It was still dark out when I got back from my morning run, just in time to say bye to Mom as she pulled out of the driveway.
“Hey,” she said out the window. “Will you check on your dad after you shower? He’s sleeping in a little.”
Dad never slept in.
“Okay.”
Mom gave me a sad smile. “See you tonight.”
I swallowed away the lump in my throat.
I hated seeing my parents so tired.
“Yeah.”
I showered and packed my soccer bag, and tucked my curl cream in too. I’d be seeing Landon after practice and wanted to look nice. I knocked on Dad’s door, but he hollered he was up and getting ready.
And then, since I hadn’t heard from Sohrab in three days, I sat down and tried him again.
This time he answered right away.
“Eh! Hello Darioush.”
“Hey! Chetori toh?”
I didn’t speak much Farsi, but what few words I could say—heavy with my American accent—I felt okay practicing with Sohrab, who never criticized my pronunciation.
Sohrab let out a dramatic sigh. “Darioush. Have I ever told you about my Ameh Mona?”
“I don’t think so.”
“She lives in Manshad. You know Manshad?”
I shook my head.
“It’s across the mountains from Yazd. It’s very beautiful. But it’s a long drive.” Sohrab glanced behind him and hollered something to his mom.
“Maman says hi.”
“Oh. Tell her hi too?”
Sohrab shouted back at his mom.
“Anyway. Ameh Mona broke her leg.”
“What happened?”
“She tripped over her cat.”
“She what?”
Sohrab shook his head, and then he snorted.
“She tripped over her cat.” He snorted again. The snort turned into a chuckle.
And then his eyes crinkled up and he started laughing. He laughed so hard it made me start laughing too, even though tripping over a cat and breaking your leg sounded awful. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
But eventually the laughter petered out, and Sohrab said, “We hadn’t seen her in a long time.”
