Parisian Phoenix Publishing

If you saw my post yesterday, I talked about my travels in Tunisia, Yemen and Somalia.

In Yemen, I had tea at one of the “coffee houses” in the suq. I originally lingered outside because women in Yemen do not frequent the same social spaces as men, but as a traveler/guest, I was invited inside.

I recreated this experience somewhat when I had my character Dr. Jacqueline Saint-Ebène refuse this special treatment in a village in the Djiboutian countryside. She was offered a seat at the men’s circle for dinner, but she chose to eat with the women.

A woman brought a large clay pot to Mohammed-Anwar, with Philomé now seated to his right and Abdulfatah to Philomé’s right. Two seats remained beside him. Jacqueline gestured toward them.

“Go. Eat,” she said.

“There’s room for you,” Jules said.

The men already passed muufo, a corn flatbread, amongst themselves. A circle of women and children had formed behind the gathering of men. Two women at the far end of the circle held upside-down plastic buckets between their knees. Jacqueline smiled.

“I’m going to eat with the women,” she said.

Jacqueline progressed toward the other circle, the women and children breaking apart to allow her space. Nalia immediately plopped at Jacqueline’s feet. A seat on a large rock remained open, and Jacqueline guessed it normally belonged to Nalia’s grandmother. In the other circle, Philomé had removed his jacket, folding it across his lap. He dipped his fingers into the communal dish of cambuulo, a mash of beans and goat butter.

— Recovery, chapter 25 (Fashion and Fiends series)