Chapter 6: Love Ignited: Nightmares, Routines and Sunrise Reunion
A dream prophecy is ignored as the embers of long-awaited love flicker intensely back to life.
Adrian is dreaming.
Vivid hues of nostalgia melded with fantastical scenes. He found himself immortalized in the vibrant style of a 1950s comic book cover. Bold lines framed a pivotal moment where he, the hero of his narrative, leaned in to kiss his wife. She is exuding an aura of allure. The colors popped with an intoxicating blend of charm and defiance, capturing the essence of an irresistible attraction that Adrian, within the dream, couldn’t fathom resisting. The dream world seemed to mirror his heart’s deepest yearning: passionate engagement with his wife, Oorun.
But then, he realized he was looking at the scene. He was not the guy.
Someone else is kissing my wife!
Adrian’s body rocks awake, his need to disentangle from the clutches of the nightmare urgent. His racing heart finds solace in the sound of running water. She’s in the shower. My wife is here with me.
The haunting imagery from his dream dissipates as he turns and goes back to sleep.
🆂🆄🅱🆂🅲🆁🅸🅱🅴 🆃🅾 🅶🅴🆃 🅼🆈 🆂🆃🅾🆁🅸🅴🆂 🅸🅽 🆈🅾🆄🆁 🅼🅰🅸🅻🅱🅾🆇
Embrace the day with positivity and purpose, Oorun! My mantra naturally drifts through my thoughts as I rise each morning. Today was no different.
I press ‘Stop’ on the phone and blink my eyes to adjust to the dark room. I glance over to the other side of the bed where the mound of my husband is rising and falling. The rhythmic sound of his snore echoes softly through the quiet room. I take care not to rouse him as I slip out of bed and grab my gym clothes from the floor, placed there the night before to help me start my day without friction.
Striding to the bathroom, I flip the light and turn on the Bluetooth speaker at a low volume. I open my iPhone’s ‘Take on the Day’ playlist and dance as I prepare for the gym. While I’m cautious not to disturb Adrian, a part of me wishes we exercised together — we never do. He’s been so good to me over the years, but I feel disconnected from our relationship. We go through the couplehood motions when needed and have individual routines most days. We are comfortable with our standard operating procedure — we’re on autopilot.
I hop in the shower, letting the hot water run over my body. Six minutes later, I’m out and dried off and styling the soft curls of my natural hair. After dabbing myself with sweet-smelling essential oil, I head downstairs for breakfast. I devour the small bowl of overnight oatmeal with blueberries and almonds, put on my sneakers, and grab my gym bag before heading out the door.
With determined strides, I make my way to the nearby fitness center, the sun’s gentle rays gradually painting the sky as it begins its ascent. I enter the gym feeling joyful and energized but accidentally bump into someone leaving as I swing open the door.
A weird fleeting thought springs to mind: What happens in the dark… but then, my senses lit up.
First, the man who defies all notions of beauty I’ve ever encountered captivates my sense of sight. He stands there, a human-form masterpiece, leaving me awestruck. I can’t help but wonder how such a being could exist, with features that seem to blend Salma Hayek’s allure and Dwayne Johnson’s rugged strength, all encapsulated in a man in his mid-thirties.
Then, the second sense to awaken is sound. The song “Whatta Man,” written by Cheryl James, David Crawford and Herby Azor, and as sung by Salt-N-Pepa, reverberates through the workout space. Could it be the soundtrack that follows him wherever he goes? “My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass, a body like Arnold with a Denzel face,” the lyrics declare, aligning uncannily with the figure before me.
But it’s my sense of smell that knocks me off guard. It pulls me in even closer; his aroma envelops me. It’s intoxicating and enticing. I close my eyes momentarily, surrendering to the sweetness that invades my nostrils. It’s as if his essence has been distilled into a bouquet with hints of comfort, a touch of adventure, and a dash of fiery arousal. In this fleeting moment, his aroma makes me smile involuntarily, my body relaxing and yet awakening in his presence.
For what must have been a half a dozen too-long seconds, I still. Then, the god-among-us-mortals smiles and says, “Good morning, sunshine,” steps around me, and walks out into the world, leaving me looking back at him in bewildered shock.
Then, the pathway to a memory lights up. Wait, I know that face, that smell — that person!
He’s finishing his workout at the gym when he notices her. She’s standing in the doorway, blocking his exit. She seems to be inhaling him. In those few seconds, he takes in the sight of her: tall and slim, with tight, short curls surrounding her head. She’s wearing a tight electric blue tank top and black yoga pants. She’s gorgeous.
Her eyes, at first, fill with wonder and awe as she takes him in before a startled look blankets her face.
He’s accustomed to reactions like this. Since he transitioned his six-foot-tall frame from the woman he was to the man he would be, he continually attracted favorable attention from both sexes. Around the same time he started hormone therapy, he began working out, and his muscles added to his overall bronze Greek god aesthetic. He likes the attention. It’s nice to know he has the physical goods, so to speak, in the eyes of the opposite sex. She’s good-looking, too.
There’s no time for a meet-cute this morning, Norm, he tells himself. He’s heading to the office to prepare for the newest employee. His background check cleared just yesterday, and today is his first day. He wants to make a good impression since he’ll work closely with him.
He walks past the woman this morning, and as he does, he smiles, leans towards her, and says softly, “Good morning, sunshine.”
He hears her mumble as he walks away but doesn’t catch what she says. A twinge of insecurity zips through him. Is she saying something about my gender‽
He stops, turns on his heels like a storm abruptly changing course, and sees she’s still looking at him. “Excuse me, I didn’t quite catch that,” he remarks, his baritone voice transmitting a challenging tone.
She blinks a few times, then seems to come into his present moment and says, “Norma? Er — is that you?”
It’s been so long since someone called him anything except Norm that he blinks. It shocks him momentarily. This woman knew him then.
“Um — I’m sorry — my name is Norm,” he responds with irritation and sarcasm, struggling to recall who this person is. “Forgive me; I can’t recall how I know you.”
The circuit ringtone on his phone reminds him that he has an appointment. He looks down at his Apple watch to register the time in his mind and silence the alarm. It’s 7:25 now; shit, I’m going to be late.
“I have the same ringtone,” she says, cutting into his thoughts. “I recognize you. I remember us choosing that ringtone a decade ago.”
Bam! Bounce! Her words slam into his head and ricochet against his skull. Everything in him slows as his world pivots on its axis. He feels himself making a languid, out-of-body turn around this woman.
All thoughts of work and the new employee evaporate in that instant. Memories of ten years ago when he spent a day with someone blast into focus. He had emerged from the fateful experience of her accepting himself as the man he had always been, and that short twenty-four hours with her hastened the dissolution of his marriage.
He started a new life.
Promising to allow life to guide her back to him if destiny intended their union — he never looked for her.
And now, here she is.
Calming his speeding heart, he says again with a broad, wistful smile as his whole being moves towards her, “Good morning, sunshine. It’s been a long time.”
© Scarlet Ibis James, 2023: All Rights Reserved.
This is the last short story in Part I of Love Interrupted, Love Ignited: The Meeting. In a few weeks, the stories of Part II will be released.
In the meantime, please follow and subscribe to read more contemporary fiction from Scarlet Ibis James!