“I’m the reason my kids have felt pressure and doubt and the need to keep quiet about what’s going on with them. I came to this country so scared, with such a chip on my shoulder because I had to let go of my big career. I had to prove to my parents I made the right choice. Then we settled here and I still keep trying to prove to everyone that I’m doing everything right, that I’m a good wife and mom.”

“You are those things,” Natasha says. She hears murmurs of agreement from her siblings.

Mom shakes her head. “Am I really if this is how my children feel?”

“Well, Bina, I think it may be worth hearing from them.” Dr. Eze gives Mom a thoughtful nod. “They all did just learn about a pretty big part of your past.”

“Yes, they did,” Bina says.

The night Natasha came home from the hospital, Mom and Dad sat with Natasha, Suhani, Zack, and Anuj at the formal dining table and told them about what happened to Mom in India, the real reason she left acting. Everyone gave Mom a hug, but only Zack and Anuj asked her for more details. Suhani stayed quiet. Even now, she’s staring at the floor, her fists clenched.

Dr. Eze notices it, too. “Suhani, can you share what you’re thinking?”

“To be honest, I don’t know,” Suhani says. “During my first year of residency, I learned about how when a woman’s stressed during pregnancy and after birth, that stress can potentially be passed down to her baby in different ways. I wondered if something happened with my mom that made me always so on edge. And now I guess I understand why she pushed me so hard my entire life, but—” Her voice catches. “I just wish I knew because I often felt so alone, so under pressure, so scared to let her and my dad down.”

“I’m so sorry about that, beta,” Mom says. “I really am.”

“You don’t have to apologize.” Suhani’s voice is soft. “I understand why you kept it to yourself. I just wish I knew, that we all did. I think we all would have been more honest with ourselves if you were more honest with us.”

Natasha can tell those words sting Mom because her face crumples up as if she’s about to cry.

“I didn’t do the right thing by keeping it from you.” Tears well in Mom’s eyes. “Your dad told me to but I was too stubborn.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I know you were protecting us in your own way. And now I know you’re even stronger than I thought,” Suhani says.

Natasha realizes that it’s possible for her to wish her family was different and at the same time know that they’re all doing the best they can with what they have.