The proposal stunned Malini, and she tried to make sense of it. Despite her usual happy oblivion, even she was becoming aware of the tension at home that had grown thick enough to scoop with a spoon. The silences and the stilted conversation between her mother and grandmother had grown tauter since the proposal. With no one to do the translation of the lengthy history between the two, Malini was left to construe its villain and hero based on the depth of her love for them. As always, her mother wore the villain’s mantle.