‘Let’s do this thing,’ she said.

The jelly squirting from the tube made a farty noise, which was kind of gross, but otherwise the ultrasound scanner on her tummy felt good. Like the world’s gentlest massage, thought Gehna. Uh oh. The doctor’s staring at the screen and not saying anything. Why’s she not saying anything? I knew it. It’s a hysterical pregnancy. I got hysterical and made the whole thing up. Nina’s going to have a party over this for the rest of my natural goddamn life.

‘Would you like to see?’ asked the doctor, smiling at her. She swivelled the screen towards them. ‘This early during term it’s hard to make out, but that’s the head and those are the feet.’

Gehna studied the screen with a curiosity she usually reserved for wildlife shows on Nat Geo. All she could see was a vaguely kidney-bean-shaped smudge. Where previously there had only been her own organs inside of her—a heart, liver, lungs, all perfectly designed to fit in place—there was now an entirely new person with its own heart, liver and lungs. Gehna glanced towards her mother to see if her mind was equally blown.

Nina Rai’s eyes were wet.

What the hell? I’m the one who’s supposed to be with the mad hormones, thought Gehna.

She couldn’t decide which was more bizarre, that a tiny person had taken up residence inside of her, or that her mom, previously as cold and hard as a porcelain tea kettle, had now cried twice in as many months. Ever since Gehna had moved back in, Nina Rai had gone full metal jacket on her, using all the tools at her disposal to get Gehna to change her mind. It was all she spoke about at mealtimes, in the car, or whenever she caught Gehna alone in her room. The main theme of her attacks was always guilt—how could Gehna do this to them, her parents, who had given her so much, et cetera, et cetera. Or how could Gehna do this to a poor innocent baby, bringing it into such a dangerous world, et cetera, et cetera. Ajay Rai, who was privately looking forward to having a grandchild to spoil, had sided with his wife for the sake of appearances and delivered a few reluctant lectures on finance. Raising a child was expensive. It was the single biggest expense in any adult’s life, more so than college tuition, getting married and buying a house put together. That part had actually caused Gehna a great deal of anxiety: where on earth was she going to get the money to support a kid? She had an almost-degree in English Lit., of all things. Nina Rai had made it clear, repeatedly, that she should expect little-to-no financial help from her parents.

At first, Gehna was elated at Nina Rai shedding a few tears, as payback for all the miserable nights she herself had recently spent crying into her pillow. Then she immediately felt bad for being such an evil bitch.