Some beginning has no end or perhaps it has an unseen end that no one can anticipate. The long, agonizing days and nights for Hana and her sons seem without ending. Waiting for an attack, a blow, a fire, a shooting, or anything that Hamid is capable of, devastate mother and sons in such an anxiety that they did not know any other worrisome like that. Being afraid of a sabotage, Hana checks her car every morning thoroughly before going to work even though she does not know anything about the mechanism of a car. After all Hamid has always been good in working with cars; and he threatened many times that he was going to do something to break of her car, so while he was driving, the break would not work. As unbelievable paranoia possesses her to a degree that anytime she pushes the break, she expects its malfunction, she remember clearly that Hamid told her more than once that he could kill her in a car accident without anyone suspected it. At nights, she sits behind the window in dark and watches outside for any suspicious activity. Her strange behavior can not be hidden from her sons. Her sons, who watch her closely discern her perplexing manner and do not know how to cope with this new issue in their lives. However, deep inside, they do not like the silence either. It is not just like their father.
A week passes from the incident in the hospital without any news from Hamid while Hana is convinced something terrible has happened to him, and her sons believe he is having fun somewhere with their mother's credit cards. The boys' concern for her credit cards suddenly brightens Hana's obscure mind. She can find out where he is! That evening at dinner table, the enigmatic mother and sons finally come together in spirit and mind to do something about their imprecise lives.
"Mom, call your visa and master card and claim you've lost them. They close those accounts right away." Farhad says, looking in his mother's eyes with a searching glance.
"Farhad is right, mom. I bet he's maxed them up by now." Sam adds after a minute of silence.
In the past week Hana has been so frightened and delusive that she could not possibly think straight. Now she knows her sons are right and suffers a great deal for the future consequence.
"I call them tomorrow morning." Tear about to flow from her eyes.
"Mom, call them now. They're open twenty four hours a day. You must make that call not us. Why are you so hesitant? " Farhad says in an abrupt, decisive tone.
"Why didn't we think of this last week?" Sam cries, growing more ardent.
"You're right. Let me find their phone numbers." She says at last in a skeptical, unsteady voice while tears glisten in her eyes.
After answering all the question such as her mother's maiden name, or the last four digit of her social security number or zip code, she finally has the chance to tell the women on the other side that she has lost her credit cards. To answer their questions about when and how she lost them, she just simply says that she does not know. Her last question from the woman in all four calls is when was the last time the cards have been used; and all the answers of all four women are, in New Orleans. She does not dare to ask them how much , since she knows the closing statement will answer this question. The women make Hana to understand that she is responsible for all the charges up to that moment and they will send her new cards with new account numbers soon. They closed the accounts right away. The other matter that her sons bring to her attention is the car, her car.
"I can't do anything about it. The car is in our both names. The credit cards were in my name but he could use them, too, because he couldn't get one for himself for not having a job."
"But you're paying for the car, aren't you?" Farhad angrily says.
"I know, but that is how it is."
"I bet we hear from him tomorrow when he won't be able to buy his breakfast or pay his hotel with credit cards." Sam says with a profound look on his face.
Tehran-
To Be continued
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