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uniform. I want this crying to stop! Now!”
    Priya’s full mouth started to quiver and large tear drops started to tumble down her cheeks once again, breaking Isha’s heart. “I don’t . . . want . . . breakfast.”

    THE
    FORBIDDEN
    DAUGHTER 33
    Tears gathered in Isha’s eyes, too, which she hastily dabbed with a handkerchief. Was this bone-deep grief ever going to go away? She wanted to gather her little girl close to her heart and cry with her. Maybe they could help wash away each other’s misery. But there were practical matters to consider, for example, her father-in-law.
    As if on cue, his heavy footsteps sounded nearby. From the corner of her eye she saw him stride in, dressed in charcoal pants and a tan shirt. His thick silver hair, slick with hair dressing, was combed back from his wide forehead.
    He pulled out the chair at the head of the table and accepted the steaming cup of tea one of the servants brought to him. He liked it superhot and sweetened with precisely one teaspoon of sugar. Then he reached for the customary newspaper Ayee left for him in the exact same spot each morning—at his right elbow.
    When he heard Priya’s sobs, he adjusted his glasses and glared at her over the rim. “Why are you crying, Priya?”
    The little girl continued to sniffle and ignored her grandfather.
    “I asked you why you are crying.” His voice rose a bit, plant-ing the first germ of fear in Isha’s mind. Baba’s temper was quick to flare, and it was notorious. Since Nikhil’s death, Baba had been forced to come out of semiretirement and take over the running of the business. Between the loss of his only son and the responsibility of the store, Baba’s temper fits had escalated in frequency and intensity.
    When Priya continued to ignore him, his gaze settled on Isha.
    “What is her problem? Should she not be ready for school by now?”
    Before Isha could answer him, Ayee chimed in. “Every day it is the same thing. Priya does nothing but cry. You don’t see Milind and Arvind crying like that. Girls are always fusspots.
    Soon there will be another girl to add to our headaches.”
    “Priya’s only a child, Ayee,” argued Isha. “And she misses her Papa.” But she knew her attempts at defending Priya were weak at best.
    Ayee rolled her beautiful eyes and gave another dramatic 34 Shobhan Bantwal
    sigh. “If you had not insisted on ignoring our request to have an abortion, Nikhil would still be here. I was telling you for weeks that the unborn child is showing all the signs of bad luck.”
    Her own temper stirring, Isha looked up at her mother-in-law. “Nikhil and I never thought of our child and your grandchild as a bad omen. A child is a blessing, Ayee, never a curse.”
    Ayee put down her cup with a flourish. “The astrologer warned me that the child was conceived on a bad day. But who is going to listen to me in this house? The baby is not even here yet, and already she has caused such tragedy for us. What will she do after she is born?”
    “Ayee, please . . . Let’s not blame an unborn child for what fate decreed. Nikhil would be very upset if he could hear that.”
    Isha cast an uneasy glance at Baba. He was reading the news headlines and nibbling on his buttered toast. “As you know, Nikhil was against abortion. In fact, he was very upset when he found out that Dr. Karnik performs gender-based abortions in the first place.”
    Baba slapped his newspaper on the table. The teacups on the table rattled. “Dr. Karnik is a good man and a good doctor! He only does what is right for certain people.”
    As rebellion began to stir in her gut, Isha couldn’t help retorting, “But deliberately aborting fetuses just because they’re female is wrong. Morally and legally wrong!”
    Baba’s imperious eyebrows shot up. “What is wrong in letting people decide if they want a girl or boy, huh?”
    “What’s next? Genetically engineered, identical, perfect little boys populating the entire world?” she