Miranda by Sheila Sheeran Read Free Book Online

seemed of Lladro porcelain. Her silhouette did not reflect what must have been her age, about fifty-five, and I had her right in front of me, standing at the doorway to the room contemplating the scene: her husband sharing a hospital bed with a stranger.
    My heart beat so rapidly that if it were connected to the monitors that were connected to Norman during the first part of his hospital stay, the alarms would have startled the nursing personnel. I didn’t know what to do. While seconds passed, I hesitated.
    I got up, but I remained seated on the bed.
    “Wow, Norman, you really are doing much better.” Oh, her tone said it all.
    But what right did she have to come here, after so many years?
I looked at Norman, trying to anticipate his reaction, which surprised me more than his wife’s greeting.
    “Isabel, this is Miranda.”
    “Miranda Wise? The International Business Director?” She asked with a frown, even though no wrinkles appeared on her face.
Could it be the Botox?
    “And a good friend,” Norman emphasized.
    I extended my hand out to shake hers. She looked at it and ignored my cordiality.
    This was definitely one of those moments that I had to add to the list of the
most uncomfortable moments of my life
, a list I secretly maintained because it inspired me to be able to survive similar events.
    I admonished myself:
I am such a fool
for trying to be friendly with the woman…
    Just as I reached out to her, I pulled back, and grabbed my purse.
    “It’s late. Good night.” Without caring about what his wife thought, I kissed his cheek.
    From the doorway, when turning to catch a final glimpse of the room and those in it, I perceived the anger on Norman’s peaceful face.
    “Good night to you, Miranda. Rest. You need it.” He smiled, and made things worse. “And please, my apologies for Isabel’s lack of manners.”
    I said nothing. I didn’t even look at the woman before leaving.
    While I was finding my way to the hospital exit, my wandering mind imagined various ways I should have reacted.
Sure, now you can think clearly because you’re not under pressure.
Just as I was in the middle of those thoughts, I tasted the cold, humid floor.
    I had tripped on one of those sandwich board signs that advise walking carefully around a wet floor. Reluctantly, I got up and continued walking when someone grabbed my arm. It was a rough hand–not at all delicate.
    “You forgot your book,” said the owner of the hand.
    There they were in the palm of his other hand… the poems that, on past nights, had further united Norman and me.
    “It fell along with you,” he insisted with an invisible smile.
    His voice was rough, deep, and attractive. I looked up to put a face on the voice.
    I found myself facing a dark gaze, engraved in the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen in my life. The features were of a man of strong character, and he had a beard… oh, darn… a seductive beard, one abundant enough for my taste, which highlighted his mysterious pupils even more! I had before me the kind of man that can intimidate with a look, and no one questions what he says or does. The sensation that it aroused in me felt familiar.
    “Thank you,” was the phrase I could muster.
    Under other circumstances, maybe I would have stayed to flirt with him, to read to him, possibly some poetry and, perhaps, something more. The opportunity and the prospect were worthy…
but not today, not tonight.
     
     
     

Eliezer
    I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. She drags me around to where I don’t want to be with her damned insistence.
     
     

 
    My cell didn’t stop ringing. Something had happened. I adjusted the air conditioning vents toward me while the stewardesses delivered the pre-flight instructions. I turned it off when it rang again. It was Ethan. I didn’t care about what he had to tell me or his recriminations. It took Medika months to arrange this meeting and I couldn’t ruin it. This trip was important–so