Writers on the Storm

by Christy Cauley

When the trio arrived at Mrs. Hakim’s house, they rang the door bell, but instead of hearing a bell, they heard a noise saying “gobble, gobble, gobble.” The women were laughing when the door opened. Daniel Hakim was standing in the doorway holding baby Zayn in his arms. She was dressed all in pink and looked thrilled to be with her daddy who was wearing a sweater vest over a white shirt and khaki pants. Cornelia thought he looked a bit like Carl.

  “Well, hello, Cornelia, ladies, please come in,” he greeted them.

  As the women came in and put their coats on the coat rack, Cornelia made introductions.

  “This is Mr. Hakim” Cornelia said to Veronica and Michelle. She wasn’t sure what to call Michelle, so she allowed her mother to make the introductions. She called Michelle her “friend” and Cornelia thought Michelle made a face, but she couldn’t be sure.

  “Hakim is a very interesting last name,” Michelle remarked.

  “Oh yes,” Daniel replied. “It’s my wife’s family name. When we got married I took her name so that our children could carry on her family’s legacy. But please call me Daniel.”

  “Wow,” Michelle replied. “So Veronica, if we get married, who will take whose name?”

  Veronica looked at Michelle with what Cornelia thought was a look of terror. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she regained her composure quickly and replied that they would have to cross that bridge when and if they came to it. Cornelia was sensing hostility and she didn’t like it. She didn’t want there to be a scene at Thanksgiving dinner.

  After an odd pause, Daniel led the women to the living room where Raja and Nazeeh were introduced to Michelle and Veronica. This time the introductions were less eventful. The children were reading on the window seat with Ralph the poodle at their feet, so the grown-ups went over to the couch and chair. The dog didn’t acknowledge the visitors. He was content to sleep on his pillow bed The children were wearing very flamboyant clothing. They were ornate pant suits made from bright colors. There were Thanksgiving decorations as well as other decorations that Cornelia didn’t recognize. One streamer looked like it had mosques on it and it said something in Arabic. Mrs. Hakim’s blanket was lying over the top of the couch. Michelle admired it and Daniel told her the story about how Samantha’s mother had made it for them as a wedding gift.

  “Where’s Mrs. Hakim?” Cornelia interjected.

  “Oh, she’s in the kitchen with Admeta,” Daniel replied. “You’re welcome to join them. Take a left around the corner and keep walking straight. But I’m warning you right now, my wife is the queen of that kitchen.” The grown-ups laughed while Cornelia got up to walk to the kitchen.

  As she walked down the long hallway off of the living room, she admired family portraits on the wall. Some were recent and some were quite old. Some of the frames looked like antiques. Cornelia wondered if they had come from Iran. She had never been in any other room besides the living room, so she was taking everything in.

  When she arrived at what must have been the kitchen door, she knocked. She thought it was a strange thing to do but she didn’t want to interrupt.

  “Daniel, it will be ready when it is ready and not a moment sooner,” Mrs. Hakim said.

  “It’s Cornelia.”

  “Oh, come on in, dear,” Mrs. Hakim said. They greeted each other but Admeta was nowhere to be found. Mrs. Hakim was also wearing a very ornate pant suit with a matching hijab. Cornelia could tell that she was wearing a wig underneath, but other than that, Mrs. Hakim looked better than Cornelia had seen her in weeks. She thought there was no way the guests were going to notice that she was sick.

  “I like your suit, Mrs. Hakim,” Cornelia said.

  “Why, thank you, my dear. You look lovely as ever. But tonight I am not Mrs. Hakim, I am Samantha. We are all friends here tonight.”

  “O.k.” Cornelia replied but she just couldn’t push herself to add, “Samantha.” It just felt strange. Just then the back door opened and Admeta walked in carrying some cooking utensils. She was wearing a blue skirt with a white top and black shoes. Cornelia thought she looked very nice.

  “Hey Cornelia,” Admeta said happily.

  “Hey. Wow, you look really nice,” Cornelia said to Admeta.

