"##" "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen." "We have just landed at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman." "The outside temperature 38 degrees Celsius which is equivalent to..." "Hi, you've reached Ziad." "Leave me a message, I'll call you back." "Hey, it's me, I'm here, missing you already." "New York.!" "Course, there was an empty seat next to me on the plane, so I thought about you the entire flight." "I'm about to go meet my mom and sisters so..." "I'll let you know what happens." "Call me when you can." "I love you." "Bye." "##" "May!" "Hi!" "Oh, my God!" " Hi." " Hi." "I missed you." "I missed you, too." "." "Okay, okay." "Can you share?" "Hi, what's going on?" "Ziad didn't come..." "Oh, it's all... no, it's good, actually." "He had to teach, but, um, he's gonna be here in a few weeks." "And it's actually better this way because we'll get more time on our honeymoon." "Hmm." "Where's Mom?" "She's cooking for you." "You didn't tell her that he changed his plans, did you?" "No, I didn't." "Is this it'?" "Can I see it?" " Can we wait till we get..." " No, I wanna see it now." "Okay, okay, okay..." "Just be careful." " Tah-dah." " I love it." " You like it?" " It's really nice." "Yeah, I never thought I'd go so conventional but, you know, it fits the wedding..." " I can't wait to see it on you." " It's very simple." "Okay, can we get to the reception?" "Don't tell me you're bored, you just got here." "What were we thinking coming a whole month before the wedding." "We haven't all been here together in years." "I know, I keep telling her." "Dalia thinks that just because she loves it here, I have to, too." " I never said that." " That's not how it works." "And even if I did, there's nothing wrong with it." " It's a part of me." " Oh, my God, congratulations." " On what?" " You got your certification." " I'm so proud of you." " No, I didn't." "You know, massage wasn't for me." "Touching people's bodies all the time and I was absorbing all of their bad energy, it was so..." "But you were almost done, weren't you?" " Yeah, but, it's..." " Hold that, hold that." "I could go back if I want to." "Maybe I'll move here or someplace, you know like..." "So, yeah." "Wow." " That's you?" " Yeah." "It's gotten bad." "I thought she'd try to convert me this morning." "Yeah, didn't work, though did it?" "What does that mean?" "Honestly, you can't blame her, though." "I'm sorry, there weren't this many ninjas growing up." "You shouldn't call them ninjas, Yasmine." " Dalia, in your face, look." " Don't... stop pointing." "I'm sorry, if my mom dressed like that, I would be terrified of her." "You're just..." "you're, you're rude." "So what, um, why were you laid off?" "What happened exactly?" "It wasn't just me." "It was whole round of people." "Some of them had been there for 20 years..." "it was really, really terrible." "But what about you?" "Yalla, tell us things, come on, how's it going?" " It's going well." " Yeah?" "Ziad's mom's... been amazing." "She's planned all of it." "Does that annoy you?" "No, not at all, she consults me on all points." "That's great." "I forgot, what does Ziad teach again?" "Contemporary Islamic Civilization." "Um-hmm.." "Important." "I think so." "Mom?" "Oh, my God, it smells so good!" "Your favorite." "Hi, Mom." "Come here, May." "How are you?" "I'm good, I missed you." "Me too,." "Wow, I'm so glad you're here." "Me too, you look great." "Oh, it's all good." "How was your flight?" "It was... you know." "I ate, I slept." "I froze my butt off." "You look pale." "Your eyes are red." "Do you want a nap before everybody gets here?" "I will never fall asleep." "Why do I keep forgetting?" "You're exactly like me." "You can't even nap." "I know, me too." "Who's all coming over?" "Hmm." "This is great, no, but I would love some coffee." " Amazing." " Oh, I would love some, too." "Did I tell you guys that my paperback is finally coming out?" "That's great." " Some time this fall." " That's amazing." "I'm so proud of you." "Thank you." " Really?" " Hmm." "They can't wait to meet you." "That's so nice." "So..." "Everything else is okay?" "Yeah." "It's good." "Are you sure?" "Yeah." "I got worried when I heard Ziad wasn't coming." "Never mind how I find out." "I felt it." "I felt that you were having some problems." "I swear to you." "I told you, May." "Marrying outside your religion, your culture, it's all the same." "It never works." "We're better than ever, Mom." "We're getting married." " I just thought..." " He was just delayed." "He'll be here in a few weeks." "Don't worry, I know you're not coming to the wedding." "Of course not." "What did we talk about?" "What?" "Have you talked to dad?" "And why do you call him that?" "What am I supposed to call him?" "Anything but that." "It's been almost ten years, Mom." "He had a heart attack." "It barely qualified for a heart attack." "Even the doctors say so." "He invented the whole thing just to get attention." "Still, when I found out, I called him." "And you know why?" "Because I am better than him." "You shouldn't have done that." "I mean, he made you miserable for years." "20 years." "As if his affairs weren't enough humiliating, he went and he married a woman half his age." "She's not half his age." "May, she is your age, okay?" "Are you going to see him?" " No" " Maybe." "You could've warned me." "I asked you not to tell her." "She said something already?" "You're surprised?" "I'm sorry." "I forgot." "Hmm." "And I..." "I didn't think it was a big deal." "Can we clear some of your clothes so I can have some room?" "They're silk, they need to be hung." "Issam!" "How do they know that it hasn't already been opened?" "Hi, my love." "I wanted to tell you about my fun-filled day." "Well, first, my mom confirmed she's not coming to the wedding." "You know, in case we had any doubt." "And... then my cousin in front of the whole family announced I'm going to hell." "Ah, but you'll be there too, so don't worry, we'll rot together." "That's something to look forward to." "Hello?" "Auntie?" "May?" "I'm..." "I'm on the phone." "I am here, I'm on the phone." "Can you please hang up?" "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, okay, okay." "Oh, my God, see what it's like?" "Oh, my God, okay, I'm gonna go to bed now." "Um, call me tomorrow, please." "Okay." "I love you." "##" "No." "Mom!" