by Lola Kidd
*
“Got any plans for this weekend?” Cindy asked Emma as she sat down in a chair in her office.
It had been a week since they’d made love in his kitchen. It was his turn to come to Burton. Emma had been doing some research but wasn’t ready to talk with him about it yet. So far, it was promising. She had talked to two dance colleagues who’d started their own studios. They had only had nice things to say about the experience. Neither of their studios had made it past the five-year mark, but that hadn’t soured their experience.
Emma didn’t relish the idea of starting her own business and failing. Yet, it could still be a positive experience. Even if she only made it five years, who knows where she would be in that time? If she stayed at the Irish Center that long, she would likely be looking for a new career too.
That was the biggest takeaway from her research. Pick a lifestyle first. Once you figure out how you want your life to look, look for a career to match it. It was radical thinking for Emma. She had always based her life around where she was working or wanted to work. But her life was more than her career. Her favorite thing about her job was her coworkers and students. She could still keep in touch with them if she moved. She wanted to talk with Aaron about that idea. It would be her way of testing the water for the discussion next week of where they would live.
“Nothing exciting. I think we’re going to check out the art fair,” Emma said.
“If you’re trying to get him to move here, you’re going to have to do better than the art fair,” Cindy joked.
“I’m actually thinking about moving to live with him.”
Cindy’s eyebrows almost touched her hairline. “Really? I thought you were going to convince him to come live here. His kind of work is so much easier to find.”
“I was.” Emma smiled. “I just really like his town, and his parents live there. I think it would mean a lot to him to stay close. The place has really grown on me.”
Patty came into the office. “What’s going on?”
“Emma is leaving us,” Cindy said glumly.
“Oh, no.” Patty sat in one of the chairs in the office. “Did something happen?”
“I think I’m going to move in with Aaron. I mean, he hasn’t asked me yet, but I’d thought I’d suggest it.”
“I didn’t realize things were getting so serious,” Patty said. “You guys have only been dating for a few weeks.”
“I know.” Emma smiled. “I didn’t expect this either. Everything they say about LK Brides is true. They really know how to find soulmates.”
Patty frowned. “I have something to show you.” She took her phone out of her pocket. “I think you should see this. I’d feel terrible if I saw it and never said a word.”
Emma took the phone from her. There were pictures of Aaron on the screen, but he looked very young. “What is this?”
Patty looked embarrassed. “I found this when I Googled him. I know, I’m a terrible busybody. I do it to everyone. It seems that when he was younger, he threw a party where people were in blackface.”
Cindy gasped and put her hand over her mouth. Patty blushed.
“He was young,” Emma said hollowly. “I’m sure he’s outgrown it.”
Patty nodded. “I’m sure. I just wanted to let you know. Like I said, I would feel bad if you found out later.”
“This had to be a long time ago, right?” Cindy took the phone. “He’s still friends with these guys! Have you heard anything about this?”
Emma shook her head. “Nothing. Those are his cousins, I think. I think he sees them once a decade. Some kind of falling out with them and his parents.”
“That explains it.” Cindy wrinkled her nose. “I was getting worried for you. I mean, who hangs out with people who act like that?”
“It’s probably not even that big a deal,” Patty said. “So you want to move to Maple Creek.”
“I do,” Emma said. “Or I’m thinking about it, at least.”
“Have you told Danielle?” Patty asked.
“I haven’t even told Aaron yet,” Emma said. “After we talk about it, I’ll talk to Danielle.”
“Keep us posted,” Patty said, standing up.
“And ask him about that blackface thing.” Cindy’s face brightened. “You should bring him here! We need to meet this guy before you move in with him.”
“I’ll be sure to introduce you guys soon,” Emma promised.
“I’m holding you to that,” Cindy said as she left the office.
As soon as Cindy and Patty left her office, Emma started doing Internet searches. Her entire body shook as she read the articles and social media posts. It had only been his cousins who had come in blackface. No one else at the party had done anything as bad, but they had trashed his parents’ house. It had been a scandalous event in town. Aaron didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d be okay with that kind of thing, but there were pictures. He was smiling next to his cousins with his arms around their necks. That was so wrong. There were also pictures of him laughing as someone peed into a vase. She couldn’t believe her eyes as she looked at the albums from the party.
Why hadn’t he told her about this? Emma tried to remember him mentioning anything even close to this. He had briefly mentioned that he wasn’t close to most of his family but hadn’t gone into much detail. She did remember his mother talking about doing an expensive house remodel. Mrs. Johnson’s face had been pained as she spoke about it. Emma assumed she’d been pained about the cost, but obviously it had been because of the party. His parents must have been humiliated.
Emma thought she was going to be sick. She was grateful to Patty for showing her the embarrassing images. Better her than some stranger. But she was disappointed Aaron had never brought it up. It had to be a huge event in his teenage years. From the comments on the pictures, the people in town hadn’t been very happy about it. It must have been hard for him to go in public for some time after this.
