Frankenstein in Baghdad

Abu Anmar is now down to two permanent guests, one of whom rarely spends the night, and no longer has real guests. He tells Hazem that he’s renovating, but he does not tell him that he had to sell the furniture through Hadi just to cover the bills. He looks across the street at Faraj, jealous and frustrated at Faraj’s success.

Later, Faraj invites Abu Anmar in for tea. He tells him that he’s aware of his financial straits and offers to go into business with him—he would take on the cost of renovating the hotel, and the two would be partners in the business. The two argue for an hour, but in the end, Abu Anmar rejects Faraj’s offer. Back at the hotel, Abu Anmar reminisces about taking over the hotel many years ago and wonders if he is coming full circle. After some thought and discussion with Hazem, he decides to make a counterproposal to sell Faraj the entire hotel instead.

The Whatsitsname has not visited, and knowing this calms Hadi and restores his usual jovial self. The last time he visited was shortly after his followers’ civil war; he told Hadi that he was looking for real believers and that he was now taking revenge on anyone who insulted him, not just avenging the deaths of his various body parts.