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Ziad?" "Shit..." "Hello?" "Oh, my God, why do I never have..." "Z, are you there?" "Ziad, let me call you back, if you can hear me, I'll call you back, okay?" "This traffic is ridiculous." "Shit." "On, my God." "Wow." " Is it too much?" " No." "Oh, my God, you look so beautiful." "On." "Get over here." "Mom is totally gonna regret not being here for this moment." "She might still come around." "Yeah, right." "Uh..." "When can we, uh, go shopping for our dresses?" "I don't wanna wear a dress." "Hello?" "Dalia, you have to wear a dress." " Uh, no, I don't." " May, tell her." "May, do I have to wear a dress?" " She has... tell her." " You can wear whatever you want." " Exactly." " No, she has to wear a dress." "That's what people do at weddings, it won't kill you." "Oh, is it your wedding?" "No, it's not your wedding." "No one wants to marry you." "It's May's wedding and she said I could wear whatever I want." "Fine, whatever?" "Yasmine, can you grab my phone, please?" "Uh, yeah, where is it?" "It's in... ifs in the dressing room." "No, I got it, stay right where you are." "In your bag?" "Yeah, yeah, in my purse." "Here." "Thank you, thank you." "Oh, my God, on, my God." "Finally." "I know." " My God, we speak." " Can you believe it?" "No, why does it gotta be so hard?" " I miss you." " I miss you, too." " How are you?" " I'm good." "I'm at-I'm at my fitting." "I'm actually wearing my dress." "Nice." "How do you look?" "I mean, is it okay to ask?" " Um..." " It's not unlucky or anything." "No." "It's weird, I don't... you know, I don't feel like myself." "Oh, of course, you know, that makes sense." "What do you mean it makes sense?" "Well, you said, you weren't sure you wanted to go through with it." "So it makes sense that you wouldn't feel comfortable in your dress." "May, Issam wants to take us out tonight." "Oh, come on, come on." "Um, Ziad, hang on one second." " Yeah, okay." " That's great, you should go." "No, all of us." "Cool, yeah, I'll be right back." "Ziad, I freaked out." "I'm sorry, it was the planning, it was the book tour." "It was... it was all of it at once." "I got scared." " Okay, I mean..." " I love you so much." "Can we please just chalk this up to some pre-wedding cliché and get on with our lives?" "Yeah." "Yeah, that's what we're doing, but okay." "Okay, but you haven't called me since I..." "I got here." "You were with your family, you needed time." "Why do you always think you know what I need?" "Because I know you, May, better than you know yourself." "Yeah..." "Well, if that were true, you'd be here right now." "We talked about this." "We agreed I should teach and you said it was okay." "Of course, I said it was okay, what else was I gonna say?" "Well, how about what you meant?" "That would be a start and it would be helpful." "May?" "May, can we go?" "I have to get back out there." "Can I call you back later?" "Sure." "This is awesome." "Oh, God, my body is like physically rejecting this place." "I'm gonna..." "I'll-I'll see you later." "I didn't think I'd see you till the wedding." "I moved back." "What happened to Paris?" "I'll go back one day." "I'm working with my brother now." "No way, we're all together?" "Just like old times." "Where did Dalia go?" "Her body didn't like the place." " Yalla, cheers." " Cheers." "Cheers?" "##" " Oh, shit." " Oh." " Yeah." " Yeah?" "Can I bum one?" "Yeah." "Thank you." "Oh, my God, that's disgusting." "Take it away." "Why'd you give me that?" "You asked for it." "Oh, shit, I feel nauseous." " Oh..." " Okay, okay." "Oh, my God, everything's spinning." "Hold on, hold on, hold on." "Okay, just-ooh, take it easy." "Can you walk with me?" " Mmm." " Yeah?" "Okay, just, oh, no, no, no, that way, yeah." "Okay, sit on the hood." "Okay, okay." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, just wake up, wake up, open your eyes, okay?" "Hey, okay." "What are you doing?" "What?" "You were about to faint." " No, I wasn't." " Yeah, you were." "You don't know me." "Yeah... well, you needed help so I was just trying to be nice." "You can't be nice to people you don't know." "Whoa... uh... okay, boss." "Can I sit here?" " Yeah?" " I don't care." "Just tell me something about yourself." "I'm drunk." ""I'm drunk," yeah, okay, I gathered that." "On." "I don't know where my sisters went." "Oh, God, so drunk and lost." "2" "I'm May." "I'm Karim." "Karim." " Nice to meet you." " Nice to meet you." "Where are you from?" "I live in New York." "Nice, New York, I love it." "You're May, yeah?" "Yeah, I'm May." "You're-you're, you're Issam's cousin, May?" "Yeah, you're the one who wrote that book about the Proverbs and... yeah?" " Yeah." " Yeah, that's you." "I love that book." " Really?" " I love it, yeah." "You're here to get married or something like that?" "How'd you do that?" "Oh, Amman's not that big, you know." "There you are!" "We're gonna go, um, get the car." "That is