By all appearances, Bhumika "Mika" Singh is a prim and proper Indian Canadian lady. Born in the City of Jalandhar, Punjab State of India, and raised in the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Mika has always done what her Sikh faith and culture expected of her. Five feet ten inches tall, curvy and quite lovely, with light brown skin and long dark hair streaked with gray, Mika Singh is the face of Indian matriarchal dignity, even in the face of sorrow. Recently, Mika's husband Gurinder passed away, but not before confessing something awful to her...
"Mika, I love you and I want you to know, I am bisexual, have been all of my life," Gurinder told her, as he lay dying of cancer on his hospital bed. Mika Singh was stunned by this revelation, to say the least. Hours later, Gurinder breathed his last, leaving Mika with a ton of questions. Mika and Gurinder met as students at Ryerson University in the City of Toronto, Ontario, when they were merely eighteen years old. Fast forward twenty five years, and they built quite a life together.
Armed with his Ryerson University degree, Gurinder Singh became a successful engineer, working for the City of Toronto, and Mika Singh worked as a programmer for Heidel Technologies, a successful start-up. The couple's adult daughter Jagdeep lives in the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, with her Irish Canadian boyfriend Ernest O'Leary. Mika Singh loved her husband Gurinder and the life they built, but the revelation of his bisexuality on his death bed made her question a lot of things....
"Gurinder, you secretive bastard," Mika Singh said to herself as she began investigating her late husband's secret life. As it turns out, Gurinder was none too discreet about things. The truth had been hiding in plain sight the entire time. When the hospital turned Gurinder's belongings over to Mika, she found a suspicious card among them. There was a support group called the Bisexual Men's Network, and they met every other Wednesday in the basement of the Saint Augustine Church, located in the south end of Mississauga. Out of curiosity, Mika Singh went to the meeting...and her life changed.
The meeting, held in the church basement, was not at all what Mika Singh thought it would be. There were nine men and five women present, and they were from all walks of life. The group leader, Ivan Yamamoto, was Japanese, and openly bisexual, and one of the attendees, a tall, blonde-haired white woman named Beatrice, was actually his wife. Mika Singh was stunned that a woman could remain married to a man who swung both ways. Wasn't Beatrice worried that Ivan Yamamoto would ditch her for a guy?
"Friends, and visitors, let us take a moment of silence to remember our friend Gurinder Singh, who passed away recently," Ivan Yamamoto said, and the tall, slim, dark-haired Japanese Canadian man bowed his head, as did everyone in the room. Mika Singh looked at the men and women in attendance, and wondered how well they knew her late husband Gurinder. Clearly, Gurinder had been leading a double life. To Mika and their family, Gurinder was a dutiful husband and father. Was Gurinder out there sleeping with other men behind Mika's back throughout their marriage? The determined Indian matriarch wanted answers!
"Raphael, I know that you and Gurinder were close, would you like to say a few words?" said Beatrice, and the tall blonde woman smiled at an attendee who sat silently at a corner. Mika Singh's eyes narrowed as the silent attendee rose to his feet and took the podium. He was tall, dark-skinned, athletic and handsome. A fine young man of African descent. Mika Singh's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly realized that, in all likelihood, this young man was her late husband Gurinder's lover. The stranger's words confirmed her suspicions mere moments later...
"My name is Raphael Covington, like most of you in this room, I am bisexual, and I loved Gurinder dearly, in my native Jamaica like in India, there's a lot of homophobia and biphobia, Gurinder suffered for being different, I hope the Creator can grant him peace," the young man said firmly. Ivan Yamamoto nodded, as did his wife Beatrice. Applause went up around the church basement, as though Raphael had said something profound. Mika Singh couldn't take it anymore. Gurinder was Mika's husband, hers and hers alone. How dare this Raphael take the podium in his name?
