Claudette Colvin

She was the original Rosa Parks.

Dubbed the original Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin was arrested in 1955 at the age of 15 for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded segregated bus.  The incident began when the bus she and her friends were on filled up and there was a white passenger standing in the aisle between them.  The driver wanted all of them to move to the back and stand so that the white passenger could sit.

“He wanted me to give up my seat for a white person and I would have done it for an elderly person but this was a young white woman. Three of the students had got up reluctantly and I remained sitting next to the window.” She informed the driver that she had paid her fare and that it was her constitutional right to remain right where she was.  Of course, the driver didn’t see it that way.  He continued driving and when he reached a juncture where a police squad car was waiting, he stopped.  Two officers boarded the bus and asked Claudette why she refused to give up her seat.  She was handcuffed, arrested, and forcibly removed from the bus all the while shouting that her constitutional right was being violated.   She was initially charged with disturbing the peace, violating the segregation laws, and assault.  There was no assault, of course.

Instead of being taken to taken to a juvenile detention centre, she was taken to an adult jail and spent three hours in a small cell with nothing inside of it except a broken sink and a cot without a mattress.  Her mother and pastor bailed her out.  Her mother, well aware of Claudette’ disappointment with the system and all the injustice they were receiving, said to her, “Well, Claudette, you finally did it.” 

After she was released from prison, her family feared that their home would be attacked, so armed with a shotgun, her father kept a vigil just in case the Klu Klux Klan showed up, while members of the community were lookouts.  Claudette was first person arrested for challenging Montgomery’s bus segregation policies and her story made a few local papers but nine months later Rosa Parks did the same thing and her story could worldwide coverage.

Claudette knew Rosa Parks very well. “I became very active in her youth group and we use to meet every Sunday afternoon at the Luther church.  Ms Parks was quiet and very gentle and very soft-spoken, but she would always say we should fight for our freedom.”

Claudette was one of the plantiffs in the court case of Browder v. Gayle during which she described her arrest.  “I kept saying, ‘He has no civil right… this is my constitutional right… you have no right to do this.’ And I just kept blabbing things out, and I never stopped. That was worse than stealing, you know, talking back to a white person.”

On June 5, 1956, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama issued a ruling declaring the state of Alabama and Montgomery’s laws mandating public bus segregation as unconstitutional. State and local officials appealed the case to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court summarily affirmed the District Court decision on November 13, 1956. One month later, the Supreme Court declined to reconsider, and on December 20, 1956, the court ordered Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end bus segregation permanently.

Following her life of activism, Claudette gave birth to a son who was light-skinned, leading many to believe that his father was White.  She left New York in 1958 because finding and keeping work was difficult because of her participation in the Browder v Gayle case which overturned the bus segregation.  After her actions on the bus, she was was branded a troublemaker by many in her community.  She had to drop out of college and struggled in the local environment.

She and her son, Raymond lived with her sister in New York.  She got a job as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home in Manhattan and worked there for 35 years.  In 2004, she retired.  She had a second son who secured an education and became an accountant in Atlanta, where he married and had his own family.  His older brother, Raymond died in 1993 in New York from a heart attack at the age of 37.  Claudette never married.

In 2017, the Montgomery Council passed a resolution for a proclamation honoring Colvin.  March 2 was named Claudette Colvin day in Montgomery, Alabama. Mayor Todd Strange who presented the proclamation said of Colvin, “She was an early foot soldier in our civil rights, and we did not want this opportunity to go by without declaring March 2 as Claudette Colvin Day to thank her for her leadership in the modern day civil rights movement.”  Claudette could not attend the proclamation due to health concerns.

Councilman Larkin’s sister was on the bus in 1955 when Colvin was arrested. A few years ago, Larkin arranged for a streetcar to be named after Colvin.  According to her sister, Gloria Laster, “Had it not been for Claudette Colvin, Aurelia Browder, Susie McDonald, and Mary Louise Smith there may not have been a Thurgood Marshall, a Martin Luther King or a Rosa Parks.”

Notes to Women celebrates this unsung heroine who didn’t get the recognition she deserved for being instrumental in the fight against the Montgomery bus segregation by refusing to get up from her seat which she believed was a violation of her constitutional right.

“I feel very, very proud of what I did. I do feel like what I did was a spark and it caught on.”

“I’m not disappointed. Let the people know Rosa Parks was the right person for the boycott. But also let them know that the attorneys took four other women to the Supreme Court to challenge the law that led to the end of segregation.”

