“Now it makes no difference to me. Karen helped me out so much that I shudder to think what would’ve happened to me without her. Besides you and Nimita, my own sisters, she’s cared about me the most. We worked together for such a short time, and yet it didn’t matter to her. I’ll always think of her as my third sister.”

“I’m so thankful she was there for you.”

“Jeeta,” she said, touching my shoulder, “without your support, I’d have never left Anoop. I would have worried about how Mummy would react and what people would say. Ever since we were little you’ve been the brave one. When I was afraid of Anoop, I thought about you and what you would do if you were in my place. I was surprised by my own courage. I didn’t think I had any.”

“You’re back, and you can make things happen for you.”

“Yes, now I can imagine a new life for me. I’ll need that courage now more than ever to live a life that I want to live.”

One day Mummy asked Mohini, “How long can you stay?”

“As long as she wants to,” I replied.

“Are you still Mohini’s lawyer?”

“She hasn’t fired me.” I glanced at Mohini. She was trying to smile but it wasn’t working. “Mummy, after such a long journey, she is too tired to think about going back.”

“I was just wondering.”

I was glad she didn’t pursue it further.

“In dealing with men, one must be extremely careful,” Mummy said to me while I was washing mung beans one morning.

“Are you telling me this to prepare me for college?”

“I don’t know what good it will do. You’re as stubborn as a mule.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about,” I said as I sloshed the beans around in water. They looked like tiny marbles and made rattling sounds.

“Why not?”

“Because no one is going to like a mule.”

“Tell me if I’m wrong, but it seems that my advice doesn’t get through to you. You think I’m too old-fashioned. Listen to me now or cry later, because throughout the ages men have been the same. If they can get away with it, they’ll take advantage of you. Don’t be trapped by their sweet tongues. And stop playing with the mung beans. It’s giving me an earache.”

I rubbed the beans between my fingers one more time before I drained away all the water and filled the pan up with fresh water. I put the pan on the stove, covered it, wiped my hands, and offered Mummy these words: “Don’t worry, I promise you, I won’t show interest in any boys at my college.”

She lapped up my syrupy words. “Good girl.”