Destiny Mine

by Nana Prah

  She should be talking into his ear as he leaned down, not Yoku’s. Her wide smile should be directed up at him. Sliding out of the booth so he could interrupt, he stopped mid-motion. Why would you do that? You don’t believe in marriage? But she isn’t allowed to dance with a man who has the potential to give her what she needs?

  Osei clapped a hand on his shoulder, jarring him back to his friends. “What’s the story with Esi, Chale?”

  “We’re friends,” he said.

  Ishak shook his head. “Not buying it. You’ve never had a female friend in your life. You sleep with women. That’s it.”

  Osei leaned forward. “Why are you calling her a friend? Is she married, and you want to keep the affair secret?”

  Adam took a swig of his beer. “She’s not married.”

  “Then what is it? You look at her as if…as if…help me out here, Osei,” Ishak said.

  Osei rubbed his chin. “As if he likes the woman.”

  Adam choked on his drink. He grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped the tears from his eyes. “I do not like her.” He struggled to get out so he could clear the air. “Wait I take it back, I do like her. Very much, but not in the way you’re insinuating.” His gaze moved to Esi and Yoku. Yoku said something to make her laugh. Adam’s hand curled into a fist.

  Ishak pointed at his hand. “You see that, Osei?”

  “As plain as day,” Osei responded.

  “What are you talking about?” He unclenched his fist.

  “You’re jealous.”

  Adam snorted. His friend was way off base. Not since Lynette had he been jealous. He’d gotten over that dangerous emotion a long time ago.

  Ishak stood. “Okay. Since she’s your friend, you won’t mind if I dance a song with her, too. I’m going to request an old American slow jam. Holding her in my arms will be a treat. Your friend has a luscious body.”

  Adam’s eyes were slits as he sprang out of the seat. “Sit down, Ishak.”

  Osei rushed out of the booth to stand between the two men. “We get it. You like her. It’s not a crime you know.”

  Ishak laughed. “You would know, being superintendent of the police.”

  Osei clapped Adam on the back. “I’m positive that liking a female won’t get you locked up. Depending on the female, it may get you shot though.”

  With a deep breath, Adam sat as Ishak returned to his seat. He didn’t realize the song had ended until Esi and Yoku slid into the booth.

  Osei hitched a thumb over his shoulder “I’ve seen a woman I want to get to know better. I’ll be back, but not too soon.”

  Esi’s mouth fell open. “Isn’t he engaged?”

  Yoku chuckled. “Osei? Absolutely not. He’s the one who gives Adam a run for his money.”

  Adam avoided meeting her eyes. Then he remembered he wasn’t a coward. He raised his gaze to hers and winced at her death-to-Adam expression.

  She moved to the other side of the booth next to Ishak. Adam refrained from pulling her back over to his side. Her voice drifted to him. “Ishak, are you Muslim by any chance?”

  “My father was. That’s where I got my name, but my mother raised me as a Christian.”

  Preventing her from asking Yoku about his sexual orientation, Adam interrupted. “Do you want to dance Esi?”

  She slumped back in her seat. Her lips curled into a sweet grin as she said, “I don’t dance.”

  His friends chuckled. Frustrating him had to be her specialty. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the dance floor. He moved close and circled his arms around her waist, attempting to sway her to the slow “Kwabena Kwabena” song. She stood still with her hands at her sides.

  “I’m sorry, I lied,” he said over the loud music.

  “Why did you do it?”

  “I don’t know.” Another lie told. He wasn’t ready to admit he’d been jealous. The thought of it grated on his nerves. She shouldn’t be getting to him like this.

  “I don’t appreciate people lying to me, Quarshie.”

  “I hear. I won’t lie again.” He tried to sway her body, uncomfortable with being exposed under her intense scrutiny. It was worth it when she slid her arms up his chest, clasping them behind his neck. He pulled her closer until her body settled flush against his. He inhaled her sweet vanilla scent. “You look wonderful tonight.”

  She moved back, but didn’t get far as he held her tight. No woman had ever felt so good in his arms.

  She squeezed his shoulder. “Thank you.”

  He was sure she could feel his stirring erection. But unlike the other night, she didn’t pull away. Neither did she grind herself into him like he wanted. Instead of questioning the rightness of holding her, he relaxed and enjoyed it.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Adam would drive her nuts. Through the course of one night, he’d rescued her, lied, and showed her a great time. The best part had been seeing him interact with his friends, who she liked a lot. The people he hung out with said a lot about him. Why hadn’t the concept occurred to her? Jason had to be one of the best guys she knew. He wouldn’t hang out with a bad person. Would he?

  “Ora, the man is amazing. But horrible. Wait, he’s horribly amazing. Oh my goodness.” She waved her hands around her head. “He has me all messed up.”

  “Your date with Alice’s cousin turned out to be good?”

  Esi flopped back on Ora’s couch the next Sunday afternoon. “Absolutely not. His official job position is the mayor of Boredom City.” She went on to tell her about the disastrous date and the outing with Adam.

  “Hmm.” Ora reached for a throw pillow and stuffed it behind her back.

  “What does that mean?”

  “You like him.” She singsonged.

