Ghosts of Manila - Mark Kram [100]
“Men, you can’t trust them,” he said angrily. “That little nigger wanted you. It was your fault. He seen your legs in that short skirt.”
She said that everyone wears miniskirts.
“No woman of mine! Dress like a decent Muslim woman, it wouldn’t happen.”
“I should have stayed at the hotel,” she said.
“Don’t get smart with me,” he said. “See, you give a woman money, and right away she’s bossin’ you around.”
“Here, take your money back,” she said. “Money isn’t a thing to me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I get upset about other men.” He paused: “You know the real reason I didn’t want you in the dental office? I’m scared to death of needles. The Greatest, scared of getting a shot.” They went into the office. He asked if his daughter, Wanda, could go with him. “She’s got a bad fear of getting shots.” In the chair, he said to Wanda: “Now come to Daddy. Hold Daddy’s hand…you’re going to be just fine. Ain’t nothin’ to be afraid of.”
Ali’s favorite game, says Aaisha, was Power. Once, in the lobby, Ali said: “Watch this. I can get them to do anything I want.” A group of sleek, rich women raced up to him, wanting his autograph. “On one condition,” he said. “Kneel down and kiss my hands.” Aaisha says: “I was shocked. These million-dollar Miami women did it! It’s hard to tell this story. It makes him sound cruel, humiliating. He was simply seeing how far his power could take him.” Another game he played was to carry little Wanda around the hotel on his shoulders, saying: “This is my illegitimate twelve-year-old daughter.”
When it came time for Wanda to go to Brazil, she was torn between her mother’s dream for her and the man she loved. She called Ali: “I can’t go.” He said: “You’ll never regret it the rest of your life.”
She says now: “I have no regrets. But I have a deep shame and regret for the pain I caused my mother. Having her child make a terrible mistake. By the time my mother put it all together, I was pregnant.” She embraced Islam instantly, was taught how to sew, cook, and take care of a man and children. She was called Wanda X, and Elijah would later name her Aaisha. When her mother heard of the pregnancy, she was furious. She went to Deer Lake, found Ali in the kitchen; the place went silent. She said: “You’re going to talk to me now! I feel like throwing you off this mountain!”
“Momma,” Ali said, “everything’s gonna be all right. This is my religion. I’m making Wanda my wife. I’ll take care of her. The child she’s carrying will never want for anything.”
“She’s only seventeen!” she yelled. “Her whole life’s in front of her. I don’t care about your religion. I don’t believe in it. My child is pregnant, and you did it!”
Wanda was accepted by Belinda; they were like sisters. Aunt Coretta approached Ali one day at the camp and said: “Muhammad, you’d better do right by these girls. They’re just babies. I’m ashamed of you, Muhammad. I’m really ashamed of you.” Wanda ran with Ali in the mornings. She was a good jogger, kept daily logs, and taught him how to run to get the maximum out of his roadwork. Ali was fixated on having a boy. “But when Khaliah was born,” she says, “he was so happy. She was Odessa’s favorite.” The child who would not want for anything, so said Ali. When Ali fought in Zaire, trouble rose up. Belinda fought with him, Aaisha was hidden away. Old Cash was fond of Aaisha. He said: “Come on, I’m takin’ you with me. You’re not sittin’ in this hotel room.” Veronica, the eighteen-year-old beauty queen, was now in the mix. Cash and Aaisha