“Whenever people ask me: ‘Why didn’t you get up when the bus driver asked you?’ I say it felt as though Harriet Tubman’s hands were pushing me down on one shoulder and Sojourner Truth’s hands were pushing me down on the other shoulder. I felt inspired by these women because my teacher taught us about them in so much detail.”

 

Sources:  Wikipedia; BBC News

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Rebecca Lee Crumpler

She changed the face of medicine

It was being raised by a kind aunt who spent much of her time caring for sick neighbors and her desire to relieve the suffering of others which led Rebecca Lee Crumpler down the a career path that would earn her the distinction of being the first African American woman physician in the United States.   In doing so, she rose to and overcame the challenge which prevented African Americans from pursuing careers in medicine.

Rebecca, a bright girl, attended the West-Newton English and Classical School in Massachusetts, a prestigious private school as a “special student”.  In 1852 she moved to Charleston, Massachusetts where she worked as a nurse.  In 1860, she took a leap of faith and applied to medical school and was accepted into the New England Female Medical College.

The college was founded by Drs. Israel Tisdale Talbot and Samuel Gregory in 1848 and in 1852,  accepted its first class of women, 12 in number.  However, Rebecca proved that their assertions were false when, in 1864, she earned the distinction being the first African American woman to earn an M.D. degree and  the college’s only African American graduate.  The college closed in 1873.

In 1864, a year after her first husband, Wyatt Lee died, Rebecca married her second husband, Arthur Crumpler.   She began a medical practice in Boston.   In 1865, after the Civil War ended, the couple moved to Richmond, Virginia, where she found “the proper field for real missionary work, and one that would present ample opportunities to become acquainted with the diseases of women and children.”  She joined other black physicians caring for freed slaves who would otherwise would not have access to medical care.  She worked with the Freedmen’s Bureau, missionary and community groups in the face of intense racism which many black physicians experienced while working in the postwar South.

Racism, rude behavior and sexism didn’t diminish Rebecca’s zeal and valiant efforts to treat a “very large number of the indigent and others of different classes in a population of over 30,000 colored”.  She declared that “at the close of my services in that city, I returned to my former home, Boston where I entered into the work with renewed vigor, practicing outside, and receiving children in the house for treatment, regardless, in measure, of remuneration.”

The couple lived in a predominantly African American neighborhood in Beacon Hill where she practiced medicine.  In 1880, she and her husband moved to Hyde Park.  It was believed that at that time she was no longer in active practice but she did write a “A Book of Medical Discourses in Two Parts”,  the first medical publication by an African American.  The book consisted of two parts.  The first part focused on “treating the cause, prevention, and cure of infantile bowel complaints, from birth to the close of the teething period, or after the fifth year.” The second section contained “miscellaneous information concerning the life and growth of beings; the beginning of womanhood; also, the cause, prevention, and cure of many of the most distressing complaints of women, and youth of both sexes.”

Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in Hyde Park on March 9, 1895.  Notes to Women wishes to celebrate this brave woman who had the tenacity to pursue a career in medicine, proving that women can change the face of a field which many wanted to bar her from because of color and gender.  Her passion to help alleviate the suffering of others was what led her to take this path.  Her courage and perseverance in the face of racism, sexism paved the way for many, not only African Americans and women but for those who like her, will seek every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.

Rebecca Lee Crumpler’s story is a reminder to all of us that we should never let anything or anyone prevent us from pursuing our dreams.

Selfish prudence is too often allowed to come between duty and human life – Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Sources:  Changing the Face of Medicine; PBS

Caught Red-handed

Photo Credit: Joy Pixley

Yesterday she saw them, strolling down the Acera Arbolada holding hands. She watched them, kicking herself for believing that he had changed. The last time when she found out that he was seeing another woman on the side, she confronted him.  He begged her to give him a second chance and promised not to cheat again.

Foolishly, she took him back and things were going well until her friend, Melba warned her that he was cheating again. At first, she refused to believe that he’d do that to her again because he’d given her his word. Well, she soon discovered that his word wasn’t worth a darn. Instead of confronting him there and then, she walked away.

And now he was standing here in her doorway acting all innocent.  Well, she didn’t waste any time telling him, “We’re through.”

He looked bewildered.  “But, Baby…”

“Don’t Baby me.  I saw you with another woman walking down the Acera Arbolada.”

“That was my sister.”

“If that’s how you carry on with your sister, then you’re more messed up than I thought.”

