Laila hated Los Angeles. It was too spread out, too detached, and even farther from the West Bank than Illinois. And the anonymity of the place was entirely unfamiliar. She would walk around their neighborhood and not recognize a soul. Back in Nablus, she’d once left her passport at a café, and by the time she got home someone had already dropped it off. Even the telephone operator knew her life story.

Talal taught her how to drive on the way to the DMV for her Behind the Wheel test, on Interstate 405. After that things felt a little better; she could explore the city and make it feel less foreign. It helped that she was fascinated by all things American. She developed an appetite for In-N-Out cheeseburgers and Neapolitan shakes. She watched The Young and the Restless and The Price Is Right daily. In home videos, she uses the phrase “Come on down!” at least a dozen times—when it’s time to blow out the candles at my birthday party; at the beach, encouraging us to get in the water; on the first day of school as we make our way to the bus stop. Infomercials captivated her as well; she’d sit in front of the TV mesmerized by the promise of cleaning products that could get out any stain imaginable, vitamins that could provide unlimited energy. Usually she’d pick up the phone and place an order, consulting Talal after the fact, though he didn’t mind. He found her enthusiasm charming. She’d hold on to the goods until losing interest and getting rid of them; at their one garage sale she tried to sell a BeDazzler that she’d ordered off the television in 1982. And whenever any mail would arrive from Ed McMahon, she’d call Talal at work, screaming that they’d just won a million dollars.

Seat belts, speed limits, and fire drills were novelties as well. Once, while she was six months pregnant, Laila was in the middle of a seminar on interior decorating when the building’s fire alarm went off. Everyone else groaned and got up, slowly filing toward the door. Laila jumped out of her seat and ran, pushing people out of her way and screaming, “Let me out, I have a baby inside me! I have a baby inside!”