The Touch of Summer

The roaches have gotten used to having the place to themselves. I was told that two summer-school teachers would be staying in my apartment during July and August, thus taking care of my rent and utility bills in my absence; apparently they were moved at the last minute to another teacher’s abode after my roommates and I left. There are bills lying all around my house... I’m not sure who put them inside... and since they are not dated, it’s difficult to tell which have been paid and which haven’t. In the morning I’ll ask Amina to speak with my guardian, Simo, with me. Some things are just too subtle for me to try using my clunky Arabic.

I am safely back in Fes! Through Boston, Iceland, London, and Casablanca, I finally arrived at the Fes airport far too late at night, and was picked up by Ginger, who was so gracious to offer her automotive assistance at 2am, and Abdul, keeping her safe! Although I was only in the air for 14 hours between USA and Fes, it was a 29 hour transit (including the time difference). Whew. I actually spent a good part of the waking hours on the flight staring at my sparkly engagement ring, and feeling overwhelmingly girlish for doing so.

Dawn is breaking over the train station. The morning call to prayer is deliciously intricate, and achingly familiar, like the briefest of summer rains after a drought.

I can’t bear to close my eyes; I feel like I need to take it all in again – my apartment, with its white tile floors and bright soft blankets, and the city. My view out the window gets clearer every minute as the sun comes up. Bright laundry hangs from my neighbor’s balconies. The cement near the roof across the street is starting to grow moss. The hanout’s Fort Knox thief-proof door stays tightly shut, because I am sure Si Mohamed is sleeping in after a late night of Ramadan feasting. It promises to be a hot summer day. Summer has left a thin film over my apartment, like dew, but made of liquid heat. Everything is slightly sticky, from the bags of spices I left in the cabinets, to the skirts still in my bathroom closet. It’s refreshing to set everything up again. I had fun re-moving in to my apartment here. And nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of battling giant cockroaches.