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“Ha-ha,” he mocked “People here tend to dress modestly, but ankles are definitely in the clear”

“Okay, and what about being touchy-feely in public?”

“Well,” he mused, “Obviously people should knoe’re a couple, just follow your coht?”

She smiled “Okay, and what if someone flirts with me?”

“If anyone is flirting with you, don’t worry about kicking up a fuss,” he said with a dis “He’ll leave you alone However, you’ll be with hed, “Pretty much all the tiht there Our culture generally isn’t like that”

“So, wait…” She paused “All the time?”

He laughed “Mostly So you’d better start liking me soon!”

When it came to cultural differences, there were so ht to; what one person thought of as oppressive, others found respectful When speaking of his mother and the experience of Rabayat women, Malik explained that a husband is to protect his wife as he would protect hiuardian of his honor When asked if women were oppressed in Rabayat, he scoffed playfully and told her that the wo, proud, educated professionals He spoke of hisAures were the main influences in his early life

However, he said, when he arrived in America, the notion of female friends seemed preposterous when a woman could be a lover The respect he spoke of hishis playboy ways back in Chicago made Amie wonder how these two opinions could be held by the same person

Re-focusing on the conversation at hand, Aets the final say, and if he puts his foot down on an issue,” she paused for dramatic effect, “well, the wife had better listen!”

Malik frowned; his lips then softening to a gentle grin “Sure… in theory, that’s true But to be honest, Middle-Eastern men like peace in the home as much as Western ones do Happy wife, happy life”