they’re different. I think maybe Florida’s changing too fast for some of us to keep up. Maybe it scares us a little, too. We don’t know how to act.” She held out the magazines. “Anyway, these are for you. I thought you might like them.”
“That is very kind.” Janya took them, reading the names out loud. “‘People.’ ‘Us.’ ‘Soap Opera Digest.’” She glanced up and smiled just a little. “Now I’ll certainly know more about your culture. Thank you.”
Wanda relaxed. “Well, don’t let me keep you from your walk.”
“I was walking to the bus stop. I must do shopping before dinner.”
“You only have one car, don’t you?”
“One is all we need. I never learned to drive.”
“Don’t women drive in India?”
“In India we say that to drive, all one must have is a good right foot, a good horn and good luck. I was never certain I had the third.”
“Dade County’s a mess, but it’s not bad here. You could learn.”
“Rishi is too busy to teach me.”
Wanda saw how she could really make amends. “I taught my son to drive, and I taught my daughter. I can teach you.”
Janya started to say something, but she stopped herself. Finally she smiled a little. “This will help you, I think. Teaching me.”
“Darn straight. If I was a Catholic, I could pull out my rosary and get this apology thing over with quicker, but I’m a Southern Baptist, so this will have to do. Will your husband let you use your car?”
Janya nodded. “Rishi has suggested a driving school. I didn’t want to waste our money, in case I am very bad.”
“If you wait just a minute, I’ll take you over to the grocery store. I need a few things myself. Then, on the way back, we’ll swing by the DMV and see what they require these days to get you started.”
“You have the time?”
“I’m not just doing this because I’m sorry. I figure we can be friends, if we work at it.”
“This is something you want?”
Wanda met her eyes. “This is something I want.”
By the time Wanda dropped Janya off at her house, Janya knew the other woman would be a good driving teacher. She had pointed out road signs, explained rules and driving etiquette. Now Janya had to take an online course and study her driver’s handbook, so she could take a test and get her learner’s license. As she expected, there would be red tape, too, since she was not yet an American citizen. But everything could be accomplished.
She was humming under her breath when she pulled the mail out of the mailbox and sorted through envelopes as she walked up the path to her house. Rishi paid all their bills, but she organized them to make that easier, throwing out mail that advertised things they didn’t need, no matter how friendly or colorful the greetings.
Among the clutter was an airmail envelope from India. Her mother’s long-awaited letter had finally arrived. Janya stopped and stared at her own address for a moment. Now that the letter was here, she was reluctant to open it. Had the news been good, her mother would have told her over the telephone. Janya was fairly certain that sending bad news in letter form had been Inika Desai’s best hope for avoiding an emotional conversation.
Inside, she brewed a cup of masala tea and went to change her clothes. Then, at last, she sat at the table, the tea steaming beside her, and opened the envelope.
She read the letter, which was perfunctory and factual. The tone was no surprise, considering that the letter had come from her mother. For a moment she couldn’t absorb what it said. Then she crumpled the paper in her hand, balling it tighter and tighter, until even if she had wanted to resurrect and read it again, she would not have been able to.
It was past midnight in Mumbai. Her parents would have been asleep for hours, but Yash might not be. It was like him to stay up until two, even three in the morning, reading or doing research on the Internet. She had e-mailed him twice more in the week since she found his e-mail at the library, but she hadn’t gotten a response. She wondered if her parents had found a way to keep her e-mails from her brother, as well as her phone calls.
Janya picked up the telephone and dialed the long series of numbers; then she tapped her fingers on the table as she waited. Quite possibly