The dining table was far from the quiet affair it had been during the previous week. Several dishes covered the table, including a few unfamiliar preparations Shailaja had tasted in the city. She had even brought back a cooking manual and handed it to Pavitra with instructions to try some of the recipes.

Madhavi joined them after taking her bath, leaving her damp hair loose over one shoulder. A few strands clung to her cheek as she settled into her seat. Shailaja's eyes immediately travelled over her simple clothes, and the faint disapproval on her face was impossible to miss.