Read Dreaming in English for Free Online

that she is, she must have noticed the panic I’ve been trying to suppress.
    I smile at her gratefully. “There was a show we almost saw with men who paint their whole bodies blue! So very strange! I can’t imagine why—”
    “Ike?” his mother says again.
    A long moment passes as Ike looks from one to the other of his parents. Then he takes a big breath and again takes my hand. I squeeze hard to tell him this is not a good time. But he smiles at me to tell me he knows what he’s doing, and then he clears his throat. “Actually,” he says, “I have some news that I think you’ll find very exciting. Tami and I did get married while we were in Vegas.”
    Camille smiles and claps. Paige’s eyes widen. She looks immediately at her mother.
    Mrs. Hanson gasps.
    Ike’s other sisters stare at him openmouthed, trying to figure out if he’s making a joke.
    And his mild-mannered father swears.
    “Jesus Christ , Ike,” he says. “Just exactly how drunk were you?”

Chapter 3
    T hey’ll love you. They’ll welcome you into the family with open arms.
    My hopeful heart withers as Ike’s earlier words come back to haunt me, or taunt me, and I feel myself literally shrink. They don’t love me, not one little bit.
    Jesus Christ, Ike. Just exactly how drunk were you?
    Is that who I am? Someone who could only get someone to marry her if he’s too drunk to know any better? But, of course they’d think that. They don’t know me enough to know his reasons.
    Tell them, Ike. Please, please tell them fast and make them understand.
    “I was stone-cold sober.” Ike looks at his father evenly, man to man, slipping his hand from mine as he does. “It was somewhat spur-of-the-moment, yes, but I assure you it was a clearheaded decision.”
    Mr. Hanson takes a moment, and then says in a tone that matches Ike’s, “Deciding whether to spend the rest of your life with someone is not a spur-of-the-moment decision.”
    “It can be,” Ike says. “When it’s right, it’s right.”
    “It’s okay,” Mrs. Hanson says softly, and for a second I’m hopeful. But then she continues. “People make mistakes, and what’s done can be undone. You’ll just get it annulled.”
    I don’t know this word— annulled —but I don’t think it means anything good.
    “It wasn’t a mistake,” Ike says. “I love Tami, and I intend to spend the rest of my life with her.”
    Mr. Hanson sets down his fork. “Girls.” He looks at each of his daughters in turn. “You’re all excused.” Without another word, they and their friends stand, gather their plates, and file indoors. Paige gives me a sympathetic glance as she leaves. Camille remains in her chair and looks at her father with her beautiful big brown eyes until he says, “You, too, Camille.”
    Grumbling, Camille follows the others inside. I look after her wistfully, wishing I could join her, wishing I could be just about anywhere but here. Then I realize that’s not true—there are many worse places I could be. Like in Iran. This difficult moment is just something to be gotten through, and then Ike and I can get to the good parts. Of course they’re concerned. They have every reason to be. They don’t know me. They don’t know me at all.
    I sit up straighter in my chair. “I love your son. I love him very much.”
    “Just who exactly are you?” Mr. Hanson says. “I’ve never even heard of you before tonight.”
    “Yes, you have, Dad.” Ike gives him a stern look and then gives me one of apology. “He has.”
    “Well, hardly,” Mr. Hanson grumbles.
    “Is she pregnant?” Mrs. Hanson says to Ike and then asks me, gently, “Are you pregnant, honey?” Her eyes flick to my glass of wine and then back to Ike. Because she seems ready to accept this possibility, part of me wishes I were, in fact, pregnant. But Ike and I only had sex for the first time last night, and he used a condom. So, no, I’m not. Which is good, because the thought seems to horrify Ike.
    “She’s not