After 10 years, saved up enough to open his own restaurant in an unpromising locale. It proved to be an immense success. Married Sanam, one of the waitresses, and is now a proud father. He often trots his son Sammy around the restaurant, teaching him to walk.
Last night Yong Y'oud took Sammy for his usual walk. He kept stumbling and falling, vacantly, without crying. Indulgent customers pretended to be charmed. They asked how old he was, and when Yong Y'oud said 22 months, their smiles grew shadowy, strained.
Sammy is ill. Yong Y'oud thinks of how Sammy used to love hanging upside down from his knees, or hiding under the bamboo chair, grasping at his yellow duck as if at a mystery. He sees his wife Sanam's thin face: its smile too wide, and wonders how he can make her accept the truth.
England suddenly seems smaller.