my sister." "So you're not that lost after all." "I got something I wanna give you, okay?" "This is not for you so don't take it the wrong way." "This is for your wedding guests." "In case they felt adventurous." "You do tours?" "Yup, like hiking, scuba diving and... four-wheeling in the desert." " Cool." " Yeah." "Have some water when you get home." "Okay?" " Yeah." " Okay." "Bye-bye!" "May'" " Bye." " Bye." " Hey." " Where have you been?" "Falafel place." "Had enough fun in there?" "Can I have some." "Yeah." "Whoa, big bite." "Oh, wow, you're pretty drunk." " No, I'm not." " Yeah, you are." "No, I'm not." "##" "##" "What are you doing up?" " I couldn't sleep." " Me neither." "I thought you'd be sleeping in." "No such luck." "1J1 a" "What?" "Oh, nothing, it's silly." "What for?" "I'm supposed to untie it." "But it's impossible." "You know Aunt Hanan with her crazy ideas." "It kind of binds it altogether, it's like a theme." "Binds it altogether." "It's really essential to have a theme." "Why did she come with us?" "I didn't tell her we were going dress shopping." "Yasmine?" "She has to be here, May, she's gotta get used to it." "Let's keep in mind, I'm looking for a nice pant suit." "You can drop the pant suit, please." "That sounds wrong." "There's no getting used to it." "She's praying we break up." "No." "This morning, I caught her untying this huge knot." "I swear to God, it's some kind of freaky breakup voodoo." "When are we planning your bachelorette party." "How about... never." "How about, that's not an option." "How about no scavenger hunts or stripper telegrams." "Do they have strippers here?" "Let's not find out." "May, was it a knotted rope?" "Yeah... why?" "What if we take you to Hammam." " Or we could go to the Dead Sea, huh?" " That sounds nice." "They say that if you untie two pieces of knotted rope, you're trying to break the bond between two people." "Who says that?" "I don't remember, but it's some kind of spell." "She's got too much time on her hands." "Do you think she'd ever consider getting remarried?" " No." " No." "Do you think May would like this?" "Are you kidding, that's trashy." " I don't think so." " No, it's too sexual." "What are you guys whispering about?" " Nothing." " Nothing." "No secrets." "I'm the bride, you have to tell me everything." "." "Okay" "Mom, you ever think about getting remarried?" "Why, I'm already married." " Please don't say to God." " Why not?" " Oh, Jesus." " Him too." "And don't you poke fun just because you have no faith." "Who says I don't have any faith." "I have so much faith." "Mom, I hate to break it to you, but you married another lousy husband." "He's never around." "You can't see Him." "But He's here." "Everywhere." "That's right, I forgot, He's a ghost." "Why is it so difficult for you to respect my beliefs?" "You're throwing a fit over my wedding and you wanna talk to me about respect?" "May, you don't know what you're getting yourself into." "Your kids will automatically considered Muslims, do you know that?" "Do you know that if you divorce, you will never have the right over them?" " We live in the U.S., Mom." " So what!" "He's from here, okay?" "Well, then, I guess, I should just maybe think about converting to Islam because I'll have more fights that way." "He's not even practicing, he's secular." "You don't have to listen to me if you don't want to." "But I think I have more experience in the matter than you do." "Mom, you married the imperialist." "And just because your marriage crumbled, doesn't mean mine will." "Let's say God doesn't exist." "Do you think you would ever consider remarrying a human being?" "Even if I do, and it's a big if, where in the world I'll find someone at my age?" "Mom, you're still young." "You don't look anything like your age." "Plus, we can help, right?" "Don't look at me." "Aren't there any single guys at your church?" "I don't go around asking them." "I can ask them." "." "Maybe" "Okay..." "I'm good, thanks." "I'll come." "Really?" "Yes, but only because I'm curious." "And I'm only gonna go to find you a husband so don't get your hopes up." "Find me a husband." "And find Jesus at the same time." "##" "##" "I don't wanna do it." "Come on." "You can't just wait out here, you'll roast." "I'm fine." "Dalia, get out of the car." "Open the door." "No." "Come on, he called like six times." "He wants to see us." "Good for him, let's give him an award, he remembered that we exist." "He had a heart attack, Dalia." "Just because he has a re-awakened conscience, it doesn't mean that I am obligated to forgive him." "No one is asking you to forgive him." "No, but it's even worse, you're asking me to meet his whore." "Here they are." "Oh, my God, look at you, girls." "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you." "Get out of the car." "I'm Anu, I think you all know that." " I'm May." " May." "Yes, oh, my God." "Ooh." "I've heard so much about you." "Your dad's so proud of you." "On." "And, um, Dalia?" "Come on out." "I've seen so many pictures of you, come on." "Yeah." " How are you?" " Good." "You're a grown-up girl now." "Um, Yasmine, Yasmine, oh." " You're done." " You're so beautiful." "Prettier than the pictures, all of you." "Thank you for coming, girls, come on in... come." "Of course." "Sorry, your dad had to be in Jerusalem with Ambassador Williamson, but he should be here any minute." " So we'll get to hang out and, um..." " He's not even here." "Fruit salad?" "Yasmine?" " Yes, thank you." " There you go." " Thanks." " Dalia?" "Unh-unh." "I'll have hers." "." "Okay" "Just something... for you." "I guess..." "Okay." "So..." "Where are you from in India?" "Oh, I'm