Everyone stares at her in silence.

“Anyone?” Bina’s lips twist into an awkward smile. Now she really feels like a teacher. Her friends are staring at their teacups, their laps, their phones. Anything to avoid eye contact with her. She glances at the clock. They only have fifteen minutes left. Where did the time go? She really needs to make sure to have a better plan for next time.

Kavita smiles at a large framed photo of the Joshi family after Suhani and Zack’s wedding. All of them are wearing red, white, and gold, per Suhani’s insistence. “You’re really lucky you have a daughter like Suhani, who wanted to get married and gave you a son-in-law.”

“Thank you. But let’s focu—”

“A cute, white son-in-law! Now, they know how to keep their wives happy,” Mira says before giving an apologetic look to Mona, who is stifling a laugh. It’s no secret that Mira has a thing for white men. She once brought over the first Magic Mike DVD and passed it to Bina under the dining table as if it were an illegal drug.

“It must be nice to just sit here sometimes and look back on all these memories,” Kavita notes as she gazes at the other happy, perfect photos of Bina’s happy, perfect family.

“You really are blessed, Bina.”

For a second, Bina sees the way they all view her, the way they’ve always viewed her. Maybe she should tell them she’s less the so-fortunate type of blessed and more the bless-her-heart type of blessed, the latter being a common southern expression for delivering judgment or sass.

She takes a sip of chai and imagines sharing the thoughts unraveling in her mind: Yes, I’m so blessed! I may have let go of my biggest dreams, filled my life with everything I thought I was supposed to do, and somehow still feel empty. But, yes, I am so very blessed!

Instead, she smiles and says, “Kavita, your Sonam will have a wedding, too, when she’s ready.”

Mona nods. “She will. It’s only a matter of time before you’re getting sick of looking at centerpieces and lehengas and cocktail-hour menus.”

“Only God knows when she’ll get there.” Kavita clasps her hands together as if she’s about to pray. “Sonam doesn’t even talk to me about any of that now. Says I’m putting too much pressure on her, but I think she doesn’t want to commit and settle down like an adult. She and Sanjay have been together for almost ten years! And living together for three.”

Mira frowns. “I thought you said they just got an apartment together last year.”