Woman of an Uncertain Age by Priya Malhotra

Author:Priya Malhotra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: arranged marriage, romance books, interfaith marriage books, mother daughter relationships, mother daughter books, south asian women, multicultural fiction, New York City
Publisher: Bedazzled Ink Publishing
Published: 2022-09-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

IT WAS JUST after six in the morning when Naina woke up, freezing from the chilly temperature in the room. She wrapped the sheet around her body as she dreamily looked around, finding it odd to be able to see so clearly; through the tall glass windows near her, the sun was peeping out of a cloudy sky. Turning to the left, she saw skyscrapers looking small and unimpressive reflected in the red-edged mirror placed high on a wall, and, as she turned her eyes farther to the left, she was struck by a hallucinogenic burst of colors from what looked to be a photograph by Jeremy Blake. Where was she? The objects continued to look foreign: pictures of a gray-haired white couple in golf gear on a frosted glass shelf, the ebony-colored platform bed she was lying on, and books on hedge funds and Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead stacked against the wall, in mid-air, without any seeming support.

It was only when she saw her dress littered across the black floor, covering one cup of her bra, that, like sand moving grain by grain in an hourglass, awareness of where she was came to her. She saw John, asleep on his back, with fine dark hair curling on his exposed chest, a slight stubble starting under his chin, and his bow-shaped mouth slightly open, making him appear somewhat childlike. The memory of what had happened the previous night ran through her mind as if they were frames from a surreal footage.

Naina remained motionless for a while, cradling her head in her arms as the images kept repeating themselves in her head, faster and faster, becoming less and less surreal. When the image of her taking his penis in her mouth flashed in her mind, she jumped out of the bed, seized by shock and disbelief. This was the only other man she had slept with besides Harish. Oh my God. With her eyes bulging, she stared down at her body, buck naked and alien, as if it belonged to someone else. She patted it in in several places just to make sure she wasn’t out of her mind or dreaming. Then she picked up her clothes from the floor and hurriedly dressed herself.

John stirred, stretched his arms above him, and looked at her, his eyes half open. He seemed nothing more than a stranger. Speaking to her from the faraway country he belonged to. “Hey Nona, what’s the matter?”

She didn’t answer, desperately trying to contain her emotions from spilling over. Nona, he had called her. Nona. She was outraged. Did he sleep with so many women that he couldn’t even get their names right? Was she just another body amid the thousands in New York? She yanked the clasp of her choker into the loop.

“Is everything ok?” John asked, now yawning. “I thought we could go grab breakfast. You must be hungry.”

“No,” she heard herself snap. “I . . . I have to go.”

“What? Now? Why? Is everything okay?”

NAINA RUSHED OUT of John’s apartment, slamming the door behind her.

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