They had talked about their childhoods and teen years for hours one night. That would have been the perfect time to talk about this. She wondered what other secrets he was keeping. Maybe she was getting ahead of herself with this moving thing. She was getting ahead of herself because she felt so strongly for him. Emma vowed to lead with her head more. She couldn’t uproot her whole life for a man she barely knew if he wasn’t open and honest with her.
Six
This was a big day. Aaron could barely contain his excitement. He had something very important to ask Emma. He’d been thinking about it for the last week. He was going to ask her to be his wife. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket. But he was also going to ask her if she wanted to move in with him.
These two things went hand in hand. He knew it would be difficult for her to commute to work every day, but he hoped she would say yes. He didn’t want to move away from Maple Creek. It was a much better town to raise a family in than Burton. The schools were better and the houses were cheaper, an unbeatable combination. There was also a bigger shifter population in Maple Creek. He had all his reasons on a piece of paper in his other pocket. If he got too nervous and forgot what he wanted to say, he could glance at it.
He checked his sheet one more time before knocking on Emma’s door. He could tell something was wrong as soon as she opened the door.
“Come in,” she said stiffly.
“What’s wrong?”
She went to the coffee table and turned her laptop around. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
A picture of his own smiling face looked back at him. It was a picture from his high school party.
Aaron swallowed. “I didn’t think it mattered. I would have told you as soon as it came up.”
“You’re not trying to hide something from me? Because that’s what it looks like, Aaron. This could have been very embarrassing for me. What if I had introduced you to my students? What if their parents found out about this?”
“That’s going to happen,” he said calmly. “People are going
to find out. Everyone in Maple Creek knows. There are still people who think that that’s what I am. But I’m not. That was a mistake I made over a decade ago. A very embarrassing one.”
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Embarrassing because you aren’t like that, or because you got caught?”
“Because I’m not like that. Look, this is always going to follow me. It’s something that I did, and the Internet is forever. So, if you’re going to be with me…” He got down on one knee and took the ring from his pocket. “If you’re going to marry me, it’s going to come up. If that’s too much for you, I understand.”
Emma put her hands over her mouth. “Oh my gosh. Aaron!”
“Knowing what you know, knowing everything, would you marry me?”
Emma nodded. “Yes, yes, yes. I want to marry you. I want to be with you forever.”
Aaron put the ring on her finger and stood up to kiss her. “Good. I love you.”
“I love you too.” She kissed him and laughed. “Nice way to end a fight.”
“That wasn’t anything to fight about. I should have told you sooner. I also wanted to ask you something else.”
“What?”
“This was supposed to come first,” Aaron chuckled. “Would you move in with me?”
Emma tore her eyes from her ring and sat down. “I think we should talk about it. I was actually going to talk with you about it next week.”
He took her hand. “Well, I think I just moved up your timeline.”
She shook her head. “You know, I just made a promise to myself that I would be more levelheaded when it came to you.”
“I think you’re being pretty levelheaded. What can be more logical than getting married to the man of your dreams?”
Emma laughed. “I guess that’s true.”
“So what were you saying about us living together?”
“Right. So I did a lot of research this past week. I looked into owning my own studio and how lucrative it would be. I talked to some people I knew who actually own their own studios and the results are promising.”
“How promising?” Aaron’s heart was almost beating out of his chest. This was more nerve-racking than asking her to marry him. He’d had a good idea that she would say yes about that. He was less sure she would agree to live in Maple Creek. He was overjoyed that she had looked into it on her own, but he didn’t want to be presumptuous.
“Very promising. I’ve decided to adopt this new approach. Instead of choosing where I want to live based on my job, I’m going to base my job on where I live. I have a question for you. What do you want your life to look like?”
“That’s easy. I want a big family with lots of cubs. A big yard so the cubs can run around and shift whenever they want. I want to be able to spend as much time with my family as possible. And go on a lot of vacations.”
Emma smiled and squeezed his hand. “That’s exactly what I want. Well, except for the cubs thing. Before you, I never pictured my children shifting into lion cubs.”
“That’s alright. You’ll get to use to it once it happens.”
“I’ve already gotten used to the idea. I can’t wait until we have little cubs running around. But this new approach made me realize that keeping my job at the Center was less important than having a life with you. I still want to teach and I’ll come back to visit the Center frequently, but it’s more important that I have a home that fits my family life.”
“This means we can move to Maple Creek?”
She nodded. “It does. I’d like to look at houses as soon as possible.”
Aaron pulled her close and kissed her. He pulled the paper out of his pocket. The ink was smudged and it was all crumpled. “I had all these reasons listed out here so I could try to talk you into it, but I didn’t have to use them. Your way of thinking is so much better than mine. God, I’m glad you’ll be my wife.”
“Me too. Come on, let’s go.”
Aaron pulled her close and kissed her, slowly this time. “I was thinking we could stay here.”
“As tempting as that is, we need to get down to the Center. I’ll show off my ring and introduce you to everyone. But don’t worry, we’ll stay here all night.”
