Chapter 30: Race, Part 2
Tania sat next to Nandita bua amidst the neighboring women surrounding them. The living room was no longer how her mother had decorated it. Sofa chairs and the glass topped coffee table were replaced by sheets laid out on the carpet.
At the other end of the room, where the men sat, her father and Daadu folded their hands in response to a neighbor who had gotten up to leave. She hated this endless procession of visitors. People coming in, folding their hands, sitting down and commiserating.
"I am so sorry."
"She was such a good woman."
"You have to be brave."
A charade. They were belittling her loss, her unbearable ache, by meaningless words. She wished them gone. She wished to be alone with people who really cared. She wanted to complain to Mom. This is what happened when you died.
Her father sat on the floor, dressed in a white kurta pajama. She hadn't spoken with him since the previous day. She couldn't bear to. Where was he when Mom was dying?