Clash Of Cultures

39. Moment In Time

Noor

Mom knocked on my bedroom door and called out, "Noor, how much longer? We don't want to be late to your award ceremony"

"Couple of more minutes Mama, almost done...", I replied to her.

I had been fully dressed for the last 10 minutes but couldn't bring myself to move from in front of the full length mirror in my room. I looked at my reflection again. Kimberly had said that most people wear a suit or a dress at the awards ceremony. So I had decided to wear a dark grey suit with a light pink silk shirt that went well with my pink sapphire stud earrings. I had blow dried my hair, which I almost never did, put on lipstick and added some blush to my cheeks.

The woman in the mirror looked good, pretty even. Her fiancé who would also be at the awards ceremony would probably agree.

But he was not the one she had hoped would notice her that day. There was another man who she could not stop thinking about. A man who had retreated from her life abruptly leaving a gaping hole that nothing could fill. Not a busy call schedule, not a house full of family, and certainly not an imminent wedding.

The knock on the door snapped me out of my trance.

"Coming...", I called out before my mom could scold me again.

I took a tissue and wiped off my lipstick and instead applied my usual lip gloss and and dusted off the blush from my cheeks as much as I could.

What was I thinking putting on makeup for a man? Any man, really!

When I finally stepped out in to the living room, my mom was alone there. She had already sent my brother and father downstairs and had asked them to wait for us in the lobby.

"Mama sorry to keep you waiting. I couldn't decide what to wear"

"That's ok, just didn't want to get late. Omar is meeting us there. He texted your dad that he had already left his hotel"

Omar was staying at a nearby hotel in downtown Chicago for a couple of days. Our wedding was only a few days away and since Chicago had more desi food and shopping venues than anywhere in Wisconsin, my parents had insisted that we keep the ceremony in Chicago and had invited Omar to come down to pick out his traditional wedding clothes.

"Ok...good...let's go then", I said, picking up my bag and white coat. Award or no award, I was still on Gen Peds service today after the ceremony.

Before I could walk towards the door, however, my mom placed a hand on my shoulder and stopped me, "We will...but before we do...Noor, is everything ok with you? You've been walking around like you're lost somewhere and you look so exhausted all the time. Brides are supposed to be happy and excited!"

I looked at my mom and took a deep breath. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't tell anyone the truth for that matter. So instead I nodded and said, "I am fine...its just been so busy at work. I promise to try and focus more on the wedding now"

I stepped out of the apartment and headed towards the elevator before my mom had a chance to ask me any more questions. She had not looked totally convinced by my reply, but there was nothing more I could do. I was going to be meeting Omar soon, and spend at least two evenings with him. That should light the sparks, or whatever is expected to happen between two people when they are about to get married. At the very least it should get my mind off Salman.

When we reached the hospital we took our seats in the large auditorium as it filled with faculty, resident's and their families as well as other staff. Omar joined us soon after and took a seat next to me.