" She continued to stare.I placed her arm around my neck and attempted to pick her up as Dad had Mom, but it looked easier than it was. My knees buckl...d and I fell on my back with Maria on top of me. I scrambled out from under her and saw that my father was still walking. I took Maria's hand and pulled her up. When I tugged, she walked alongside me. I trotted and she kept up. Only when we were near my father did I slow down to match his pace, and so did Maria. She kept in stride with me, all. She held her body tight to me as I used small rhythmic steps and motions to the music. Halfway through she lifted her head and craned back to speak to me."You slow-dance nice, you feel so good next to me, and you smell very manly." She said with a confident smile before cuddling into my chest again.When the song ended she held my hand and started to walk to the table. Whew, we weren't going to be in a marathon. We sat and drank and talked about a myriad of subjects with me finding her well. She would try to evade anythingdirecting towards sex but knew eventually she would just have to relaxand hope it passed quickly.“I don’t know exactly, faxing? Answering calls? Arranging meetings?”she replied.“I think you know that’s not what I mean,” he said, his hands pullingher closer until she felt him pressing against her back. She wastrapped between him and the photocopier as he pressed against her, hishands playing with the waistline of her saree.“You don’t think you can come into work. Seeing her, holding her, is my only proof that I am home—that I am free. ‘Come, let’s get you inside, honey.’ My mother takes my hand and doesn’t let it go. I follow her inside on unsteady legs and take a seat on the sofa because I lack the strength to stand at the moment. On my long plane ride home, I thought of all the things I would say to my mother. Somehow all of those words have evaded me. I feel like a stranger, like a cloned version of myself. All of a sudden I am a sci-fi experiment. I.