  Indignant denial rose up, dying down seconds later. She needed to face the truth so her cousin could help her get out of this mess. “He’s different from what I thought. Being friends is not helping. I keep seeing facets of his personality that impress me. He’s so much fun to be around, and he’s smart. He was third in his medical school class.”

  “You were at a bar. How did that come up?”

  Esi tapped her chin as she thought. “I’m not sure. After our one and only dance, I was a little out of it.”

  Ora laughed. “It was that good?”

  “He could have stripped me naked on the dance floor and had his way with me.” She slunk down off the couch onto the floor and whined, “What am I going to do? He claims he doesn’t want a commitment from any woman. I believe him.”

  “He’s willing to remain friends with you.”

  A harrumph sounded in her throat. “I’m sure it’s part of his game. He couldn’t get me any other way so he’s trying to sneak in under my defenses by showing me his good qualities. He has a whole lot of good qualities. It’s so annoying.”

  Ora rubbed her huge belly. “There are three things you could do.”

  “What are they?”

  “First, you could break off your friendship.”

  “But I like hanging out with him. As infuriating as he is, he makes me laugh, and he’s fascinating to talk to.”

  “Okay, so it looks like option one is out.” Ora held up a second finger. “Then you can remain friends and be sexually frustrated until you find someone to release your energy on.”

  Esi knew what was coming next, but she wanted to hear her cousin say it. “The third option?”

  “You sleep with him.”

  Esi knelt in front of Ora so she could look her in the eyes. “As a viable solution, you’re saying I should have sex with him? He’ll most likely leave me immediately after he has an orgasm. Proceeding to throw me out of his bed and his life. Ripping my heart out of my chest in the process.”

  “That’s all I have for you.”

  She refrained from rolling all over the floor. “Don’t you have a fourth option? Like an Adamectomy?”

  “A what?”

  She tapped the edge of her hand against her head, mimicking a knife. “You k
now, where you remove the attraction, but keep the friendship.”

  “Sorry, but not even a remote possibility.”

  “Why don’t you make the choice for me?”

  Ora crossed her arms over her chest. “Would you listen?”

  “If I agreed with it, sure. What would you do Ora?”

  She reached for her glass of water on the side table and drank half of it. “You know the old Ora would run for the hills, never looking back.”

  “Just like you first did with Jason in South Africa.”

  “And after we initially got involved. In hindsight, I know my behavior was dumb. My heart told me he was meant for me. I should have followed it, but I let fear paralyze me.”

  “And you were stubborn. Getting you to see the truth was worse than dealing with a spoiled two-year-old.” Esi shook her head.

  “Do you want my help or not?” Ora said with a huff.

  “Well it was.”

  Ora ignored the comment. “If I were you—post-therapy days, of course—I would go for it.”

  “Ora!” she shrieked.

  “You asked.”

  “But…but….” She couldn’t keep her eyes from shifting all over the room as she attempted to gather her thoughts.

  “When was the last time you had sex?”

  She didn’t have to think about it. “More than two years ago.”

  “I think you’re way past due. Utilize him. After all, he does have the reputation of a stud. Get him out of your system. Why not?”

  She pointed at her cousin’s belly. “It’s the babies talking. They’re making you horny. Making you give outrageous advice. Sensible Ora would never say that.”

  “I’ve learned a lot since being with Jason. Such as…life is short; you have to do what makes your soul happy.”

  “What happens when he leaves me?”

  “Hopefully the rumors about him are true, and you’ll have some great memories.”

  Esi shook her head. “I can’t believe you.” She wouldn’t admit Ora had expressed the thoughts which had been running through her mind as of late.

  After a few minutes contemplating the matter, she came to a firm decision. “Set me up with someone you think I’ll get along with.”

  Ora’s eyes went wide. “After your encounter last night and the disaster with Kwesi? No thank you.”

  “This time, I’m asking you. I have a feeling things will go better with a new guy. I have to meet someone. I can’t sleep with Adam. I refuse.”

  Ora puckered her lips as she thought. “Okay. I have someone in mind. When would you like to meet him?”

  “That was fast. What happened to no way?”

  “You asked. And, besides, you know I can’t refuse a setup.”

  Esi chuckled. “How about Sunday for lunch?”

  “I’ll give him your number so you can set it up.”

  “Remember to tell him we’re only going for a date, not running off to get married. If he says ‘I love you’ one time, I’ll stomp on his foot and leave him where he stands.”

  Ora laughed. “I’m so glad I’m no longer in the dating scene.”

  She hoped one day soon she’d be able to say the same thing.

  ***

  The man is a genius in the operating room. Esi watched Adam’s muscles bunch under the light blue scrubs. Even wearing a mask, his good looks couldn’t be hidden. His obsidian eyes crinkled a little bit at the corners—showing how much he loved to laugh.

  The patient he was working on had been transferred from a maternity home at two in the morning. After laboring for thirty hours with no progression, the midwife there had decided to send the woman away for emergency care. She didn’t understand why it took some midwives so long to get the help they weren’t able to provide. So many lives could be saved with early referrals.

  When the exhausted, pain-ridden patient had arrived, the abnormally low fetal heart rate had indicated the baby’s distress. She had called Adam.

