A New Life ....Across The World - 2. Hello Canada!

As the flight landed, I waited for the fellow passengers to go first. I didn’t want to step into Canada in a hasty manner, I wanted to it to be a memorable experience that I would cherish every time I thought of it. As the plane started to empty, I took my bag, and made sure to put the declaration card into the front pocket, for easy access. I was told that I may be asked to produce it many times.

The first thing I noticed, as soon as I stepped out of the plane, was how fresh and clean the air was. Granted, I had lived in a city that was one of the most polluted in the world, so I was bound to think so. It was strangely warm, definitely not as we in India expected it to be. In fact, it was the exact opposite: really hot, sunny and humid. Unfortunately, I was wearing a jacket and quickly found it too hot. Whoever said that Canada was an ice desert should be murdered. But luckily, I soon went into the air conditioned airport and found a little relief.

After collecting my suitcases, one bright red and one bright yellow. I remembered Ma saying, “You can easily recognize them anywhere, Kunj.” Yeah, I totally could and everyone seemed to keep looking at me. I really doubt it is because of my “extraordinary” looks. Thank you very much, Ma!

I was creeped out while sitting in front of Customs. The officers were giving me suspicious looks, similar to those my nephew gave me when I told him he would get candy if he stays quiet. They were currently checking all my documents while asking me relevant questions in between. Despite them being my height or less, I felt like a dwarf in front of them. Maybe the thought that these people could easily kick me back to India if they wanted was intimidating me?

“Mr. Kunj Sarna?” one of the officers said. Dang it, he said it wrong. I might as well get used to being call Kun-gee.

“Yes?” I smiled in reply. Yeah, might as well be on my best behavior right now.

“We have found all your documents to be in order. You would be needed to further document your arrival by reporting as soon as possible at the university where you’re enrolled. I believe you have listed your living arrangement as living with a Canadian family?”

I nodded my head and he continued, “Then we will need their details as well.”

After all the required processing was done, I was asked to show my belongings. Once they were convinced there were no taxable goods, they said that I was allowed to leave. Just as I got up from the seat, they said “Welcome to Canada.” Woah! That was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever heard. I smiled in return and quickly made my exit, just in case they decided to hold me back citing some other reason.

I crossed the doors and started to look for uncle and aunt. I spotted a signboard that read “Kunj”. I looked at the person holding it and saw a blonde woman with a haircut similar to mine. The dark brown-haired woman next to her was waving frantically towards me and I recognized her as Anushka, Sam’s cousin. The blonde woman must be her girlfriend.

As soon as I came close enough, I was hugged really hard by Anushka while Ms. Blonde looked at me awkwardly. “Wow! You look so much more handsome in real life. It’s been too long since I saw you.” She noticed me and Ms. Blonde looking at each other.

“This is Nora. My …,” she hesitated.

“Girlfriend?” I completed.

Both looked at me in surprise. Maybe it was more like shocked as I was smiling. Nora was quick to recover, “You’re not offended by that?” she gave a confused smile.

“Nope!” I gave a wide grin and picked one of my suitcases. Anushka picked up the other and started walking with Nora behind me.

“Kunj, wait! Tell me why you’re okay with that.” She kept saying. I stopped in front of the parking lot and looked at her to show me where her car was.” “Not until you say why you’re okay with me being gay,” she said.

I am sure Sam told her, she just wants to hear from me. Well, I guess I have no choice but to tell her or, she would really keep me waiting. Fine, if that is what she wants, I’ll do it.

“Well, I don’t think I would have a problem with someone being gay when I am gay myself,” I said rolling my eyes.

“WHAT?!” Both I and Nora were startled by her outburst. “How? When? Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

Oh, Shit! Sam didn’t tell? That’s completely new.

“Geez! Calm down babe. Give him a chance to speak, will you?” Nora said, chuckling.

“To answer your questions, dear sister, I have been gay all the time, and I told Ma only before coming here. So, you don’t get to yell at me for not telling you, and besides you didn’t tell me either.”

Anu rolled her eyes at that “I would have told you long ago if I had known you would be accepting. But this is so cool, another gay in the family.” She let out a chuckle. “Alright, let’s go home and talk, it is getting really hot already.” She clicked the switch on her key.