“Okay.  She’s my sister’s friend.  I’m sorry…”

“Not as sorry as I am.”

“Baby…”

She slammed the door in his face.

 

200 Words

 

This was written for Sunday Photo Fiction hosted by Susan Spaulding. For more details visit Here.  To read more of the stories based on this week’s prompt, visit Here.

The Worst News

The worst news for a woman to hear is that she will never be able to have children.

Before I watched the episode of Greenleaf where Sophia had a medical emergency which turned out to be Ovarian Torsion, I had no idea that condition even existed.  What is it?  It is a condition which occurs when an ovary twists around the ligaments that hold it in place. This twisting can cut off blood flow to the ovary and Fallopian tube. Ovarian Torsion can cause severe pain and other symptoms because the ovary is not receiving enough blood.

The symptoms are:

• an adnexal or pelvic mass
• nausea
• severe pelvic pain
• vomiting
• fever
• abnormal bleeding

For Sophia, it was a sharp pain in her side.  She first experienced it when she was out jogging then twice on another occasion.  The third time was very severe and she was rushed to the hospital where she was prepped with surgery because she was diagnosed with Ovarian torsion.  While on an anesthetic drug, she was talked about how her boyfriend, Roberto wanted to marry because at lunch he told her that he respected her boundaries and could see a future with her. Before going under, Sophia was dreaming about weddings, houses with mailboxes, puppies, and babies.

In Sophia’s case, the cause of the torsion were two large ovarian cysts interfering with Sophia’s organs. The doctors fixed the problem but couldn’t preserve the ovaries. Sophia will never be able to have kids of her own.  Her mother, Grace had to give her the terrible news which she did.  The scene was heart-wrenching when Sophia broke down and cried.  Grace tried to comfort her telling her that she could have children another way-meaning adoption and said something to the effect that God’s got her back.  Sophia’s response was to wonder why God would let that happen to her.

As with any unexpected and painful life changes, a person’s faith will be tested and Sophia is no different.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.  Will she turn away from God or will she cling to Him?  And how would her condition affect her relationship with Roberto?  Hopefully, he will stand by her.

My heart ached for Sophia, a young, lovely girl whose dreams of becoming a wife and mother one day were crushed.  How many Sophias are out there living with the painful reality that they will never be able to have kids of their own?  What do you say to someone who found out that she can never have children?  You don’t tell that this was God’s will.  Let God tell her that Himself.  Just tell her that you’re sorry and be there for her.  If she gets angry with God, let her.  He can handle it.  Don’t quote scriptures to her, don’t try to explain why this has happened to her.  Don’t be like Job’s friends.  They were more comforting to him when they were silent.  Just be there for her.

Sometimes, the best way to help someone is just to be near them – Veronica Roth, Divergent

Sources:  Medical News Today; We are the 94 Percent

Some Friend

She was walking to work when she spotted Dexter’s car.  He didn’t see her.  Even if he did, what would he do?  She couldn’t imagine him telling the driver to stop so that he could talk to her.  Perhaps if Meghan was with her, he would.  It was a slap in the face when they went out for dinner one night, he was a little too attentive to her friend.  And what made it worse was Meghan flirted with him.  Their friendship cooled considerably after that.  It hurt knowing that the two people she cared for and trusted the most were seeing each other.

I have to move on, she thought.  I have to get over him.  There were other men out there.  She just had to figure out where to meet them.  Or maybe she should wait on the Lord as her mother advised her to do.  Maybe she should just enjoy being single and when the time was right for her to meet someone, it would happen.  She could do other things in the meantime like travel, enroll in an arts or crafts class, take up a new hobby or volunteer.  The possibilities were endless.

She was fine with being single.  And it didn’t matter that the man she still carried a torch for had just gone by in his chauffeur driven car.  It would be weeks before she saw him again.  She was fine with that.  Her pace quickened.  She had a busy day ahead of her and was determined not to let anything distract her.  As she was nearing the office building, her cell rang.  She fished inside her bag for it.  When she saw the number on the display, her heart skipped a beat.  It was him.  She answered.  “Hello.”

“Hello, Lonette.  Hope I’m not calling you at a bad time.”

“Actually, I’m my way to work.”

“Sorry.  I won’t keep you long.  I was wondering if you’d have lunch with me today.”