Aaron groaned. He was going to have to wait to make love to his fiancée, but he knew how important it was for her to introduce them to everyone. He wished they’d done it earlier. He hoped the ladies of the Center loved him as much as he loved Emma.
*
“So, Aaron, you’re not mad at me?” Patty asked earnestly.
Aaron shrugged. “I should have told her sooner. This really is all my fault. Thanks for being such a great friend. It’s nice to know that Emma has people in her life who care about her as much as I do.”
“You did a really good job on that ring,” Patty said. “How did you pick it? By yourself?”
“I didn’t,” Aaron laughed. “My friend’s fiancée helped me out. She met Emma before, so I figured she’d have a good idea.”
Patty nodded. “The one who married the mountain lion, right?”
“Not married yet, but yes.”
Aaron was chatting with Patty alone as Emma talked with her boss. Even with the storm damage, the Center was still a very beautiful place. He could see why she liked working here so much. She had a great office and was a manger. He wished he worked at a place this great. Though he couldn’t complain about working at the furniture store. That was a good job for him. This job was perfect for Emma, he felt a twinge of guilt that she had to leave it all for him.
“I’m glad you finally made it down here,” Cindy said, taking a seat in Emma’s chair. “You really waited until the last minute, didn’t you?”
“I would’ve come sooner, but it’s been a whirlwind romance,” Aaron said.
“It is very romantic,” Cindy said. “I still can’t believe you’re stealing her away from us.”
“Come on, Cindy,” Patty said. “He’s not stealing her. She’s leaving of her own free will.”
Cindy’s eyebrows shot up. “What have you been saying to her? Is this even our Patty? Must be some miracle worker, Aaron.”
He laughed. “Do you think she should hate me?”
Cindy’s face turned red. “No. I just mean… I don’t know what I mean. Ignore me.”
“It’s okay,” Aaron said. “She should be suspicious. You guys just met me. Go on grilling me if you want. You can’t find one thing wrong with me. I’m seriously perfect.”
“Well, except for the whole blackface thing,” Cindy said.
Aaron laughed again. “Is no one going to let me live that down? I wasn’t even the one in blackface.”
“Don’t worry,” Patty told him. “No one will remember in a few years.”
“That’s the last time I’m going to mention it.” Cindy crossed her heart. “When are you getting married?”
Aaron liked this change of topic. He could talk about his future wedding for days. They’d only been engaged for a few hours, but he’d been thinking about it for weeks. He wished he could marry Emma right this minute. Suddenly, an idea hit him.
“We should do it next weekend.”
Patty laughed nervously. “You already had a whirlwind romance. Why don’t you give it a minute before you get married?”
“It takes a long time to plan a wedding,” Cindy said. “There’s no way he could pull off a wedding in a week, trust me.”
“What does it take so long?” He stood up. “What is your plan? It’s just a party. And we all know I know how to plan parties.”
“You need so many things,” Patty sputtered. “What if people aren’t available to come? Where are you going to get food? What about dresses?”
“None of those things matter. As long as me and Emma are there, that’s all we’ll need.” He opened his arms wide. “And this is where we’re going to have it.”
Cindy tapped her fingers on the desk. “Hmm, if neither of you really care about those things, then you could be ready in a week.”
<
br /> “Did you even talk to Emma about this?” Patty asked.
“Course not. I’m running it by you guys first. I just got the idea right now. Tell me it’s not really romantic? This is something straight out of a movie!”
“It is romantic,” Cindy admitted. “Wait. Does this mean we get to be in the wedding?!”
“I don’t see why not.”
The door opened and Emma came in as Cindy started squealing. “Oh my gosh! I have the perfect dress and I know who can do the ceremony. All we need to find is food, entertainment, and clothes for you guys. If we do appetizers only, it’ll be really cheap.”
Emma shooed Cindy from her chair. “What are you talking about?”
“Your wedding,” Cindy said excitedly. “I’m going to ask Danielle if we can use the Center.”
She disappeared before Emma could say anything. Aaron looked at his fiancée apologetically. “Surprise?”
“What is this?”
Patty stood up. “I’m going to go…somewhere else.”
“Don’t be mad,” Aaron pleaded. “But I was thinking, what if we got married next weekend? We could do it right here at the Center and invite everyone.”
“But we were going to go to Maple Creek’s parade,” Emma said.
“I think our wedding is a little more important, but if you want we can cancel for a Girl Scout parade,” Aaron joked. “Anyway, the parade is Friday afternoon. We can do this on Saturday.”
“What if no one can come? This is very short notice.”
“You get on the phone with your parents, and I’ll start calling people in Maple Creek. I’ll have Patty call everyone who was going to come perform here for St. Patrick’s Day before the storm.”
Emma looked doubtful. “I don’t know. This seems too much. How are we going to be able to afford this?”
“We’ll figure it out.” Aaron went around the desk and kissed her. “All I know is, I want to marry you as soon as possible. If you don’t want to do this, we’ll wait. It’s up to you.”
