Vikram, who had been three feet ahead, turned.
The group reconvened.
Meera was already looking at Priya with the specific, genuine curiosity of someone who has been sharing information about their own life for three days and has just received the first reciprocal data point.
"'You have a boyfriend?'" Meera said.
Priya looked at her.
"'Come on,'" Priya said. "'Am I that ugly?'"
The laugh. The specific, immediate Meera laugh, both hands coming up, one covering her mouth, the other still at her belly.
"'That is not what I meant—'"
"'I know what you meant,'" Priya said. And then, because it was true: "'He's not — typical.'"
"'What does that mean?'"
"'It means,'" Priya said, "'we should wait and you should form your own opinions.'"