  “You don’t have to sound so shocked, Cornelia,” Admeta retorted.

  “No, I just meant…”

  “Meant what?”

  “I just meant that I’ve never seen you wear a skirt is all,” Cornelia said.

  “Oh, yeah, well I’ve never seen you on a special occasion.”

  “I guess that’s true,” Cornelia replied. The two girls laughed. Admeta was still quick to think the worst but at least she gave Cornelia a chance to finish now.

  “When did you get here?” Cornelia asked Admeta while Mrs. Hakim took the utensils out of Admeta’s hands.

  “I had my dad drop me off early this morning, before my brothers woke up. I’ve been helping cook the turkey,” Admeta said, much to Cornelia’s relief. She was sure Admeta’s brothers, at least the one that she had met, would have caused some kind of commotion.

  “Thanks for the warning,” Cornelia said, jokingly.

  “Oh, very funny. If you keep it up I’m going to serve you the tofu turkey Samantha is making for your boyfriend’s family,” Admeta said with a laugh.

  “Tofu turkey? I didn’t know anything like that existed,” Cornelia said, also laughing.

  “Oh, they have tofu everything these days,” Mrs. Hakim chimed in.

  “Do you need any help?” Cornelia offered.

  “Actually the utensils from the back porch grill were the last things I needed and Admeta has supplied those already. You girls should go off and do whatever it is girls your age do. Talk about boys, perhaps?” Mrs. Hakim asked and then winked at the girls.

  “Very funny, Samantha,” Admeta replied. Cornelia thought it was so odd to hear Admeta call Mrs. Hakim Samantha. Carl was the only teacher she knew who wanted to be called by his first name.

  “Want to sit on the porch and wait for Chad?” Cornelia offered.

  “Are you sure you don’t need our help?” Admeta asked Mrs. Hakim.

  “You have done more than enough, my dear, go and have fun now,” Mrs. Hakim responded and the girls went to the foyer to get their coats.

  As they walked past the living room door, Veronica asked where they were going.

  “We’re going to wait…” Admeta began, but was interrupted by Cornelia.

  “We’re going to the porch to talk about boys,” Cornelia blurted out. Admeta almost laughed. She figured out that Cornelia hadn’t told her that Chad was coming.

  “Oh, this is Michelle. Michelle, this is my friend Admeta,” Cornelia said quickly. Admeta and Michelle exchanged “hellos” before Cornelia rushed Admeta out the door.

  When they got outside Admeta began laughing. “You still haven’t told your mom that Chad is coming?”

  “I know. I’m a coward,” Cornelia said.

  “Well she’s going to find out soon enough, isn’t she?” Admeta asked.

  “I guess so,” Cornelia responded and both girls laughed and steam rose out of their mouths into the chilly afternoon air.

  “Hey, that was a good idea sneaking out of the house before your brothers woke up.”

  “Yeah, I was so worried they were going to follow me if I tried to leave later. They’re so immature.”

  “Well we’re the ones freezing our butts off just so we can talk about boys,” Cornelia tried to make Admeta laugh.

  “My brothers aren’t boys, they’re annoyances,” Admeta said and the girls were laughing again. They walked over to the steps and sat down. They were quiet for a moment.

  “How is Mrs. Hakim?” Cornelia asked somberly.

  “I think she looks good, don’t you?” Admeta said rather excitedly.

  “Yeah, she does, but is it real?”

  “I was wondering the same thing.”

  “It could just be a show for the guests.
She probably doesn’t want them to know she’s sick.”

  “Yeah, it could be, but she’s a good actress. She’s been hyper all day.”

  “That’s a good thing, right?”

  “I don’t know. I hope she isn’t over doing it. She just finished chemo.”

  Cornelia was reminded of one of the many times her grandmother had finished chemo treatments. She was the same way. She was so glad to not have poison being injected into her body that she found bountiful energy. Of course when her test results came back and the cancer was still there, all the joy would go out of her. She knew she would have to start another round soon and that took all of the wind out of her sails.

  “Cornelia?” Admeta asked.

