❤︎ Anjali ❤︎
Next Saturday evening, Ananda and I take the subway to downtown all the way from Roosevelt Avenue. I am so excited to see him, and at the same time, I am a little nervous to know if he remembers me.
As soon as we walk into the bar, Bianco comes to greet me by wagging his tail. He seems so happy to see me again. When I look at the bar, my beautiful boy raises his hand to salute me. I am so ecstatic that he didn't forget me! I walk to the bar to talk to him. My heart is beating fast again.
"Hi, there! I am glad you remembered me!"
He looks at me and responds.
"How could I forget you? Bombay Motherfucker! Right?"
He points his thumbs up in the air. Then he asks Ananda for her drink and starts to prepare our cocktails. Ananda looks at me and whispers.
"I see that he remembers you well. But what does Bombay Motherfucker mean?"
I tell her that it isn't a big deal. It is a secret code between us. When we sit on the couch with our drinks, Bianco comes and sits right next to me. I start to scratch his head with one hand while sipping my cocktail with the other. Ananda compliments my taste.
"You are right. He is a cutie!"
"Ananda, he is not cute. He is hot!"
I pretend as if my hand got burned. Then I look around to see what is happening in the bar. It seems that tonight is a busy night for a mechanical rodeo bull competition. I see there are many serious riders at the bar.
It is amazing to think that I love riding a rodeo bull, something I was never interested in before heart surgery. After the ride, happiness fills my heart. Ananda thinks I have gone mad because a good Indian girl would never do such a thing. She is completely right about this point. So I would never tell my parents about my newfound passion for the rodeo bull.
Tonight, I am not thinking about riding the bull. I just came here to see my beautiful boy, and my objective is to get to know him better. The competition starts as I finished my first drink. When I go back to the bar with an empty glass and ask him for another, he asks me a question.
"I was waiting for you to come back and wondering when you would stop by. Did you come here for a rodeo ride or to see me?"
He is pretty straightforward, so I smile at him, not answering his question. I turn around and look in the direction of the bull before turning back to him.
"I like riding the bull, but I think I'm not going to do that tonight!"
"Then you came to see me tonight!"
I finally have the chance to talk to him one-on-one, and this is exactly what I was hoping for. He asks me another question.
"You look so exotic! Where I came from is very White Anglo-Saxon Protestant and boring. You seem so different. Where are you from?"
I smile a little and tell him my background.
"I'll take that as a compliment! I was born and raised in Queens. But my parents are from India. So I am a full-blooded Indian."
He smiles and exclaims.
"I knew it! You are Indian! I love Gandhi! He is my man!"
He lifts his hand and wants to give me a high five! I am stunned by his reaction to being an Indian and giving him a high five in return. He continues.
"Without Gandhi, no Martin Luther King, Jr.! Gandhi was his true inspiration."
"By the way, what do you do in the city? Are you working nearby?"
"I am a student."
"Which school?"
"I go to medical school in Colombia."
"Why is a smart girl like you hanging around in a place like Lone Star?"
I am not quite sure if he is sober or drunk, but he is very entertaining. Of course, I can't tell him the truth that I was dying to see him tonight. So I try to make up some good reason to be here.
"Lately, I have wanted to try something different from my usual things. I am somehow into the country nowadays. I don't know why!"
"About a month ago, when I came here, I discovered the mechanical rodeo bull. I love riding it so much! Isn't it crazy?"
He smiles.
"In that case, you came to the right place! There is no place like Lone Star to experience a country outside of Texas!"
"You gotta try the competition! Let me see how good an Indian girl can ride! The winner will get one grand tonight! If you win, I will get you and your friend a free drink on top of it! Come on! Deal?"
"By the way, I am Leo."
He holds his hand in front of me.
I am so tempted to ride the bull and finally decide to take him up on his offer.
"OK, Leo! I will ride the bull tonight! You wait for me with my cocktail ready!"
After shaking his hand, I walk into the crowd and wait for my turn. Leo is smiling at me from a distance. Ananda approaches me from behind.
"You've been away so long. Did you find out his name? Are you sure you are going to do it?"
I turn to Ananda and tell her.
"His name is Leo, and he loves India! Yes, I am going to do it. If I win, he will give us each a free drink."
I mount the mechanical bull, and it slowly starts to turn, first to the right then to the left. It starts to turn faster and faster. I am feeling the movement of the machine with my hips. My heart is enjoying the ride. It is very calm; even the audience around me is electrified. The bull nosedives quickly to throw me off, but my body sways easily back to stay on the bull.
It just happens instinctively. When his nose goes down, my hip bones push out automatically. When his nose goes up, my stomach tucks in naturally. It creates such an erotic movement, going back and forth and then up and down. It turns again before abruptly stopping. It is so much fun as if I am dancing in a Bollywood film.
My hips move quickly with the machine's movement as if I am making love to a raging bull. One of my hands is at my waist, and the other hand goes up in the air. My long black hair is twisting and turning in the air.
Then I swing my legs around and sit on the bull backward, so my buns are at the back of his neck. I bend over and clutch his body with both of my knees. When the bull dives forward, my buns go up in the air.
Both of my hands are free, and I circle them around just like one of the moves from the Indian dance. The audience is screaming out loud because my moves are so provocative. They should know better. Our Bollywood dances are extremely sexual. It is all about provocation. You can look, but you can't touch!
I dance with the rodeo bull for more than three minutes, and the judge finally stops the machine and announces my victory. Everyone claps their hands enthusiastically.
I split the crowd in half to get to the bar to claim my prize. Leo is holding his hand in front of his eyes as if he can't see me any longer. When he opens his fingers, his blue eyes stare at me with a smile. His smile always makes my knees weak.
"Now you know how Indian girls can ride the bull! So let me have my drink!"
He rolls his eyes and pours out his compliments.
"Oh boy! I didn't know where to look. It was definitely an R-rated performance. Are you really sure that you are a medical student? You can get a job anywhere in Texas! Bravo!"
"I still don't know your name!"
He sets my Bombay Motherfucker in front of me. I take a sip and introduce myself.
"I am Anjali!"
That is how we introduced ourselves.
YOU ARE READING
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