She had never told a bald-faced lie to her children before, but now it seemed necessary. Otherwise they would all lose their composure. She planned to enroll them in school on Monday, and to have the strength to be thrown into such a situation they had to believe that their father was healthy and in contact. So at breakfast, when Aisha asked if she had heard from Dad, Kathy did not hesitate. “Yup, heard from him last night,” she said. “On what phone?” Nademah asked. They hadn’t heard a ring. “Yuko’s phone,” Kathy said. “I got it on the first ring.” “So he’s at the house?” Nademah asked. Kathy nodded. And as smart and skeptical as her kids were, they believed her. Especially Nademah and Zachary. Whether or not they sensed the lie, they wanted to believe it. Safiya and Aisha were harder to read, but for the time being her kids’ fears had been assuaged and now Kathy only had to worry about her own. Just after breakfast, the phone did ring. Kathy leapt to it. It was Aisha, another sister of Zeitoun’s.
