Lincoln piles into the family car the next day with Binod, Sila, and Prabin to go meet with Amir. Sila’s mother, Sumi, is staying back with Sila’s sisters Amita and Roshika to look after the baby. It’s a ten-mile drive to Amir’s office in Lalitpur, which is a forty-five-minute excursion through the quake-riven labyrinth of winding, twisting roads. They’ve left an hour early for the meeting just to be sure they get there in time. Lincoln sits in back with Sila watching cars and motorbikes go by. Traffic is light today and he’s glad for it: one less thing to contend with.
Beside him, Sila is biting her nails and fidgeting with her sari, pressing out non-existent wrinkles with constantly moving hands. She’s like a mouse that’s been caught scampering across the kitchen floor: vulnerable and s