I looked in the direction of the sound, “OH MY GOD! IS IT A BMW 328i XDRIVE GRAN TOURISMO?” Both of them jumped at that.

I started running towards the car, leaving my suitcase behind, and started circling it like a puppy asking for a walk. I was pretty sure Anu was saying something, but I was too far gone to pay attention. The car had a metallic coral red colour, and was brand new. I could tell by the ten-day registration plate on it. The insides were pristine with black upholstery and black trims but had some great coral red trim highlights to go along. It looked absolutely stylish and beautiful.

“So, I take it you approve?” I heard Anu’s amused voice from outside. I got out slightly embarrassed and flashed her an awkward smile. “Don’t worry, little brother, I know your obsession with cars, and especially with BMW. You wouldn’t get any judgement from me.” She said smiling. “Nora here loves them too.”

“Really?” I looked at her. When she nodded I continued “Cool! We both will get along better than Anu and I. We share no interests.”

“I see you have gotten multi-spoke style tires here, personally I would have preferred W-spoke style. They look better and I feel that they offer uniform coverage.”

“Seriously, I would have preferred them as well, but someone here felt that those look like twigs placed in sequence.” She replied glancing at Anu.

“Alright both of you! Stop it!” Anu said interrupting us. “You can complain all you want about me as we drive, let’s get going.”

Nora smiled in return and turned to me, “Do you want to drive this baby and see what she can do?”

“I can?” my face lit up with excitement. Finally, my international driver’s license is useful for something.

As we started to drive, Anu said “Seeing, your love for a BMW, I never understood why your dad never got you any.”

“He says that BMW causes accidents to the person driving it. Dad and his stupid superstitions.” I noticed that Nora waved her hand to the right so, I took a right turn. Nora gave me an appreciative smile in return.

“What does that even mean?” Anu said confused.

“He had an accident in a BMW once, so he thinks that all of them are bad. When I started college, he told me I was allowed to buy a car to commute but wouldn’t allow me to buy a BMW. I ended up with an Audi Q5 instead. And even that was used by Akshay more than me.”

“That sucks!” Anu nodded her agreement.

“Rich kids and their rich kid problems.” I heard Nora mumble to herself. It brought a smile to my face. I exchanged glances with Anu through the mirror and the smile on her face meant this was going to be quite fun.

“Nora!” she said with mock anger “Do you really think that about us? Is being born to wealthy parents our mistake?”

“Babe! Calm down. I never meant that. I just found it funny seeing how you guys are complaining about getting a better car than what you wanted, even when you get everything so easily.” Nora said with an awkward smile.

“Alright, break it up you two. Nora, I didn’t get angry. I am sure Anu is just trying to pull your leg. But trust me on this; being rich isn’t a great thing. I would happily give away money if it means my dad would appreciate me once.”

Both of them fell silent. Nora must have felt that she hit a sore spot. To diffuse the tension, I asked her what she does.

“I’m a cop.” The pride in her voice could not be missed.

“That’s really cool! I love cops. You must be really proud, eh?”

“Did you just say eh?” I could see Anu’s smug look through the mirror. I just rolled my eyes in return.

“Yeah Kunj, I take a lot of pride in saying that I serve my country. I have always wanted to join the Canadian forces but my mom was not into it, so I joined the police force instead,” Nora said smiling and shaking her head at Anu’s antics.

“So, are you on leave now or did you move here?”

“I wish that could happen, but we’re on leave. I wanted to meet you myself.” Anu gave a wide smile.

“Thank you my lovely sister, I’ll make it up to you” I am sure I blushed at least a little bit.

By now I noticed that we exited Mississauga and entered Brampton. “If you take a left here, you’ll go to a restaurant or take a right instead if you want to play golf …” Anu was saying.

“Or go straight if you want to go home,” Nora added

“What? I’m not going straight!” Anu exclaimed. “I have taken that route once and it wasn’t that exciting.”

It took a while for her joke to sink in, but soon all three of us were laughing hysterically. “Jeez babe! Just warn me before throwing them all of a sudden. Okay?” Nora said.

Anu just gave a wink and a smile in return, “Okay Kunj, just keep going gay until you reach Huttonville Drive. On the other hand, keep going gay even after that.”

We fell laughing again after that. Soon, I was turning into community with detached homes that looked expensive. Nora pointed to a home, and I turned into the driveway.

