Shan took a deep breath. “Chandani, I … we … Max and I … we just had a miscarriage. We found out Friday. I’m having the procedure to … remove the baby tomorrow morning.”

Chadani’s hand flew to her mouth. Her face turned white. “I’m so sorry, Shan. I had no idea. I’m sorry for your loss. I’m so sorry, too, for asking such an intrusive question.” She set her glass down. “What can I do to help? Where did you say Max was?”

Shan glanced at her hands, picked at one of her fingernails. “He’s actually in North Carolina.”

“Will he be home tomorrow? Is he able to take you to the hospital in the morning?”

“I … no, he’s not. He can’t,” Shan said. “He won’t. I asked him not to come.” Her face crumpled. “We’re breaking up.”

Chandani cocked her head, clasped Shan’s hand. It was warm, as if she’d just unwrapped it from a cup of hot tea. “Oh, goodness. Shan. This is too much pain all at once.” She smoothed back a lock of Shan’s hair. “What can I do to help? Please. Anything. I can take you to the hospital tomorrow morning. I can cook you food.”

“Thanks, but I can get there myself,” Shan said. This was something she wanted to do alone.

Chandani looked directly into Shan’s eyes. “Please let me know if you change your mind. I’m here for you. Anytime. And I know what it’s like to have the rug pulled out from under you, Shan. I’ve been there. And I can tell you from over four decades of experience that marriage is really, really hard. Oftentimes, unbearably so,” she sighed. “We can all only do our best to make a marriage work, and sometimes … well, sometimes our best is simply not good enough.”

Her words were laced with agony. Perhaps Shan had misjudged her neighbor. Behind that grating exterior was a person in pain who seemed to have the capacity for empathy after all.

She touched her neighbor’s hand. “Thank you, Chandani. I appreciate you telling me this.”

“Shan,” she said. “You’re Indian. So please call me Aunty.”

CHAPTER TEN

At four a.m., Shan bolted upright, cried out to an empty room. The pain seared through her torso, spread to her sides. She breathed again only when it released its grip. And then, a few minutes later, it arrived again like a wave crashing over her.

The doctor said there was a chance her body might try to expel the baby before the D&C procedure. That if it happened, there would be cramping and blood. If she felt she could handle it, she could have the miscarriage at home. Naturally. But Shan didn’t understand what that meant. What about the loss of a pregnancy was natural?