Before I Let Go

Yasmen changes clothes before dinner. In her closet, she finds a pair of Josiah’s prized Jordan sneakers she secretly kept. Catching sight of her reflection, she sees her “wild hair and bruised eyes, wearing the shoes of the man she sent away. Portrait of a fool” (1356). Josiah texts, reminding Yasmen of their upcoming family meeting.

The children become alarmed when Josiah and Yasmen explain they need to talk to Kassim. They explain that it is nothing as alarming as the meeting about their divorce, just a discussion about Kassim’s teacher conference.

Kassim is pleased but unsurprised to hear he is outperforming most of his peers. They explain that he might benefit from counseling to talk about his recent losses, and Yasmen is caught off guard when Josiah says Henry’s name. She used to resent his relative calm about difficult topics, especially his “holding it so damn together when I kept coming apart” (1432). Though she believes Josiah has unresolved issues, she reminds herself they are his responsibility now.

Yasmen reminds Kassim that she benefits from therapy and accepts the reminder from her son that her struggles were once very visible. Yasmen is surprised when Josiah says it is normal to need support.