She considered that for a moment.  Why did he want to have lunch with her?  Did it have something to do with Meghan?  The last thing she needed was to sit there and listen to him talk about her former friend.  Did Meghan ask him to invite her to lunch so that he could convince her to patch things up with her?  “I can’t,” she said.  “It’s going to be a busy day for me.”

“How about dinner this evening?”

“Sorry, that’s out too.”

“What about tomorrow?  Are you free for either lunch or dinner?”

“No.”

“Are you giving me the brush off, Lonette?”

“No, I’m not,” she protested quickly, too quickly.

“Yes, you are.  Is it because of Meghan?”

“I was wondering when we were going to get around to talking about her.”

“You know there’s nothing going on between us.”

“Really?  Well, that’s not what I heard.”

“Whatever you heard, it isn’t true.  I’m not interested in Meghan.  I never was.”

“When we went out for dinner, you didn’t act like you weren’t interested.”

“I know how it might have looked to you, but I swear to you that I was just trying to be nice to her for your sake.”

“What do you mean that you were just trying to be nice to her?”

He sighed.  “I don’t how to say this so I’ll just come right out and say it.  I don’t like Meghan.  I tried to get along with her for your sake and that’s why I was trying to be nice to her when the three of us were together.  I didn’t expect her to flirt with me.  I’m sorry about that.”

Lonette was inside the lobby now.  She didn’t go into the elevator but went into the sitting area.  She sat down on one of the plush leather chairs.  “Someone said that they saw you with her a couple of weeks ago.”

“I was at The Keg waiting for a client when she came over.  She sat down at the table.  I didn’t want to be rude or draw attention so I told her as politely as I could to leave.  She refused to budge until my client joined us.   She had no choice but to leave but before she did, she said that she couldn’t understand how I could be attracted to you.  She said that was why she liked being friends with you.  She didn’t have to worry about high quality men liking you instead of her.  That’s the woman you thought was your friend.  If you don’t believe me, I can give you the number of my client.”

Lonette sighed.  “No, that won’t be necessary.  I still can’t have lunch with you but I’m free for dinner tonight.”

“Good.  I’ll pick you up at seven.  I can’t wait to see you, Lonette.”

“I can’t wait to see you too.”  She rang off and remained sitting there for a few minutes.  What Meghan said stung.  She had no idea that was how she felt about her.  No wonder she didn’t have a problem flirting with Dexter.  She knew I was crazy about him and she still flirted with him.  Some friend she turned out to be.  And to think I almost threw away my chance for happiness because of her.  Furious, she deleted Meghan’s number from her cell before getting up and hurrying to the elevator.

Free Again

Myra was waiting outside her building for a taxi when she saw Cody coming down the sidewalk.  She hadn’t seen him since the breakup.  He looked so good in that uniform.  Nothing had changed.  She was still crazy about him.  Her heart began to pound as he walked over to her.  Although she was in heels, he still towered over her.  His eyes traveled slowly over her and then back to her face.  She could see the admiration and desire in them.  “You look beautiful,” he said quietly.

“Thank you.”  She knew she sounded a little breathless but she couldn’t help it.  He had that effect on her.  “How have you been?”

“Busy,” he replied.  “I just finished my shift and was on my way home.  What about you?”

“I’ve been busy too.”

“You’re all dressed up.  Do you have a date?”

“Yes.”

“Who is he?”

“A friend of a friend.”

“How long have you been going out with him?”

“A couple of weeks now.”

“It kills me that you’re with another guy, Myra.”

She swallowed hard.  “You’re engaged, remember?”

“I know,” he muttered tightly.  “But that doesn’t change the way I feel about you.  I miss you.  I miss us.”

She closed her eyes.  “Cody…”

Without warning, Cody cupped her face between his hands and his mouth sought hers.  Unable to help herself, she kissed him back.  Passersby glanced at them.  A cop kissing a civilian–it wasn’t something you would normally see on any given day, but the two of them were oblivious to the attention they were drawing.

For several minutes, they exchanged passionate kisses filled with intense longing before she pulled away.  When he would have reached for her, she moved away.  “We can’t do this,” she cried.  “You have a fiancee and I have to move on.”  Just then, her taxi pulled up.  “Goodbye, Cody.  Take care of yourself.”  She hurried to the taxi, trying to keep it together.  The last thing she wanted was to break down in front of him.  She opened the door and got in.

She couldn’t bring herself to look at him as the taxi drove away.  She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.  I have to move on.  I have to get him out of my system.  We have separate lives now.  His life is with Emilia and mine may be with Delmar, if things work between us. Delmar is a great guy but…She closed her eyes.  He’s not Cody.  No man will ever be Cody.

