Sonallah Ibrahim - Beirut, Beirut

“I don’t drink Lebanese water. Buy me a bottle of Perrier.”

I put on my jacket and she accompanied me to the door. I locked it behind me. I had just gone out onto the street when it started raining heavily. I found that the grocery across the street was closed, so I ran to the corner and went into another store.

I bought a bottle of Perrier and hung around inside the shop in the hope that it would stop raining. When I saw it was starting to come down harder, I bought a newspaper, put it over my head, and ran back to the apartment.

She opened the door for me.

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

She laughed. “Everything’s fine, ya bey ,” she replied.

I poured her a glass of mineral water, and offered her a glass of cognac, but she declined. I poured one for myself. I went to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. I stood and surveyed the room. Nothing gave away that she had been there. Then I discovered that the towel was not in the place I had put it. My eyes fell on a spray bottle on the edge of the sink that wasn’t there before. I picked up the bottle and found that it was French. It said on the label that it was the best product for “cleansing intimate parts of the body and giving them a fresh scent and taste”.

I put the bottle back where it had been, and stood there thinking: Did she forget it by accident? Or did she intend to leave it there so I could see it? Either way, it led to the same conclusion.

I went back to the living room and found that she had closed the door to the balcony, and lit the electric heater. She had taken off her shoes and socks, and had her legs stretched out in front of her on the table.

I sat down next to her, looking at her white, symmetrical feet and her slender toes, with the shiny coat of deep-red nail polish on her long nails. I saw her give her feet a meaningful look.

I got down on my knees and clasped her feet, running my hands over them.

“No corns or calluses,” I said.

“Why would I have them?” she asked.

“Everyone has them,” I explained.

“It’s because of their shoes. I pay good money to get comfortable shoes.”

“From Beirut?” I asked.

“No, from Xavier.”

I hadn’t heard the name before, so I stayed silent. I leaned my head over her feet. I brought my mouth to her toes, took one of them between my lips, and slowly sucked it.

I looked up at her and found that she was watching me in concentration. Her face had drained of any expression. I licked between her toes, then passed my lips over the back and sides of her feet up to her ankles.

After a moment, I bumped up against the hem of her pants. I adjusted my position on my knees and put out my hand to her middle. She refused for a little, but then helped me. Soon her pants were in a pile at her feet.

Her white thighs were revealed before my eyes. I felt her soft skin with the palm of my hand. Then I leaned my head over them.

Her hidden scent made its way into my senses, light and captivating. I kissed her under her knees and between her thighs. The taste of her was cool and fresh, like the taste of a body directly after a bath.

A diaphanous fabric embroidered with lace presented itself to me, and I licked its rough texture that mingled with her softness. I pulled it down, and her hair — light, carefully trimmed — was exposed.

She leaned her body back until she was lying flat on the couch with her face toward me. I brought my face close, and her silky skin surrounded my cheeks. My lips attached themselves to her damp flesh. The taste of the salty sea made its way to my tongue, and I lapped it up with pleasure.

My jaw began to hurt, so I looked up at her. I saw she had her eyes closed. A moment later, I couldn’t move my jaw any longer, so I backed away. I flung myself on a chair, dazed and exhausted.

After a moment, she opened her eyes. She sat up feebly and began putting her clothes back on. Then she asked me for a cigarette.

I lit one and gave it to her, then she lit one for me. I noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears.

“Today is the anniversary of my mother’s death,” she said in a whisper.

I moved over next to her and took her in my arms. She rested her head on my shoulder. Then she looked at my lap. Hesitantly, she put her hand on my crotch, then looked in my eyes and asked, “Did you…?”

“Nothing happened. That’s not what usually happens with me.”

“And I wasn’t doing anything to turn you on.”

I looked at my watch over her head. “It’s twelve o’clock now,” I said. “I have to go. You should, too, otherwise they’ll be asking about you.”

“ Ouf — this city gets on my nerves. It’s so small! You can’t move around freely in it without someone seeing you. I wish we were together in Paris. By ourselves. We could have fights and yell at each other. And sleep together.”

“There are Arabs there everywhere you look.”

“True. Alright then, Geneva.”

“Do you know it well?”

“Of course. I’ve visited it several times.”

“And did you stay at the Noga Hilton?”

“How did you know?” she asked in astonishment.

“Because all Arabs like you stay there.”

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. Except that the owner of the hotel is an Israeli who gives Israel two million dollars a year. He accompanied Begin when he visited Cairo for the first time. He was with him to welcome Sadat at Beersheba last year.’’

She raised her eyebrows in disapproval: “And what do I have to do with all that?”

“True. What do you have to do with all that?”

After a moment, I added, “Also, I don’t have the money to travel.”

“I’d pay for you,” she said eagerly.

I shook my head. “What makes you think I even want to travel with you?”

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, putting her hand on my chest to push me away.

Smoothing her hair, she stood up, picked up her bag and hurried to the door.

I hurried after her, and grabbed hold of her. Then I put my arms around her and kissed her. Her legs buckled and I clung to her body. She began to move slowly, then pulled away, saying:

“I have to go.”

“Did you forget that you promised to drive me?” I asked.

“It’s better if I don’t, so that no one sees us together.”

I let her go. I straightened out the couch and adjusted my clothes and hair. Then I put on my jacket and headed outside.

The Sixth and Final Part of the Film

Title card:

In May 1977, Menachem Begin became prime minister of Israel. Two months later, he visited Washington, carrying with him a plan to restart negotiations to settle the Middle East crisis. Before he traveled, he declared that Israel was prepared to participate in the Geneva summit, provided that the PLO was excluded.

But the visit resulted in his agreement with President Carter to get around the Geneva conference and remove the Soviet Union and the PLO from the negotiations.

There were clear indications about Sadat’s aims, and about the keys to his personality. Begin found the opportunity was a suitable one for conclusively removing Egypt from the Arab bloc.

Begin began by making hints to Sadat via the royal palace in Morocco that he had information about a Libyan conspiracy against Sadat. He made it clear that he was prepared to give the details directly to a designated Egyptian deputy.

Sadat hastened to send the director of Egypt’s military intelligence services to Rabat, where he met the head of the Mossad, who gave him the details of the conspiracy. Sadat immediately ordered a punitive attack on Libya. For a full week, Egyptian planes bombed Libyan positions at the borders, and beyond. With these raids, Sadat hoped to prove that he was capable of opposing a regime hostile to the United States.