Day Sixteen

Last night we went on a home visit to the home of a friend of the Sabets’, Janet, who lives in the same area that they used to. She’s a businesswoman (and apparently a good one) so she’s able to afford beachfront property. We shared some prayers with her and her son and while Mrs. Sabet was visiting with her, I went with Dr. Sabet and May down to the ocean. Although we had only the moon to see by, we shed our shoes and socks and ran out into the waves. The water was cool and the sand was wonderful. We all chased little crabs up and down the beach. They’re so fast!

Dr. Sabet suggested that we go to the beach on Naw Ruz, so we’ll see how that pans out. He’s also considering joining the yacht club and buying a sail boat, and he said we should go sailing before I leave.

I spent most of today inside because it was raining until the afternoon, but once the clouds drifted away it was an exceptionally beautiful day. May had a friend over and they wanted to go swimming, so Mrs. Sabet told me that if I wanted to go I had 2 minutes to get downstairs. So 15 minutes later, I accompanied Mrs. Sabet, May, and her friend Sarah to the Golden Tulip Hotel so that they could swim and the “grown-ups” could lounge around the pool. The weather was wonderful and the sea was beautiful, although it lacked the bright blue color that it has on really sunny days.

Sarah’s mother picked her up, but it was a little early still to go home so we stayed at the hotel for a bit longer before heading to the super market. The last time we were there, the man gave us a loaf of rye bread for free to try. So when Mrs. Sabet and I saw him in the store, she told him how much we enjoyed it. “And your husband?” he asked, motioning toward me. We laughed so hard that we couldn’t even catch our breath. We explained to the poor man, who was looking more and more embarrassed, that I was a guest and not her husband. I don’t know if Mrs. Sabet looks really young, I look really old, or he thought we were slightly scandalous, but she’s 30 years older than me and standing next to each other we don’t even begin to approach husband and wife.