Book of Queens by Pardis Mahdavi

Author:Pardis Mahdavi [MAHDAVI, PARDIS]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2023-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

LOUISE ARRIVED the next afternoon with little fanfare. Maryam had never seen a woman behind the wheel of a car before, but this American drove herself. When Louise stepped out of her Jeep, Maryam was amazed to see how tall she was, taller than Ali and all his uncles. Her straw-colored hair was shorter than Maryam’s, and her blue-green eyes exuded warmth.

Louise strode right up to Ali and Atta to shake hands. Maryam was shocked a woman would behave so brazenly and was even more startled when Louise pulled her into an embrace and kissed her three times on each cheek. She took Maryam’s hands in hers, and Maryam felt the calluses on her palms and knew Louise could feel hers as well. This woman was a worker. They exchanged a knowing look.

Another American woman had come along, Penny. They mentioned a third friend who was wandering their village in search of an inn for the night. Penny followed Louise’s lead, shaking hands with the men and embracing Maryam. She and Louise wore form-fitting trousers and knee-high boots. They looked like the magazine photographs Ezzhat had shown her of female riders competing abroad. Maryam’s heart skipped a beat.

“You are welcome here, Ms. Louise. You and your friends,” Ali said, breaking the easy silence.

“Khayli mamnoon,” Louise responded in heavily accented Persian. Parviz and Shahla, who had rushed out to see what appeared to be a Hollywood celebrity with a fancy car, giggled at her mispronunciation.

Louise knelt to meet the children at eye level. “Salam, bacheha, man Louise hastam,” she said, introducing herself. Though her Persian was clumsy, she breathed a quiet confidence. Maryam counted the creases around her eyes and mouth, drawn in by the simultaneous softness and power of this horsewoman.

Shahla squealed and covered her mouth, and Louise enveloped her in an embrace, which only further delighted the girl. She gave Atta a high-five, a gesture new to him but one he immediately adopted.

“Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving, and I smell a delicious stew,” Louise announced in English, smiling broadly.

Ali was the only one who comfortably spoke what northerners referred to as “the language of the colonizers,” which he had learned from his merchant father whose travels took him into Saudi Arabia, where English was the common tongue. He lowered his head in a half-bow and motioned their guests inside, where Maryam had set a humble table with the remnants of her wedding dishware. Penny excused herself, preferring to continue her tour of the surrounding villages after she retrieved Jean, but Louise sat right down and enjoyed every bite. When they were finished, she rose and thanked Maryam for the delicious meal. “Now, shall we ride?” she asked.

The room fell silent. All eyes were on Maryam. More than a decade had passed since she had last sat atop a horse. But Ali remained confident in his wife’s deep love for the gentle, powerful creatures. All he wanted was for Maryam to return to herself, and he knew the horses were an intrinsic part of her.

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