Rosa-Alethea does not tell Horace how she came to find him, about the lost diary of Florence and her attempt to find her which led her to him.  Instead she keeps to herself and tries at every possible moment to discover if she is any closer to finding Florence.  

One day, Horace tells her that they must go to his grandparents place in Shubra.  It is an old building that his family owns, but have abandoned save for a few “relatives” who now live in the apartments and pay his aunt a small rent each month.  Rosa-Alethea is somewhat curious about this outing because she remembers reading about Shubra from Florence’s diary.  It was Nessim’s new neighborhood when he moved to Cairo from the village.  His parents sent him and his brother there, ahead of moving the whole family.  He and his brother kept watchful eyes on the new building and slept in empty apartments until their parents sold their land and brought over his sisters and youngest brother.  

Nessim and his brother were there to make sure that the building’s electricity and plumbing worked.  There were no phone lines yet, nor was there central heating.  It was summertime so the nights were bearable and the days were hot.  One fine hot summer day, Nessim and his brother were wandering the streets of downtown Cairo in hopes of finding a famous ice cream parlor to cool off.  Instead they found the Library of the American University.  Nessim was about to enter Cairo University, but wanted to see what this famous place was like.  His brother was scared, he knew how a place like this would treat to boys fresh from the village.  Nessim didn’t care and told his brother not to say a word no matter what the guard say.  He and his brother walked right up to the gate and tried to walk passed the guard as if they owned the place.  

The guard stopped them, looked them up and down very slowly, checking their shoes, slacks and shirts with his eyes.  He put his hand out with a stopping motion and told them (in Arabic)

No one’s allowed inside.  

Nessim was rather cunning and knew what kind of game the guard was playing.  What the guard didn’t know was that Nessim excelled in English, Spanish, Italian and French.  He was top of his class in high school, primarily because he loved Western movies.  Really Western, like Cowboys and Indians, John Wayne, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid.  Nessim imagined himself in from of this guard at the OK Corral.  Man vs man.  My gun versus yours.  Who’s the toughest?  He squared off with the guard and spoke to him back in Arabic.  

“You’re not letting students inside today?”  Why?  And just as he said that, two students came from around the corner and walked right inside.  Nessim and the guard watched as they went inside.

“What about them?  Aren’t they students?  Why aren’t you stopping them?

Them?  Said the guard a bit surprised.

“Yes.  Them!"

“Can’t you see that they’re foreigners?”  

Nessim paused and stared at the guard just long enough to make it awkward.  

And just who do you think we are?  

The guard stared back at them a little dumbfounded.  What?  Get out of here before I call my boss.  

You think were Egyptians? Nessim said.  He turned to his brother and let out a huge laugh.  "But you see you’re wrong."  he said as he stared right into the guards eyes.        

About what.  The guard was a little nervous now.

About us.  We’re foreigners.  He repeated it again in Spanish and turned to Rafiq.  “We are foreigners.  Aren’t we Rafael", Rafiq nodded slowly and seriously.  

“Well you’ll need to show me your ID or some papers to prove this.”  said the guard.

Then Nessim got right into the guards face, nose to nose and said in perfect English.  “I don’t have to show you anything.  If you don’t let me inside this gate right now, I’ll report you.  I’ll tell your boss that you’re unwilling to help two new visiting scholars who have just arrived from Spain.  Then he raised his voice a little louder.  Two scholars who had two terrible days in Egypt so far because their luggage went missing and had to shop the local stores for new clothes. Finally he started to yell at the guard. Two students who simply need to get inside and start their research.

Hey, what’s going on?  A man in plain clothes came from inside the gate.  

“Hamdy?  What are doing?  Let them in?”

Before they knew it, Nessim and Rafiq were in and strolled right into the library to cool off under its many automatic fans.  They browsed many books,   paged through endless movie, fashion and gossip magazines.  Nessim then found an advertisement in one magazine for Pen Friends International.  

“Look Rafiq.  We can write to girls in America.”  

“I’m not writing to any girls anywhere.”

“But don’t you want to find out what’s really beyond Egypt?”

“I guess, but not that way.  I’m going to medical school.  I can’t be bothered with girls.  They’ll come later.  God willing.”

“Not me.  I want to write to a girl like Grace Kelley.  One who has that…”  Nessim’s eyes gazed over as he imagined the final scene in High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelley.