Long Distance is a Bitch by shiprat

[Ramesh_Rocky]

"But you want to keep playing?" I asked the question I assumed I was expected to ask.

"Well, we, my band members and I, figure we should keep doing it as long as it seems right. But my girlfriend insists I should stop. Which is ironic, because I met her at a concert of our band last year. So if it weren't for my band, we wouldn't even be together."

"What does she do?" I asked.

"She is a paralegal in a law firm in Manhattan." Dustin said. "I know, not exactly a high-flying career. But better than being a janitor. Honestly, I don't think the band bothers her as much as my being a janitor on the side."

"So why don't you quit that job?"

"I don't share her condescension towards the profession. You see, my dad was also a janitor at the university. He raised a family of 3 kids on his salary. We never lacked in anything meaningful. So I see now harm being a janitor in my day job while I work on my music."

I nodded, partly in admiration, partly in confusion. As someone raised in India, I instinctively looked down upon those engaging in menial work, janitors being among them. But since I moved to America, I was surprised and impressed at the dignity associated with any kind of labor in this country. How people like plumbers, drivers, carpenters, and yes, janitors, were not thought of as some inferior human beings. Just people doing their jobs. I knew enough about American society by now to know it wasn't exactly egalitarian. But for someone coming from India, the American society did seem to present way way more dignity for blue collar professions.

"I suppose you're right." I said

"I think I am. But she doesn't think so. I think she is embarrassed to tell her trendy Manhattan friends that she is dating a janitor from South Jersey." Dustin said, finishing his coffee.

"And what's the second problem?" I asked.

"Second problem?" Dustin asked, a bit confused.

"You said there were two episodes that keep..."

"Oh yeah! The second problem is, a couple of my female friends that she is always jealous of. She lives in Manhattan so we don't get to spend much time together. Just weekends. So she gets very insecure and jealous." Dustin said.

"And you think she shouldn't be?"

"She shouldn't. I mean, yeah, I admit that I have slept with more than my share of women over the years. But since Vicky and I started dating, I have been completely faithful to her. These female friends are just that, friends. But she gets jealous, and we have fights over them."

I took another look at Dustin. He didn't really seem like an Adonis. Sure, he was cute, with a good personality and an easy manner, but not something that would cause groupies to line up.

"That's shame." I said sympathetically.

"Well, that problem arises from the long distance part of the relationship. I live here in South Jersey and she lives in New York."

"New York? That's just an hour away!" I said, laughing. "Try being in a relationship with someone in North Carolina!"

"Wow, your boyfriend lives in North Carolina???"

"Yup!"

"How did you two start dating then?"

"Oh, when we started dating, we both lived in Bombay. We were in the same class in undergrad. Started dating in our second year, or as you Americans call it, sophomore year."

"I see."

"We were also lucky enough to get a job in the same company where we worked for a year. But Parag...that's his name... always harbored dreams of coming to America for his Masters."

"And you didn't want to?"

"It's not that I didn't want to. I just didn't care as much about it as he did. I would have been perfectly happy in that job, living together in India, getting married, having kids, raising a family."

"But he didn't want to?"

"It's more like he really wanted to come to the US. So he pestered me until I agreed to apply to Masters programs in the US in our field in engineering." I said, finishing my cup of coffee, which by now was really cold. "We applied to the same schools. We were sure we'd get into at least one program together. But as it turned out, I got admits from a bunch of schools totally different from the ones he got into. So we ended up choosing schools that were the closest to each other."