Amina's Voice

Amina’s family is at Chicago O’Hare airport picking up Thaya Jaan. Mr. Khokar is very nervous, and Mrs. Khokar is wearing “her fancy maroon-and-black shalwar kameez” (75). The children are also wearing nice clothes. When Thaya Jaan arrives, he is wearing “a rumpled shirt [with] a white kufi pressed over his thick gray-and-white hair (76). He warmly greets the family, including the children. Amina hopes that her uncle is finding America to his liking, but his face remains inscrutable. By the end of the chapter, Amina wonders if her nervousness about her uncle’s visit was baseless.

Back at home, the family enjoys a large meal prepared by Mrs. Khokar, complete with Amina’s favorite labor-intensive Pakistani dessert, gulab jamun. When Mr. Khokar asks how things are in Pakistan, Thaya Jaan answers, “It’s getting more and more difficult each day [...] Things are getting so expensive—even basics like flour cost so much that it’s hard for poor people to afford simple bread. May Allah have mercy on them” (82). However, the Khokars are thriving: “The business is growing, and the kids are fine. Ahmed was admitted to medical school” (82).