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perfect.
    I smiled and shook my head. “They are very beautiful, but I am not able to buy anything today. You would be much better off finding someone else to help.”
    “No, no,” he assure me. “It does not matter if you buy. We are delighted to have visitors learn more about our beautiful carpets. You do not need to buy. It is an honor to see such a very pretty lady in our shop. Very pretty. Tell me, are you married?” He smiled and looked directly into my eyes.
    “No,” I answered, puzzled. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was flirting. Without thinking, I touched my thumb to the inside of my left ring finger where my wedding bands had been for so long. They now rested at the bottom of Town Lake in Austin, Texas. I could have sold them, but watching the way they flashed in the sun just before they vanished into the blue water had been worth any price I could have obtained. Moreover, Mike had been trying to get them back in the divorce to make some sort of point, and I wanted them beyond his reach forever. After he knew they were gone, he actually claimed they had belonged to his grandmother and had priceless sentimental value. That fell apart when I pulled out the receipt from Zales. He had always kept good records.
    The salesman was still talking. “That is impossible. A beautiful lady like you. Well, if you are not married then that is my good fortune. Will you marry me? I assure you, I would be the happiest man in the world.”
    I started laughing. Of all the ridiculous things. A thirty-second courtship. It had to be a world record. And he was almost young enough to be one of my students—one of the more brazen ones. He smiled a very charming smile.
    “At least allow me to show you the difference between the finest silk rugs and the less costly wool,” he said quickly and started herding me away. “Even if you do not buy, you will know what to look for when you return.”
    I gave a smile and tried to escape. “I would love to look at your beautiful rugs, but we aren’t going to be coming back. In fact, we’re leaving tomorrow. You really should find somebody else to help.”
    “Ah, no, no. I do not care if you buy. One day you will return to Egypt and you will remember.” We stopped beside a huge pile of rugs resting on the floor, and he pulled one off the top. “Look at this one. Do you see the colors? The rich shades. You will not find anything like this in your country. Tell me, where are you from? Utah, perhaps? I have heard many things about Utah.”
    Utah? What an odd guess. I wouldn’t have thought they’d get many tourists from Utah or at least any who would admit it. And what was there to hear about Utah?
    “No. Texas,” I answered. I thought he gave me a strange look, but he went on.
    “Here, look at this. Do you see how the color changes as you turn it?” He flipped a rug expertly. True to his word, the color changed from a shimmery salmon to a rich peach. I was impressed in spite of myself. I reached out to caress the surface. It was so thin, more like a tablecloth than a rug for the floor. I knew I could not afford it, but I did wonder how much it cost. I was just thinking about asking, when he touched my shoulder.
    “You are very late,” he said in a lower tone. “Did something go wrong?”
    I looked at him, puzzled. He was standing beside me, his face just inches from mine, and I could not think what he meant. Different customs or not, he was definitely invading my personal space, and I shifted away slightly. If we were running late, it could not be by much.
    “Yes, there was a terrible accident while we were at Giza.”
    “An accident,” he said thoughtfully. “That is too bad. I hope everything was … resolved.” He flashed a quick smile that seemed loaded with meaning.
    I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so I just nodded and turned my attention back to the rug. “This is very lovely. How much is it?”
    “This one? This is a very fine piece, but I think