  Now, he worked to save both the mother and the baby through a Caesarean section.

  Esi focused on the surgery, ensuring she’d be ready to catch the baby when he pulled it out. After cutting through the uterus, he grabbed the child with one hand while rubbing the rim of the uterine incision with the other so he could ease the baby out without having to extend the cut.

  When the newborn was out, Esi held the child in a receiving blanket as a scrub nurse clamped the umbilical cord. Adam cut the cord. She ran to the heated resuscitation table. The newborn’s blue skin caused by his lack of breathing didn’t worry her. The child had a chance at survival. Taking a suction bulb, she squeezed the air out of it before suctioning out the mouth and then the nose. Her own breath stopped when the baby refused to breath. She took the pediatric Ambu-bag and pumped air into the baby, watching the chest rise and fall with each squeeze of the bag.

  An inordinate amount of time ticked by as she artificially breathed for the baby. The room’s icy air conditioning didn’t stop the sweat from running down her back.

  Breathe. You can do it. Breathe.

  Her knees weakened with gratitude when the child opened his mouth and let out a wail. As she rubbed the baby dry, color returned to the skin, even though his tiny fingers and toes remained blue.

  Before re-wrapping the infant in a fresh cord cloth, she went to the head of the operating table where the mother lay trying to see what was happening. Esi exposed the baby and asked the mother the sex—hospital policy to be sure she could correctly identify the child.

  “It’s a boy,” The mother cried when she saw her child was alive and well.

  Taking the newborn back to the warmer, Esi assessed his circulation before weighing and measuring him. A Vitamin K injection had him wailing again as she wrapped him in a fresh receiving blanket and laid him down to sleep. It wasn’t standard procedure, but Esi waited in the theatre with the baby until the completion of the surgery. She found it helped to relieve the mother’s anxiety.

  When Adam finished the last stitch, he glanced up at her. His wink caused her stomach to flip.

  The scrub nurse removed the tray and began cleaning the patient’s sutured abdomen.

  The client’s eyes were closed. During the whole procedure, Esi had observed her staring at her baby. The monitor emitted a loud shriek. The nurse anesthetist shook her, calling her name. No response. Placing his fingers on the patient’s carotid artery, he checked her for a pulse while also watching for respirations.

  Adam rushed to the head of the table. Her heart dropped to her feet as she gave a cursory glance to the sleeping baby then rushed to the operating table.

  “No breathing, no pulse,” The nurse anesthetist proclaimed.

  Esi grabbed the adult Ambu-bag and pumped air into the woman’s lungs as the anesthetist set up the defibrillator. Adam’s foot found the pedal to lower the surgical table and started compressions. Thirty chest compressions and two breath cycles.

  “Draw up one milligram IV epinephrine.” Adam ordered—the drug would help with reviving the woman’s heart.

  The rotation nurse prepared the drug. Adam moved out of the way as the anesthetist placed the sticky pads of the defibrillator on the woman’s exposed chest and set the machine to read.

  Sweat soaked through Adam’s cap and uniform as he studied the machine to see if they would have to shock the heart back into a normal rhythm.

  You have a beautiful baby boy to raise. Wake up! Esi knew she wasn’t God, but she refused to let this woman die. Not after successfully resuscitating her child. It was unfathomable that she’d saved one just to let the other one die. No.

  The few seconds the machine took to register the heart’s activity seemed like hours. The rhythmic beeping and waves on the screen had Esi blinking a few times to make sure it was real. A few seconds later, the patient gasped with an inhale. The atmosphere of the room changed abruptly to relief. She turned the woman’s head to the side in case she vomited.

  Her gaze clashed with Adam’s, and her h
eart filled with an emotion she refused to name.

  As a team, they’d helped save two lives.

  She squatted beside the patient to look into her eyes as she spoke soothing words of reassurance. Knowing the woman would be more concerned about her newborn than her own health, she said, “Your baby is fine. He’s sleeping peacefully, waiting for you to hold him. I’ll bring him over for you to see.”

  The woman nodded.

  Esi picked up the little bundle and carried him to his mother. Her trembling hand reached out and stroked his cheek, whispering something in a Ghanaian language Esi wasn’t familiar with.

  When the stretcher was rolled in to take the patient to the recovery ward, Esi moved away.

  Laying the baby in his bassinet, she rolled him to the labor ward where she would watch him until the mother was transferred to the maternity ward.

  When she reached her destination, she cradled the infant in her arms. Fatigue settled over her as she plopped down into a seat. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of the tragedy that could have happened in the operating room.

  Chapter Sixteen

  On Thursday—her first day off after the week from hell—Esi reached out a hand to pick up her phone. Her hazy eyes read the name on the screen before pressing the answer button. “What, Quarshie?”

  “You sound sexy when you’ve just woken up.”

  “What time is it?”

  “Two in the afternoon. Are you up for car shopping today? My friend came through. There are a couple of vehicles in your price range.”

  “What time?”

  “Let’s say five. I’ll come pick you up.”

  “Not necessary. I can meet you at the hospital.” No need for him to fight traffic to get to her after working his day shift.