  “What? Oh sorry, I was thinking about something else.”

  “I can see. Was it your grandma?”

  “How did you know?”

  “You get that same look on your face when you talk about your grandma.”

  “I do?”

  “Yep.”

  “I had no idea I had a ‘look.’ ” Cornelia responded. And she felt for the barrette on her head to make sure it hadn’t fallen off. One of her biggest fears was losing that barrette.

  “We all have those looks,” Admeta said.

  “I guess so,” Cornelia replied. Then a hybrid car pulled into the driveway behind Veronica’s huge SUV. Cornelia could see Chad’s parents looking at the SUV with a little bit of disgust. She looked around to see if she could catch a glimpse of Chad in the back seat. The girls stood up as the Barringtons exited their car. It took Chad a little longer because he had to climb over the driver’s seat. The car only had two doors.

  Cornelia thought Chad looked spectacular. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt that said, “Give Thanks to Mother Earth,” and brown flip flops. Cornelia thought he was crazy for wearing flip flops when it was freezing outside, but she didn’t care. She couldn’t wait to see him. Chad’s parents looked like typical ex-hippies. His mother was wearing a very flowing patterned skirt with a puffy blue shirt that looked like it came from a Renaissance Festival. She couldn’t see her shoes because the skirt drug the ground. Chad’s father was dressed a lot like Chad, with jeans and flip flops, but his shirt was plain navy blue. Both were wearing small black-rimmed glasses.

  “Well hello there, Cornelia,” Mr. Barrington said. “And who might you be?” he asked, looking at Admeta.

  “I’m Admeta,” she replied before Cornelia could make introductions.

  “Well hello, Admeta, I’m Leaf and this is my life partner Sunshine,” Mr. Barrington said as the trio walked up the stairs where the girls were standing. Cornelia had never heard the Barrington’s first names before. She knew they were into the environment, but she didn’t know they were named after it. She didn’t understand the “life partner” bit either.

  As the Barringtons reached the first step they both hugged Cornelia and then, much to the girls’ surprise, they hugged Admeta too. Admeta giggled a little bit. She wasn’t used to getting hugs from total strangers. Chad just smiled at them.

  “Shall we go in?” Sunshine asked.

  “Sure,” Admeta replied.

  “Lead the way, my fine young friend,” Leaf said.

  “Dad, Cornelia and I will be there in just a minute,” Chad said and Cornelia was happy to hear it.

  “Gotcha, my boy. Gotta spend time with the missus,” Leaf replied. Chad chuckled as Leaf, Sunshine and Admeta went inside.

  “I’m so glad you could come,” Cornelia said before kissing and hugging Chad.

  “I’m glad I could come too, CC,” Chad said as he stroked her hair. They embraced for what seemed like several minutes and then released.

  “I didn’t know your mom and dad had such nature-friendly names,” Cornelia laughed.

  “Oh, you mean Sunshine and Leaf? Yeah, they came up with those themselves. Their real names are Jane and George.” Both of them laughed.

  “Then why are you named Chad?” Cornelia asked and Chad blushed.

  “Actually, CC, that’s not my real name,” Chad admitted.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that, just as my parents chose their names, I chose mine.”

  “Oh my God, are you telling me Chad isn’t your real name?”

  “Nope.”

  “Then what is it?!” Cornelia insisted.

  “Promise not to laugh?”

  “I would never laugh at you.”

  “Seriously, CC, promise not to laugh and promise never to tell anyone, o.k.?”

  “Cross my heart and hope to die!” Cornelia said in exasperation.

  “It’s River.”

  “What’s a river?” Cornelia asked, confused.

  “That’s my name – River.”

  “Oh my God,” Cornelia said. She suppressed the urge to laugh and just looked at her boyfriend with affection.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me your real name. Have I been dating a stranger?”

  “Oh, very funny, CC, I’m the same me I’ve always been no matter what my name is.”

  “I know, it’s just that’s a pretty big secret.”

