For Nya
He always wanted her to wear purple. But she never would.
She would dress sexy for him -- tight skirts that showed off her ass, or sleeveless tops cut low that teased and hinted, or long, willowy dresses that made her look like one of those British models from the 1960s. But they were always red or pale yellow or a blue print, and never purple.
"Why won't you wear purple for me?"
She would smile and kiss him lightly on the lips. "It's not time for purple," she would say.
β’
They had met six months earlier. He was in Mexico City to lecture on American fiction; she had attended the second talk, called "From Poe to Post-Modern." She hadn't worn purple then, either, but a white, lacy corset thing that showed her midriff, and a print wraparound skirt. Her brown hair must be shoulder length, he thought, even though it was pulled back in a pony tail. She was wearing a soft red lipstick, and would lick her lips every once in while. Her noticed her because she took notes when almost no one did. She would look up every once in a while, her black eyes shining, and shake her head in agreement with the point he was making.
That she talked to him after the lecture seemed perfectly natural. She had waited patiently until the crowd had thinned, walked up, introduced herself, and said, "I don't think you give Poe enough credit." Her English was excellent, and she spoke with confidence -- most students who spoke to him after a talk were either hesitant, afraid to ask anything, or annoying, as if the whole thing had been a waste of 90 minutes.
That was the first time he thought she should wear purple. He saw her eyes and her cinnamon skin -- canela, he remembered thinking -- and her black eyes, and he said, "Can I ask you a question?"
She nodded. "Do you ever wear purple?"
She laughed, and her eyes sparkled. "That's not very much to do with Poe, is it?"
"No," he said. "But it seems very relevant to our discussion."
"Maybe it does," she said. "Why purple? And why should I wear it for you?"
It was his turn to smile. "I haven't asked you to wear it for me -- yet. And, for one thing, because it's a badge of courage. Which you seem to have in abundance."
She was quiet for a moment, and he wondered if he had gone too far. But then she pursed her lips, and he noticed how soft and well-shaped they were. "Yes, courage," she said. "The courage to try to be someone you haven't discovered you can be. But I'm not ready to wear purple yet."