As soon as I got out I could see a three-car garage. As I moved back to get a full view of the house, I saw a two-story building. The exterior bricks might have been stained but that gave the house a slightly rustic appearance. The main doors were white in colour, and had stained glass with simple patterns for about half of their length, giving them an artistic look that didn’t seem overdone. Anu opened the door and waved me inside.

“Looks like Mom and Dad aren’t home yet. Do you want anything to eat?” she asked me.

“An apple would do.” I said, “Oh! Get me some water as well.”

“Sure.”

While I was observing the interiors, Nora appeared behind me “Do you want me to show your room? It’s upstairs.”

“Yeah, Sure.” I said following her taking one of my suitcases from her. Once we got up the stairs, I saw two hallways, the one towards left had the master bedroom and a seating area adjoining a balcony. And the one towards right had two rooms, one of which would be mine. Nora opened the second door, which meant I would get better privacy as it was farthest from the master bedroom.

My room was a light blue colour, with huge windows facing the backyard. I could see that they had a swimming pool. Towards the right end of the room a queen-sized bed sat regally. The bed was made of ebony and looked quite tough and really comfortable. On the opposite side of the bed, was a study table made of the same wood. It was in a perfect spot, taking advantage of the lighting through the windows. I entered the bathroom and was completely blown away by its size. It was almost five times the size of my bathroom back home. The tub looked like it could easily fit five people. But I was really confused by the presence of two commodes. One looked more like a wash basin shaped as commode. I wondered what its purpose was.

“Its a bidet.” Nora said startling me. I forgot she was with me. “You use it to clean your genitals and anal region. You can find tutorials online.” She smiled.

“Here’s your apple Kunj.” I heard Anu’s voice. I went back into the room to see her holding a tray containing a glass of orange juice and a bowl of salad?

“What’s this? I asked you for an apple, not a full course meal.” I asked looking at the tray.

“This contains apple. Along with blue cheese, toasted walnuts and pomegranate vinaigrette. I thought you might be hungry.” She made a sad face.

“Just eat it Kunj,” Nora said. “She will not be in peace if you don’t and not let others stay in peace either.”

I sighed “Okay, I will.”

“Good boy. Take a shower or a bath if you want.” With that both of them left the room. I sat down to eat the salad.

@@@@@

Just as I finished my shower and came out of the bathroom, the bedroom door burst open and Pammi Auntie came running in. Thank god I was wearing something. Unfortunately, it was only a towel. “Oh my God! I can’t believe how much you have grown. I am really happy you’re here with us. How was your journey? Did you eat anything?” She kept asking questions, while planting kisses on my face.

“Paddy, will you calm down? You must be scaring him.” I heard uncle Maximillian’s voice. I looked at him and gave him a hug.

“It’ll be nice to have you here son.” He said.

“Lunch will be ready soon. Get dressed and come down. You look so thin. You need to be stuffed today.” Pammi Auntie said ruffling my hair.

“I need to call Ma first.”

“Don’t be silly! Simran must be sleeping now. Call her in the evening.” Pammi Auntie said.

“But …”

“No if’s and but’s, I know my cousin well enough. She already called me before going to sleep. She told me she will call once she wakes up”

I guess I cannot do anything then, lunch it is.

“Alright, Pammi Auntie, I will come down once I get dressed.”

“Good.” Both said at the same time and left.

If a simple lunch, in Pammi Auntie’s speak, means roti with dal makhni and butter chicken, aloo paratha with curd, lucknowi dum biryani with raita and gravy, then I am not looking forward to them. Not to mention the deserts she made —gulab jamun, gajar ka halwa and kulfi. I was stuffed as a turkey by the end of it.

We were sitting in the living room eating our kulfi making small talks with each other. “So, Kunj, I heard that you were the one who got Karan and my niece married?” Uncle Max asked me. When I nodded, he continued “You did a great job uniting the lovers, son. I am proud of you. I am sure if a similar situation arises, Karan will be beside you.”

“Fat chance of that happening Dad, Karan’s family is seriously homophobic.” Anu said.

Everyone turned to look at Anu; uncle and auntie in surprise, me and Nora in shock. When Anu realized what she said, her eyes widened with surprise and she face palmed herself saying, “Oh crap!”

With that all eyes turned towards me. Shit.