originally from North India." "But I grew up in Mumbai." "I actually lived in New York, too." "I studied there." "I did not get my work permit so I decided to move to Dubai." "And that's great, because that's where I met your dad." "He was living in the hotel I was managing." "He's got a real foreign fetish, don't you think?" "Um..." "I hear you have a fiancé who's Palestinian, right?" "Yeah." " Okay." " He is." "And?" "Does he live here?" "Um... he grew up here." "But he's been in New York for 15 years now." "I actually saw an interview of him on the internet." "He is quite a good-looking guy." "And very well-spoken, too." "He actually reminded me of Edward the first time I saw him." "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I'm late." "I can't believe how crazy it's gotten." "There's a complete bottleneck." "I'm so happy you're here." "It started with a heaviness in my chest." "I thought I maybe had heartburn or something like that." "Spiciest chicken biryani does not give him a heartburn." "Ana's the one who insisted that I go to the hospital." "I come from a family of doctors." "And they say that there's nothing wrong with me, so, I'm..." "I'm good." "Thank God." "Yeah." "So tell me about how you girls are." "I wanna hear about that, so..." "You're writing another book, May." " Yeah, I am." " Good." " It's a novel." " What's it about?" "Well, it's maybe historical fiction, I really don't knew yet." "But it's, um, it's set in 1948 Palestine." "Ed, did you tell her about how we read her first book?" "Oh, that's right." "Anu brought it to me, she read it before I did." "And I read it twice." "And loved it." "You read it twice?" "I didn't quite finish it the second time but I still intend to." "Because I love it, it's really clever." "But the real achievement is the way you have put a human face on so many of the conflicts in the region, that's rare, that's..." " It's beautiful." " I'm so proud of you." " Thank you." " Yes." "As I am of you, Dalia, because I understand that you're gonna be finishing massage school." "Actually, no." "I dropped out." "I'm a massage school dropout." "Uh, well, that's probably for the best because I imagine there isn't a lot of money in-in that massage business." "You know, I'm thinking that since your Mom's here and Anu and I are here, and you're both looking for work, huh?" " How do you know that?" " What?" "Oh, your mom called when he was in the hospital." "Yeah, what... she just said you were laid off." "All's I'm saying is that, you know, you might wanna consider moving here, because there's a lot of opportunity here." "There is, and we'd love to help you out in any way." "You could work with refugees in the U.N." "or you could do capacity building with the embassy." "There's a couple of spots in the office that I think would be great." "And you'd really might like it." "I think, I personally would rather shoot myself in the head than represent U.S. foreign policies." "Especially in a Middle Eastern country, I mean..." "Tell me about the wedding." "Your mom is still boycotting this?" "Well, we'll support you, no matter what, with everything." " Right, lobster?" " That's right." "We went through something really very similar." "It all works out." "And don't let anyone tell you any different." "Dalia, how about some more lamb?" "Um..." " Oh, Dalia doesn't..." " Dalia doesn't eat lamb." "Oh, come on, you're just..." "teasing me." "Come on, you love lamb, Dalia." "I love lamb, Dad." "Dalia's a vegetarian." "Yup." "How about your dad and I take you guys somewhere?" "Uh, we came here every summer growing up so..." "We've been all over." "There's gotta be someplace you want to see," " how about Dami mountains?" " Been there." "You really haven't said very much about Ziad." "You haven't asked." "All right, let's see." "He is, uh, professor at Columbia, I know that." "Yeah, he's their Palestinian expert." "That's impressive." "He's written two books on the economy of Palestine." "He's working on his third." "He's written all kinds of articles, essays, op-eds." "He's doing pretty well for himself." "Yeah." "You sure he's the one?" "That's why I'm marrying him, Dad." "So he must be a pretty special guy, right?" "You still playing tennis?" "It's been a while." "Good, that's the way I like to play you." "You wanna play tomorrow?" "I can't tomorrow, but I'd love to play." "You could've told me you'd be gone for the whole day." "I needed the car." " We didn't know." " Sorry." "You must be hungry." " Yes." " No." "We stopped at Uncle Waleed's..." "Maram fed us a little." "What's wrong?" "It's not good?" " No, it's really good." " Thank you, Mom." "Mm-hmm." "So what did Maram cook?" "Leg of lamb." "It was really dry." "##" "That's so cute." "I'm not thinking holy thoughts." "Okay." "I never thought I would hook up here." "Yesterday, we made out in the elevator for two hours." " Does he live with his parents?" " Yeah, they all do here." "Now I know why they get married so young so they can get laid..." " Shh." " Hmm?" "What about him?" "He's married." "He's cute." "That could come right off, Mom." "If I'm gonna do it again, I better do it right." "He has to be a Palestinian Christian." "And he has to know how to cook and do laundry," "And if he has to travel, he better travel for fun and not for work." "All right, well, you're gonna have better luck at the second coming." "But Jesus has facial hair so that's gonna be a problem." "We don't make fun of Jesus." "One minute." "Hello?" " May?" " Yeah." " It?" "A878." " Hi." "Oh..." "I-I can't talk right now." "Oh, that's okay." "I..." "I just, uh..." "Is everything okay?" "I promised I was not gonna