“At least Manjari thought for herself. What good does it do for you to read all those books and do what Mummy wants you to do?”

“Jeeta! We’re not characters from a book. In the summer you smiled at that boy every single day. If I hadn’t been there, you would’ve talked to him and—”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“It could lead to other things.”

“Sarina says that in America—”

“This is Bharat, India. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

“Sarina has friends that are boys.”

“It’s different for Sarina. She’s an only child. She doesn’t have Nimita and Vivek to worry about. Her parents know influential people like themselves.”

“You mean she has more freedom because of that?” A guava seed had found a home between my teeth, and my tongue kept visiting it.

“Yes.”

“I hope Mummy will always like Sarina.”

“She will. You shouldn’t have any reason to worry about her stopping you from going to Sarina’s house.”

While I was brushing my teeth to dislodge the seed, I thought about what Mohini had said to me. She seemed to understand Mummy much better than I did. It had always been that way. I wondered who would explain Mummy to me after Mohini got married.

For the past few days Mummy had been excited. She’d found out about one Mr. Kapadia, who was coming from America to celebrate Diwali and get married. Pappa was right. Mohini’s future husband was definitely out there, and Mummy was convinced that this was him.

But Mr. Kapadia from the United States didn’t make it to India, because he couldn’t come during Diwali; so now he’d postponed his trip until the next year.

When Mummy heard the news, she complained to Pappa, “Once the boys go to America they think they’re better than the rest of us. The American air leaves them as smug as maharajas. Is it right to announce that they’re coming and then not show their faces? Do they ever think of what the poor girls and their parents must suffer through?”

“Are you saying that this Kapadia chap had no right to change his plans? What if he wasn’t able to get leave from his work? What if he was sick? Should he feel guilty and come because a few anxious parents and their daughters are waiting for him?”

“Why can’t he come after Diwali?”

“If the chap wants to come for Diwali, he should be able to come for Diwali. We didn’t pay for his plane ticket, so how can we complain?”

“All I know is that when I look at Mohini I can’t help but worry. And we’re not done after Mohini. We have Jeeta to settle.”

Foi was visiting us for a few days. She didn’t seem too concerned about matchmaking for Mohini.