Love from A to Z(79)

The man turned and headed toward the door.

“Oh no, he’s going for Marc again.” The woman tut-tutted, watching him leave. “I’m so worried what this does to his heart. Getting upset like that. He’s so sensitive; I don’t want him to get sick.”

I stared at her. “Excuse me, but did you ever think what it does to our hearts? To be continuously told that how we choose to be is wrong? Like, why can’t I just swim here in peace? Why do the clothes I have on my body hurt your husband’s heart?”

She didn’t say anything, but I could see from her eyes enlarging that the wheels were working up there in her brain.

From a distance, I went on. Not to get her to see it my way, but to help her brain out. “I’m sick of running into this so much. I’m the one heartsick, okay? Me and my sisters, my people.”

She pursed her lips, so I ended with my last offer for her brain’s expansion. “And you know what? I’m not going to let your prejudice, your outrage, or fake kindness, either, change one bit of me, of how I look, of who I am. Your resistance to my existence is futile, okay?”

I floated away from her.

I floated and floated, with my eyes closed, thinking of the water lapping the beach yesterday, the twinkling boat lights, and Adam.

When I decided I was done chilling, I left the empty pool.

? ? ?

After showering, as I sat with one white towel round my body and another round my head, drying in the changing room, I sent Adam the MS forum links I’d found.

He replied with thanks and see you soon followed by two wave emojis.

I smiled to myself.

To check whether the links I’d passed him worked right, I clicked on the first one. It led me to the MS chat subforum of a group chat site.

It was a site I hadn’t heard of until I’d done the search for Adam: Nest. I clicked around and saw that it was neatly organized into closed or open forums. I entered an open forum called CollegeDirt and scrolled the postings discussing the merits of different colleges.

I entered U of Chicago in the search and read the comments a bit until I stopped at a post by someone named SugarWraith.

Which reminded me of Fencer.

Fencer had used the online alias @StoneWraith14.

I searched this name in the forum and came up empty.

I methodically clicked each of the forum sites I’d sent Adam, skipping the obviously medical ones, looking for evidence of @StoneWraith14.

Nothing turned up.

But I wasn’t done checking.

? ? ?

I pulled a black abaya on, wrapped a scarf loosely on my head, and swung my gym sackpack over both my arms before exiting the changing room, planning on getting properly and thoroughly and amazingly dressed upstairs in the apartment.

Because today was special.

On the way home yesterday from Katara, while we walked to the parking lot, Adam had told Auntie Nandy and me about the room he’d been fixing downstairs at his house. He wanted it to be done in time for Hanna’s birthday as a surprise for her.

“But I haven’t been able to go down there and really work on it. I was in the middle of painting it when I got the attack.” He nodded at Auntie Nandy. “And, as you know, I lost a few days from that.”

“I’ll come over and help you paint,” Auntie Nandy said. “I’m quite a pro at it.”

Adam had considered for a few seconds then looked over at me. “If Zayneb comes too, then I’m in.”

I watched Hanna, who’d skipped ahead with her dad and was now “tightrope” walking on the concrete bumpers edging the parking lot. “I will, but on the condition that Hanna doesn’t know we’re there, and she doesn’t see it until we’re done. So that she can be completely surprised.”

“Deal. I’ll just get my dad involved.”

Then we’d smiled to seal it, and so today Auntie Nandy and I were going over there right after breakfast.

Right now, as I walked out of the gym, I was in la-la land, thinking of that smile between us.

Marc stood up when I reached the gym reception area. “Hi. Just to tell you, we’ve had another complaint about your swimwear.”

“You mean the same complaint.” I didn’t stop to look at him but only turned when I got to the doors, only to show him I wasn’t fazed by him.

“I’d appreciate it if there weren’t any disruptions here.”

“And I’d appreciate it if you’d make sure I get to swim in peace like everyone else. Ciao.”

I went out into the courtyard but paused right outside the glass double doors.

Then I lifted my arms to let the air blow through the billowy sleeves of the abaya.

To let Marc see that I was free of him and his interference in my freedom.

? ? ?

Adam had everything prepped for us: three paint trays housing paint and rollers, small brushes lying on top of closed paint cans ready for edge work, and a ladder, its legs split apart, at attention.

Even though I knew I’d be painting, I’d dressed well.

I had on jeans and a white-and-navy-blue-striped button-down shirt with a navy-blue hijab worn trim around my face.

As soon as Adam had seen me at the front door, his eyes had lit up.

As Auntie Nandy climbed the ladder to finish the ceiling edges, her wireless headphones on, and he and I began loading our rollers to finish the walls, he said, “Psst, a question in the series I Need to Know Everything About You, Volume One: Do you always wear blue hijabs? Like a shade of blue?”