Rani looks frustrated suddenly, or maybe unhappy--like she's forgotten the words to a song she'd thought she'd memorized. Beth's not sure what to make of it. It's difficult to decide whether she ought to ask the woman a question or let the silence between them reign, even though it isn't exactly comfortable. The rules Rani lives by are, in some ways, too different from Beth's to know what to do about them.

Not deciding is its own decision in this case. Beth is silent, and so is Rani, and then Rani speaks, and it's impossible not to wonder if this is what Rani meant to say.

She agrees, a little non-committal noise in her throat. And then, tentative, she adds, "Makes it easier to be here, when you can talk about home."