Page 174 - Half Girlfriend

so openly about his past stunned me. He talked about dropping out of

college to save his adoptive parents’ money, and then sleeping on dorm
floors and attending the classes he liked.
‘I returned Coke bottles for the five-cent deposits to buy food with,

and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to

get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it.’
He had said nothing about his achievements yet. Still, you felt his

greatness.
‘And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and

intuition.’
‘Intuition?’ I said.

‘Gut instinct, what you feel from the heart,’ Riya said.
Did I have the courage to follow my heart? Did I have the

courage to propose to Riya again?
Finally, Steve ended his speech.

‘Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for

myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.’
The crowd in the video applauded. I joined in.The cyber cafe’s
owner turned to watch the whacko customer who clapped after

YouTube videos.

‘Can I see it again?’ I said.
‘Sure. I will check my mail on another computer.’

I watched the speech three more times. I repeated some of the lines
as practice. I stood up after an hour.

I saw Riya in the adjacent cubicle, her mail open on the screen. She
looked grave.

‘Should we go have lunch?’ I said. I guess staying hungry isn’t so
easy after all.

I glanced at her monitor. I just about managed to read the subject
line:‘Dad’.

She pressed ‘send’. The screen disappeared. She logged out and
stood up.

We walked back to the haveli in silence.