Mika Singh rose from her chair and walked to the podium, and although group leader Ivan Yamamoto and his wife Beatrice and the others stared at her, they did nothing to stop her. When Mika reached the podium, Raphael smiled at her as though they were old friends. The tall, handsome and masculine young Jamaican man nodded gently at her and ceded the podium to her. Surprised by Raphael's reaction, but undeterred, Mika Singh finally spoke her peace, as they say...
"My name is Mika Singh, Gurinder was my husband for more than twenty years, I loved him, and I had no idea that he was bisexual, he told me hours before he died from cancer, and I am here for answers," Mika said firmly. After saying her peace, Mika Singh stared challengingly at the men and women gathered in the room. The place was full of bisexual men in various stages of coming out, and the women and men in their lives. Could any of those people understand Mika Singh's pain? Mika Singh lost her husband Gurinder to cancer, right after he dropped a truth bomb on her which shook her to her foundations!
"Mrs. Singh, I am truly sorry for your loss," Raphael said gently, and he bowed his head. Mika Singh looked at Raphael, and saw the tears in the young Jamaican man's eyes. Mika Singh wanted to hate Raphael, this switch-hitter who had sexual relations with her late husband Gurinder Singh behind her back. Yet, she could not hate him. Raphael had obviously loved Gurinder Singh and knew him in a way that Mika hadn't. Abruptly, Raphael held out his arms, and after a long hesitation, Mika Singh actually embraced him. The two of them embraced and shed warm tears in remembrance of the man they both loved...
After Mika Singh's spiel, she and Raphael spoke to the others, and she got to know them better. The men and women gathered at the meeting were Gurinder's friends and supporters, and he had shared with them his truth as a bisexual Indian Canadian man born and raised in the Sikh faith. Little by little, Mika Singh warmed up to them. They weren't her enemies, but a sort of extended family. Ivan Yamamoto and his wife Beatrice were particularly sensitive to Mika Singh's plight, and welcomed her to stay with them...
"When Ivan told me he was bisexual, I was devastated, we had a family, two sons, and a dog, a real life together, but I felt like I didn't know him anymore, but I knew he still loved me so we worked it out," Beatrice told Mika, as they dined together after the meeting. After leaving the church, Mika Singh joined Ivan, Beatrice and Raphael at a nearby café for a little heart to heart. Mika Singh felt oddly happy to be in their presence. These people were not at all what she expected...
"I've always loved both women and men, but being bisexual is not acceptable among Japanese immigrants, so I kept it to myself, but I loved Beatrice enough to be honest with her," Ivan Yamamoto said gently. The slim Japanese Canadian man exchanged a smile with his wife, and gave her a peck on the lips. Mika Singh looked at the interracial, mixed-orientation couple. Could it really work, a relationship between a heterosexual woman and a bisexual man? Not for the first time, Mika Singh wondered how she would have reacted if Gurinder had told her the truth sooner...
"I was mad at you for taking my husband's name at the podium but I saw in your eyes that you loved him as much as I did," Mika Singh said to Raphael, and the young Jamaican man nodded gently. For a man still in his twenties, Raphael carried himself with a quiet confidence that bordered on wisdom, and Mika Singh found his affable, friendly manner appealing. She could see what Gurinder saw in him. Raphael looked like an NFL player and carried himself with the self-effacing manner of a religious cleric or a priest or something. A fairly interesting man indeed...
"Mrs. Singh, Raphael and I were close friends, and since we were both bisexual, it cemented our bond, but we were not lovers, he would not cheat on you, he often told me about how much he loved you and your daughter Jagdeep, he came to the meetings seeking the courage to share his truth with you," Raphael said gently. Mika Singh looked at Raphael, astonished by his words. Shocked, Mika Singh looked around the table and got nods and smiles from Ivan Yamamoto and his wife Beatrice. Gurinder was bisexual, but he hadn't cheated on Mika with anyone, woman or man. Mika Singh nodded, as tears welled up in her eyes...
