Read Online When Michael Met Mina by Randa Abdel-Fattah - Free Book Online

conclusion.
    Joe turns to me next. I feel my insides go all funny. I feel like a phoney. There’s no way I can match my parents’ passion and eloquence.
    â€˜It’s like my parents said,’ I start, clearing my throat, trying to remember what we rehearsed last night. ‘Just because we want to protect our borders doesn’t mean we’re heartless. There are wars all over the world. More and more refugees. There has to be a limit, or we’ll be flooded . . .’
    I smile, but I’m sure it comes out a little constipated. Dad is beaming proudly at me so I must have got something right.
    Joe turns to Nathan next. I can feel Mum tense up beside me. She’s warned Joe about what to ask Nathan.
    â€˜So Nathan, your dad flies out tomorrow. How do you feel?’
    Nathan freezes, staring blankly at Joe.
    â€˜Nathan?’
    â€˜I can’t speak about planes. Not allowed.’
    Joe is confused and throws a look of appeal to my parents.
    Mum laughs nervously. ‘It’s okay, Nathan. You can answer.’
    â€˜It’s okay?’ Nathan asks.
    â€˜Sure honey.’
    Nathan turns to face Joe. ‘What kind of plane is my dad catching? Is it a jet? Or an A380?’
    Joe, bewildered, says, ‘Um, I’m not exactly sure, Nathan.’
    Dad jumps in. ‘Nathan, champ, are you going to miss me?’
    â€˜When you subtract the eight hours you’re at work and six hours you’re asleep, it only amounts to an absence of about three hundred and ten hours over thirty-one days.’
    I freeze. Mum takes a long calming breath. Dad looks uneasy. None of us wants Nathan to be ridiculed or pitied on national TV. I’m eyeing Joe like a hawk, ready to pounce if he exploits the situation.
    But Joe has obviously picked up on the sudden shift in our mood. He smiles brightly at Nathan and then turns to Dad.
    â€˜It’s okay, we can edit it if necessary,’ he reassures him.
    Nathan, bored now, sits back, stares up at the ceiling and kicks his legs against the back of the couch.
    â€˜How do you feel about going to Iraq?’ Joe asks Dad. ‘Given how dangerous it can be there, are you scared?’
    Nathan suddenly sits up and dives in with a response before any of us have a chance to stop him.
    â€˜Dad says Muslims are violent. So of course he should be scared. But you know, our bird was run over by a car in our street last year. Death is everywhere, not just in Iraq.’

Mina
    â€˜You wouldn’t believe it used to be a fish and chip shop!’ I walk through the restaurant on opening night, marvelling at the transformation. ‘I can’t believe how quickly you guys finished.’
    Baba, looking thrilled, is eager for me to see every last inch of the place. He leads me around, pointing out all the trinkets and decor. The place is like a postcard from an Orientalist fantasy: part ethnic fetishism, part kitsch.
    â€˜It looks completely different to the one in Auburn,’ I muse.
    â€˜The interior designer, he said, the more the better,’ Baba explains. ‘People want it to feel authentic .’
    There are decorations on every last inch of the restaurant walls: large stitched fabrics decorated with dangling swords as tassels; a huge Afghan rug depicting some of the sultans from the Ottoman Empire; a wooden cabinet filled with silver or wooden camels, tea and coffee sets, daggers and prayer beads. The centrepiece is a large golden throne with deep crimson upholstery. There is a huge sign behind it, Kabul Kitchen, in shiny gold calligraphy.
    â€˜And we are putting a sign to encourage people to take a photo sitting on the throne and then post it on Facebook and Instagram,’ Baba says triumphantly.
    I look at him, gobsmacked.
    â€˜The interior designer advised us,’ he hastily explains.
    I grin at him. ‘Will there be a belly dancer? I can handle gold calligraphy but please no belly dancer.’
    â€˜That was the one