The Days without Mirror (Part 10)

2019-1-22

The Days without Mirror (Part 10)

Memoirs of Manijeh Lashgari; The wife of released pilot, Hossein Lashgari

Edited by: Golestan Jafarian

Translator: Zahra Hosseinian

Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company

‎2016 (Persian Version)‎

After lunch, I said, ‘Hossein, this house doesn't have any curtain; it will be darken within a few hours later, and we can't be comfortable at home.’

We both went for the beddings that my mother had sent. There were some large sheets among mattresses. We pinned them together and hung them on the windows of kitchen and one of the bedrooms. In the afternoon, when the heat wave diminished a little, Hossein said, ‘Let's go to Dezful to buy curtain.’ He apparently knew a good shop there. I chose different types of curtains for drawing room, bedrooms, and kitchen. The shopkeeper said, ‘it will take at least one week to become ready.’

Hossein said, ‘would you please come to our house now to measure the windows, and deliver us the curtains in three or four days? We’ve just got married and come to Dezful's Vahdati base. Our house has no curtains and we’re not comfortable.’

The shopkeeper asked, ‘Are you a pilot?’

Hossein replied, ‘Yes.’

The people of the south were sincere, warm and sympathetic. The shopkeeper said, ‘Ok, captain, I'll do my best.’

Before the dusk, the shopkeeper came to our house and measured windows. Then Hossein drove him to his shop.

When Hossein left the house, I was afraid of loneliness. I remembered my paternal busy house. I had sat down in a corner and was thinking when Hossein returned. It had not taken more than half an hour. It was sunset. Hossein took my hand and said, ‘I know your heart is heavy. Let’s go out and walk.’

We both went out and wandered around the base. Hossein showed me all parts of the base: the officer's club, the cinema, the house of base commander which was the emirate part of the base, and etc.

Then, we went to the officers' club, had dinner, and returned home. We slept early in the night, because Hossein should wake up very early in the morning. He woke up when it was still dark. I woke up too and said, ‘Hossein, don’t go without having breakfast. As you are putting on your clothes, I'll make breakfast for you.’

‘No honey,’ he said, ‘get sleep. Who does want breakfast at 5:30 am? I go, then I will buy a bread at 8:30 or 9:00 and return home to eat breakfast together.’

I became very happy. I pulled the blanket over my head and said, ‘oh, Hossein! Thank you!’

I do not know how many hours I'd slept when heard the doorbell. I got up, rubbed my eyes, and opened the door. He had left the key into the lock. ‘It's more safe.’ he said.

I apologized and said: ‘Hossein, sorry, you went and came back, and I’ve not still wash my face.’

He laughed and said, ‘This time, I forgive you, because you’re tired and couldn’t sleep the night before in train. Now let's take breakfast together.’

While I was changing my clothes and then washing my hands and face, he laid the spread. He had bought warm bread, cheese, butter, and jam. We both had breakfast. ‘Hossein!’ I said, ‘How good is this! Every day we can eat breakfast together.’

He said, ‘No, no honey! It's an exception for these few days. Because they know I'm newlywed, they show consideration for me.’

When he wanted to go to work, I asked, ‘What do I do for lunch?’

He put his hand on the tip of my nose and pushed it a bit and said while laughing: ‘Today, exceptionally, I'll bring meal from the club, honey, until you start on cooking little by little.’

When Hossein went, I felt lesser loneliness than yesterday; as if I was accepting that this is my life. I went to the kitchen and started to open the cartons and placed the dishes and utensils into cabinet.

We were invited to a dinner at the house of one of his friends. Three other couples had come too. In fact, it was an introduction meeting. Each couple had arrived at the base within two or three months. In fact, all were new-couples, but I and Hossein were the newest. Unconsciously I felt a bit being a stranger among them, but I tried to talk and not be so aloof.

The next morning, we ate breakfast together. When Hossein wanted to go out, I asked, ‘Hossein, what should I do for lunch?’

As he was tiding his boots laces, said, ‘cook anything you could.’

‘Oh, God!’ I said to myself, ‘Now what can I do?’ I hoped he said that we will again go to the club today. It was early in the morning. I was so anxious that I went to the kitchen soon. First, I saturated the rice. I knew how to cook rice, but making only steamed rice was not a good idea. I began thinking; I remembered the night before, when we attended Rouhangiz’s party - which was held in her house one or two blocks away from our house – she gave me her phone number and said, ‘call me whenever you need help and don’t stand on ceremony.’

Soon I went to the telephone and dialed her number. ‘Rouhangiz,’ I said, ‘Hossein asked me to make lunch today. We’ve bought a chicken the day before yesterday and now it’s in the fridge, but I don’t know how to cook it.’

She said, ‘I’ll come to your house now.’

Rouhangiz cleaned, chopped, and cooked the chicken. I was beside her all the time and tried to learn. I myself made the steamed rice. Rouhangiz said goodbye near noon and went. She said she should go home soon and cook a meal for her husband. She came from Varamin and was a clever housewife.

When I was cooking, Hossein called two or three times and asked, ‘are you ok? What’re you doing? Don’t you want anything? Haven’t you been bored?’

He was in habit of making me to talk. His behavior reminded me the behavior of mothers who worried about leaving their children alone at home. From the morning, when he left the home, Hossein called me two or three times if he was in the battalion and had no flight.

I made salad and set a spread. My heart throbbed fast when he came at 13:30. I was excited that I had prepared a delicious lunch. ‘Excellent!’ Hossein said, ‘what a good smell. What do we have for lunch?’

I said, ‘Chicken with steamed rice.”

His eyes widened. ‘Chicken with steamed rice!’ he said, ‘you knew how to cook it?!’

I said: ‘yes.’

We had lunch together and he thanked me a lot. A few days later, when I saw Rouhangiz, I said, ‘thanks a million Rouhangiz, it was a delicious chicken.’

She laughed. I laughed too.

To be continued…