cry." "Yeah, um..." "May, can I..." "Can I just take you out for a coffee?" "Something wrong with Dad?" "I have this terrible feeling, May, the same one I had when, when my first husband left me and..." "He wanted more children, and I couldn't give that to him so he left me." " Uh, uh, uh..." " So I understand that, but Ed doesn't want any more children and-and we're having great sex so I don't understand why." "Why are you telling me that?" "I think he's having an affair, May." "You're playing tennis with him day after tomorrow, aren't you?" "I really want you to talk to him and tell him..." "##" "Shit." " May." " You need to tell your wife she can't call me with your marital problems." "Hi." "Black Label on the rocks." "Anything for you, sir?" "He'll have the same, he's gonna need it." "Uh, I guess we're not gonna play." "She thinks you're having an affair." "All right, look, uh..." "Anu can be dramatic..." "You're not doing this to me again." "Dad, you are not putting me in the middle of your shit." " Please." " It is not okay." "Will you just sit down, please." "I am sorry that she called you." "Sit down." "Anu is lonely, Anu doesn't have a lot of friends here." "She is not like you." "She can be like a kid sometimes." "She can get a little insecure." "Maybe because you're cheating on her." "No, it's not like that." "You think I wanna go through that again." "Do you think that's something I'm prepared to, kind of, relive." "It was..." "Trust me." "I'm not that person anymore." "I used to think the grass was greener, you know, but then you..." "You get there and you look closer and it's just... it's not greener, it's just different." "What does that mean?" "You're not cheating?" "It means that I learned from my mistakes." "I think it's important for you to understand what I've been through." "Oh, my God, I'm not gonna sit here and listen..." "Would you just stop for a second." "I know I'm not who you wanted me to be." "But I'm your father and I'm not gonna go anywhere and I just think that you and I deserve to figure out how we can have some kind of relationship that's real." "Is that what you wanted, Dad, when you didn't bother calling on our birthdays?" "All right, you have every right to be angry with me..." "Yeah, I have every right to be angry." "I spent years of my life trying to fill your shoes so don't sit here and tell me you want a real relationship." "Just... trying to say that I'm here now and making an effort... now." "I, um..." "And I would completely understand if you continue to hate me." "I don't hate you, Dad." "Dalia hates me." "Dalia doesn't hate you, no one hates you." "She was 12 when you and Mom started throwing dishes at one another." "Your mother threw the dishes, I never threw any dishes." "All right, one dish, once." "And it wasn't aimed at your mother." "It's mind-boggling that the two of you even ended up together." "You have nothing in common." "That's not true." "We had a lot in common." "And then we just drifted apart, I guess." "Your mother's a very hard person to please, you know that." "No matter what I did, you know, she..." "I couldn't make her happy." "Are you happy?" "I..." "I think the mere that I figure out about myself, the easier it gets." "Hi, you've reached Ziad." "Leave me a message, I'll call you back." "Hey, it's me." "You will never believe what just happened." "I had a conversation with my dad." "Like, an actual conversation for the first time in" "I don't even know in how many years." "That just made me think about so much." "Anyway, I'm seeing your mom tomorrow." "It's sort of like seeing you." "Call me, bye." "Hmm." "Interesting." "TIME'!" "Un-huh." "You said you suck!" "I haven't played in a while." "Yeah, I see how you are." "Come on." " Okay." " Come on." "##" "." "Oh!" "Yes." "Yeah." "So who do I have to blame for this humiliation?" "' My dad." "Yeah?" "He's very good and he knows it." "Modesty is not exactly his strong suit." "Sol made it my mission in life to beat him." "." "And?" "Never happened." "Well, you kicked my ass." "So how did you get into adventure tourism?" "I was 20, I was studying engineering." "I was lost, miserable so..." "I took a tour to Thailand." "It was an adventure tour and it changed me." "I discovered that this is what I wanna do with my life." "I wanna do that for people who come to Jordan." "And it's fun, you know, every day, all day, I get to have fun." "You on the other hand, you would never get to understand it," " Oh." " Because you're too much busy being ambitious, yeah?" " Right." " Yeah." " Yup." " Yeah." "That's me." "I am working on my second book, so..." "Putting me to shame." "Good." "How do you have the time to write, I mean..." "Aren't you busy planning for your wedding stuff?" "It's soon, isn't it?" "Less than two weeks." "So how does it feel like?" "Good, better feel good, it's too late to back out now." "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just said that." "It's never too late to back out." "No, I didn't mean it, I didn't mean it." "I don't want to back out, I don't know why I said it." "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry." "Wow, I'm a..." "TIFF-II" "Um..." "I'll tell you something, it's not you, okay, it's me." "I am exceptionally easy to talk to." "People tell me things all the time so it's not a big deal." "Seriously." "If you need someone to be an idiot with, I'm here, okay?" "Thanks for the ride." "You're welcome." "." "See Ya' ." "Bye" "Bye." "##" "Hey, babe, it's me." "I can't believe you ended up with your dad." "That was a long time coming." "Um, call me when you can, okay?" "I'll be up late grading papers." "I really wanna talk to