As for her parents’ part, they allowed her to drift away. They accepted her excuses. When they learned that she was in a long-term relationship, their hurt and anger and—yes, she could admit it—resentment over her absence had led to the sort of knock-down, drag-out fight that was difficult to forget.
She could recognize now that they had all made mistakes: her by avoiding confrontation and tamping down her resentment and hurt instead of dealing with it, and her parents by not making space for who their daughter truly was and how she lived her life.
Two weeks after Hunter disappeared, Sameera had realized the extent of his financial crimes. She had to take on an extra job, freelancing as a consultant, which was hard and unpredictable and sometimes meant she got only three or four hours of sleep at night. Soon, she was working seven days a week, canceling on dinners and brunch dates with friends, not picking up the phone when they called. She couldn’t even call her parents for help, because they weren’t talking at the time. Overlaying that nightmarish time was her bone-deep shame. Her intimate partner had taken advantage of her, betrayed her in devastating fashion, and then left her to pick up the pieces of her life. Worst of all, her parents had been right all along—Hunter had been using her. None of it was real after all.
If it weren’t for her sister’s encouragement, nagging, and arranging that first awkward meeting, Sameera knew she would not have Tahsin, Naveed, and Esa back in her life.
No wonder she was so tired.
A movement caught her eye in the fading light. Esa, dressed in his bright-green parka, slowly picked his way through the woods behind the creek, Calvin by his side. From the exaggerated way Esa looked around him before disappearing into a copse of trees, she could tell her brother was up to something. At least he was having fun.
She had some time until Abu Isra and his family arrived for dinner. Her parents had things under control in the kitchen. Tom would have cleared out of the guesthouse by now—he was spending time with his good friend Emily, according to Barb. And Esa was having fun with Cal.
It was time to stop daydreaming and focus on the important things. Maybe she wouldn’t be able to have a heart-to-heart talk with her parents like she wanted, but at least she could be ready to pitch Andy the moment he arrived. For now, that would have to be enough.
Chapter Fifteen
When Sameera returned to the main house a few hours later, the dining room had been transformed. Rob had done a wonderful job: The long table was set with red linen napkins and gold charging plates, a lush green velvet runner, and candles in silver holders, with a large bouquet of poinsettias and pine boughs taking pride of place at the center.
From her perch on the couch, she watched as Tom brought the food to the table, and he caught her gaze and held it. Her stomach swooped, and she could feel an electrical tingling in her fingers. She was in real trouble if he could cause this reaction without even touching her. The doorbell rang, and, grateful for the distraction, Sameera hurried to greet her parents’ guests, pasting a smile of welcome on her face as she reached the door.
On the Cookes’ porch, Syrian Santa—Abu Isra,she reminded herself—and his family stood, beaming and holding gifts. His wife, a petite woman wearing a navy-blue hijab and woolen overcoat, thrust a tray ofkunafedessert at Sameera before introducing herself as Hiba, which was Arabic for “gift.” She presented her six children: Isra, twelve; Daniyal, ten; twins Akbar and Ali, eight; Batul, five; and little Ikhlas, who held up three fingers when Sameera asked her age.
Syrian Santa—Abu Isra,Sameera reminded herself again—carried a large tray of honey-glazed crispy baklava, and her mouth was already watering at the thought of biting into the nutty, buttery dessert. Shewas so distracted by greetings and taking everyone’s coats that she didn’t notice a tall figure standing by the porch.
Not until the figure suddenly let loose an earth-shatteringroar!
Sameera stared in horror as an eight-foot-tall Tyrannosaurus rex charged straight toward their group.
Hiba shrieked, her children scattering like bowling pins, as the dinosaur lumbered toward the crowd. Abu Isra bravely stepped in front of the beast’s path, and Tom pushed Sameera behind him at the same moment her brain caught up with what she was seeing.
Sameera wriggled between the bodies cowering on the porch and marched up to the T. rex—or rather, the person inside the inflated dinosaur costume. She peered through the clear plastic at the dinosaur’s neck and recognized her brother.
“Esa!” Sameera said sternly. “What are you doing?”
Esa launched into a complicated dance sequence that finished with him moonwalking toward the door. Abu Isra’s children squealed—in glee or terror, Sameera wasn’t sure—at his approach. Behind them, Calvin filmed the entire thing, a delighted smile stretched across his face.
“Kevin McCallister would approve,” Cal said cheerfully, and her lips twitched with reluctant amusement. She wondered what else her brother had planned.
Inside, Esa deflated the costume and chased Abu Isra and Hiba’s kids around the foyer, much to their delight, while Naveed and Tahsin apologized for their son’s prank. Now that the dinosaur had been unmasked as a friendly nuisance and not a rampaging monster, Hiba and Abu Isra—whose name was actually Younus—shared a good laugh.
“Our children were afraid they would be bored in a house full of adults,” Hiba said, shooting an apologetic glance at Rob and Barb. “That was a good joke the young man played.” Like her husband, Hiba had a Middle Eastern accent. She explained that her family had moved to the United States five years ago from Syria; little Ikhlas was born in Texas, where they had lived before moving to Alaska. Hiba herself had grown up in the United Arab Emirates, though she was bornin the United States and had settled in Syria, where she had gone to school. When civil war broke out, they had fled, leaving behind family members, including their parents. With the recent news, they were considering their options, and had even talked about returning to help rebuild their home country.
The members of the dinner party took their seats at the dining table and soon were busy chatting about life in Alaska, Abu Isra’s restaurant, and his work as the volunteer imam for the small Muslim community in the area, while Rob shared his experiences growing up in Wolf Run. Even Tom offered a few stories of his childhood in the village, and chatted easily with Abu Isra about recipes, comparing notes on the difficulty of sourcing sumac and other ingredients up north. Sameera watched as his face came alive when he talked about food and cooking, and she remembered their easy camaraderie when they’d filmed their latest video. She had peeked at her social media earlier that afternoon and was pleased to see their video was already racking up likes and comments, even more than the biryani video. Surely the television executives would take note and put him back on the short list. Tom was exactly the sort of TV chef she would happily watch for hours—on- or off-screen.
All seemed to be going well until an air siren went off when Barb opened the pantry door, making the entire party jump. Calvin and Esa laughed themselves silly, and even Tom had to lift a hand to cover his smile.
When Tahsin yelled “Esa!” in an uncanny imitation of Catherine O’Hara yelling “Kevin!” Sameera snorted a laugh. Esa met her gaze, and something in her chest eased at his mischievous grin. Luckily, her little brother also realized he had gone too far with the air siren, and apologized profusely to Barb.
“Sameera told me pranks are part of the holidays,” he explained, blithely throwing his sister under the bus. “And Tom encouraged me to make the most of my time here, to work on content that spoke to me.”
“It’s true,” she said, playing along. “ThoughHome Alonehas to share some of the blame.” Esa seemed surprised by her support, and she couldn’t help adding, “I don’t think Tom meant you should play pranks on his family, though.”
Esa shrugged. “I’m only trying to spread some holiday cheer.”
Thankfully, everyone had a good sense of humor, and Esa promised to hold off while they all enjoyed the meal their parents had spent all afternoon preparing.
The dinner party gorged on channa curry, biryani, palak saag, and karahi chicken. Tahsin made a point to assure Rob that none of the dishes were too spicy.
