How It All Goes Down
- Go fly a kite.
- In this instance, it's not an insult. The Major and Mrs. Ali literally take young George to fly a kite.
- While George flies his kite, Mrs. Ali and the Major discuss poetry.
- After rhyme time, Mrs. Ali confesses that she's written a letter to her family about the sitch between Amina and Abdul Wahid, but she's scared to send it. "I am afraid everything will be taken from me," (14.40) she says.
- The Major offers to talk to Abdul Wahid, man to man.
- Later, a woman is rude to George, saying that her child isn't allowed to play with him.
- George says no one plays with him, because he doesn't have a dad.
- The Major gives George a little pep talk and says he hopes George considers him a friend.
- George does, but he wants to do something other than fly a kite. The Major offers to teach him chess someday.
- On the way home, Mrs. Ali posts her letter.
- The Major goes to speak to Abdul Wahid, who says that he loves Amina, but he doesn't want to marry her.
- Abdul Wahid wants to stick to his principles. His family forbade the marriage because of their faith—the baby out of wedlock thing, we guess—but now Abdul Wahid worries that they only want him to marry Amina because they'd get Mrs. Ali's shop out of the deal.
- The Major advises Abdul Wahid to do what he wants, not what his ideals tell him to do.