Long Distance is a Bitch by shiprat

[Ramesh_Rocky]

Long Distance is a Bitch Ch. 01

I was sitting in a coffee shop downtown in a New Jersey college town working on a term paper, when the cellphone rang. It was Parag, my boyfriend.

"Hi sweetie!" I answered enthusiastically. "Just 48 hours!"

"Ummm.... Hi Anar." he said in a voice that immediately gave portends of what was about to come.

"Shit! Don't tell me! DO NOT FUCKING TELL ME!" I said. By now, the pattern was all too obvious.

"I am sorry darling, but I can't make it this weekend. Dr. Jones is really cracking the whip and....."

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I said a lot louder than I intended, drawing stares from the dozen or so patrons of the coffee shop and the barista.

"Please try to understand, Anar."

"No, you understand something, Parag. I am enrolled in a Masters program pretty much identical to yours. I didn't even want to fucking come to the United States. I was...."

"Yeah yeah, you were happy working as a code coolie in India." Parag said, his contrition suddenly turning to sarcasm. "I am the one responsible for throwing you in the nightmare that is America!"

"I don't think it's a nightmare." I said in a calm but frigid voice. "I quite like it here. I manage to get all my work done through the week and keep the weekend free for you! You're the one who keeps cancelling."

"Anar, I don't enjoy cancelling my trips. It's not like I love staying in North Carolina all the time. But the work really is...."

"The work is too much? Again, I am in pretty much the same program as yours, Parag. In a higher ranked university!"

"Well...." Parag seemed lost for words for a while but came back with an unsavory zinger. "It's not my fault that I am not a hot woman whom Professors take it easy on."

I silently seethed in anger at what he had just said. He stayed silent too. There was dead air on the phone for about a minute. Finally I gathered my thoughts and said,

"You asshole! Are you implying that I somehow have it easy, being a woman?"

"No, I am not saying that." Parag replied hesitantly.

"I work my butt off getting everything done, Parag. I have to work twice as hard as anyone to be taken seriously." I said, feeling my voice rise again.

"I am sure you do, honey. But you have to realize...."

"I don't have to do anything. You're the one who has to work harder instead of hanging out with your buddies playing stupid video games."

"Hey, those games help me relax!" Parag shot back.

"No they don't. They distract you from your work. If you had not wasted your time on those stupid MMORPG games...."

"They are not stupid. The gaming industry last year......."

"..... brought in more revenue than Hollywood. Yes I know. You keep repeating that idiotic little factoid you gleaned from NPR."

"Idiotic?" Parag said, now sounding upset. "You know what, even if I didn't have to work this weekend, I'd rather spend it playing those stupid games than take the bus to meet you!"

"Is that so? Fine then! Go stick your dick in a video game console!"

I said and ended the call. I stared at the phone angrily for a few moments and then looked around. Most people were ignoring me, but in their earnest indifference, I detected the hint of the fact that they had heard me have a big fight with my boyfriend. I cursed him and his video games in my mind and turned my attention to the term paper.

"Hi, excuse me...sorry to bother you...." a voice in my periphery said a few minutes later.