you." "Uh..." "I hope your writing's going well and, uh, okay, um, love you, bye." "Hi." "Hi." "I was gonna brush my teeth." "It can wait." "You haven't been around much." "I know, I've been really busy." "Writing a lot." "We're going for my bachelorette party, Mom." "Why, you wanna come?" "Who dropped you off?" "A friend." "What friend?" "His name's Karim." "I don't know his last name, Mom." "He could be Muslim or Hindu." "For all I know, he's Jewish." "Would that make you happy?" "That's not why I asked." "And it wouldn't make me happy." "I don't believe in these religions." "They don't believe in yours either." "I don't have a religion, May." "I have the truth." "##" "I'd like to take a moment to explain about the hotel and the facilities of the hotel, if it's okay." "We're right now in the main building called Zara building?" "The room will be located over here." "On, my em!" "##" "Isn't it crazy that that's Palestine?" "Yeah." "We could swim there." "If we wanted to die." "What?" "There are landmines in here." "No way." "If you swim out too far." "How do you think they keep the refugees out?" "God, that is messed up." "Here we are with all our petty problems." "Do we choose tall centerpieces or short centerpieces?" "Should we hire a band or a DJ?" "Band." "Should we spend the entire lifesavings or only half of it." "All of it." "Yeah..." "It is pretty ridiculous." "Why do people even do it anymore?" "I don't know." "You would think that the 50 percent divorce rate, people would not wanna do it as much." "At least keep it simple." "Geez." "I mean, wouldn't it be nice to just exchange vows in a garden?" "Drink a glass of champagne?" "Shove cupcakes into each other's faces?" "And just go on a honeymoon?" "That sounds great." "Why don't you guys do that?" "Ziad wanted the traditional thing." "Mostly for his family." "Couldn't you make some kind of compromise?" "I didn't wanna make a big deal out of it." "Then how is it a big deal if it's what you want?" "You're having doubts, May?" "No." "I don't know." "I hear myself say it and I think, "What is wrong with me?"" "Why can't I just be happy?" "He's so good to me." "Do you know how many drafts of my book he read?" "How many times he made me dinner when I was writing." "He brings me breakfast in bed." "Who does that'?" "He makes the best egg white frittata ever." "But that doesn't mean you have to marry him." "What are you doing out here?" "Where's Tamer?" "Having a work crisis." "That sucks." "Well, at least we get to spend some time to ourselves, right?" "We always have time to ourselves." "." "Okay" "Uh, hey, uh..." "[AMP-IE" "You sound like an obnoxious American, that's all." "At least I speak Arabic." "You speak just as shitty Arabic as I do, Yasmine." "I do not speak shitty Arabic, okay?" "I took two years in college." "So what?" "I taught myself how to read." "You have to sound things out like a child." "Which is more than you can say." " Excuse me?" " I understand the meanings" " of the words..." " Doesn't matter if you can't speak it." "You don't even understand the origin of the word..." "Guys, you speak equally shitty Arabic." "Let's relax." "# Let me get on in it #" "# I wanna make love with you, you, you #" "# Come on let me get it #" "# Let me get up in it #" "# I wanna make love with you, you, you... #" "Men are retarded." "##" "No." "Dalia..." "Stop it!" "Perfect." "##" "Yasmine, stop it." "It's in my nose." "Hey!" "Hello." "Hi." " HEY" " Hey." "Where have you been?" "Stupid clients can't make up their minds." "At the last minute, they wanted some changes on their website." "I had to do it, Yasmine." "Yeah, of course." "We're glad you could join us." "Please, don't be mad." "I'm not, you're blocking my sun." "I wanna have a good time." "No one's stopping you." "I wanna have a good time with you." "Come on, Yasmine, he couldn't help it." "Excuse me?" "You're defending him?" "You're being unfair." "What do you know?" "Just trying to help." "Well, I don't need your help, okay?" "Why don't you go flirt with the bartender some more?" "Okay, I think I should go." "No, no, stay." "What the hell was that supposed to mean?" "It means you seem a little confused, lately." "Why, because I'm actually friendly to people and not bitchy, like you." "Is that what you call that, being friendly?" "Well, maybe you should stop being so friendly." "I mean, people might get the wrong impression." "You are getting married, aren't you?" "That's right, run away like you always do." "Run and hide, that's the answer." "Hi, my name is May and my life is perfect." "And you're all the fucked-up ones." "What do you want, Yasmine?" "I wanna know why Ziad isn't here?" "And I wanna know why you don't give a shit about your wedding?" "Because I don't know that I wanna go through with it." "Well, then why didn't you tell us?" "Tell you what?" "I don't even know what to tell myself." "Wouldn't it help to talk about it?" "And risk the whole world finding out?" " No." " Come on, that is such bullshit." "Yasmine, Yasmine?" "Did you tell Tamer that I'm gay?" "Dalia, now's not the time." "His friend Chati just outed himself to me because he thinks that I'm gay." "Aren't you?" "That's not the point." "Are you going around and just telling everybody?" "What am I supposed to do, okay, lie?" "Who I do or do net sleep with is rue-body's business, okay?" "See big mouth?" "So, what, you think I can't be trusted." " You can't be." " You can't be." "I wasn't talking to you." "How could you tell people that, how can I trust you?" "You are always telling people things." "If you knew something was wrong, why didn't you say anything?" "Don't blame us?" "How were we