13 stories
The Eid Encounter
Eid celebrations bring the whole community together. After the prayers and feasting, he finds himself alone with his friend's thick divorced mother. She's wearing her best dirac, her finest gold—and nothing else underneath. Some Eid gifts are unexpected.
After He Left
His best friend moved across the country. Her house is quiet now—too quiet. When he stops by to check on her, he finds a woman starving for company. For connection. For touch.
The Ride
His car broke down. His best friend's mom offered to drive him home. The ride takes forty-five minutes. By minute fifteen, her hand is on his thigh. By minute thirty, they're not going to his house anymore.
Sleepover
His best friend passes out by midnight. Her mom doesn't. When she finds him awake in the kitchen at 2 AM, she decides it's time to stop pretending she hasn't noticed him noticing her.
Best Man
He's in town for his best friend's wedding, staying at the family house. His friend's mom has been divorced for years — and he's grown up nicely.
Poker Night
He loses big at poker. The winner isn't another player—it's his friend's mother, who owns the house, bankrolled the game, and now collects her winnings from every man at the table.
Meher Macaan
Meher is the bridal payment in Somali weddings. His friend's mother—a thick Somali widow—jokes that he should pay her meher someday. When he shows up at her door with gold, she realizes he wasn't joking. Some traditions can be reinvented.
Roadside Rescue
When Elijah stops to help a stranded motorist on a lonely highway, he discovers the grateful stranger is his best friend's recently divorced mother.
Home for the Holidays
Snowed in at his best friend's house for Christmas. Friend went to pick up his girlfriend and got stuck. Mom and sister have been sharing fantasies about him for years.
Hooyo's Secret
In Minneapolis, he discovers his friend's Somali mother has been watching him. When she invites him for shaah (tea) while her son is away, the thick hooyo (mother) reveals desires she's hidden beneath her garbasaar for years.
The Sheikh's Mother
His best friend is the most respected religious leader in Mombasa. His mother is the most forbidden woman he's ever wanted. Some friendships come with complications.
Open Invitation
She's hosted him for dinners since high school. Now he's back from college and she's newly divorced. The guest room has never felt so charged.
Best Kept Secret
She caught him looking when he was sixteen. Now he's grown, and she's done pretending she didn't like it.