I saw PROFLIGATE SUFFRAGETTE in the dormitory deli. She wore an ivory puffed muslin t-shirt, asymmetrical midi skirt (knee you see me, knee you don’t) with a floral print, and wedge cork sandals. The most beautiful creature I had ever beheld. But I couldn’t hang around because I had to go see a Russian animated movie that played at another university. Friend’s idea, that’s how scared of women we were.
When we came back, the 2003 Champions League Final was on TV. Milan beat Juventus on penalties. Then we went for a beer at the local student bar. College was all about learning.
I stood there like a typical dorky aroundstander when I saw her coming toward me. I had 4 seconds to get my script straight, with no experience, but I had to do something to escape more Soviet cinema.
I was going with “hello, I saw you earlier today”. I knew it was the oldest line in the book, so I decided to be forensic. I was going to describe to her in detail what she did, said, and how she moved in the deli so as to assure her I was telling the truth. Then I needed a punchline, but at the moment I grabbed her hand, I didn’t have it yet. The bar went silent in my ears, I could only hear my heart beating.
As I started talking, her facial expression went from slight apprehension to minor panic to holding back laughter.
“Hello, can I bother you for a second? I saw you earlier today at the deli. You were buying two cheese pies and you went to the fridge to look at the mayo salads. You were bent over and I stood right behind you. And as I stood there, my life had changed.”
We talked for what could have been a minute. She gave me a fake name, her college nickname. I learned the real one a month later by chance, it seemed she had no intention to ever tell me. But I liked the nick, it was fiery and commonly given to cows.
In the coming days, I was transported to a world of people in tune with their surroundings and comfortable in their bodies. I had heard stories about that world but didn’t believe it existed. Everything was different, she would say things like “čau párky” and “nech sa páči” to express agreement, surprise, irony, resignation, or anger.
I liked what I saw and heard, and I learned quickly. Finally some education in this place. What she saw in me, or why she agreed to spend time with me unchaperoned, remains a subject of debate. It may have been a slow week. Or she was.
One day I called her cell, which lay on the bed next to me. It started ringing. I looked at the screen: it said “Zmenený Život” (Changed Life).