CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Chapter 9 — In Three Acts: III. Touched and Go
We came to this intersection but continued in two different directions …
Norma and I engaged in hushed conversation amid the subdued hospital room lighting. The aftermath of the cafe explosion still weighed heavily on our minds, but now we confronted fresh revelations.
A solemn officer had just shared the grim news on the television in the hospital room.
“He… the young man responsible for all of this,” the police spokesperson began, “he had sinister intentions toward the patrons of the Black Café. A scanned handwritten note posted on his socials made that chillingly clear. But,” the officer paused, his gaze dropping, “he perished in the explosion. It’s a tragedy.”
At that moment, our eyes met, and no words were needed. The combined emotions of relief and sorrow bore down upon us, creating a bittersweet understanding of the terrible event.
Norma and I discovered a natural and easy connection between us as we spent hours in the hospital being treated for our minor injuries.
She had a gash on her thigh. I had lost consciousness and could not recall the time between the explosion and when I woke up in the hospital.
“We’ll live,” I said to her cheerfully as I stood by her bedside.
She laughed and winced in pain; her arm reflexively came up to hold her midsection.
Distract her! My mind commanded.
I tripped over the words, “So — um — what do you do? Do you live here, or are you like the rest of us in town for the National Black MBA convention?”
It worked.
From what she shared, I could tell Norma was a passion-filled, driven entrepreneur. She told me about her engineering company and shared her ambitious plans to build an empire in her industry.
She asked about me.
She is interested in me.
I opened up about my aspirations as a fitness guru, wanting to inspire and transform lives through health and wellness.
She listened.
My excited mind then landed in a new place. Oorun, are you cheating right now? Are you sowing an emotional connection to this person who is not your husband? If Adrian did the same thing —
A high-pitched urgent alarm rang out at 5:58 AM. I snapped to the present moment and realized that Norma and I had yet another peculiar similarity — we both woke up to the same distinctive circuit ringtone on our phones. This quirk added a serendipitous touch to our growing bond.
After a short while, a new doctor entered Norma’s room, probably beginning his shift.
I left the room but inadvertently overheard Norma start explaining her gender reassignment, in case it might influence the doctor’s approach to her care.
Shocked and caught off guard by this revelation, my mind was confused.
The memory of the explosion's aftermath and seeing the hair on her chest returned. I attempted to process the information, but many emotions overwhelmed me.
Too much, too soon, my inner voice echoing my sentiments.
I had just met Norma, and this unexpected revelation about who — or what she was — threw me for a loop.
Am I attracted to the woman I first saw or to the man Norma is becoming? This is beyond your comfort zone. Run, Oorun.
I found myself stepping away from Norma’s room. My deliberate steps backward synched to the click of the loud second hand of the clock on the wall of the nurses’ station.
Inadvertently, I collided with someone and mumbled, “Sorry, excuse me.”
“Oorun! Oh my God, Oorun!” Adrian hugged me tightly, tears streaming down his face. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there!”
Allowing myself to be embraced, my voice was devoid of emotion when I responded, “It’s okay. You’re here now.”
He did not seem to notice my muted demeanor, or maybe he thought it was because of the bombing event.
I patted my husband’s back and asked, “Will you take me home?”
Adrian wiped his face with the back of his hand, trying to compose himself. He then placed his arm across my shoulders and led me away from what was, in my mind’s eye, a cataclysmic hospital scene bigger than the bombing event from yesterday.
Curiosity gnawed at me as I wondered where Oorun had disappeared to. She had been gone for about 20 minutes, and my concern grew with each passing moment. The hospital room felt empty without her.
Norm, look for her, I encouraged myself. She may have fainted again like she did yesterday.
Wincing as I carefully maneuvered, still recovering from the ordeal at the cafe, I limped out of my room to find her.
The hospital corridor was quiet at this early hour, with only the soft hum of fluorescent lights and the distant murmurs of nurses and patients. It didn’t take long before I reached the nurse’s station.
“Excuse me,” I said to the attending nurse, “I’m looking for the Black woman who was in my room. She’s been gone for a while, and I’m getting worried.”
The nurse, a kind-looking woman with a warm smile, checked her records before responding, “Oh, you mean Oorun. Her husband came to pick her up a little while ago, and they left together. They seemed in a hurry.”
The instinct to arrest my mind, body and soul not to react shifted into gear.
With a grateful nod to the nurse, I turned and returned to my room.
Then, my mind revved back to full throttle.
She left — She left me here — But I wanted her.
I agonized.
There was more for us — I had never felt so instantly connected to anyone before — Didn’t she feel it, too? — Oorun is married‽ — How did I not see the ring? — Was she wearing a ring? — But I felt something cataclysmic between us.
“It doesn’t matter,” I spat out to the empty room, shaking my head slowly from side to side. I’ve got to let her go. She’s gone.
The morning sun began to rise, casting a soft glow through the window as the hope in my heart faded.
A vision of love shook my mind and soul to their core — I was ruined.
© Scarlet Ibis James, 2023: All Rights Reserved.
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or events is coincidental. All characters and incidents in this narrative are products of the author’s imagination.
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Go Back: 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷 | 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔: Part I, Part II | 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙸𝙸𝙸 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝙸𝚅 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑.