Xala

After Rama left his office, El Hadji realized that she was old enough to marry. He wondered why Pathé hadn’t asked him for her hand. He then wondered if she was still a virgin. They had had their first conversation in the three months since he had struck her. She had been the only one in his family “who had dared oppose the marriage” (76).

El Hadji decided to visit Adja Awa Astou. Before leaving, he sent for Madame Diouf. They needed to restock the shop. However, El Hadji hadn’t paid his employees’ wages, and Madame Diouf hadn’t been paid for two months. El Hadji was confused. He asked why she hadn’t reminded him about her lost wages. He sent for Modu. He, too, hadn’t been paid.

Meanwhile, El Hadji’s shop was empty. His retailers had left him and “manufacturers and other suppliers were all refusing to deliver goods” (76). Also, Madame Diouf told him, he had a meeting that evening with the businessmen’s group. This worried El Hadji. Rumor had it that he was in trouble with them. He decided to pay the group’s president a visit.

Two elderly women and three men were waiting in the waiting room of the businessmen’s group’s offices.