I let Lena's question hang for a moment and widened my eyes as if I were genuinely startled by it. The silence stretched, and the attention of everyone at the table settled on her instead. It was enough to make her shift in her seat.
"I mean," she rushed on, clearly feeling it. "Based on your story, I was just thinking a child would be such an amazing thing. I do not know if you know this, but I also lost my parents and grew up in an orphanage. And now, with my baby on the way, it feels like I am finally having my own family," she said.
The reception was not what she wanted.
"Come on, Lena," Adrian said sharply. "You cannot ask personal questions like that."
"So tactless," Miranda muttered, barely lowering her voice. "And uncultured."
"I am sorry, Nova," she added with a laugh that tried too hard to sound light. "Lena says the silliest things sometimes. We even wonder if she has a brain."
