Nirav stifles a yawn. “Oh right. Go on, then.”

“I don’t know how to say this,” she begins. “So, I’m just going to spit it out. When we were at Nani’s, I went to say hi to the ladies, and Nisha Auntie asked me….” She trails off. She isn’t sure she can go on.

“What?”

“She…Niru, she asked how Sunil was. If he was planning on getting married soon. As if he were still alive. As if she didn’t know he had passed away.”

Nirav doesn’t react to what she has revealed, possibly because he is even more astonished than she is—or perhaps too embarrassed—so she carries on. “Then afterwards, your mom pulled me aside and told me that ‘no one knows about him.’ I’m not even sure what that means. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Nirav says nothing and keeps his stare low. Kavita searches his face for an answer. She sees what she thinks is outrage slowly rippling underneath his placid exterior. She imagines its roar building in his long, introspective pause. Any moment now, it will burst through and shake the walls, validating her pain and confusion.

“The rest of the time we were there,” she says. “I felt like I had to pretend Sunil was alive. Like I got roped into a terrible secret. I didn’t know what else to do. I was so shell-shocked. I still don’t know what it all means.”

“Unbelievable,” he says at last.

“I know,” she agrees. “I still can’t figure out why or what it all means.”

Nirav looks up from the floor. She expected his amber eyes shine with anger, and yet also expected them to remain soft, at least while they rested upon her. But these eyes are hard, and they frighten her. “You’re what’s unbelievable, Kavita.”

She blinks quickly as though his words have kicked dust into her eyes. “What did I do?”

“I can’t believe how selfish you are.”

He might as well have backhanded her with his steel wedding band. It would have left less of a bruise.

“I don’t understand. Are you mad at me?”

“My grandmother just died, Kavita. I have to give a speech tomorrow that I don’t want to give. We just had a really, really nice dinner with my family. But you have to go and spoil it, don’t you?”

She stares at him, astonished. “I waited to tell you, Niru. I wanted you to finish your speech first. I’ve been so confused and hurt by this, but I waited, all day.”

He leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and pushes a sigh past his flared nostrils.

“Don’t you at least think it’s odd?”

“Well, I don’t know, do I?”

“Me neither. I was hoping we could figure it out together. That’s all. Was I not supposed to tell you?”