Dreaming in English Read Online Free PDF

don’t think this is the first time they’ve played this game.
    “Ready?” Ike says. “Get ready to catch it.”
    “No-o-o-o-o-o!” Camille giggles.
    “Oh, all right,” Ike says. He crosses the room, bends to tickle Camille’s stomach, and in one swift move grabs her by the waist, takes her from his father, and tosses her over his shoulder. After this, he hands the beer to his father, who pops open the can and takes a long, satisfying swallow.
    “Where’s Camille?” Ike says, looking around, twisting her sideways and back again.
    “I’m right here!” She kicks her feet.
    “I hear her, but I don’t see her,” he says.
    “I don’t see her, either,” Mr. Hanson says. “In fact, I haven’t seen her since I’ve been home.”
    “Yes, you have, Daddy!” She kicks twice as hard, and Ike flips her over so she’s back on her feet in front of him.
    “Oh, there you are,” he says. “Why didn’t you say something?”
    Was my house ever this lively? Ever, even just once?
    “Do it again!” Camille says to her father.
    “Do what again?” he says.
    “Again! Again! Again!” Camille jumps on him, nearly knocking him off balance, nearly spilling his beer.
    “No, honey, I just got home. Let me relax for a minute. Let me meet your brother’s friend.” He acknowledges me with a nod. “Hi, there. I’m Alan.”
    “Dad, this is Tami,” Ike says. “Tami, this is my dad.”
    My heart pounds from the information he left out— this is my wife. For his part, Ike’s father gives no indication that his son having a woman over is in any way out of the ordinary. He extends his hand with a crinkly-eyed smile. “Nice to meet you.”
    “Thank you,” I say. “It’s very nice to meet you, too.”
    “Will you play Uno with me, Daddy?” Camille says.
    “After dinner,” Mr. Hanson says. “I’m going to go say hello to my wife now, if you don’t mind.”
    Camille tries but fails to roll her eyes as he leaves the room. “Ike, will you?” She looks at me. “She can play, too.”
    I smile. Does this mean she likes me?
    “Another time,” Ike says. “We wouldn’t be able to finish before dinner, and Tami and I have something to do afterward.”
    She pouts. “No one will play with me.”
    “You poor thing,” Ike says. “You have such a hard life, don’t you?”
    Camille smirks at him; she knows she’s got a good life. She’s acting a lot like Iranian girls her age do, before they’re made to understand the world does not, in fact, revolve around them.
    “ Dinner! ” we hear yelled from the back porch.
    “Can I sit next to you?” Camille asks Ike. “Even though she’s here?”
    Ike laughs. “Guess what? I have a left side and a right side, so you can sit on one side and Tami can sit on the other. How does that sound?”
    “I call the right side!” she says.
    “Tami, is that okay?” Ike asks. “I know you really wanted to sit on my right side.”
    I smile. “Camille can sit on your right side.”
    “Isn’t she nice?” Ike says to Camille. “Isn’t she the nicest person you’ve ever met?”
    Camille nods. “Next time, I’ll sit next to her.”
     
     
     
    At dinner, I’m one of many, part of a festive group. Izzy’s friends stay—they’ve changed out of their swimsuits, but their hair is still wet and they’re glowing from their healthy afternoon in the sun. A girlfriend of Kat’s has also come for dinner, and I have the feeling there’s always someone over, that there’s always something going on. Their home is a place people want to be, and I feel such gratitude to be part of it—tonight, and hopefully forever. Looking at everyone up and down the large, long table stretched across their covered back patio—fully half the people here are guests—I think Ike might be right. His family indeed might welcome me with the open arms he said they would. That’s the sort of people they seem to be.
    I sit toward one end of the table with Ike and his parents (along with Camille, to