  “Secret being the keyword. That’s why I haven’t said anything until now. You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

  “Of course not, River!” Cornelia said, loudly and Chad covered her mouth with his hand in a playful manner.

  “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” He asked and started tickling Cornelia who was laughing hysterically.

  “Ut oh,” Chad said.

  “What?”

  “Don’t look now, but your mother is looking at us through the bay window.”

  Despite the warning, Cornelia turned around to see her mother. If she were any closer to the window her nose would be fogging up the glass. Cornelia turned back around and took a step back away from Chad.

  “You didn’t tell her I was coming, did you, CC?”

  “Huh?”

  “You heard the question.”

  “Well,” Cornelia began. “Oh, alright, I just couldn’t do it, o.k.? I was afraid if I told her then she wouldn’t let me come and I couldn’t take that chance. It’s not fair that I’m not allowed to see you,” Cornelia said, almost with a sob.

  “It’s not that bad, CC. We’ll get through this and everything will be back to normal.”

  “What’s normal?”

  “I don’t know,” Chad replied, “but we’ll get there.” Chad grabbed Cornelia’s hand and led her into the house. After they put their coats on the rack, the couple walked into the living room. If looks could kill, Cornelia would have been dead on the spot. Veronica was obviously not pleased by the surprise guests. The proper introductions were made and Chad and Cornelia sat on the bench next to the couch along with Admeta. The grown-ups were on the couch and in two chairs. The baby was asleep in a bassinette and the older children were still quietly reading on the window bench in front of the bay window.

  The adults were talking about real estate. Cornelia was sure that Michelle had gotten that ball rolling. It’s all Michelle ever seemed to talk about. Veronica was hanging on her every word when she wasn’t shooting Cornelia dirty looks. The three high school students chit chatted about homework, school and other activities. Cornelia watched her mother out of the corner of her eye, catching every dirty look sent her way. She knew she was going to get in trouble when she got home.

  After about a half hour, Mrs. Hakim came into the living room and told everyone that dinner was ready. Cornelia thought dinner was a funny word since it was barely lunch time. Mrs. Hakim had scheduled dinner early because her family had plans for later in the evening. Mrs. Hakim was introduced to Michelle and Chad’s parents as people began shuffling out of the room into the hall. Much to Cornelia’s surprise, Samantha said hello to Veronica as if they knew each other. Cornelia had no idea they had even met before. The children were the last to leave the room, as was their custom. Ralph stood up to follow t
hem, but Mrs. Hakim shook her finger at him and the poodle laid back down on his bed. The dining room was the first door on the left before reaching the kitchen.

  When Cornelia walked in, she thought she had been transported to some palace. The dining room was just as big as the living room. It had beautiful antique furniture, including a china cabinet that was filled with all sorts of knick-knacks, as well as some china that seemed to be missing a few pieces. The chairs and table looked to be hand carved with very detailed accents. The seats were red velvet and the table cloth was red, covered by a large hand knitted white lace overlay. Overhead was a huge chandelier with lots of shining rhinestones.

  As Cornelia sat down in her assigned seat, she saw that the missing china pieces were set out on the table. The table had been set as if it were a very expensive French restaurant like the ones Cornelia’s dad brought her to sometimes before he married Brandy. Mrs. Hakim had sat all of the children on one side of the table. Michelle and Veronica were directly across the table from Admeta and Cornelia, which made it easier for Veronica to give Cornelia dirty looks, but it also made it difficult for her to speak to Cornelia and that made her glad. Mr. Hakim rolled in the bassinette and put it and its still sound asleep contents next to the head of the table where Mrs. Hakim was going to sit. Mr. Hakim walked over to the opposite end. Chad’s parents were next to Veronica. The children had already sat down when Cornelia noticed that the adults were still standing.

  “Please sit,” Mr. Hakim said and the adult guests took their seats, followed by Mrs. Hakim. Mr. Hakim did not sit down until everyone else was seated. The food was already out on the table and it all smelled delicious. Cornelia saw what must have been the tofu turkey sitting on Mrs. Hakim’s side of the table. It was a white sculpture shaped it into the likeness of a turkey with costume feathers stuck in to form a fan tail. Everything looked wonderful. Cornelia hadn’t seen a meal like this since before her parents had divorced.

