Meet Rana Hosni and Bashir Hosni, an Egyptian couple living in the environs of Gatineau, Quebec. They moved to Quebec from their hometown of Dar El-Salam, Egypt, three years ago in search of a better life. Rana Hosni works as a cashier at Provigo, the well-known chain of grocery stores, and Bashir Hosni works as a security guard for Garda World while attending the University of Quebec in Outaouais. Bashir wants to become an engineer. Like any couple, the Hosnis have their ups and downs, but lately, they've been having a tough time...
A lot of Arab couples have a hard time in Canada for cultural and linguistic reasons, but the Hosnis issues are much more personal. There is trouble in their marriage, to say the least. Bashir Hosni is a young Egyptian man caught between two worlds. In Arab society, a man's duties are outlined by the culture. A true Arab man is about his family, first and foremost. He's a husband and a father, first and foremost, and a defender of his clan and his homeland when necessary. Bashir is trying to do the right thing, and it's not easy...
"I wish you'd told me that you were bisexual before we got married," Rana said angrily, shortly after Bashir told her about his other side. They sat in the living room of their two-bedroom apartment, located in the Hull area. Rana looked at Bashir, a tall, dark-haired and bronze-skinned Arab man in his twenties. Bashir had a deep voice and manly mannerisms and didn't look or act like the queers that Rana ran into at the grocery store or the ladies hair salon. Bashir looked and acted like a real man. The fact that Bashir admitted to messing around with guys prior to their marriage upset Rana, to say the least...
All of a sudden, Rana found herself questioning a lot of things. When Bashir held her in his arms and kissed her, did he mean it or was he pretending? Rana remembered watching a television show where a man in his fifties left his wife and their daughters and ran off with a younger man, thus ending three decades of marriage. What kind of man could do something like that to his family? Didn't his wife and daughters mean anything to him? As Rana looked at Bashir, she wondered if she ever really knew him...
"I've been faithful to you throughout our marriage," Bashir said firmly, and Rana shot him a look. He didn't tell her that he felt prompted to tell her the truth out of fear. Bashir knows many others like himself, Arab men who have wives and girlfriends, but also sleep with men on the side. Bashir's good friend Yousef recently got into some trouble. Yousef is married to a lovely Syrian lady named Yasmin, but he sleeps with men behind her back. Yousef made the mistake of sleeping with an effeminate gay white male named James something or other, and James threatened to out Yousef to his wife and family.
Bashir has never understood other bisexual men who make the mistake of getting involved with gay men. Men who only like men tend to get into fits of rage when they find out that some of the fellas whom they sleep with have wives and girlfriends. Bashir has only messed around with other bisexual men, particularly those with wives and girlfriends, because they have a good reason to keep their mouths shut. Guys who only like guys tend to put their sexuality on display, and getting involved with them tends to be risky and not worth it for guys who swing both ways. As Yousef's world came crumbling down, Bashir realized he'd dodged a bullet.
"I don't know if I can trust you again, Bashir, how do I know you won't leave me, your unsuspecting wife, for some gay man, like those guys on those queer American television shows?" Rana said smartly. Bashir sighed deeply, and thought long and hard about how to assuage her fears. Bashir loves Rana and finds her sexually attractive. He's in love with her and attracted to her. Bashir isn't like those other guys who have a wife or girlfriend just for show, never get intimate with her, and chase guys left and right. Nope, Bashir is a different breed.
