A Place for Us

I previously had a timeline up, but since a few people asked me for this instead, here's a chronological summary of events (note that the story is told achronologically):

Layla and and Rafiq immigrate to the United States from India. Rafiq proudly buys the family a house when the kids are young (2 and 3), just two girls. Amar is born a few years after.

Childhood

When Amar is a toddler (3), the kids suggest going on a picnic. Rafiq agrees, saying he might know "a place for us." It's a beautiful day. Layla and Amar go off by themselves. Amar remembers this fondly because he asked his mother, Layla, to go and wade in a stream with him and even though she's reluctant to get wet, she does it anyway.

Layla gets pregnant soon after, but miscarries. The baby would have been named Jaffer. The kids stay with Seema (Ali) Auntie for three days while Layla is recovering. The Ali's are a wealthier family with two kids who are similar in age (Abbas Ali and Amira Ali).

A while later, when Hadia is about 8, she has to decide whether to wear a hijab, which is a decision she takes seriously, and ultimately she decides to do so. Layla has a conversation with the kids around this time about the nature of sin. She describes it as a black mark on your heart that keeps growing as you keep sinning.

In school, Amar has been periodically pretending to be sick and going to the nurse's office. He then asks for Hadia to come comfort him. (He's 6, Hadia's about 10.) It's something he does when he doesn't want to be in class. Hadia complies, and she also notes that lately Amar has been acting up whenever their father gets annoyed with his sisters (presumably, to redirect his anger at him instead). Layla starts getting concerned about Amar and his behavior around this time.

A few years later, Amar is doing a little better and has recently befriended a boy named Mark. He has a spelling test coming up, and he wants new red shoes. Rafiq says that he will buy him the shoes if he does well on his spelling test. Hadia helps Amar to study.

After the test, he's confident, but Hadia finds out he wrote some answers on the sole of his shoe. She promises not to tell. He does well on the test. Hadia is feeling jealous that her parents are so pleased with Amar. She wants makeup to impress Abbas (who she is beginning to develop a crush on), but her parents say no dismissively. She ends up telling her father about Amar cheating, and Amar does not get the shoes. Amar ends up being held back that year and has to re-do 3rd grade.

A while later, when Amar is around ten, the family is fasting for Ramadan. Amar is young so he doesn't need to do it, but he wants to. They will need to wake up early to eat before fasting. The family doesn't wake him though. He ends up waking up a little late and joins them anyway.

Teenagers

As teenagers, Abbas (about 18-ish) starts to befriend Amar (14-ish), saying he will be his protege. Hadia gets accepted into a joint undergrad/grad medical school program. Her father gives her his father's watch, his prized possession which had -- until now -- been passed down from son to son.

Hadia takes her siblings to get ice cream and they go into a vintage shop. Amar sees a box with a lock that he desperately wants. Hadia later suggests to her mother to buy it for him for his birthday.

Layla goes to India for a visit after her father has a heart attack, and in the interim 9/11 happens. Amar gets into a fight at school three days later when two boys (one of which is Mark who used to be his friends) say racist things to him.

Layla gives Amar the box. Hadia helps him set the lock, so she knows the combination. Soon, there's a party a week before Hadia is leaving for school. At the party, she and Abbas make mango lassi.

Later, when Amira is around 15 and Amar about 17, Amira boldy approaches Amar at a party and they begin corresponding after that. A short while later, Hadia is visiting from school so the family has a party to celebrate her continuing on to medical school. Amira and Amar are both there, and Amira gives Amar a note.

Four days after, Abbas is in a car accident and dies. Rafiq (father) takes Hadia to visit the Ai family and Amar insists on going and tries to comfort Amira.

About a few months later, Abbas is hanging out with a friend, Simon, and drinks for the first time. He and Amira have been e-mailing each other. He's graduating soon, and receives a nice, store bought watch from his father as a graduation gift.

Adults

Two years after the accident, Amar and Amira are meeting up in a meadow -- the same one where his family once went on a picnic. He says it's the place where he was the happiest. They've been dating secretly for a while now. He keeps mementos of her in his locked box. Amira's parents have been approaching her with suitors. He promises to her he'll make something of himself so can deserve her, so he can be with her "the right way" -- with her parent's approval.

That summer, Hadia comes home for a visit. Amar is now in his second year of community college. He brings up the idea of him becoming a doctor, but Hadia tries to dissuade him. She mentions his love of writing. Hadia checks his box which she has done from time to time and realizes that he is secretly seeing Amira.

Hadia implies to Layla that Amar is hiding things from her, when Layla argues with her about not talking to her enough. Amar brings up wanting to be a doctor to Layla as well and gets a similar response. She tells him about the child she miscarried.

Layla recalls Hadia's implication about Amar and ends up checking his box when it is unlocked. She finds out about Amira and tells Rafiq. Rafiq thinks that maybe it's good for him, but Layla disagrees. (Rafiq actually knew about it years before but didn't tell anyone, having witnessed an interaction between Amira and Amar).

Layla visits Seema Ali and tells her what she knows about Amar and Amira. She convinces her that the only way it will end is if Amira ends things with Amar.

Amar and Amira meet underneath a tunnel and she ends things with him. A few weeks later, he is with some friends and drunkenly goes to visit her at her house. She sends him away and he ends up doing drugs for the first time with his friends that night.

Hadia visits home a while later and ends up talking to Amira. Amira says she is struggling and wants to know if she should fight for Amar. Hadia tells her that Amar can't be the person she needs him to be.

Hadia finds pills (drugs) that Amar has. She flushes them. Things have been going missing around the home. Her watch goes missing and she confronts Amar about the pills. Baba brings out a safe to store their things at home.

A while later Hadia gets a call from Baba asking her to come home because he is worried about Amar. She has just started dating Tariq. She goes home and Amar asks her for $500. Amar and Baba get into a fight when Baba confronts Amar about the drugs. Amar tells him he's not a Muslim and Baba disowns him. Amar ends up hitting their father, resulting in a broken picture frame. Amar leaves home.

It is a few years (2-3) later now, and Hadia is getting married to Tariq. Her parents approve, though he is not Shia and doesn't speak Urdu. Amar shows up at the wedding and returns the watch. He has been living in L.A. and doing odd jobs. He had been doing drugs, but has gotten clean recently. Amira is now married to a dentist who she has grown to love. Amira tells him that Layla was the one who visited her mother and told her to end things. Amar confronts Layla and gets drunk. He talks to Baba, bringing up that he doesn't believe he'll make it to the "other place" (as in Heaven). Baba says they'll wait for him. Baba gives him some money and Amar leaves.

Much Later

The family does not see Amar again after that. Huda gets married. Hadia has two kids, Abbas and Tahira. Abbas reminds them of Amar. Baba gets sick, he has a brain tumor. He has surgery. He gives Abbas red shoes for his birthday. Abbas seem to get secret phone calls from someone she assumes is Amar. Baba tries to pass a message through Abbas to Amar, asking him to come home. The book ends with Baba confident that he will see Amar again some day in Heaven and wishing he had reminded him of the mercy of God before he left.

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See A Place for Us on Amazon.