House of Sand and Fog

Kathy awakes from a dream in which she’s having sex with Lester and Nick, only to be encased in Lester’s semen, to find Nadi offering her tea. Kathy feels extremely ill and still a bit drunk, so Nadi draws her a bath. Once left alone, Kathy swallows a bottle of pills she finds in the medicine cabinet. She gets into the warm bath and waits for the pills to take effect.

Behrani is reassured to see Nadi is at her best when she is “called upon to serve and nurse the weak” (249). Nadi prepares dinner and, when Esmail arrives home, Behrani decides to tell his son the truth about what has transpired with Kathy.

Nadi goes to the bathroom to invite Kathy to dinner but gets no response. They discover Kathy semi-conscious in the bathtub. Seeing the empty pill bottle, Nadi helps Kathy vomit up the medicine. Esmail tells his father he feels sorry for Kathy and wishes they had moved out of the house.

After searching areas in Corona where he suspects he might find Kathy, Lester drives to the house and sees her car. He goes to inspect the house and, through the window, sees his service pistol lying on a napkin and the Behrani family having a heated exchange in Farsi.