Page 107 - The Kite Runner

96 Khaled Hosseini

“I’ll bet you still could if you wanted to,” Assef said. He favored
Baba with a good-natured wink.
Baba returned the wink. “I see your father has taught you his
world-famous flattering ways.” He elbowed Assef’s father, almost
knocked the little fellow down. Mahmood’s laughter was about as
convincing as Tanya’s smile, and suddenly I wondered if maybe,
on some level, their son frightened them. I tried to fake a smile,
but all I could manage was a feeble upturning of the corners of
my mouth—my stomach was turning at the sight of my father
bonding with Assef.
Assef shifted his eyes to me. “Wali and Kamal are here too.
They wouldn’t miss your birthday for anything,” he said, laughter
lurking just beneath the surface. I nodded silently.
“We’re thinking about playing a little game of volleyball tomor-
row at my house,” Assef said. “Maybe you’ll join us. Bring Hassan
if you want to.”
“That sounds fun,” Baba said, beaming. “What do you think,
Amir?”
“I don’t really like volleyball,” I muttered. I saw the light wink
out of Baba’s eyes and an uncomfortable silence followed.
“Sorry, Assef jan,” Baba said, shrugging. That stung, his apolo-
gizing for me.
“Nay, no harm done,” Assef said. “But you have an open invita-
tion, Amir jan. Anyway, I heard you like to read so I brought you a
book. One of my favorites.” He extended a wrapped birthday gift
to me. “Happy birthday.”
He was dressed in a cotton shirt and blue slacks, a red silk tie
and shiny black loafers. He smelled of cologne and his blond hair
was neatly combed back. On the surface, he was the embodiment
of every parent’s dream, a strong, tall, well-dressed and well-
mannered boy with talent and striking looks, not to mention the