The same place you’ve been hiding yours, a voice inside Ashna said.

“The child looks horrified,” Shobi said, making Mina shrug.

“They think we’re celibate, don’t they?”

“Mina Kaki!” Ashna said. “Thank you so much for . . . for . . . being here.” That sounded terrible. “I mean . . .”

“I know what you mean.” She patted Ashna’s cheek. “You kids have to stop thinking of your moms as single-function devices. We have lives apart from you. We are people. We have orgasms.” Before Ashna could die of mortification, Mina took her hand. “Can you walk me out?”

That was code for I’m not done talking to you.

“I’ll see you inside,” Shobi said, shaking her head at Mina.

Mina Kaki got in her car, rolled down her window, and turned to Ashna. “When Shobi and I were younger, we used to talk a lot about our girls growing up. We swore they would not face what we faced. We wanted to make sure you girls didn’t have to fight our fights and the fights of our mothers. It’s time to put that behind us, don’t you think?”

Ashna nodded. She knew her aunt wasn’t done.

“I like to believe we changed things at least a little, your mother more than me. But in this changed world, you girls can’t seem to see how it was for us. You can’t see our obstacles because we removed them for you. And now you get to judge us from a perspective that we weren’t lucky enough to enjoy.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashna said around the lump in her throat.

Mina smiled the smile that had made Ashna’s childhood bearable. “It’s the last thing we want you to be, beta.” With that she blew Ashna a kiss and was gone.

“You all right?” Shobi was just done putting the kettle on as Ashna walked into the kitchen.

Ashna flew into her arms.

Shobhi’s arms went around her, tight, so tight they almost suffocated her. A memory burst through Ashna. Ages ago her mother had always held her like this, too tight for breath.

I’ll die, Mamma.

I’ll bring you back to life so I can squeeze the life out of you again.

Then those hugs had turned into goodbyes and Ashna hadn’t been able to bear them anymore.

She couldn’t breathe, but in that breathlessness the tears washed through her, taking with them so many things she’d let fester for years and years.

“I’m sorry.” Those were the first words that came.

Shobi slowly let her go. “What are you sorry for?”

“I always blamed you for everything, but it was always my fault. And I thought you had left again.”