When the Apricots Bloom

Rania runs into Miriam Pachachi and reveals that Ally might have bought the bronze statue of a mother and child in Rania’s garden. Miriam notes that she knows Ally and tells Rania that Ally is an American, cautioning Rania against getting involved with her. Rania is immediately paranoid, and she wonders if Ally is a spy or if she even realizes how dangerous it is for Iraqis to associate with Americans.

Huda and Rania meet with a smuggler, but neither of the women trust him. They decide to use the information they have on Ally to convince Kareem and the cleric to get Khalid and Hanan out of the country. They also plan to either encourage Ally to go to Jordan or tip off the Australian embassy to protect her from being taken hostage by the regime.

Huda tries to convince Ally to go to Jordan, but Ally is reluctant. She worries that the embassy will dismiss her as nonessential staff due to increased tensions in Iraq. Huda reads Ally’s coffee grounds and lies, telling Ally that the grounds indicate she should take a vacation. Ally says she is thinking about her mother, and Huda sees a tower, a snake, and a sword in the grounds.