  “Shall we say grace?” Mrs. Hakim asked. Her family and Admeta nodded but everyone else just looked at her.

  “For those of you who are new to our customs, I shall pray first and then Daniel will continue, o.k.?” No one objected.

  “I would normally pray in Arabic, but in consideration of our guests I will speak mostly in English,” Mrs. Hakim began as she stood up. Cornelia wasn’t sure what to do. Should she stand up? Sit still? Bow her head? Hold hands? She looked around to see what everyone else was doing. They were all looking at Mrs. Hakim, so that’s what Cornelia did too. As if she had read Cornelia’s thoughts, Mrs. Hakim informed the guests that they did not have to participate in the prayer.

  “Since today is Eid ul-Fitr, the Festival of Fast-Breaking, my prayer shall be in two rakat, Mrs. Hakim began. “My apologies, that would be units to our guests,” Mrs. Hakim said and then smiled. Then she did the strangest thing. She started washing her face with water from a beautiful, large china bowl that was on the other side of her place setting. She washed her head, hands, arms, ankles and feet all while everyone else watched quietly. Then the children did the same as their mother looked on to be sure they were thorough.

  When they were through, she asked, “Are you ready, children?”

  “Yes, mother,” Raja and Nazeeh said and Raja placed the bowl on an end table behind her chair.

  “Very well,” Mrs. Hakim said and then began.

  “Allahu Akbar,” she said and then lifted her hands to her ears. The children repeated the same phrase after her and lifted their hands after she did. Then all three put their hands back to their sides. This was repeated three times. Then Mrs. Hakim grabbed a book that had been sitting beside her place setting and the children put their hands on their chests, with their right arms over their left arms.

  “Now I shall read the Surah Al Fatiha,” she said while opening the book that Cornelia guessed was the Qur’an.

  “In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful Master of the worlds and Sovereign of the Day of Judgment. You alone we worship, and from You alone we seek our aid.

  Guide us to the straight path. The path of those You have earned. Your favor Not of those who have earned Your anger Or those who have gone astray. Ameen.”

  Then Mrs. Hakim said, “Allahu Akbar,” three times again and again her children repeated her and mimicked her movements. They were in perfect sync as if they had done this a million times before. Cornelia was fascinated. When they were through, Mrs. Hakim placed the Qur’an back on the table beside her and sat down, smiling across the table to her husband.

  Daniel did not stand up when he said, “Now it’s my turn. Feel free to hold hands if you like, but you do not have to participate if you don’t want to.”

  Everyone looked around for a moment, but after seeing Raja and Nazeeh reach out their hands, everyone decided to take their neighbor’s hand. The whole table formed a prayer circle that was only broken by Mrs. Hakim who had bowed her head and closed her eyes.

  Mr. Hakim’s Christian prayer was much shorter, “Bless us, O’ Lord, for these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive through the bountiful hands of Christ our Lord. Amen.”

  Everyone said, “Amen,” even Mrs. Hakim.

  “Now we are ready for the eating, no?” she asked and everyone laughed.

  Mr. Hakim carved the turkey at the request of the guests. Mrs. Hakim carved the tofu turkey for Chad and his parents. Everyone passed around bowls and plates filled with delicious food that you would find at any other Thanksgiving dinner or lunch as the case may be. There were also exotic dishes that Cornelia had never heard of before. Mrs. Hakim tried to explain all of them. There was biryani, which was a rice dish, swaiya which looked like some sort of noodles, and dates instead of sweet potatoes. Mrs. Hakim explained that dates are a traditional Islamic fruit.

  Over dinner everyone was enjoying themselves. Even Veronica was getting into the spirit. Cornelia hoped her jovial mood would last when they got home. She wasn’t looking forward to her “no Chad while you’re grounded” lecture.

