Knowing Her ( Norminah)

--CHAPTER 5--

HERE WE GO !

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Elizabeth asked, leaning forward, her elbows on the table, propping her head up with her hands.

"It was pure chance," Dinah said, shrugging. "Anticlimactic really." Normani, however, shook her head.

"Oh, we can tell them the real version." Dinah, who was pretty sure she'd lived the real version, frowned, and motioned for Normani to go on. "It was cold, wet, terrible sort of week. Finals couldn't have happened at a worse time." She grinned at Dinah, making her feel rather uncomfortable. "Dinah came into the library maybe half an hour after me?" She bit her lip, as if unsure, then plowed on. "She spread out all her books on the table, but then pulled out a novel. And she started to read." Normani smiled, and Dinah—who lived through that day—felt her heart drop. Because all this...all this was true.

"Mani—"

"It was obvious she wasn't studying," Normani continued, totally ignoring Dinah. "She kept checking her watch and looking at her textbooks nervously, like she knew she needed to study but the novel was too good to put down." She smiled, like she was thrust back in time, like she was in the library on a cold, wet day, tired from finals, fueled only by protein bars and caffeine. "I watched her, for hours. For some reason...I just couldn't look away, I wanted to see what would happen. And then, maybe three hours later, Dinah checked her watch, her eyes went really wide, and she began shoving her things into her bag, and she got up in a rush. Except, she forgot her novel."

"What—"

"So I picked it up," Normani continued, still ignoring Dinah completely, "and I ran out, all these things I would say in my head, you know? I had lines and everything. But when I rammed into her, and she looked at me..." She swallowed hard, turning to look at Dinah briefly. "I don't know. I froze. I couldn't say anything I planned. So I gave her the book back without her noticing, said something stupid about sleep deprivation, and that was it."

(There were three truths to Normani Hamilton, Dinah knew.)

"Wait. So did you find her later? Slip your number in the book?" Elizabeth asked, frowning deeply. Barbara, however, was clearly struggling with holding back her chuckles .

"What? No," Normani said, shaking her head. "We had a class together a semester later. And Normani came up to me, made a stupid comment about sleep deprivation, and I decided right then, that was it. She was it."

(There were three truths to Normani Hamilton, Dinah knew...except, she didn't. Except, her truths weren't truths after all.)

"That is the cutest story I've ever heard. It almost makes me want to find someone too. You know. Almost."

"It was meant to be," Barbara said, choking back laughter. "It was fate."

"Mom, you don't have to be so sarcastic."

"I'm not!" she defended, holding up her hands. "These two are meant to be. And everyone knows it except them."

"What?" Andrea asked, but Barbara went back to shaking her head, eventually forcing herself to get up and head towards the kitchen. "What was that about?"

"Mrs. Hamilton had too much to drink," Dinah supplied, smiling slightly. "I'll go check on her." She left as well, dutifully avoiding Normani's eyes, following Barbara into the kitchen.

(Three truths: Meeting Normani was a stroke of mere luck...except, it wasn't. It was planned, it happened on purpose.)

"Calling me a drunk, Dinah?"