White Oblivion Read Online Free PDF Page B

used to your new body,” Ina chimed in.
    Ina chiming in really pulled at my heart strings so I stood up and said, “Ok let’s go.” 
    “Yaaay!” Ina screeched. 
    Doran reached over and hugged me.
    “I’m so glad that you’re willing to take this step baby.  You’re really being brave through all of this.  I’m so proud of you,” Doran said smiling at me.
     
     
     

 
    7
     
     
     
    Since we were all hungry we decided to go to a restaurant and grab a bite to eat.  We went to a mutual favorite, a little Thai restaurant in Capitol Hill on Pennsylvania Avenue near my studio.  The restaurant was so tiny that it was hardly noticeable and was never crowded, but the food was absolutely delicious.  We figured it would be a good way to ease into things since there likely wouldn’t be very many people dining there at that time. 
    Getting there was uneventful, though we hadn’t travelled very far to get there.  We lived just about 15 minutes away in a newly renovated row house off of 13th and Irving Streets N.W. D.C.. 
    Our renovated home was a dream.  We bought the house dirt cheap as it was in shambles when we bought it.  Then, we basically gutted it and Doran and some friends of his did all of the renovations. 
    There were cherry hardwood floors throughout.  We were actually able to keep much of the original hardwood floors, which was a plus. 
    There were 2 levels and a full basement, which we made into a basement apartment for J.  The basement apartment was complete with 1 master suite bedroom, which had a full bath.  There was also a half bath off of the living room area.  There was a beautiful eat-in kitchen which I had the time of my life designing.  We put a lot into designing it figuring that when J moved out permanently we could rent it out.  Basement apartment rentals went for a nice amount in DC. 
    On the first floor toward the back side of the house Doran put in a beautiful gourmet chef’s kitchen for me.   There was also a half bath just off of the kitchen leading up toward the living room.  The living room was done in the style of a great room so the kitchen fed right into it.  We weren’t the formal type so I requested it be designed that way as I didn’t see a need for a formal living room.
    Then on the second floor were 3 bedrooms including our master suite.  I designed Ina’s room with all the girly bells and whistles.  So it was designed with all things pinkalicious.  She loved it.  She had a beautiful full-sized canopy bed, a computer desk, a 40-inch wall mounted flat screen tv, a 3-story black barbie house, a toy box filled every little girl’s dream toys and a huge bookshelf filled to capacity. 
    Next to Ina’s room was the yoga/meditation room.  It was our sacred space where we had an altar set up.  My crystal collection was also displayed there along with several other sacred items that each of us had contributed. 
    Then on the other side of the meditation room was our master suite.  I decorated it in a modern zen minimalist design, as was much of our house.  I did it that way because I wanted it to be reminiscent of a spa retreat.  So imagine heaven in a bedroom and that was our master suite. 
    Our king-size bed had a padded leather headboard and the fluffiest, most luxurious bedding that I could find.  We had one large marble-top dresser and a huge walk-in closet in which Doran and I split it half.  Doran needed just as much space as I did for all of his photography equipment.  On each side of the bed were two end tables. 
    For me our home was a piece of heaven and under the current set of circumstances I dreaded the thought of leaving that heaven to go out into the world with this white skin.
     
     
     
    As I sat on the edge of our bed putting on my socks my nerves had started to get the best of me.  By the time we made it out the front door I was a wreck.  Our neighborhood was predominantly black and so I think in large part I feared being