  Chad’s parents raved about the tofu turkey. They complimented Mrs. Hakim over and over again. They were also very interested in Mrs. Hakim’s culture. They asked many questions about Iran, Islam and Ramadan which had just ended. Mrs. Hakim told them she did not participate in fasting during Ramadan, but she did not tell them it was because she was fighting cancer. Cornelia took that as a sign that she didn’t want anyone else to know. She was relieved. She was not looking forward to telling anyone the terrible news. She remembered when her grandmother had told her that she had breast cancer.

  Cornelia remained strong after her grandmother gave her the news, but when she got home she cried herself to sleep that night and several nights after. Her grandmother was the first person she had ever known to have cancer. Cornelia had no idea what to expect, but for some reason she feared the worst from the very beginning, just as she was doing with Mrs. Hakim.

  Cornelia looked over at the end of the table. Mrs. Hakim was fussing over the baby. She must have thought the child wasn’t warm enough because she added a blanket. Cornelia wondered how the baby could sleep through all of the commotion that was going on. Mrs. Hakim was looking better, Cornelia thought. She didn’t have dark rings under her eyes and she seemed to have energy. But Cornelia knew that could be deceiving. Cancer was a big deceiver. Just when you think you have it licked, it comes back to bite you again. Cornelia was still thinking the worst.

  After a very long meal and conversation over tea and dessert, Mr. Hakim announced that their family was going to the Over-the-River Soup Kitchen to serve Thanksgiving dinner to homeless people. They said if anyone wanted to join them, they were welcome to. Cornelia didn’t know it, but Admeta had already agreed to go. Chad’s parents jumped at the idea of helping the homeless. The only person who didn’t seem pleased was Veronica.

  Veronica’s only experience with service to the community had been sitting on boards and committees of charities where she mostly helped
plan fund raisers for rich people. She attended the events, but the people who benefitted from them were rarely there. And if one was there, they were a special guest. Veronica had never gotten her hands dirty while helping others. She was much better at getting people to open their check books than their hearts.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Don’t we have plans tonight, Michelle?” Veronica asked. Michelle looked annoyed.

  “Of course not. It’s Thanksgiving. What better way to celebrate all that we have to be thankful for than by helping others less fortunate than ourselves?” Michelle asked with a smile.

  Cornelia could tell that answer was not what Veronica was looking for but she held back the urge to laugh. She didn’t know what was going on between the two of them but there was definitely tension. Veronica shot Michelle a look that could only be recognized by people who were close to her. It was the same look she was giving Cornelia when she was looking out the bay window earlier that afternoon. To Chad it looked like annoyance, but to Cornelia it looked like she was going to kill her.

  “Of course,” was all Veronica could say in reply.

  Cornelia was happy at the prospect of helping people on Thanksgiving. She was just hoping that the turkeys had already been plucked and cooked. She didn’t want to go through that again. She gave Admeta a look and it was as if Admeta could read her mind.

  “The turkeys are already cooked, CC,” Admeta said and both girls laughed. Everyone looked at them, but no one else was in on the joke.

  Cornelia was surprised that no one was changing their clothes. She couldn’t because she didn’t bring spares, but she thought for sure the Hakims would change out of their beautiful pant suits. But all Mrs. Hakim did was lead everyone into foyer to get their coats and then into the kitchen to pick up grocery bags filled with food. Everything they had had for Thanksgiving was in the bags, except for turkey and tofu. Mrs. Hakim explained that it is customary to give to those less fortunate than you on Eid ul-Fitr. Cornelia was a little embarrassed that her family had not brought anything along. She had no idea this was going to happen, but she was excited about seeing the people at the soup kitchen again which surprised her.

  When everyone’s arms were full, Mrs. Hakim picked up the baby and everyone headed out to their cars with supplies. Admeta drove with Cornelia’s family, Veronica would never allow Chad to ride with them, so Cornelia didn’t dare ask. She had already pushed her luck too much that afternoon. Once all of the cars were loaded and the baby was in her car seat, the families headed off to Over-the-River for an evening of service.