Cody watched the taxi drive away, his face flushed before he turned and headed in the opposite direction.  He got into the parked squad car and sat there for several minutes, his hands gripping the steering wheel.  All sorts of emotions churned inside him–jealousy, desire and anguish.  On top of that he was tired from a long day but he knew that trying to relax when he got home was out of the question.  All he could think about was Myra and that she was in another relationship.  What did you expect, he chided himself.  That she would put her life on hold for you?

A couple of years had gone by since Myra broke up with him but nothing had changed where his feelings for her were concerned.  He was still madly in love with her.   When she broke up with him he was devastated.  He felt like a jerk for not telling her that he was engaged before they became involved but he was afraid of losing her.  Which is what ended up happening anyway.  He shook his head now.  What a royal mess of things he had made. What on earth was he going to do now?  And then it dawned on him that marrying Emilia would be a huge mistake.   Emilia deserved to spend the rest of her life with a man who loved her, not someone else.

He was going to stop by her place later and break the news.  He wasn’t looking forward to it.  She was an amazing woman.  Any guy would be lucky to have her.  I’m just not the guy for her.  He started the engine and pulled away.  Ten minutes later as he pulling into his neighborhood, he noticed the driver in front of him was driving erratically.  His shift had ended fifteen minutes ago but he couldn’t let this go without further investigation.  He pulled the car over and approached it with caution.

Myra let herself into her apartment.  It had been a pleasant evening.  Dinner and dancing but at the end of it she knew that she couldn’t continue seeing Delmar.  After she told him that it wouldn’t work out between them, she hailed a taxi outside of the restaurant and came straight home.  She knew she had done the right thing in breaking up with him.  He deserved better.  All through dinner she had been distracted, thinking about Cody and the kiss.  Her face felt hot at the memory.

Maybe the best thing to do was to put dating on hold for now–at least until she had gotten over Cody.  In the meantime she would travel, find a new hobby and maybe volunteer.  Her mind was whirling with all these thoughts and ideas which sounded great but were they practical?  A nice hot shower and some hot chocolate were exactly what she needed right now.

She was about to go to bed when the doorbell rang.  Who on earth could be stopping by at this late hour?  Shaking her head, she went to find out and her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was Cody.  She opened the door.  “It’s late,” she said.  She couldn’t prevent her eyes from traveling over his tall frame clad in the white shirt and jeans.  She wanted to reach up and brush the hair back from his forehead.

“I know it’s late,” he replied, his expression tense.  “And I’m sorry for stopping by uninvited but I had to see you.”

“Come in.”

“I have something very important to tell you.”

“It must be for you to come here at this late hour.”

“I broke off my engagement.”

Myra’s eyes widened.  “Really?” she exclaimed.  “Why did you do that?”

His eyes darkened on her face.  “I think you know why, Myra.”

“Why don’t you spell it out for me so that there’s no room for any misunderstanding.”

“I can’t marry Emilia when I’m still in love with you.  It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

“So, you’re no longer engaged.”

“No.  I’m a free man now and I’m yours if you still want me.”

They were moving closer to each other until they were standing inches apart.  “I still want you,” she murmured.  “I never stopped.”

“Even when you were with him?”

“Yes, even then.”

“So, are you still going to see him?”

“No.  I broke up with him.”

“So, you’re a free woman.”

“Yes and yours if you still want me.”

His response was to pull her roughly in his arms, making her catch her breath.  “I’ve never stopped wanting you,” he muttered thickly before he kissed her.

He ended up spending the night and two years later, they got married.

If Two People Are Meant To Be Together, Eventually They’ll Find Their Way Back.

Source:  The Balance Careers; Heartfelt Quotes

 

Harlow’s High-class Woman

He watched her with her friends. They were laughing and having lunch at a swanky restaurant.  He was on his way to back to the youth shelter following his lunch break.  He stood there to see if she would notice him.  She suddenly turned and saw him.  The smile vanished from her face.  Their eyes met and held for several minutes before she turned away.  Her friends had noticed him too and they were probably asking who he was but she shrugged.  Soon they were talking and laughing again as before.

Hurt and angry, he walked away.  Last night she was all over him but now that she was with her friends, she acted like she didn’t even know him.  It served him right for getting involved with a high-class woman.

