Open Bar

By Farzana Doctor

The baby dykes on the dance floor Wanna know How long have you two been together?

Just met today, I tell them But they can’t hear over the thrum Of music, bodies, lust

Three hours, I yell And cast a glance at my date We share a middle-aged smirk

But there is approval In their mock-matron eyes And they lean in to say:

We’re having a big gay marriage! With an open bar! A roast beef dinner! Been there, done that. My date mutters in my ear Me too, I whisper

I close my eyes and remember That ours was a commitment ceremony She and I weren’t legal back then

I wore my mother’s bridal gagra choli And my aunties gave blessings with Tin-foiled coconuts circling my head

I open my eyes to see My handsome butch date Watching me. You OK?

I nod, pull her in closer Her hand reaches up my skirt I suck salt off her neck

Later, she drives me to her place I stay two hours Before kissing her goodbye

Farzana Doctor’s second novel Six Metres of Pavement won the 2012 Lambda Literary Award and was named as one of NOW Magazine’s Top Ten Books of 2011. She will be reading at Proud Voices on June 30th at 5pm.