“I am hungry,” she said and bit into the sandwich, then held it away and looked at it with curiosity. “What is this, red jelly in a sandwich?”

Hannah looked closer. From the corner of her eye she had seen the can of cranberry sauce on the kitchen table, but she had not connected it with a chicken sandwich, but why not? Chicken was dry.

“It’s the cranberry we use at Thanksgiving with turkey. If you don’t care for it, I’ll run down and make you a fresh sandwich.”

Sarina took another bite. For the first time, she smiled. “I like it. It’s sweet, and it moistens the chicken. I only wanted to know what it was, and I thank you for bringing me lunch.”

“Anna made the sandwich for you. I just carried it up.”

“I thank you both, then.”

Belly protruding, legs jutting before her, Sarina ate with gusto and drank the iced tea that Anna sent.

“I thought, if you feel well enough, we might sit out on the porch, if you can manage the stairs. It’s a glorious, warm day. The forsythia is in full blossom. Maybe you would like to talk about a doctor, the hospital. You must have questions. When is the baby due?”

Sarina’s arms circled her belly. Her hands caressed it. “She is a girl. We had the test.”

A smile spread across Hannah’s face. She clapped her hands. “A girl, how wonderful. Max will be thrilled. I’m thrilled. Have you picked a name? When is she due?”

“In May, but the way I feel, my back and all, I think it will be sooner. I’m frightened and with no doctor to talk to…”

“My daughter, Laura, had a baby boy, Andrew. Andy. He’s two and a half now. She used a woman doctor in Asheville.”

Sarina’s eyes brightened. “A lady doctor. Yes. You will call her, make an appointment for me please?”

“If you’d like me to, I will. Zachary can take you, or I’ll be happy to.”

“You will come with me, please?” Sarina dipped her head and looked at Hannah from behind long lashes. Her English was British with singsong inflections. “Men are not good with such things.”

In that instant, the two women bridged both generational and cultural differences. Hannah felt as if she had known Sarina for a very long time. They spoke, then, about whether the baby would sleep in their bedroom or have her own room next door, and who would shop for the crib and other items that an infant would need.

Sarina asked Hannah if she would take her to a store to choose the crib. “I can’t stand for long,” she said, “but a little while. Will we have to send a truck to pick it up, like we do in India?”

“No, they’ll deliver it.”

“And how long will it take before they deliver our purchases?”