“Wait!” Asha called out to me from behind.
I stopped, turned around, and saw her rushing towards me with the letter in hand.
“It’s a first time for me to get a love letter like this. A strange one, I might add. But I’m touched by your feeling. Thank you! I have a day off tomorrow. Would you like to go cycling with me in Central Park?”
I did not expect this. I was surprised.
“I’ll call you in the morning tomorrow when I wake up, so can you give me your number?”
Asha said while still trying to catch her breath.
“Sounds great, but I don’t own a bicycle.”
“Me neither, so we can rent. C’mon, you have to come with me,” she said with a smile.
I wrote down my number on a piece of paper and gave it to Asha. “Great, see you tomorrow,” and she dashed back to the café, but turned around to give me a big wave.
Next morning, she called just after 7. We decided to meet at Columbus Circle at 10 and rent the bicycles from there.
“Morning! Great weather today.”
She had on a green t-shirt with a cut-off jean shorts and a backpack.
I had on a white Oxford shirt, khaki shorts, and a pair of tennis shoes. She checked out my ensemble and said, “You look good in shorts. First time seeing you in them,” and smiled.
“I sometimes ride alone on a bicycle like this in Central Park.”
Asha and I went on the cycle lane inside the park, riding and just enjoying each other’s company.
“So where is your most favorite place in New York?” to which I said, “Right here, Central Park.”“Me, too!” she replied.
“When I first came to New York, I used to come here every day to read.”
“Me, I just used to walk around, like an adventurer. We’re a lot alike,” she said, laughing.
“In the city, it’s crowded, noisy, chaotic ― I’m not good with that. But here, I can relax, feel at peace.”
Asha gazed out far as she cycled.
“So, what were you like as a child?”
“I wanted to know about everything, the kind that was always asking questions adults didn’t like. Also, I wore shorts all year. Come to think of it, that was my way of saying I’m tough, I can be in shorts no matter how cold it got. I was competing against this kid in my class.”
“About what?”
“About who can stay in shorts the longest. Like an endurance match. Even in winter, even in snow, we wore shorts to school. I won in the end.”
“Shorts in the snow?”
“Yeah, I would have a down jacket but shorts with bare legs exposed. People were in awe, and I was proud of that.”
“That is so funny! A kid like that sounds alright by me. So that’s why you look good in them.”
“Ok, then, the race is on, against me!”
Asha started to pick up pace.
“I used to love to cycle when I was small. When I first got on the bicycle, I thought I could go anywhere. I would be on it every day, so I’m pretty good!”
I picked up my pace but couldn’t keep up with Asha.
“Today’s discovery is that both you and I hate to lose.”
She said as we rested on the bench near the big lake. With a bit of a smirk, she said, “Hello, Mr. short pants!” and reached out her hand.
This was the first time I held her hand.
