Sugar Monologue

Throughout the conversations, even when upset with Jerry, Sophia always used that word “Sugar” when addressing her husband. Mustafa, who didn’t pay close attention to the names when people were introduced, thought that “Sugar” was Jerry’s real name. So, when Mustafa saw Jerry twirling ice cubes in his empty glass, he walked over to him and said, “Sugar, would you like another drink?” Mrs. Thomas wasted no time in putting Mustafa down. “Hee, hee, hee, hee,” she squealed. Mu thinks ‘Sugar’ is Jerry’s real name. Hee, hee, hee. That’s the funniest thing I ever heard in my whole life, hee, hee, hee, hee,” she said as she rose and headed toward the kitchen, casting a knowing glance at Mandy. Mr. Thomas, as well as uncles George and Alex and their wives, bowed their heads, a slight smile on their faces.
“You can call me ‘Sugar’ any time you want, darling,” he said, snorting out a loud horselaugh. Moving closer to Mustafa, Mandy whispered, “Some people use ‘Sugar’ as an affectionate term.” Mustafa’s face flamed with the heat of embarrassment, wishing again he had stayed in Bloomington instead of subjecting himself to this humiliation, first for not knowing what a wiener was and now for not being aware of the use of “Sugar” as an endearment term. Shaking his head in anger at himself, Mustafa said, “I’m familiar with words like ‘Honey,’ ‘Darling,’ ‘Sweetheart,’ ‘Baby,’ and so on, but I’ve never heard ‘Sugar’ used like this, not on the campus anyway.” A chilly hush hung over the room but was quickly broken when Mr. Thomas said, “Learning a foreign language must be one of the most challenging things one can undertake in life because there are so many things to learn. Not only grammar, but also the vocabulary and the numerous special idioms and expressions every language