My New American Life (29 page)

Then, before Lula could say anything else, Genti got out of the SUV and slammed the door behind him.

“Wait a minute!” Lula cried, as the traffic picked up. Guri's car, with Genti in the passenger seat, passed her on her left. Both men waved and saluted her. When she looked again, they were gone.

The smartest thing, the most responsible thing, would be to stop and ditch the car. But she didn't want to do that. She could go very slowly (everyone was) and be extremely cautious. She would finish crossing the bridge and drive into Manhattan. That would be enough for one day. Tomorrow she could do more. She would get her green card. A job. She would get a driver's license. But what would she do with this big car when she was living at Dunia's? She didn't need a car. She could sell it and keep the money. The money would help her move on. But first she would ask the doorman to watch her fancy vehicle while the other doormen helped her move into Dunia's apartment. Lula would be arriving in the car of a person who belonged there.

Genti had said that the papers were in the glove compartment. But still it would be complicated, explaining to a dealer how she came to be in possession of a fancy new SUV. She would think of something. She would say, I have this Cousin George, a car dealer in Tirana with connections in the States. She would say “connections” or “relatives,” depending on who was listening. She would say, I come from a tribe of people to whom such crazy things happen. If you ask around enough, eventually you find someone who doesn't ask too many questions. Flirtation and charm worked everywhere, second only to money.

Rehearsing exactly what she would say, Lula, who couldn't drive, drove across the George Washington Bridge in the brilliant winter sunshine.

About the Author

FRANCINE PROSE is the author of sixteen books of fiction. Her novel
A Changed Man
won the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and
Blue Angel
was a finalist for the National Book Award. Her most recent works of nonfiction include the highly acclaimed
Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife
, and the
New York Times
bestseller
Reading Like a Writer
. A former president of PEN American Center, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Francine Prose lives in New York City.

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Also by Francine Prose

FICTION

Goldengrove

A Changed Man

Blue Angel

Guided Tours of Hell

Hunters and Gatherers

The Peaceable Kingdom

Primitive People

Women and Children First

Bigfoot Dreams

Hungry Hearts

Household Saints

Animal Magnetism

Marie Laveau

The Glorious Ones

Judah the Pious

NONFICTION

Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife

Reading Like a Writer

Caravaggio: Painter of Miracles

Gluttony

Sicilian Odyssey

The Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired

NOVELS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

Touch

Bullyville

After

Credits

Cover artwork by Jack Wittrup

Cover design by Jarrod Taylor

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.

MY NEW AMERICAN LIFE
. Copyright © 2011 by Francine Prose. 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 2011 ISBN: 9780062079251

Print ISBN: 978006173767

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