March 2007
The night was overcast and cold. I was headed home. Teaching four classes a day was a rewarding but tiresome job and I longed to crawl into bed. Tomorrow would see another four dance classes beginning at 1:30 PM and ending at 9:00 PM while my little restaurant ran under the hands of people I trusted. I had stayed a little longer than usual, sweeping the floor and straightening up.
The wind hit my face as I opened the studio door onto the bright lights of Geary Boulevard and I headed down the sidewalk toward my car. It was beginning to sprinkle and I didn't have an umbrella. Unlocking the door I climbed in and sat in the front seat for a while, watching the cars drive by with their lights glaring in the wet bustling night. The sidewalks were starting to close down as restaurants and businesses were letting out their last customers. I wondered how the night had gone at Al-Masri but I knew would soon know. Hatem always called after closing time to tell me.
I turned over the ignition and pulled my little green Toyota out into the street. Droplets were splashing off the windshield. Another 20 minutes and I would be home.
10:15 PM and the phone rang. "How did it go?" I asked in anticipation turning onto Sunset Boulevard. It had been a long four years since I gave up control of my restaurant to Hatem, who in turn had handed it over to Samar's management -- something I was not at all comfortable with since I stepped out of the restaurant kitchen and into my dance studio above Thom's Natural Food Store on Geary Boulevard. But I had, in those four years, pulled together an intricate one-year curriculum which far surpassed any I had taken, and I knew I was onto something. And, I was producing quality dancers. After all, Samar was one of those dancers as was her sister, Gabriela. Hatem had allowed Samar, against my wishes, to run my restaurant. But, as ill at ease as I was in that decision, and as many times as I questioned his judgment, Hatem always seemed to know how to convince me into thinking he knew what he was doing. And it always sounded legitimate and true.
"We had a full house." was his answer. His voice was weary-sounding but happy.
"That's great, Hatem!" I sighed a huge sigh of relief and smiled to myself. The money was finally going to come in, I thought, and I began to get a sense of security, feeling that my house would soon be rid of its refinances and second mortgage loans. It had been a along time coming -- too long for my taste. My dance school was growing and the restaurant was now making money. All would be well....
...or so I thought.
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