked and studied hard and supported everyone in the house. Now that she wanted to do something nice for her, Hamid, the psychopath husband of her daughter, opposed it. She did not want any more problems than what they already had; so she agreed with him. But instead, with her own money, she bought a beautiful gold necklace for Hana.
Life after graduation seemed easier for Hana. Her working hours was a little less and as had expected, she had a better position. She turned down a principal job, the Ministry of Education offered her, since she loved teaching. However, she did not turn down a position which enabled her to teach in college instead of high school she had taught for many years.
Ironically, something was missing in her life. Being a student herself had given her a sense of importance for the last ten years. Every afternoon when she came home from work, she felt like a vagabond, who was in search of something. Her sister, Sara, had a baby girl which Hana loved to play with. She almost begged Sara to bring her baby to their home. Her own children, eight and four, were not babies anymore. Her education cost her not to raise them when they had been infants. Hamid, as ignorant as before, did not care for anything but his own desires; and if he occasionally made money, it all went for his own entertainment. Boby, her brother, had married the neighbor's daughter the year before. Mina, her youngest sister, grew apart emotionally from her family and associated with some young people who were interested in mountaineering. She traveled with those young men and women; and if Hana broke the family tradition by getting education, Mina did it to get liberty and freedom that Hana wished for it and did not have the courage to act upon it. Mina came home one day after a week of mountain climbing with a young man.
"Mom, this is my fiance'. We got engaged yesterday."
Gol looked at her perplexed without saying a word but congratulation, hoping this third son-in-law would be a decent one. Mina did not want a big wedding. The simple ceremony took place in their home in a few months.
The full house, as any other situation, changed within years. Some had died, some had moved away or married; and now it was Gol, Hamid, Hana, and her two sons that resided there. With Hana's hard work, against uncle Nabi's prediction, the mortgage on the house was fully paid even a few years earlier. Now Hana began doing some remodeling around the house that she was not able to do before because of the mortgage.
When one day Hamid approached Hana with a soft smile on his face, she knew he wanted something impossible.
"Listen, I was thinking, we've paid for this house for a long time. Don't you think the title of the house should be in our names!"
Hana was outraged. How could he say something like that? Her father had bought the house, and it belonged to his four remaining children and Gol. Besides, Hamid had never spent a penny there. Hana thought if would get his way, the next thing, he would want to throw her mother out. That was intolerable for Hana. To her, no matter what law said, that house belonged to her mother and it did not matter that she had paid the mortgage since the death of her father.
"Hamid, forget it. This is my mother's house and it'll stay that way as long as she lives."
"What happens when she dies?" He, shamelessly, said.
"Then it will be divided among my sisters, brother, and me."
"What about all the money we paid?!"
"You didn't pay anything, I did. Think of it as rent; and I don't want to hear this anymore."
That was one of the seldom occasion that Hana showed her anger to Hamid. Nevertheless, he continuously bothered her with that matter. Hana never gave in to that obscene demand even though it cost her to take more abuse from him.
When Hamid approached Hana for another deceptive suggestion, she already knew her answer would be no.
"What if if we rent an apartment for your mother. We need some privacy."
"My mother has never lived in an apartment. Why don't you rent an apartment for us so she can have some privacy?"
No matter how Hamid approached Hana for this issue, she stayed adamant for once in her life and did not give in to her morbid husband.
Gol, who had overheard them once, confronted Hana; but Hana assured her that nothing would change and that was her house. Meanwhile, Gol believed if any of her children deserved to own that house, it was Hana. Her other three children owned their own houses, while Hana had taken care of this house since her husband had passed away. She had kept the family together while herself had lived a miserable life. Gol wanted Hana to have the house; but law said that the house had to be divided to five and one eight; two portion for Boby, because he was a boy, and one portion for each girl, and one eight for her because she was the wife. What an unfair law! Having that in mind, she spoke individually to Sara, Mina, and Boby. She asked them the same question:
"Will you give your share of the house to Hana? After all it really is her house."
Boby and Mina agreed right away. Sara, at first, said no; but when Gol reasoned with her and insisted, she agreed, too. A week later, Gol and her four children went to the courthouse to turn the title of the house to Hana. For Hana that was not necessary. She really did not care one way or the other. However, after Gol's persuasive argument, she accepted that generous offer. Gol and her four children, uniting more than ever, decided not to speak of that matter to any one, especially Hamid.
And that was how Hana had the money to immigrate to America.
To Be Continued
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