AN ORDINARY WOMAN

Infidelity, followed by endless introspection.

African-American Asha, a globetrotting photographer, has more than her share of lovers—and can’t understand why she’s inexorably attracted to the man who just married her best friend. Granted, Ross Davis is a handsome, sensitive, hardworking architect, but that shouldn’t be enough to dazzle a sophisticated New Yorker like Asha, especially when he pledged his eternal love for Lisa at the church in front of all their friends and family. And Asha and Lisa have been friends since they met as children in a poor Brooklyn neighborhood. Could it be that Asha is attracted only to emotionally unavailable men because, years ago, her father abandoned her understandably angry mother for another woman? Moving right along to Ross’s point of view, it’s clear that he’s not ready for the whole commitment thing, fearing that he’ll have to sell out to afford Lisa’s dream of owning a Harlem brownstone or a spacious suburban house. Though he’s a considerate, upstanding man who believes in fidelity, he’s overwhelmed by the responsibilities of marriage and unable to resist temptation when Asha makes it clear she’s interested. His naïve new bride misses all the signs of the impending affair, but she’s devastated when it finally happens. Where did she go wrong? She took care of Ross in every way—how could he break her heart? Then Lisa’s mother reveals a long-hidden secret: She once had an affair with Lisa’s father’s best friend and had no way of knowing for nine long months whether the child she was carrying was his or her lover’s. Lisa ponders this judge-not-lest-ye-be-judged situation for a while and is glad there are no children this time around. Meantime, Asha’s mother explains the catastrophic breakup of her marriage in bitter detail, and she and Asha fight anew, unable to heal the old wounds. But life goes on—and new love awaits all.

Low-key, oddly unemotional soap, from the author of Rhythms (2001), etc.