“I can see that. And I’m sorry for that, too,” Natasha says as she thinks back to all the times Anuj has been more like a spectator to their conversations. She assumed he didn’t want to say anything, not that he felt he couldn’t.

Natasha hasn’t apologized this many times in a single week, let alone a single conversation. Why didn’t she ever put herself in her siblings’ shoes? Why did she always assume she was the only one struggling?

“It’s fine.” Anuj shrugs. “I’m just telling you because Suhani’s right. Why do you think I went to Cornell? I could have gone to Tech or Emory, but there’s a reason I wanted, needed, to get away.”

“I understand,” Natasha says, realizing how much power there is in the simplest words. I understand. I hear you. I’m sorry. She thinks back to all the times she’s played around with the idea of moving far away, growing new roots in a place that’s just her own.

“You never told us that, Anuj,” Dad says as he and Mom glance at each other.

“You didn’t give me a chance!” Anuj throws his hands in the air. “All of you think that because I don’t say much, because I don’t ever raise any hell, that I’m fine. Well, I’m not. I deal with stuff, too. And maybe I’ve always felt like I had to be a certain way for you all to accept me.”

“What way is that?” Suhani asks, seeming just as surprised as their parents to hear this.

“Calm. Chill. The one who goes with the flow,” Anuj says. “And, yeah, I can roll with the punches more than y’all can, but that doesn’t mean things don’t bother me.”

“Your family is listening.” Dr. Eze taps her pen against her notepad. “Is there anything you’d like to say to them?”

Anuj doesn’t even pause to think before he says, “Stop treating me like a baby. Stop telling me to be a doctor. Stop talking over me. Just stop. Please.”

Mom and Dad glance at each other. Suhani sighs and says, “We really didn’t know.”

“I know you didn’t,” Anuj says.

“Oh, this is all my fault.” Mom clasps her hands together as if she’s praying for forgiveness.

Everyone is in awe that Mom’s been able to stay quiet until now. Natasha sees Dad sigh with relief.

“What do you mean by that?” Dr. Eze asks. Natasha’s impressed by how Dr. Eze can receive all her family’s emotional statements with the perfect mixture of curiosity and compassion. The past weeks have given her a newfound appreciation for mental health providers. She wonders how many times Suhani and Dad have done this for other people.