supposed to know you're thinking of calling the whole thing off." "Wait, What?" "I thought you were gonna wait till Ziad got here." "I'm not calling it off." "You told Dalia?" "You told Dalia and you didn't tell me." "I told Dalia this morning while you were busy making out with your boyfriend, thank you very much." "But I'm really glad to know that that's all you care about." "You wonder why I can't talk to you?" "You have never been happy for me." " Excuse me?" " Either of you." "Whoa, what?" "No, you wish you were the one getting married and you... don't think anyone should get married." "I never said that, May." "Gays don't have the same rights, I get it." "Gays, what is wrong with you people." "Why do you think I'm gay?" "'Cause you haven't had a boyfriend in ten years." "So what..." "I'm so sorry to disappoint all of you." "And you know what, even if someone is, I mean, there's nothin wrong..." "I never said there was!" "I only told Tamer because I was proud to have a sister who was a lesbian." "I am not a lesbian!" "I saw your mom." "We went to the wedding planner and he was showing us the reception hall." "And I just kept thinking I don't know how to do this." "You're-you're upset, okay." "Just listen to me, Ziad." "You need a break from your family." "They're making you crazy." "Well, then, we're all crazy." "Okay, I'm gonna he there in a few days, all right?" "We'll figure all of this out." "." "May?" "Mom called." "May?" "Edward." "On." "Oh, my goodness." "." "Dad?" "Hey, Dad, hi." "Was it another heart attack?" "Well, they did some tests and we'll hear in a little bit." "Good to see you..." "Nice to meet you." "I heard so much about you." "No, you too." "Not all bad things, I hope." "No." "Girls, it's so nice to see you again." "I only wish it was under different circumstances." "That's right, you had lunch together and you cooked a leg of lamb, right?" "It's hard to make it tender, don't you think?" "Dad, uh, when did it happen, exactly, like what happened?" "I was playing tennis." "It was way too hot to be playing tennis." "Do you remember when you two used to play?" "Yeah, you hated it when we played." "'Cause you got so competitive." "I thought you were going to kill each other." "Oh, you know, it was..." "I guess I was sweating a little bit more than usual." "I kept playing and then all of a sudden, I got really cold." "Everything went white." "I wasn't feeling any pain." "Could it be, this is the end?" "Not too bad way to go." "Wham, chest pains kicked in." "I was at home when I got the call." "I don't know what I would have done." "Are you hungry?" "Are they feeding you well?" "Anu brought me some chicken soup from the cafeteria." "Which was very good, because I got my first meal, and what was it:" "Salmon." " Oh, God." " Oh, no." "I can't believe they brought you salmon." "I'll talk to them." " Okay." " I already did." "Well, that's good." "##" "##" "I was looking for my... my rope." "Have you seen it?" "No." "You're awake too?" " I am now." " Me too." "I need a cigarette." "Do you know what you're gonna do?" "Please, don't ask me that." "All rig ht." "I forgot, no one in this family tells me anything." "He gets here tomorrow, Yasmine, and I have no clue." "Why can't we talk like normal people?" "It's just like when Mom and Dad got divorced." "No one told me what was going on." "You think I wanted to know?" "I wish no one had told me." "Come on, May." "Here we are, always saying we're so close." "What do we actually know about each other?" "When were you actually gonna tell us that you were fired and not laid off?" "When are you gonna tell us you're gay?" "You know, I don't..." "I don't need labels, okay?" "I don't." "But if it makes you happier..." "Then, yes." "I like women." "It took you years to tell us." "I know, but I just need to do it at my own speed." "I couldn't do it just..." "Okay." "Why were you fired?" "'Cause I opened my..." "'Cause I opened my big mouth." "And the agency lost a major account because of me." "I have no idea what to do." "I haven't been able to write in months." "May, you just need to take some time off, man, I mean, you're just, like, going non-stop." "Here." " Sorry." " That's okay." "I didn't mean to, you know..." "I'll be right back." "How am I gonna tell Mom?" "I have no idea." " She's going to freak out." " Well, I'm here." "I'm exhausted, but I need to see you too." "Hi, you've reached Ziad." "Yeah, yeah, okay." "I'm on my way." "Okay." "Whoa, patience, I'm on my way, bye." "##" "Dude, what are you doing?" "Mom left." "What do you mean, she left." "I don't know, she just..." "she... snuck out." "Holy shit." "##" " Guys, wait up." " What's she doing?" " Guys, just slow down." " We need a taxi." "Take it easy, guys, I'm in my slippers." "Taxi!" " Where is she?" " I don't see her." " We lost her." " Right there, she's right there." "Turn, turn, turn." " Okay." " Ow." " You heard right?" " Positive." "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it." "I knew that Mom was a bad girl." "You should've seen the lingerie I found in her drawer." "I don't wanna know about that." "Maybe she has a lover." "Maybe she met someone at church." "What is she doing?" "She just pulled in..." "stop, stop, stop." "Stop, pull over." "Wait, wait, I'm scared." "Shh..." "Okay, now, go." "Shh." "Let's go, come on." " Oh, my God, oh, my God." " Mom?" "What are you doing here?" "Okay." " What are you doing here?" " What are you doing?" "Did you follow me?" "You're having an affair with Mom?" "Affair?" "We were married first." "L-I wanted to tell you, believe me." "And I think we should talk about it now." " There is nothing to tell." " Wait, you