Authors: Thrity Umrigar

If Today Be Sweet (29 page)

Eva turned and took her arm as they walked away. “Is everything okay?” she asked, and Tehmina noticed with gratitude the worry and concern in her voice.

“Everything's fine,” she replied.

When they got to a spot where no one was around, Tehmina turned to face Eva.

“Eva,” she said, her eyes and voice steady, “this may seem like the wrong time, but I have a big favor to ask.”

“Are you kidding me? For you, anything. Even if you tell me you want to run away to Vegas with my Solomon, I'll agree.” Eva's grin got wider. “In fact, I may even pay you to run off with him.”

Tehmina laughed. “Stop being so silly. But seriously, listen. Here's what I want to ask.” She took in a deep breath and then exhaled, knowing that the question would seal her decision to stay. “Eva,” she said. “Will you teach me how to drive?”

Her answer was a whoop. Eva hugged her until Tehmina thought her bones would melt from the pressure of joy.

About the Author

A journalist for seventeen years, T
HRITY
U
MRIGAR
has written for the
Washington Post
, the Cleveland
Plain Dealer
, and other national newspapers, and contributes regularly to the
Boston Globe's
book pages. She teaches creative writing and literature at Case Western Reserve University. The author of
The Space Between Us, Bombay Time
, and the memoir
First Darling of the Morning: Selected Memories of an Indian Childhood
, she was a winner of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard University. She has a Ph.D. in English and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

www.thrityumrigar.com

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A
LSO BY
T
HRITY
U
MRIGAR

fiction

THE SPACE BETWEEN US

BOMBAY TIME

nonfiction

FIRST DARLING OF THE MORNING

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

IF TODAY BE SWEET
. Copyright Â© 2007 by Thrity Umrigar. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

ePub edition May 2007 ISBN 9780061745904

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