“I quite notably don’t have a job anymore. Well, I mean, I do—but I’m on my way out. It’s full-blown senioritis at this point.”

“So you’ll come?”

“Of course. But LA is nonnegotiable, so I still need your dates for when we can swing it.” He grabbed another handful of nuts, shaking them loosely in his hand before bringing them to his mouth. “If I don’t bring you to see Mom soon, she’ll send actual hitmen to my apartment.”

“Yes, I know. LA before the election, I remember. And we have to visit Dev and Bee at some point before the holidays.”

“To meet the twins?”

“And to hear all about Cancer-Scorpio compatibility.”

“You’re not still sure if we’re compatible?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, I am, but it’s always nice to hear the stars confirm something you already knew about yourself.”

He smiled, taking her chin in his hand and pulling her in for a brief, tender kiss of approval.

“Now, let’s order some food,” he said as they broke apart, sliding a menu toward her with his free hand. “I don’t want you disappearing before Mom gets her hands on you.”

28. Westwood, USA

28

WESTWOOD, USA

Three Months Later

Something about Westwood reminded Alex of high school. Or, rather, it reminded her of the movies she used to love in high school, the ones where teenagers, far more attractive and wealthy than they had the right to be, drove to prom in open-top Jeep Wranglers. She had never been to Los Angeles before, and it felt like the Los Angeles of a travel brochure, with manicured green lawns in the leafy shadow of nearby Rodeo Drive. It was worlds away from the run-down Rochester neighborhood she grew up in, but as Danial reassured her, it was also worlds away from the San Fernando Valley street he grew up on.

This was where Marjane lived now, in a beautiful ranch-style home on a quiet cul-de-sac near a botanical garden. She didn’t drive anymore—not since her hands had started giving her trouble—but the white Mercedes sedan Danial had bought her years ago still sat in the driveway, mostly untouched except when he took it to get detailed on his visits. The spot next to it, he explained, was home to a rotating cast of cars: cars belonging to the home health aide, or the cook, or the cleaning person, but also the many friends and cousins who would visit with cookies and dates and plenty of gossip.