‘No, I’m not unwell,’ he replied. ‘It’s a tenth of the price if you buy it by the pound or in bulk, or on sale, or not at all. But I thought you might like a treat.’

They took their ice creams down to the beach: strawberry for Priya and vanilla for Dhara, just like when they were children. They would each eat half before swapping cones. Rajan remembered he and Lali did the same thing. Once a year their grandfather would buy them an ice cream from the restaurant next to the Dutch Fort in Jaffna town. Rajan was too afraid to go inside, begging Lali to stay with him on the glossy terrace as he hopped from tile to tile excitedly. Their grandfather would walk confidently in, wearing his only suit that had been pressed for this annual extravagance. Rajan would choose plain vanilla every time, but Lali was more daring, often picking toppings at random, forcing him to try something new.

Nala sat on a bench with him and took out her notebook as they watched the girls, luminous in the sunlight. They didn’t go in the water, standing playfully together at its edge. Priya was wearing an enormous striped hat that matched her dress, protecting her fair complexion from the sun. Dhara was only a few months younger but didn’t care about her appearance.

‘They’re so young, but it’s almost time,’ Nala said as she opened her notebook at the right page. ‘I was already married and pregnant at their age.’

‘I think I may have found someone,’ he said quietly.

‘What?’

‘I think I may have found someone.’

‘For what?’ she repeated.

‘For Dhara.’

‘For what?’

‘For marriage.’

‘What?’ she exclaimed.

He laughed. The conversation was obviously not quite what she was expecting for a Sunday afternoon stroll on the beach.

‘Who is he?’ she collected herself and ran through her checklist with Rajan.

‘Who is he, where is he from, what does he do, who is his family, how is his character, and is he fair?’ She was a seasoned interrogator, but he was used to it. He answered her questions confidently and thoroughly.

‘I don’t know if he’s fair enough for you, Nala, but he’s certainly fair enough for me.’ Skin colour didn’t matter in a man, but he knew she was proud she had produced two beautiful children, despite having married a dark man like him. Rajan was pleased with himself too. ‘It will be an excellent marriage for Dhara. The family are good people. They see past Vani’s caste and what happened to her.’ He wasn’t sure he could say the same of everyone in his or Nala’s family.

‘His name is Siva. He comes from my village in Jaffna and he’s training to be a cardiovascular surgeon. He’s the eldest son of six children.’ He paused, waiting for her response.