by Susan Vance
“Emma, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. There was an emergency and I was called in this afternoon. Your phone number was in my car and by the time we got back to the station it was after six-thirty. I just now was able to go out to my car to get your card. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. This happens sometimes. The life of a fireman isn’t all glamour. Do you forgive me?”
He sounded so sincere and Emma knew he was telling the truth. This could have easily happened to anyone. Emma was still crying a little as it was hard for her to stop. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself. She was thankful he was okay and she was delighted to hear his voice. “Yes, I forgive you, but only if you promise to memorize my number so if this ever happens again you can call me.”
“By the time I get there I’ll have your number etched on my brain, I swear. Oh, please say you haven’t eaten yet. Will you still have dinner with me?”
Emma didn’t hesitate for one second. Twenty minutes later he was ringing her bell. They decided to go to a nearby restaurant since it was almost 8 o’ clock.
The waiter approached the table and asked if they would like a drink before dinner. Jason looked over at Emma. She ordered a glass of white wine.
“I’ll have iced tea with lemon,” he said, thanking the waiter politely. Emma changed her drink to iced tea with lemon, also.
“Jason, when you didn’t show up on time I thought perhaps you had changed your mind. I’ve never been stood up before and I can tell you it isn’t good for one’s ego. To be honest, I was upset. It felt awful. Then I started thinking that maybe you’d had an accident or something,” she said.
“I have never wanted to be more on time in my life. I swear. All I could think about was calling you to explain. All the way back to the station I kept wondering what time it was. It was tortuous.” He reached over for her hand.
“You should have been in my shoes. Talk about tortuous.”
“Really?” he said, with a twinkle in his eye and raising that eyebrow that made Emma giggle.
Emma was a little embarrassed, but she was being honest. This was such a wonderful feeling for her. She felt as if she were with a good friend. She felt like she could share her true and honest feelings. “Yes, I thought you weren’t coming and it felt terrible. I’m glad it turned out okay,” she said with a hint of extra color to her face. “So, what’s my phone number?”
Jason was able to recite her number without looking at her card and Emma was impressed. This made her laugh. She was feeling very high and happy. She wanted to know everything about him. “How long have you been a fireman?”
“Five years. I started when I was twenty-three. I wanted to be a fireman since I was a kid. How about you? What did you want to be when you were a child?”
“When I was in high school I wanted to have my own flower shop. It felt so familiar when I started to work for Carol. I was just sixteen. She owned the shop before I bought it. I knew someday I would have a flower shop just like hers. I was lucky to have the money when she wanted to sell it.” Emma hoped that would be enough childhood memories for him, but he prodded further.
“That’s wonderful, but what about when you were little?”
He was just making small talk. Emma knew this, but she was becoming uncomfortable with his questions concerning her childhood. She tried to change the subject by looking at the menu and asking what sounded good to him.
“The Lemon Chicken with a salad sounds good,” he said. “What are you hungry for?”
“I’ll have the same. I’ve eaten here before and they really do have great Lemon Chicken. I never eat red meat.”
“I don’t either. How come you don’t eat red meat?”
Emma didn’t know the answer to his question. Ever since she could remember she didn’t care for red meat. If it were rare it would turn her stomach. She could hardly stand the sight of blood, animal or human. Up until recently she would actually vomit at the sight of it. As a small child she would close her eyes until Marilyn could put a band-aid on any cuts or scraps she or her sisters would have.
“I guess I just don’t like it. I really don’t care to handle any raw meat either. I mostly cook vegetarian for myself and only order chicken when I’m out. I could do without it completely. Well, except for Thanksgiving. My mom makes the best turkey, ever. Her gravy is so delicious. My dad loves to carve the bird and he kinda butchers it, but we don’t care. What about you?”
“I eat very little chicken, but I like fish. My whole family thrives on fish. My parents didn’t eat red meat so I guess we just grew up thinking it wasn’t a good idea. Even in my teens I never tried a burger. Some of my friends gave me a hard time about it, but, for the most part, most of my friends were okay with it. It’s just that when everyone wanted to go out for burgers sometimes I was stuck with just fries.”
Emma wondered what his family was like. Was it large or small? Did he have sisters or brothers or both? As she began asking him about his family something caught her eye out the window. She was startled to see the figure of a man that reminded her so much of that man who was standing outside her shop last month. He was on the sidewalk outside the restaurant looking in. Just then a woman with two children got out of the car and joined him. The lady gave him a kiss and he picked up one of the kids. As the family came in the restaurant Emma could plainly see it wasn’t the same man. She felt foolish and tried to shake it off. Maybe buying the shop was stressing her out. She decided not to mention it to her mom or the rest of the family.
Jason had been telling her about his two brothers and one sister, but Emma hadn’t heard him. She had been focused out the window. She brought her attention back to Jason who was rattling on and on about his family. “Jason,” she said, embarrassed, “I’m so sorry. Can you start over?”
