It’s another afternoon of blowing smoke rings out of the first floor window, watching men lay out prayer mats in the parking lot below.  He has probably left for the airport by now.  When the Friday khutba emphatically resounds through the premises he may already be comfortably seated in the lounge waiting for his flight.  What lives are these that seek respite with children in other countries rather than with significant others of many long years?  Marriage is a terrible thing, it can only be tolerated once, they say.   I smile because I know that most who say that are truly committed to their families but too consumed with bravado to admit as much and yet I wonder about this need to get away every so often.