Vansh cleared his throat. “Sid was at the Anchorage a lot to see me. We were working together. He must have met Esha then,” he said, and Esha smiled at him gratefully and he realized that Esha, of all people, might have tricked him.

“Excuse me?” Ma said, then turned to Sid. “Vansh invited you into our home and you thought it was okay to put Esha in danger?”

“Ma, please,” Vansh said.

“He didn’t know he was putting me in danger,” Esha said.

“Esha, beta! How can you say that? How could you be so irresponsible?” HRH this time.

Then Ma turned to Vansh. “You brought him into our home and let him see Esha? What is wrong with you these days? Do you not care about your family at all anymore?”

The rest of the family chose that exact moment to make an entry. Trisha, Ashna, and various significant others crowded into the room.

“I’m fine,” Esha said after she’d hugged everyone in turn. She seemed utterly comfortable with all that physical contact. “Sid and I went out and the traffic was terrible.”

“What?” . . . “Where did you go?” . . . “Did you say traffic? Did you leave the grounds?” . . . “Did you say Sid?” . . . “How long has this been going on?” . . . “Did you tell him about your condition?” Another barrage of questions ricocheted like bullets around the room.

“Stop it!” Esha raised her voice. Esha, who used to crumple to the floor when anyone raised their voice.

The responding silence was deafening.

Vansh was the first to speak, because he was sick of this. “Has no one noticed that Esha is fine? She’s standing there yelling at us. Esha . . . yelling! She just told us she’s been sneaking out of the house.” He laughed. “I mean, from where I’m standing we should be thanking Sid instead of biting his head off when Esha is obviously more fine than she’s ever been!”

Esha grinned at him. “I’m fine. I really am. We just walked the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s . . . it’s so beautiful.”

Vansh had to smile at that. Slowly the rest of them let tentative smiles spread across their faces. The fact that Esha had lived here for thirty years and never left the Anchorage blew Vansh’s mind when he thought about it.

“I don’t understand what is happening,” their grandmother said, and Esha went to her and sat down next to her.

“I don’t know what’s happened either, but Sid showed up and everything changed. I . . . I feel . . . I feel . . .”

“Normal,” Sid said, and everyone’s glares returned to him.

Vansh went to him and squeezed his shoulder, because he wasn’t about to be part of this, family or not.

“Vansh didn’t know,” Sid said, eyes on Esha. “I climbed up to her balcony before I ever even met Vansh.”

“On the third floor?” Vansh whistled. “Wow. When?”