“Start over? Which part didn’t you hear?”
“All of it, I guess. I was somewhere else. How embarrassing, don’t you think? I’m so sorry. I guess my mind was wandering. I thought I saw someone I knew, but it wasn’t, sorry.” She tried to read his face. Did he think she was rude?
“It’s okay. I’ll start over, but pay attention this time okay?” he teased.
She smiled and tried to relax.
“I have two brothers and a sister. David, John, and Karen. David’s the oldest. Then me, then John and Karen, in that order. David lives in Germany. He’s been in the Army since he was eighteen. He’s thirty-two now. He and his wife Joanne have a little girl, Rachael, who is named after our grandmother. John’s twenty-four and single. Karen’s twenty-one and still in college. I’m twenty-eight and still single,” he said smiling.
He had this cute little look on his face that Emma seemed to be drawn to. She liked the way the corners of his mouth would curl just before he laughed. He was wearing a tee shirt and blue jeans. Over the pocket of his tee shirt was the name of some Mexican restaurant in Montana. “When were you in Montana?” she asked, trying to be clever and impress him.
“How did you know I went to Montana?”
Emma smiled what she hoped was a sexy smile, but didn’t answer him. She just continued to smile.
“Come on, Emma, how did you know that?” he asked looking intrigued.
Emma thought she had him, but he proved too clever for her. She noticed the curls at the corner of his mouth again just as this huge smile came across his face. He looked down at his pocket then reached across the table and took her hand in his. He pulled her hand to his chest and placed it on his pocket. Her face went flush.
Jason must have noticed because he quickly put her hand back where he had found it. He looked at her tenderly, but then with a little laugh he said, “For a few minutes I thought I was having dinner with a psychic. You had me going.”
This tickled Emma. “If I had some tea leaves I could read your fortune.” She picked up her glass of iced tea and swirled it around looking into the liquid. “Wait just a moment. I think I see something. Yes, yes, there it is. I see you will be spending a lot of time with
a beautiful young woman who owns a flower shop.”
Jason reached for her hand, this time Emma put her hand in his. She felt this tingle run up her spine. As she looked at Jason she wondered if he was the one. Suddenly she felt flushed again. She knew he noticed her color change. She felt warm. Emma was surprised by her boldness. This wasn’t her usual demeanor. She hoped she hadn’t gone too far. This was only their first date and she was sending him signals of great interest. Abruptly, she turned the conversation back to his family and he asked her to tell him about hers. She was happy to talk about the Jenkins family. A look of great fondness filled her face.
“I have two sisters. The youngest is Teri, she’s in her last year at Clayton Community College. Then there’s Jody. She and I are the same age, but she’s married. She and her husband Ryan have a son named Louie. He is the sweetest little boy.”
“So, you’re a twin? How cool is that.”
“No, we aren’t really related in the sense that we don’t have the same parents. I was a foster child, but they’re the only real family I’ve ever known. My parents are dead and I have no other living relatives. I’ve lived with the Jenkins since I was four years old.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions. “That’s why my name is Taylor, not Jenkins.”
“I’m so sorry. What happened to your parents?”
“They were killed in an automobile accident.” She said it in a way that made Jason understand it wasn’t something she liked to talk about. They sipped on their drinks and when the waiter returned they ordered their food. They talked about their favorite movies and Emma told Jason about Sam.
“Well, I must confess, I don’t know much about cats. We never had cats when I was growing up. David is allergic, I think. Or maybe Dad just didn’t like them. One or the other, but I have never been around them. We have always had dogs. I don’t have any pets right now. I just bought a house and was thinking about getting a dog, but I haven’t made up my mind what kind yet. I have to build a fence first and do some more landscaping. The house is brand new so there’s still a lot to do. I did some of the finish work myself. I just got done with the tile in the kitchen a few weeks ago. I would love to show it to you. . . sometime.”
“I’m sure your house is wonderful, and I would like to see it, sometime.” She was smiling and Jason was smiling back. They talked all the way through dinner and Emma didn’t want the evening to be over. She knew it had to come to an end and she wondered if there would be another date with Jason. She was certain he liked her. She hoped there would be many future dates.
After dinner Jason drove Emma back to her apartment. He walked her to her door. Emma unlocked the door and opened it. She could feel Jason right behind her. He was very close. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. It made her feel strangely odd. She felt quivery inside. It was a warm feeling and she liked it. Jason took a step closer. He was almost touching her now. Emma took a very small step back towards him and she could feel the heat from his body. She wanted to take another step, but she knew if she did she would actually touch him with her body. She knew they had to be just barely apart. This excited her. She thought about turning and giving him a kiss. She wanted to, but it just seemed too soon. She moved forward a little, then turned around to face him.
