Imagining Us

Ch. 52- Think About It

Two days after she left Porte's apartment, Esi was recapping her week to her brother. And when he pressed her about Porte this time, she may have let it slip that she felt 'a singular fluttering' in her belly when she was around him.

That was the most that she would tell him.

It's giving growth, she thought to herself.

A day after that, she felt the first itch in her throat and began to self-medicate and use all sorts of natural preventative measures.

The following day, she knew that her traitorous roommate had let her mother in their apartment because she was being prodded and constantly fed by a woman with a suddenly heightened Trinidadian accent. There was constant berating of her not taking care of herself properly, etc. etc.

She didn't have the energy to fight with Nicola Solomon.

Esi knew that the flu had gotten to her when her one unstuffed nostril picked up a whiff of warm bergamot. She barely made out the large hand resting a cool washcloth across her head. Barely recognized the tuft of blonde hair from the head that was leaning against the side of her bed.

Barely felt the brush of lips across her cheek, but she knew that she'd somehow mustered enough energy to smile when she felt it.

* * *

"How much longer are you going to be mad at me?"

Esi was trying to make her way across campus to meet with Dr. Carlton to initiate the forming of her thesis committee since her thesis proposal was approved last semester.

How Magdalena had managed to track her exact location was a mystery!

She turned to her friend. "How did you find me?"

Lena held up her phone. "Find my friends."

"I'm pretty sure I'd disabled that app."

"Did you?" Lena asked cheekily.

"Lena..." Esi chided. "Do you realize how creepy that is?"

Lena slung arm around Esi's shoulder-or tried to. She was a head shorter than Esi.

Esi's mouth twitched as she realized how much Porte would've dwarfed her friend.

Porte.

Just the thought of his name scrambled her mind.

They hadn't spoken about what she'd said that night-the door that she'd nudged open. The opportunity that she was so certain he wouldn't pass up.

Truthfully, she wasn't even sure that he remembered-he hadn't mentioned anything about it.

She should've felt relief. It was kind of what she wanted. So why did she feel that constant stab of disappointment ?

Lena tilted her head up at Esi, her silk pressed, shoulder length hair swishing from the action.

Esi saw something glinting around her friend's neck-her wedding ring, which usually hung on a chain between her breasts, had slipped out. It was interesting how Lena wanted to speak about Esi's problems but never hers. She was sure that her friend still carried a torch for her husband.

"What're you thinking about?" Her friend asked. "You went from mild irritation to completely sad."

Esi flicked her eyes at her friend. "The irritation was not mild...I can't believe you let them into our apartment.

"It's been over two weeks, Esi. you know how your mom is," Lena muttered. "I can't say no to her-"

"You mean you can't say no to her food."