On a better occasion

This is a short story about social events, what can happen in our everyday lives.

Omar had been a very efficient and dutiful clerk. He was shy and drooped his eyes down whenever one of the astute old female staff members who did not like his long aloofness gazed at him. His diligence and honesty paid off. His boss had entrusted him to take over the financial section, probably the most important part of the whole institution. Omar’s colleagues were not very pleased with him since he was one of the relatively new staff members who joined the department late, and took a main post before his most senior clerks did. When he took the post on, his position increased as he found himself  the center of the whole department’s staff. Each person who was in need of advance payment or other financial advice had contacted him quickly. The most important of Omar’s  customers and one of the first who, immediately after his nomination, introduced herself to him was Shamis, a senior clerk and an woman in her early forties. She had a very smart character and hypnotizing image, with a rare, curious, broad laughter who, as Omar noticed later, would not chat easily with people junior to her in age nor in less  imposing position. Despite such a reputation, Shamis treated Omar nicely and lovingly. Unlike any other place, Omer’s office appeared to be her favourite place to sit down when she was empty-handed. Gradually she developed a habit of caressing Omar, showing special tenderness toward him. This produced another point which put Omar one more step away from his male colleagues who had longed to put Shamis closer to them but had failed. This is not to mentioning some of the opposite sex who tried to buy Omar’s attention but became in vain. Shamis had one outstanding characteristic; the lucky man to whom she would extend her hand would be a boss with a car. Some of the staff made their final judgment that Shamis loved Omar, a young man in his late twenties in their opinion who would be her much junior brother in age. Shamis had been a woman of ideal shape and decorum. Her main disadvantage was that she had been divorced for a long time; probably because of her air of superiority she would not select easily a man she considered an appropriate match. She had left her previous husband because she thought that she had married too early. Because of her felt dignity and prestige, even the managers were ashamed to call her to their offices when they needed her to do certain assignment. Instead, they preferred to walk to her place. Remarkably, with all her noted aloofness of manner, no one of the staff or any guest had ever filed a complaint against her misdemeanor. She was always elegant and polite and her chat was short and quite selective. People had never taken any definite stand regarding her behavior. Some would say she was rude. Others suggested she was foolish and others put it that she was suffering from conceitedness. But ultimately, some of the staff viewed Shamis that Omar had become her final choice after lonely years of wandering and wondering. As many would do, and doubtlessly many did, Omar traded what was under his command for the sweet words and soul appealing conversation of Shamis.As a result he became too kind and polite to say no for what Shamis asked. As time went by, she had become a self-appointed worker, and assistant to Omar. Now it was up to her preference to ask him to transfer to her account some cash she needed or if she would do it by herself. This was part of the deep confidence she won over him. One thing was certain, however, that she would not sign a receipt nor be expected to repay the loan. Omar was too shy to ask for the money. And he would not ask Shamis whether her love was for him as a person or simply for the property that fell under his controlling. One morning when Omar had sat down at his desk two security men stepped into the office. They were two of the three who had visited him the day before and identified themselves as simply undertaking some routine audit controls. After they produced a warrant ordering his immediate arrest, Omar’s boss intervened and asked them to be sure of their charges against the cashier. The two men were quite judicious and were different in many ways from their colleagues. They listened well to the manager’s remarks and convinced him. They took some time in checking once again their work of the previous day. The charges stood. The money was missing and Omer’s arresting seemed inevitable. Most of the staff gathered and filled the space of the one-room office. Among those present was Shamis. As if she had never known the man in trouble, she showed no sign of emotion nor  being even slightly shocked. Omar trembled in front of her. Both she and he knew where the money had gone. He expected Shamis to say something at least or show some emotional sobbing, even superficial. Actually, she was unmoved as if nothing had ever happened. At last when Omar was hustled unto to the waiting car, he stuck his head out of the window. With spontaneous drops of tears rolling down his chin, Omar withdrew his head and said audibly, “Shamis and Omar knew where the money had gone, but is it time?” Omar’s manager, a rare light-hearted man who could not afford losing a man like Omar in such a way said, “ it is too late and most unfortunate, but, if I had known before this disastrous moment that three honesty men perished in this same way, Shamis would not have remained here, but when Curious eyes turned toward Shamis and the impression that she bad previously exploited men quickly prevailed. Worried helplessly, the  manager paused, thinking and searching his mind for the easiest possible approach to the solution of Omar’s case added, “strange; a snake under the skin of a sheep; one of us must take a permanent leave from here. Omar raised plaintive hand to his colleagues saying, “Goodbye.” The on-lookers  were too shocked to respond to the man who went widely into the lion’s mouth. But Shamis said smiling, “see you again in a better place on a better occasion.”