Read Online Blue Jasmine by Kashmira Sheth - Free Book Online Page A

spilling out like the beads from a broken necklace.
    â€œWe went to Mrs. Milan’s house.”
    â€œMrs. who?”
    â€œMrs. Milan. The one who took you to the emergency room.”
    â€œMrs. Milan is with us. How’s Mela?”
    â€œShe’s asleep. Where’s Mommy?” I asked.
    â€œShe’s with the doctor. We will be home soon.”
    â€œHow soon?”
    â€œAs soon as she gets done. I have to go now. Lock the house and stay inside. Don’t go out again,” he said, and hung up.
    The night had deepened, and I was getting nervous. I thought of turning the TV on, but I was afraid that if the TV was on it would drown out all other sounds. As fearful as I was, I wanted to hear if someone broke in to the house. I sat by Mela on the couch, chewing the end of the pencil that was on the table by the phone. I had to go to the bathroom, but I didn’t want to walk down the hallway alone, and the more I sat there thinking about not going to the bathroom, the more I had to go.
    I must have fallen asleep, because it was nine o’clock when Pappa woke me up. First I went to the bathroom and then I went to bed.
    The next morning Mommy said we were getting a car.
    â€œA shiny new car?” I asked.
    â€œNo. A used car.”
    â€œNot an old, rusty car,” I protested.
    â€œIt will be old, but it won’t be rusty,” Pappa said.
    â€œPromise?”
    â€œYou can help select,” she said.
    A dreadful thought went through my head. Pappa was used to driving on the left side and here they drove on theright side. What if he made a mistake and drove on the wrong side and had an accident?
    â€œPappa, we can’t get a car,” I said.
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œWho’s going to drive our car?”
    â€œYou are,” he said.
    â€œI can’t. Not until I’m sixteen.”
    â€œThen you’re right. We can’t get a car.”
    â€œPappal”
    â€œWhy are you worried? You know that Pappa and I both know how to drive,” Mommy said.
    â€œLook at your foot. How are you going to drive?”
    â€œSoon, I hope.” she said.
    â€œBut you both drive on the wrong side. What if you make a mistake?”
    â€œWe’ll be very careful,” Pappa promised.
    With Mommy’s foot all wrapped up in a big bundle, Pappa and I did most of the cooking and cleaning, and Mela tried folding clothes.
    We did get a two-year-old car, which looked very new. Pappa drove as if he had been driving in the United States for a long time. Later he told me that when he came here the first time he had driven a lot. As soon as we got the car we went to the mall and bought heavy jackets and boots for the winter. Now we were ready for cold and wind.
    Finally it was Halloween. Jennifer gave me her last year’s bear costume, which fit snugly. It was drizzling while Mela, Jennifer, and I went around the neighborhood shouting, “Trick or treat!” At first I was scared, especially at one house. When we rang the bell, the door opened slowly with a screechy sound, and a hand with long, sharp nails dangled out from behind it. I grabbed Mela’s hand, jumped back, and screamed. Jennifer laughed and said, “Mr. Tobias, you can’t scare us.” Then a face with fangs peeked around the door. He held out three big candy bars. I looked over my shoulder as I went down the steps of his house. His laughter echoed in the sky.
    I came home with more candy than I had ever seen in my life, and it was all mine. I divided it in two piles: in the first pile were the candies I’d tasted before, and in the second were candies I’d never eaten. The second pile was five times as big as the first one. That night as I took out my nightdress, Mukta’s handkerchief and letter fell out. I wished I could mail her some candies. Maybe I’ll write her a letter, I thought. Soon, do it soon, my heart urged.

six
    I n school Ms. Wilson taught the class the