When the Apricots Bloom

Ally meets with Hatim, who has served as Ally’s other driver, and he shows her pictures of his two daughters. Hatim used to be a successful architect before the economy weakened, and Ally is a little ashamed of her own wealth when she is around him. She tells him that she will be eating at a restaurant and shopping on Arasat Street, but she also plans to meet Miriam Pachachi.

In Miriam’s home, there are two comical portraits of Saddam Hussein in the foyer, and Miriam leads Ally to her studio, remarking that Ally looks like her mother. Ally asks about her mother, and Miriam says that Bridget, herself, and Yusra, the nurse that Ally was looking for earlier, were all involved in the communist party before the rise of Saddam’s regime. Miriam suspects that Bridget was only involved because of Yusra. Miriam asks Ally to leave, but she does tell Ally that Yusra lived on 82nd Avenue.

Ally tries to get Hatim to take her to 82nd Avenue to look for Yusra’s home, but they turn around as they approach Rasheed Airport. Ally fears that her diplomatic status will not protect her near a military base, and Hatim asks Ally to stay in and around her own neighborhood in the future.