“I had a nice time tonight. Dinner was great and I’m glad it all worked out okay,” she said.
“Would you like to go see a movie this week with me. I don’t have many weekends off, but this coming week I have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I have to be at the station early on Saturday so Friday isn’t the best night for me, but then the middle of the week probably isn’t the best for you either. We could wait until the following week when I have the weekend off again. It’s up to you,” he rattled on as if he was as nervous as her.
“If we don’t stay out too late, Thursday would be okay with me. There’s a movie playing at the Majestic and I think it changes on Friday so it really would be perfect if we could catch it before it leaves. We could have dinner then go to an early show. Fridays are a big day at the flower shop and I have to be awake,” she giggled with a hint more blush to her face.
Jason seemed to like her sense of humor and laughed at her joke. He looked at her for a moment as if he was studying her face. “You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Emma, I’m going to kiss you. I have wanted to kiss you all evening and I…” He leaned forward and put his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her to him without their bodies touching. He kissed her softly, then released her.
Emma moved forward and kissed him again. Lost in the embrace, they continued to kiss until Emma broke the moment turning to step inside her door. “What time are you picking me up on Thursday?”
Jason looked starry eyed and just stood there for a few seconds. Emma smiled as she felt a sudden flush of warmth go over her body. Of the few guys in college that attempted a kiss from her she’d never felt like this before. They would walk her to the porch of her parent’s home after their date and lean in for a kiss. Emma would quickly give them a peck on the cheek. Mostly she dreaded the end of each date knowing they expected a kiss. Jason was different. She’d felt it that day at the market when she saw him in the bakery. She could have kissed him for hours. She wanted to.
Jason found his voice. “Would five o’clock be good for you?”
“Sure, that would be great. Thanks for the nice evening,” she said starting to close the door.
Jason started to step closer.
“Good night, Jason. I’ll see you on Thursday.”
Jason smiled at her. “Good night, Emma.”
She closed her door and Jason headed towards his car. With wobbly legs she walked to her window and watched Jason drive away. She really liked him. She stood gazing out the window thinking about her evening with Jason when suddenly something caught her eye. It was the shadow of a man across the street. She looked harder at the figure and a chill flashed across her body. Oh, my God, she thought. It’s him again. It’s that man. Oh God, I know it’s him. What does he want? What could he possibly want? How does he know where I live? Another figure came into view. A small dog attached to a leash held by the man. Emma felt flushed all over. How stupid can I be? What is the matter with me? This man is probably my neighbor out walking his dog. She reached for the phone to call Marilyn, then looking at the time decided not to bother her tonight. She looked out the window again and she saw the same man with his dog now talking with a woman who also had a dog. They walked off together with their dogs bouncing and jumping all around getting their leashes tangled. She recognized the woman to be the lady down the hall. She wasn’t sure about the man, but one thing was for certain, they knew one another. She watched as they both crossed the street and it looked as if they came inside Emma’s building. Emma felt frustrated. She felt stupid and most of all she was feeling paranoid. Emma hated this feeling. She had nothing to be afraid of, yet she felt this unknown fear. She picked up the phone and called her mother despite the late hour.
“Hi, Mom. It’s me. I just wanted to call and say hi.”
“How was your date? Sorry, Honey, but Jody called us this afternoon and spilled the beans.”
“Tonight was great. I had a good time. Darn that Jody though for telling on me. I was going to tell you anyway, but I was going to wait until after we went out a few times. I knew you’d be happy for me, but I just wanted to wait.”
“Then why are you calling if not to tell me about your date? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I. . .I had this panicked feeling and I got scared for a few minutes. I think I’m okay now, but remember the guy I saw at the flower shop and then later I thought I saw him again?”
“Yes, what about him?” Marilyn sounded concerned and Emma sensed it right away.
“Well you won’t believe this, but I thought I saw him tonight at the restaurant.”
“What? You saw him at the restaurant?”
“Mom, he was standing out on the sidewalk, looking inside. He
was staring right at me through the window. I thought it was him, but then, well he seemed to be with his family and then I wasn’t sure again. It looked like him, but then it didn’t. I don’t know, Mom, I just don’t know. Then I thought I saw him out my apartment window just a few minutes ago. This is so stupid. I know it’s stupid. Mom, what’s the matter with me?”
“I’m coming right over. Just stay calm and stay in the apartment. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“No, Mom, please don’t come over. It wasn’t him. I swear it was my neighbor walking his dog, but at first I thought it was that same man. I feel so stupid thinking he was here, but what was he doing at the restaurant? I’m confused, Mom. I mean, no—he wasn’t at the restaurant either.”
Emma was getting upset. She felt confused and she knew Marilyn would hear it in her voice, but she also knew there was no hiding her feelings either. She was scared and she needed her family.
“Emma, I’m hanging up and coming over. I want you to keep your door locked and wait until I get there.”
