"The letter s was like a wave of the sea, a carnation flower, the wings of a bird... his heart beat with affection for his language,” (124) . This is a turning point for Lamis in his decision between two companies. He finds himself between the new and sexy and what he knows is real and true. Later, Lamis refuses to move in with Nicholas due to his complicated family life and cultural ideals. She also refuses to let him meet his son. Then he accuses her of only wanting a sexual relationship. While this may only be true for the desire for a sexual relationship, the main reason they didn't work out at the time was that she didn't want to blend her two cultures together yet. Eventually Lamis realizes all the things she still loves about her Iraqi culture and stops thinking that “being Arab was an obstacle in her life” (125). In the end she even thinks she is foolish for trying to decide between two different cultures and two different societies, when she now knows she can merge the two. He realizes how serious it was to give up his culture: “If he had really once considered replacing them with others and eliminating his heritage, no longer seeing, hearing or speaking, and consequently stopping breathing??”