Chapter 16 | FICTION | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Marriage in Jeopardy Versus Southern Brunch and Sweet Memories
Without Oorun, her husband Adrian and Gisselle reconnect.
His phone rang, and his heart filled with excitement.
‘She’s calling me,’ was his first and immediate thought.
But when he looked at the phone screen, he saw the call was not from the woman he had hoped for. He pressed the green circle to accept the call.
“Gisselle, I’m on my way,” he said to answer her unspoken question.
“That’s great, Adrian! I was checking to see if you and Oorun wanted me to pick you up from the airport,” his friend’s bubbly voice was such a departure from the lackluster tone his wife’s voice had taken on these days.
He bit back the wave of heartache and queasiness at the mention of her name.
Oorun had left the house early this morning.
They had planned to travel together to South Carolina to explore the town where he had just landed a new job. He hoped that they could move there and start their life together anew.
It was where he grew up.
Despite being a Black boy in a Southern town, his story was not laced with the stereotypical racial issues one might expect. He had beautiful memories of an idyllic childhood in Denmark, located in Bamberg County in the southwestern part of the state.
Even now, he held images of long, lazy summers spent beneath the shade of towering oak trees, where the air was thick with the scent of magnolia blossoms and cicadas humming was the sound garden of his memory.
He and his friends roamed freely through vast, sun-dappled fields, chasing fireflies at dusk and cooling off in meandering creeks. His parents colored his early years with stories, both good and bad, that made him aware and proud of how they survived and thrived.
His father, a Vietnam veteran, and his grandfather, a World War II hero, had returned to the South to build homes and lives. Adrian often sat on his porch with his family, hearing stories of how his family’s history was intertwined with the struggles and triumphs of civil and world war, resilience, and the dream of a better future.
These stories were a legacy that echoed through him and drove his engineering studies and early career of building homes for military families.
He did not share much of this life before Howard University with his wife, whom he met there. She did not have a huge family tree like him, having lived for many years in the foster care system.
But now, he urgently wanted to bring Oorun home.
Denmark, the place of his childhood, was not just a new job opportunity; it was a chance to start afresh, to leave behind the blight that was on their relationship and to embrace a hopeful future.
His mind cycled back to Oorun now.
He was hopeful when he saw her rise that morning, showered and dressed. Until then, she had not packed the weekend bag she would need to travel with him.
But then she stood by his bedside, looked down at him, and said softly, “Adrian, I begin counseling today. My appointment is for 8:00 AM. I know you’re going to South Carolina today, but I won’t be joining you. I’ll call you later, okay?”
She did not wait for him to respond. She left.
“Adrian?” Gisselle, still waiting for his answer, said after he was quiet for too long.
“Yes, um,” he mumbled, trying to regain his composure. “Thanks, my friend. Yes, it would be great if you had time to pick me up. Oorun did not come this time. So, today, I’m flying solo.”
He may have imagined it, but he thought Gisselle’s voice changed when she spoke again. She was even more perky.
“Oh, okay!” she said sweetly, “I’ve got you, Adrian!”
He heard her. ‘She’s got me.’
“Thanks, Gisselle. This means a lot to me.”
As he scanned his boarding pass and entered the jetway, his legs felt heavy, and he sensed that he was leaving his fifteen-year marriage behind.
Gisselle had been waiting eagerly at the small, bustling airport, her eyes scanning the crowd with anticipation. The moment he stepped out of the arrivals gate and their eyes met, her face burst into a radiant smile, and she rushed towards him.
“Adrian!” she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. “I can’t believe you’re here!”
He was a bit taken aback by her exuberance.
They had met two weeks before in his city, but she was much more reserved and professional. He couldn’t help but smile, overwhelmed by the joy of seeing her again — today, they were more like the childhood buddies they once were.
After the initial excitement, they headed to a charming Southern bistro she had chosen for brunch.
The rustic décor and the aroma of bacon and coffee in the air set the stage for a perfect reunion. Over brunch, they reminisced, their unbridled laughter mingling with stories and shared memories.
Gisselle, in her warm, effusive way, expressed her deep admiration for his accomplishments.
“You’ve come so far,” she said, her eyes gleaming with pride. “I’ve always known you were destined for greatness.”
As they chatted, Adrian remembered the vivid dream he had of Gisselle after their recent meeting. Today, he looked at her sitting across the table, her eyes filled with affection, and the memory of that dream came rushing back.
‘Is it me?’ he asked himself now. ‘Am I sensing an intensity beyond friendship today?’
What he knew for sure was that it was fantastic to be looked at by a woman with a gaze brimming with passion and respect.
“I love how you look at me, Gisselle,” he said before realizing he was speaking his thoughts aloud.
Gisselle blushed and asked, “Does Oorun look at you that way?”
Adrian looked down at his plate. If his skin were not as dark as it was, she would see him blushing, too, embarrassed. His silence may have told her the answer to her question.
“Well, if I were your wife, I’d look at you like this every day of my life.”
Adrian’s head snapped up and searched Gisselle's deep blue eyes and found what he had been hoping to find — longing to find— in his wife’s blank gaze.
© 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.
Go to: 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟷 or 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔: Part I, Part II, Part III, 🎯 ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴇ ʜᴇʀᴇ: Part IV.
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