"You're so quiet. Valery told me you're from Iran."
"Yes, I am." Hana says and then immediately adds: " But I am a US Citizen now."
Mario smile and says:
"Can I get you a drink?"
She blushes and says: "I don't drink."
"Why is that? Are you a Muslim?"
She thinks for a few seconds and then says: "I was born Muslim."
"Means you don't believe in that fate anymore!"
"I never believe in any religion." She begins feeling a little more relaxed.
"I take a glass of white wine."
Mario disappears and then returns with a paper cup of white wine. He is drinking the same, himself. Hana has noticed earlier that Valery was serving only beer and white wine from a box.
"Thank you, I didn't want you think I..." She pauses and does not know what to say.
Mario shakes his head.
"I understand. I was in Iran in 1976 for almost a year. I loved it there."
Hana gets all excited that they have something to talk about besides her.
"Really! What were you doing there?"
"I worked for an oil company.
She remembers the corruption of the Shah's foreign policy that cost him his throne.
"Do you have a degree in petroleum?" She shyly, yet sarcastically asks.
Mario, who senses her intelligence and what she is getting at, decide to be honest with this woman and says:
"No, I have a major in business and minor in philosophy. Strange, isn't it?" He is trying to disarm Hana in his own way, by being honest.
But that is all Hana needs to know. She thinks while many Iranians with petroleum degree could not get a job in oil fields, The Shah hired Westerners to do the work that his own people could do. That realization pinched her heart with pain and she recalls how her political idea once had cost her greatly. To escape her fervid impetuosity which is about to return to her after so long, she has two choices, either to leave or to change the subject. The first choice seems more conducive. When Mario sees she is about to leave, he says:
"It is too soon to leave, it is only nine thirty."
"I am sorry, I must go. I am not used to staying out late. My sons may worry for me."
"How old are your sons?"
Hana picks up her purse and hurriedly says:
"Twenty two and eighteen."
Hana can not even find Valery to say good bye to her. As she leaves, Mario follows her outside to her car while she hastily looks for the key in her purse. He puts his hand on her shoulder.
"I am not going to bite you. Why are you running away?"
Hana shivers by his touch and while opening the door of her car, she says:
"I must go. Please leave me alone."
"Valery told me about the unfortunate accident of your husband!"
She remembers that she has told Valery about Hamid's death, but she also recalls that she has not spoken of her miserable life to Valery.
"You know my wife died two years ago of cancer." He tries to create an empathic ambiance, but Hana starts the car and disappears like a lightning.
That night in bed, she thinks about Mario while I try to persuade her that it s perfectly all right to have a male friend and not to fall in love. She wonders who Mario was and how Valery knows him.
When she returns from party at ten, her sons are watching television; and Farhad's girlfriend, Karen, is also there. Her sons, whereas her, are very much accustomed to American culture; and what has been confusing and strange to her in Valery's home, is a normal way of living for her sons. While she thinks that back home, no son would dare to bring a girl friend home, she knows that she can not possibly stops her sons of doing so. When her sons ask her about party, she bluntly, says:
"It was okay, but not for me."
"Did you have a good time? Why wasn't for you?" Farhad asks her.
She thinks for a second. She is not sure if she had a good time or not. She does not know how to answer her son about "not for me" in front of Karen.
"I don't know."
Farhad turns to Karen: "This is the first time my mom went to a party in America alone!"
Karen looks at Hana surprised: "How come?"
Hana does not know how to answer. She wishes that they leave her alone.
"How come you came back so early?" Sam asks his mother.
"I don't know. I thought you may be worried for me."
Both her sons begin laughing while Hana hastily goes to her room and close the door.
Tehran-
To Be Continued
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