The silence between us was thick as toffee. Sticky too.
Mom let go of my left hand and picked up my right. She twisted it a bit to flatten out my thumb.
And then she said, without looking at me, “Landon knows about Sohrab, right?”
“Huh?” I blinked. “Yeah.”
I didn’t understand why Mom had brought it up.
“Does he ever get jealous?”
“Of Sohrab?”
Mom nodded.
“No. I don’t think so. Why?”
“I just wondered,” Mom said. “From the way you were, with Sohrab. When we were in Iran. I wondered.”
My neck prickled.
“Wondered... what?”
“If there was something between you two.”
“Um.”
Mom met my eyes, but I looked down at my hands.
And then I said, “We’re just friends, Mom.”
“I know, but back then.”
“We were just friends.”
Mom sighed.
I sighed too.
“I think I really needed a friend.”
“So you never...”
“No.”
Mom looked down at my nails again.
“Maybe I had a little crush on him.”
Mom nodded.
“You know it’s different for guys in Iran. Right?”
“What?”
“It’s more common for men to express affection for each other.Platonic affection. It doesn’t mean the same thing it does here.”
I didn’t know why Mom felt like she had to tell me that.
