ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS

49. WHITE AS WONDER BREAD

❤︎ Anjali ❤︎

I ask Leo to come to my house for dinner. Sooner or later, my parents will find out about us, so I decided to introduce him to them before they figure things out.

I tell my mother that my boyfriend is coming for dinner this weekend. She is surprised to hear the news but also delighted to know that I am not a lesbian. She tells me that she will prepare a nice Indian dinner for him.

She doesn't know anything about who he is. I know that she went to ask Ananda about Leo, but my friend was adamant about keeping quiet. All Ananda told her was that he is tall and good-looking. My mother is very excited about the dinner because she thinks that I am finally bringing home a tall, good-looking Indian boy. She is almost right. Leo is just missing the Indian part.

On Saturday in the late afternoon, I go to the subway station on Roosevelt Avenue to pick Leo up. Leo took a day off at work for me; even Saturday evening is a busy night. While I am waiting for him at the entrance, he walks up the staircase and takes me in his arms. I kiss him gently even though I want to kiss him passionately. I haven't seen him for almost a week because I have been so busy with my exams. I take his hand and walk toward my house.

It seems that he is amazed by the scenery on Seventy-Fifth Street. I tell him casually.

"This is it! This is where I have grown up. Jackson Heights! The land of immigrants! It seems like you are somewhere in Asia, right?"

"It is very colorful and unique. I have to warn you that my parents are very special as well. So be prepared!"

He smiles very gently and tells me.

"I am certain that they are because they are your parents. They should be special! I have to say I am a little nervous about meeting them." He holds my hand tightly.

Before getting to the entrance of the apartment building, I tell him one thing.

"You have to do me a favor! Sometimes during dinner, you have to compliment my mother's dal."

"Do you remember the yellow lentil soup that we had the other day at the Indian restaurant? That is her favorite dish, and she is very proud of it!"

We walk up the stairs toward the apartment, and I finally knock on the door.

"Mom! It's me!"

She anxiously turns the doorknob and opens the door. My father is standing right behind her. When they see Leo, my mother's eyes open wide.

There is a moment of dead silence, and she says with slight hesitation.

"Come in. Come in."

When Leo walks into our living room, my mother tells me to come to the kitchen because she needs my help. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, she shuts the door behind her and raises her voice.

"I . . . I didn't know he was white!"

I reply to her quickly.

"If I told you he was white, you would have never allowed me to invite him."

"But I didn't lie. He is tall and good-looking. And he is a boy!"

My mother continues.

"But he is so white and blond—just like Wonder Bread!"

"Couldn't you choose someone a little more familiar? Like our naan bread?"

That moment, I burst into laughter.

"He is what you are getting, Mom!"

"We don't live in India. We live in the US. The color of his skin shouldn't matter. What it matters is the content of his character."

I feel that this dinner is becoming harder than I want it to be, and I walk back into the living room where my father is challenging Leo. As soon as I sit next to Leo, my father questions him like a judge.

"So how did you guys meet? On the campus at Colombia?"

I look at Leo for a moment, and he quickly replies to my father with a smile.

"No, sir! I met her at a bar in East Village called Lone Star."

My father frowns a little and repeats as if he is disgusted with the idea.

"At a bar in East Village?"

Leo continues to explain.

"Yes! She came to the bar and sat right in front of me. Soon after, she fainted before even touching her glass!"

I see that this is also not going the way I expected it to go. So I intervene before it gets worse.

"In fact, Leo helped me or actually saved me when I lost consciousness."

My father is more puzzled than ever.

"Why did you faint when you didn't even sip a drink?"

It is getting very complicated, so I end up making the matter simpler by tapping my chest.

"You know my heart! Sometimes it does funny things to me."

My father finally nods and stops investigating further, then asks Leo another question to change the subject.

"So what do you do here in New York? Are you a student at Colombia as well?"

Leo replies honestly.

"No, I am not a student. I work at the bar where we met as a bartender."

My father looks at him as if he has seen a ghost and exclaims.

"A bartender!"

I quickly support Leo.

"But Daddy! He is a very good one, and his manager really trusts him because he is very dedicated."

"When you are still so young and don't know what you want to become, that's what you do in the city. Bartending or waiting tables!"

I hope he buys into my explanation. When we are in a deadlock situation, my mother rescues us,

"Everybody comes to the table! The dinner is ready!"