Fadila is in a bad mood. She works fewer hours, and leaves earlier. She has to finish cooking before breaking the fast, which is set for seven in the evening these days. And the ritual meal takes a long time to prepare. She really has no time at all for reading and writing. One morning she calls to say she won’t be coming this Tuesday. She had an upset stomach all night. “Is lady giving me Ramadan cakes is making someone in Morocco.” Cakes that keep one awake all night long, from the country where Fadila cannot go without being sick. The following week, her upset stomach is better, so she comes to do the ironing. But she is still in a black mood. Her back aches. Every year it’s the same thing, she says. She cannot stand fasting. Édith asks Fadila whether, given the fact that sick people are exempt from fasting, and that not being able to drink anything makes her sick, she could not exempt herself from fasting, or at least allow herself to drink.
