viii. Presentable Look - Two Women And Two Unconverging Lines
viii. Presentable Look
This was the day. He wore a sky blue shirt, pressed, a navy blue blazer, black jeans, black socks and shoes. He certainly would not call himself ‘dapper’, but he could call it a ‘presentable look.’ He did not just pick these clothes today, but he rehearsed at the coffeehouse several days ago. He asked a coffeehouse friend, Radley, to review how he dressed; he got his approval. This was actually a semi-formal look, but given how students dressed, he looked very formal. He also bought a bouquet. Red roses, of course.
He arrived at Jessica ’s place, where the party was, a little earlier than the time written on the invitation card. He was greeted by Kate, her roommate. Jessica was getting dressed, so he did not see her right away. Besides two, there was only one more guest at the house; she was Kate’s friend. Since the party was not going to start any minute, he just sat there and waited. After ten minutes or so, Jessica showed up, and as he passed roses to her, she smiled, looked very happy and gave him a hug. He reacted so awkwardly though. Basically, for the rest of the night, he was awkward and uncoordinated.
It was a pleasant party. Several guests were there. Drinks and food were served. Music was fun to listen to though he was too familiar with the type of music played. But there was a strange moment. Jessica and her roommate Kate were hugging, petting and staying very close. At one point, they were taking pictures, and in one picture, they pressed their lips together and paused.
The image of Jessica’s kissing her roommate stuck to his mind. By now, he visited more than a few gay bars where gays and lesbians rather openly showed their affections. Also though he did not spend much time hanging out in New York City in his teenager years, he had been there a number of times; he lived in a community less than an hour of train ride after all. He had been to Chelsea district in the city and it was one of the largest gay and lesbian communities. So, he had seen gays and lesbians. Thereupon, the sight of her kissing her female friend was not kissing of two women that he saw for the first time in his life. Yet, the image of this particular girl’s kissing stuck in his mind. But interestingly, he never asked himself if she was lesbian or not, nor did he assume that she was indeed one. Oddly or tragically, he was falling in love with this girl who would categorically not be in love with another man. But as the old saying goes, ‘Love is blind’. Or perhaps, more accurately in this instance, ‘Crush is blind’. He was blind.
