generation have returned to Beirut to raise their kids
unexpected effect on me. Soumaya spent the entire
and pursue their careers in Lebanon.
summer living in Beirut and studying Arabic, and
As we chat on the phone, Zelfa asks me to drop
she got to know some great little hangouts around
by the apartment where she and her family are
Hamra. One is the café where we’d played
staying on their Beirut visit. I walk over to catch up
backgammon, a cozy little spot with fragrant coffee
with them over tea. They want to know how I’m
and classic Arabic music on the sound system, and
holding up so far, and I tell them about my
I’m eager to try it out as another of my home offices.
somewhat rocky first couple of weeks in Beirut.
Another is a well-stocked DVD shop she pointed to
Skandar tells me about his stint filming another
as we passed by. And one is a small takeout
Narnia sequel on Australia’s Gold Coast. An hour
restaurant and butcher shop called Cheikha, where
later his sister Soumaya, restless with the whole
we’d stopped after backgammon to pick up
parent-sibling scene, asks me to walk off with her to
shawarma sandwiches: warm, packed with freshly
a café to play backgammon. I’ve only played
rotisseried strips of pink lamb, and oozing with
backgammon, a staple of old-man village life in
tartar sauce. I have a feeling I’ll be coming back to
Lebanon, once in my life. She’s dying for a game.
all of these places. As I fall asleep that night, stuffed
I’m not sure why a recent Cambridge graduate with
on the shawarma and feeling happy about the
a posh British accent and a taste for trendy clothes
spontaneous hangout session with my relatives and
is so addicted to backgammon, but I learn that her
especially Soumaya, I realize that I’d been feeling
grandfather taught her to play. She ends up playing
like a tourist here in these past weeks, but suddenly
both her and my sides of the board, after we find
I feel a little less so. Bit by bit, I’m starting to
one on a shelf at a café nearby. I haven’t spent this
acclimate, to feel out a rhythm and build a
much time with her since she was much younger,
repertoire—crucial in any city if it’s ever going to
but I already love her sharp wit and glowing smile,
feel like home.
peeking out from under a mass of curly brown hair.
Alas, she’s headed back to England in a few days.
Spending that time with Soumaya, even just a
Jasmine and Fire is published by Broadway
couple of hours fumbling through a backgammon
Books. Available from outlets including
game and taking a stroll afterward, has an
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