“Hell yeah, I do,” Natasha says. “The only gossip I know around here is that one of the nurses is having a fling with an intern. It scratches my Grey’s Anatomy itch but I need more!”

Payal hesitates, then asks, “Even if it’s about Karan?”

“What about him?” Natasha asks with a more removed tone than she expected. Maybe this is what moving on means, wondering about an ex with just a low-level curiosity instead of an all-consuming desperation.

When both of her friends stay quiet, Natasha says, “Tell me. I can handle it.”

“We ran into him on the BeltLine and he told us he saw your videos.” Ifeoma says the words so quickly that they all blend together.

“What? How the heck did he see them?” Natasha asks.

“His mom,” the girls say in unison.

“Right. Of course. So, that’s it? He saw the videos and that’s it?”

Payal starts to say, “Maybe we should—”

“He thought they were really good. Yes, even the one where you said he’s boring in bed,” Ifeoma says, cutting Payal off. “And then we started catching up with him and, uh, he and that girl broke up.”

“You’re kidding. Well, that’s . . . interesting,” Natasha says. The perfect girl? The one who was Anita Auntie approved? “Did he tell you why? What else did y’all talk about?”

Natasha realizes she sounds exactly like Mom when she’s on the phone with one of her auntie friends.

Ifeoma takes a deep breath as if to prepare herself for everything she’s about to dish out. Natasha scoots her chair closer to the table, feeling more like herself than she has in a long time.

Twenty-Six

Suhani

So, how are you feeling?” Suhani sits at the edge of Natasha’s bed.

“I think I’m better,” Natasha says.

“I think you are, too.” Suhani smiles.

Natasha’s taken the time to brush her hair for the first time in days. Her face looks more relaxed and rested. And she’s smiling, really smiling, in a way that reaches her eyes.

That’s my sister, Suhani thinks as she’s hit with relief and pride. That’s the spirited and brazen person she’s grown up with.

“What do you think has helped?”

“I dunno if it’s just one thing,” Natasha says. “I thought it was bullshit when on my first night, the staff kept saying the ‘structure’ of the ward would help me, but now I think they were onto something. Even though it sounded like torture when I got here, having limitations and a schedule and not being able to use my phone have all been helpful. And everything Alexis said was spot-on about the therapy and medication making things a lot better.”