Daughter of Sheena (19)

Behnaz Zarrabizadeh

Daughter of Sheena-19
Memories of Qadamkheyr Mohammadi Kanaan
Wife of Sardar Shaheed Haj Sattar Ebrahimi Hajir
Memory writer: Behnaz Zarrabizadeh
Tehran, Sooreh Mehr Publications Company, 2011 (Persian Version)
Translated by Zahra Hosseinian

Chapter Ten
After Nowruz, Samad went to Hamadan. One day he came back home and said: “good news Qadamkhyr! I’ve become guard. I told that I’ll become the Imam’s soldier.”
He should work on the Revolutionary Court, as he said. Early Saturday morning he went to Hamadan and Thursday evening he came back home. To prevent my moodiness, he said before I objected: “If you know how much work we have in the court. If it was not for the sake of you and Khadija, God knows, I didn’t come back these two days too.”
I just had realized that I’ve become pregnant again. I did not have good spirit. Not knew how to break this news to others. I said with tantrum: “don’t go to Hamadan. I feel ill. Have a think. It is like I’ve become pregnant again.”
Not to bat an eye, he quickly stretched his hands to the sky and said, "Thanks God. Thanks God very much. Oh God! Please forgive Qadamkhyr who’s so thankless. Oh God! Give us a good and competent child.”
I had torn my hair out. “What?” I said, “You say thanks God? You aren’t here to see how much I work hard and bother. In this cold weather I must wash clothes single-handed, do house works, and look after baby. All of house works are shifted on my shoulders. I faint because of fatigue.”
"First, the air is warming.” He smiled and said, “Secondly, not present Paradise to mothers for no good reason. You must work hard.”
I said: "I do not know. You should do something. It’s very soon to be pregnant again.”
He said: "don’t say these words. Khadija wants sibling. Sooner or later you need to have another child. Not this year, next year. This way is better, they both grow up together.”
He spoke somehow that made me calm. He told something about his work, and teased Khadija. Then he expressed so much happy for the second child that I forgot I was upset a few minutes ago.
Again Samad was not beside us. I was just happy that Hamadan to Qayesh is nearer than Hamadan to Tehran.
***
I was getting heavier day to day. Khadija was about one year old. She moved on all fours and picked up everything she saw and put it into her mouth. It was very hard for me to go after and take care of her. On the other hand, I had been away from my mother, since we had moved to our own house. I missed my father. I was lucky that the house of my sister, Hoori, was near. It was two or three houses away. She often paid a visit me. Especially in last month of my pregnancy, she paid a visit me every day before she started her daily house works. She went to her house to do her works after she was a load off her mind that I’m fine. Sometimes I went to my father’s house with Khadija. I stayed there three or four days. But wherever I was, I came back home on Thursday morning. And I cleaned everywhere. Samad liked Abgoosht very much. While nobody ate Abgoosht at nights, I cooked it for Samad.
Sometimes he arrived home at midnight. But he knocked. "You have key.” I said, “Why do you knock?”
He said: "after passing this long way, I like that you open the door for me.”
I said: “you don’t see my state?!”
He just remembered then that I’m spending the last month of my pregnancy, and should have his mind on me; but until next week he forgot everything again. I spent the last weeks of my pregnancy. "Qadamkhyr! Honey, Isn’t about time?” Saturday days, he asked when he wanted to go.
I said: “Not yet.”
He was a weight off his mind, and went.
But that week, on the Friday evening, he wore his clothes and readied to leave. It was Bahman and had snowed heavily. He said: “they want to send us on a mission early Saturday morning. It’s better to go in a way that I don’t miss it. I fear snow falls tonight again and roads be closed.”
“Isn’t about time, Qadamkhyr?” he asked when he was going.
I had a little back ache. I said to myself it might be a trifle pain. Two weeks later was the time of my childbirth, on my reckoning. "No. Go. It’s still soon.” I said.

To be continued…