Chapter 12 - NAOMI'S NAME
Naomi’s anger was larger than the contract.
For three years Mercer events had introduced her as:
Adrian’s remarkable partner.
The blind accessibility expert.
An inspiration.
A symbol of inclusion.
She had allowed some of it because the foundation funded useful work.
But symbolism became a shortcut.
Instead of asking Naomi:
What do you approve?
They asked:
Can we say Naomi was involved?
Those are not the same.
At one gala, Blake once said:
“If Naomi can navigate this building, anyone can.”
She corrected him publicly.
“That’s not how accessibility works.”
He laughed.
The audience laughed.
Naomi remembered.
She had been treated as both:
too fragile to be difficult,
and useful enough to validate the family’s image.
The contradiction was the system.
Naomi’s blindness also shaped how the fountain attack was misunderstood afterward.
Several guests said:
“She couldn’t see him coming.”
Not exactly.
Naomi could not see Blake.
But she heard:
his shoes,
his breathing,
his voice,
the movement of guests around him.
What she could not anticipate was that he would choose violence in front of a crowd.
Blindness did not create that vulnerability.
Trust in social rules did.
Most people do not stand at a charity gala expecting another adult to strike them with a piece of wood.
Naomi hated when journalists described the attack as:
“especially tragic because she was defenseless.”
She had defended herself.
Raised her cane.
Protected her head and upper body.
Tried to regain footing.
What she needed afterward was assistance getting out of deep water while soaked clothing dragged against her.
That was situational.
Not identity.
After the assault, one reporter asked Adrian:
“Did Naomi fall because she couldn’t see the fountain?”
Adrian almost answered.
Then stopped.
He looked toward Naomi.
She said:
“No. I fell because Blake shoved me.”
Simple.
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She would remember that correction for years.
People liked to turn disability into explanation even when the explanation was standing in a burgundy suit holding a stick.
