“It hasn’t all gone to shit. Not at all,” Suhani says. She knows it’s not the right time to tell Natasha that until now, she’s had an easier time than Suhani or Anuj in a lot of ways. Suhani had to dress up as an Indian princess for Halloween every year, but Natasha always found a way to convince Mom to buy her something new. Suhani and Anuj were both bullied throughout middle school, while Natasha’s unapologetic confidence made her a consistent leader of the pack.

“Let’s see what’s on,” Suhani suggests. She starts to feel the weight of her day. Suddenly, all she wants to do is take a hot shower and collapse into her king-size bed.

Natasha turns on an episode of The Office.

“This is one of the scenes Mindy wrote,” Natasha says. “She was the only woman and person of color on the writing staff when she was hired. Can you believe that?”

Suhani shakes her head. “Sadly, I can. She’s done so much for women, especially women of color.”

“Totally,” Natasha says. “If I ever make it with comedy, I’m going to make sure there’s space for more women.”

“I know you will,” Suhani says. “And you’re going to make it.”

She stops herself from saying If you put in the work. Her sister has so much innate talent but often lacks the drive to follow through. But she won’t offer that reminder right now, maybe because on some level, Suhani suspects, she already knows it.

Natasha leans over to Suhani’s side of the couch and puts her head on her shoulder. Her curls brush against Suhani’s cheek. For a second, Natasha’s thirteen years old again, asking Suhani what a period is and how to wear a tampon.

“I’m sorry I freaked out. I know you’re only looking out for me.” Natasha chews on her bottom lip.

“It’s fine.” Suhani turns the volume up. “Let’s just let it go.”

Classic Natasha: pissing you off one second, melting your heart the next.

“I had to watch this show behind Mom’s back and pretend I was studying,” Natasha says. “But she always caught me. Remember how we’d wait to hear her breathing every time we talked to our friends on the landline? She was always listening from the downstairs phone.”

“She was. She could have been a detective with the way she kept tabs on what we were doing. And she always denied it!” Suhani laughs. One time, Mom forgot to cover the mouthpiece and Suhani heard the telltale piano intro from her Hindi soap opera.

A few minutes later, Natasha pauses from staring at Jim and Pam and asks, “Do you ever think that we all put on an I’m-fine face for Mom and Dad? Because we know how much they struggled as immigrants?”