Mohamed Smith arrives home from school to find his mother sitting at the computer, her back to the door. Mohamed’s favorite thing is the moment she hears him, and then turns and smiles. In time he will come to learn that this is the closest thing to the “mother” concept, or happiness. He eats at a small table to her right while she continues working on her sketches or trying to come up with the definitive portable dwelling. Meanwhile, John is in the kitchen at El Rachid, having taken over the job so she can dedicate herself entirely to her projects. Mohamed, between spoonfuls, looks up at the computer screen, thinking about his mother in the way one usually thinks about a genius. A simple trustfulness he will also, in time, come to learn is the closest thing to the “mother” concept, or happiness.