Egyptian Arabic

At dawn in a Heliopolis hospital corridor the nurse brings Leo the news and he calls Karim: congratulations, a girl, born at ten past four, I was worried and now I'm reassured, how much does she weigh, who does she look like.

In the hospital room Grandma and Salma lean over Layla and Leo asks whose eyes she has: a little moon, the phrase against envy, her little hands, a tiny nose like her mother, a little piece of her father, sleep my darling, small today, a bride tomorrow.

At the discharge the nurse hands Leo his daughter and Salma takes over: come, carry her, hold her head, don't be afraid, sign here, give her to me, keep the card with you, thank you for everything, may she grow up in your prosperity.

At the door of the building Sayed and the neighbours greet Layla: congratulations, God bless you, a girl is a blessing on the house, the boy next time, may she grow up in your prosperity and your turn next, thank them for me, come up for tea.

The first nights at home, with Grandma and Madame Nadia on a visit: how long has she been asleep, an hour since the feed, how long since you slept, three days, let her sleep and you sleep too, she wakes every two hours, that's a baby, give her to me, sixty years of rocking babies, just half an hour.

At the health office in Heliopolis the clerk fills in the birth notification: the father's name, the four-part name, two names only, your father's and the grandfather's, my father is Tom and the family name, the mother's name, the father's nationality, place and date of birth, the child Layla Leo Mitchell.

At the civil registry the printed birth certificate is read in Standard Arabic and Leo asks the clerk for the Cairo word of each line: was born is she got born, female is a girl, issued is it came out, two copies, one for the translation, sign here.

At the translation office Leo orders the English translation of the birth certificate: a certified translation with the office stamp, the certification is at another office, how long does it take, within two working days, the collection on Thursday after four, bring the receipt, and bring the baby.

At the photographer's Layla has her passport photograph taken: the eyes must be open, wake up Layla, it won't do for anyone to hold her, the background must be white, I'll hold her from behind the cloth, no smile, she smiles when she likes, six copies for two countries.

Salma reads the checklist for the American consulate and Leo and Karim find each paper: the paper that proves the marriage, the contract with its translation, the certificate we got, the original, the translation the office stamped, the photo where her eyes are open, the passport that is still valid, Tuesday at nine.

At Cairo airport Leo carries his parents' questions across to Karim and Uncle Mahmoud: Mum asks where the baby is, tell her the baby is a moon, Dad asks if there's a taxi, two cars, the house is his house, Dad asks how long the drive is.

Lunch at the Mansours' with the guests from Chicago, and Leo in the middle: tell them to eat, Mum says the leaves are very good, tell her the leaves are from the village, Dad wants the recipe, it's Grandma's secret, no secrets, there are hands, Mum wants you to sit down, a hostess doesn't sit.

With the baby asleep, Grandma sorts out who is what to Layla: Mona is her uncle's wife and an aunt by heart, Karim counts as her uncle on the mother's side, Leo's mother is a grandma in English, and the two grandfathers are in-laws, and tomorrow friends.

Mona and Leo buy the things for the seventh-day party: a sieve and seven candles, the mortar for the banging, a kilo of sugared almonds and a bag of seeds, by the kilo or the bag, two kilos of each, one piece to taste, a girl or a boy, pink candles and the salt on the house.

Layla's seventh-day party at the Mansours': put her in the sieve gently, the salt and the stepping over, listen to your mother's words and not your father's, bang the mortar, may she grow up in your prosperity, may God keep her and may she be a doctor, an architect like her father, and a bride.

Grandma dictates the drink of the seventh-day party to Leo's mother, with Leo in between: write, two cups of water, two big spoons of the powder in half a cup of water, half a cup of sugar and a quarter kilo of nuts, stir and leave it to boil two minutes, and when she makes it in Chicago, she calls me.

At the fabric shop Uncle Mahmoud tells Leo how he and Leo's father got on without him: we understood each other, we showed each other the fabric, three teas together, he chose a cotton for your mother, you'll see each other, they've become friends, the shop is his shop, and the same about his garage.

Layla's first check-up with the paediatrician: she has gained eight hundred grams, taller by three centimetres, is that good, heavier by almost a kilo, excellent, the vaccination today and don't bathe her tonight, the next visit in a month, and the card with you.

Leo closes his studio for May and hands his site to Mr. Fathi's workshop: from when until when, from the first of May until the end of the month, the workshop follows it if you agree, the whole month, my men pass by, the notice on the door in Standard Arabic, and under it, in big letters, congratulations.

At the ticket window of Ramses station Leo and Karim buy the family's tickets: ten tickets to Alexandria on the fast train, all ten of you grown-ups, ten of us and a baby, the baby goes free on your lap, three of them are from Chicago, same price, first class, the two grandmothers by the window, the five of you together.

On the platform at Ramses station the loudspeaker announces the Alexandria train in Standard Arabic, at exactly eight from the fifth platform, and Leo and Karim say the same thing the everyday way: the train leaves at eight, platform five, get on, everybody.

On the fast train to Alexandria the conductor takes the tickets and says how long the trip takes, and the family talks in time clauses: before we arrive, after we pass Benha, as soon as it stops at Tanta, until we arrive.

The Delta goes by the train window and Grandma, who was born behind those fields, asks Leo whether he has ever seen a water buffalo: never and ever with the word for a lifetime, she has never taken a plane, and a compliment about the son of Chicago.

A baby in a railway carriage: Layla keeps crying since Tanta, her grandfather keeps taking pictures, Grandma keeps talking to her, everybody keeps giving advice, and Leo keeps translating; the keeping-on word that says what someone keeps doing.

An Alexandrian taxi at Sidi Gaber station: the driver calls Leo engineer, boss and captain, Leo calls him driver, and Madame Nadia gets madame; the calling word with a title, the sea to smell, and the yellow tram the driver and she both remember.

The landlady shows the family the flat on the Corniche: the best flat in the building, the quietest room for the baby, the closest balcony to the sea, the biggest room for the grandparents, the oldest lift in town and the best fish at Bahari; the most and the best, said with the comparing word before a bare noun.

Fish by the kilo at Bahari and the fight over the bill: nothing else, nobody pays but me, not once, not in Egypt, nobody but Dad in Chicago, and the waiter who will wait; the words for nobody, nothing and not once, and except with a person on its end.

Salma plays the guide at the Citadel of Qaitbay and along the Corniche, and Layla puts her feet in the sea for the first time: the taller the lighthouse, the more you see it; the more you walk, the hungrier you get; the colder the water, the more she cries; the longer we stay, the more Leo forgets Cairo.

Cairo airport, the grandparents flying home: when she talks, call us; when they arrive, let them write; when you come, the piano is waiting; when she turns one, we will come; promises about the future made with when and a verb without its b-.

A producer calls: five minutes a week about old houses, Thursdays at eight, live on a Cairo morning show; Leo has no objection, Karim has asked Salma, and the deal closes with the words of agreeing: are we agreed, agreed, fine, a story every week, start with Grandma's house.