They met a couple of months ago at a charitable event.  She showed up alone wearing a black sequenced evening dress which flattered her gorgeous figure.  He went up to her and at first she looked a bit put off but by the end of the night, she had warmed up to him.  The following night they went for dinner to an Italian restaurant and over pasta and wine, they got to know each other.  He learned that she was an only child who grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and went to ivy league schools.  She worked as a Brand Communications Manager at a Telecommunications company.  The job paid extremely well and she loved it.

After dinner, they went to her place, a luxurious penthouse overlooking Central Park for a nightcap.   He stood behind her as they looked out the window.   Unable to resist, he pulled her against him and buried his face in her hair.  It and she smelled really good.  She didn’t pull away.  Encouraged, he turned her around and cupping her face between his hands, he lowered his head and kissed her.  Her eager response excited him and his mouth hungrily devoured hers, eliciting a moan from her.  As they exchanged kisses, he picked her up and carried her over to the sofa where they ended up making love.  He spent the night and left the next morning after breakfast.

They saw each other regularly after that night but they never went to the places she and her friends went to and he never met any of them.  She met his friends.  His best friend, Joe told him, “She’s different from the women you usually go out with.  She’s classy.”

There were times when he wondered why she was going out with him.  He didn’t think he was the kind of guy she would be interested in.  Granted, they were great together in bed but he wanted more than just a physical relationship with her.  Last night when they were at his place, munching on Nachos while watching Sunday Night Football, he realized that he had fallen in love with her.  He wanted to tell her but something held him.  Was it fear, doubt?  He still wasn’t sure how she felt about him and it bothered him that she hadn’t introduced him to any of her friends.  Was she afraid of what they would think?

It was clear from her behavior just now that she was ashamed of him.  Why else wouldn’t she invite him to join the group?  He had planned to take her skating at Wollman Rink and afterwards, huddle together as they sipped hot chocolate.  Well, he wasn’t going to bother.  Instead, he would watch Breaking Bad.  What a dismal prospect but it was better than nothing.   When he got back to the shelter, he pushed all thoughts of her out of his mind and got busy.

It was after seven that evening when he finally let himself into his apartment.  He was hungry but was too lazy to cook so he ordered pizza.  After taking a quick shower, he turned on the television.  The doorbell rang.  Thinking it was the pizza delivery guy, he grabbed his wallet.  He peered through the keyhole and stiffened when he saw her standing there.  Taking a deep breath, he opened the door, his expression guarded.  He saw her eyes travel over his tee shirt and jeans. “I wasn’t expecting company,” he said.  “I was planning on having a quiet evening.”

“May I come in?”

“Sure.”  He stepped aside so that she could enter.  After closing the door, he leaned against it, arms folded.  “So, what brings you over here?”

“I wanted to see you.”

“You saw me earlier today when you were with your friends.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry that your friends saw me or sorry that you didn’t introduce me to them?”

“Harlow, I haven’t been completely honest with you.”

“I’m listening.”

“I didn’t tell you about Malik.”

His expression darkened.  “Who the devil is Malik?”

“He’s the guy I was dating when you and I met.  The friends you saw me with know him.  I didn’t want them to know about you.  That’s why I didn’t introduce you to them.  I didn’t want them to say anything to Malik before I got a chance to speak to him.”

“Are you here to break up with me, Lorraine?”

“No!” she cried.  “Breaking up with you is the last thing I want to do.”

“What about Malik?”

“I broke up with him.”

“You did?”

“Yes.  I couldn’t continue dating him when I’m in love with you.  It wouldn’t be fair to him and–” the rest of her words were smothered under his lips.  She put her arms around his neck and pressed against him.

Several minutes later, he raised his head, his face flushed, to gaze down at her.  “Today when you looked at me and then turned away, I was hurt.  I thought that it was because you were embarrassed.  You didn’t want your friends to know about me.”

“Do you know what they said when they saw you?  They said, ‘whoever that guy is, he’s real cute.’  And I agreed with them.  And one of them said, ‘it’s too bad you’re already in a relationship.'”

“So, you think I’m real cute?”

“Yes.”  She reached up and to pull his head down towards hers when the doorbell rang.

“It’s the pizza I ordered.”

“What kind did you order?”

“The Sicilian.”

“Hmmm.  My favorite.  I’ll go rustle up a salad to go with it.”  She reached up and kissed him before heading for the kitchen.

He watched her go, grinning.  This night had turned out better than he had planned.  And it was the first of many nights together for the rest of their lives.

 

Sources: Narcity;  Central Park