knew about this?" "What do you mean, there's nothing to tell?" "Anu called me crying." "Since when Anu calls you?" "You're having an affair with Dad?" "Please lower your voice." "All right, I don't think you should go right now." " No, no, you have to rest..." " I think we should talk, girls, quiet," " we need, stay, don't go." " Edward, we will talk." "Where are my shoes?" "After everything he put you through?" " He put us through." " I don't wanna talk about it." "No, Mom, you are not gonna get off that easy." "Listen, I didn't plan it." "It just happened." "Mom, affairs don't just happen." "How long as this been going on for?" " None of your business." " None of our business?" "We were there to pick up the pieces." "So am I just supposed to stop loving him like that?" "I was married to the man for 20 years." "You have no idea what it means to... just live with someone for so long." "So you're getting back together?" "How can you ever trust him again, Mom?" "Who says I trust him." " Then what are you doing?" " Besides being a hypocrite?" " Excuse me?" " A hypocrite, Mother." "Someone who pretends to be holy." "You're so holy you can't go to your own daughter's wedding." "For your information, I was planning to go." "Oh... oh, I'm so happy." "You've changed your mind." "Do you think I'm happy?" "There's nothing for me to live for." "There's nothin to do but sit around and wait to die." "That is bullshit, Mom, do not try to make us feel sorry for you." "Why are you so angry?" "Have I ever stopped you from marrying him?" "You have been trying to break us up." "You think I don't know what that whole knot thing is about?" "It's about your father!" "I never planed on missing your wedding, May." "Even if I don't approve." "You... you want me to believe you've been planning to come this entire time?" "Yes." "May" "##" "Hi." "Everything okay?" "I don't wanna go home." "Can we go somewhere?" "Okay, let's go." "##" "Wake up, sleepy head." "Hello?" " Okay, Zidan, please." " Where are we?" "Uh, it's a surprise." "You okay?" " Yeah." " You up?" "##" "Can you see that one?" "It's speaking to you." "What's it say?" "I don't know, I don't speak star." "Then what good are you?" "My parents are fucking." "Is that unusual?" "They've been divorced for eight years." "My dad's remarried." "Oh, shit." "What does it mean?" "What does it mean!" "This is where speaking star would come in handy." "Maybe it means they still love each other." "All those years of misery for nothin." "Sometimes it takes losing someone to really know what they mean to you." "Maybe if we worked harder, we could actually hold onto something." "Yeah, sure." "Assuming that what you have is right for you." "It's amazing how cold it gets out here." "Come here." "Come on." "I'm sorry." "I..." "I can't." "##" "I'm calling it off." "I know that makes you happy." "May." "##" "." "May?" "I'm sorry." "##" "Oh, Jesus." "Shh." "I know he loves you." "He always has." "There's nothing I can do about it." "Nadine, I really need him right now." "He needs me too." "." "May?" "I'm not hungry." "I'm fine." "I know it's not what you want to hear, May, but it does make me happy." "He's a good person and I like him." "But he's not right for you." "And it's not his religion." "I don't get you, Mom." "You act like you don't know what it's like when you ran off and married an American." "I'm reminded of it every single day." "If it weren't for you and your sisters," "I would say it's the worst mistake of my life." "Am I supposed to believe that when you're having an affair with him?" "You think I'm happy the way my life turned out?" "He and I should be traveling now, seeing the world." "Instead, I'm sneaking like a desperate teenager." "I have no idea what I'm doing." "It's like I'm scared to end up alone for the rest of my life." "When I just have to know that I will." "You don't have to, Mom." "People don't fall in love at my age." "Yes, they do." "No, they don't." "Not here." "Don't you go thinking that I am happy to see you in pain." "Since you were a baby... every time you cried, I cried." "Especially you, because you never cried." "I'm sorry you're sneaking around." "I gave the bastard 20 years of my life." "And now..." "I'm the other woman." "You were the only woman, Mom." "He knows it." "Let me talk to him." "They released him from the hospital." "Is he gonna stay with her?" "I don't know." "It's all my fault." "No, May." "You did nothing wrong." "You'll be okay." "You know that, right?" "Can I have some soup now?" "##" "AN" "ET!" "All right, don't rub it in." "Did I just win?" "You've gotten so good." "It's not me." "How's your mother?" "She misses you." "Did she say that?" "She didn't have to." "Sure you don't wanna stay longer?" " No, I can't, I can't." " All right." "What's gonna happen to you?" "I don't know." "Everything" "." "Everything." "I hope, what about you?" "I'm gonna get my license." "I'm just gonna do it just to make some extra cash to figure out what I really wanna do." " Good." " Yeah." " Cool." " You ready?" "I can't believe you're staying, this is so weird." "I know." "I'm never gonna have sex ever again." "I'm excited to be living with you." "You should be." "You should all come and live with me." "Yes, Oh... thank you." "You know I hate good-byes." "I know, it's okay." "Okay, let's go." "Yeah, I don't want you to be late." "You got your passport?" "You got your Buddha?" "I got my Buddha." "Thank you." " Love you." " Love you more." "Bye." " Fly safe." " Don't forget about me." " Text us from Baltimore." " OK." "Love you." "Love you, too, bye." "##" "Not for a few more days." "Yeah, Mom." "I'll be right up." "##" "##"