The Museum of Failures

Remy takes Shirin a slice of the chocolate cake that Shenaz bought for him. He tries to jog her memory, talking about another cake she once bought for his birthday from the same patisserie and the chicken sandwiches she made for the occasion. With great effort, Shirin mumbles that she will make them for Remy again.

Remy brings a vase of fragrant flowers to Shirin’s room, thinking about how Kathy once claimed that even abused children love their parents. He wonders if Shirin was actually abusive. He remembers a period of time when Shirin would pinch him surreptitiously; she also once told him that she wished she never gave birth to him. Although Shirin apologized profusely later, the hurt from that moment has haunted him all his life.

Remy has unpicked some of these experiences in therapy, which Kathy urged him to try after his childhood experiences led to him struggling to communicate in their marriage. Therapy helped immensely, bringing Kathy and Remy closer than ever. Remy reflects on how he got lucky twice over with love: first with a doting father in Cyrus and then with a partner like Kathy.