For You, Forever

by Sophie Love

  As Emily surveyed the room, she saw that most people looked thoroughly bored. Some were even making business-sounding calls. She frowned.

  “Time for a game?” Amy said as she came back with Patricia’s gin and handed it to her.

  People reluctantly put their phones away and crowded around the couch. The apartment was small and it felt even more claustrophobic with everyone’s knees touching like that. She realized as they sat around in the small apartment that she wouldn’t be happy raising a baby here at all. She’d have had to moved out of New York City eventually for the family she’d always wanted to start, so she really had made the right call leaving when she had.

  But at the same time it upset her to realize this was not her home anymore. She didn’t fit in with these people and it was painfully obvious by their behavior. She’d become a bore to them, falling into line and following a path they all felt they were too superior to follow.

  “So, we’re going to play baby bingo,” Amy began, handing everyone their custom-made board.

  Daisy stood then, suddenly, looking at her watch.

  “I’m so sorry, I’m going to have to leave,” she said. “They need me in the office.” She leaned down and air kissed Emily. “Let’s catch up some other time,” she said, waving.

  Then she hurried off before Emily even had the chance to tell her there would probably be no other time.

  Amy looked at Emily. “Do you think the baby bingo scared her off?”

  Emily laughed.

  Amy opened her mouth to begin to explain how the baby bingo game worked, when Zainab leaned in.

  “Did you hear?” Zainab said across the table to Emily. “That Christina is sleeping with Franklin?”

  Emily wracked her brain, trying to put faces to the old work colleagues she hadn’t seen or thought about in years. “Wasn’t she married?” Emily asked as she finally formed a vague image of Christina in her mind.

  “Still is,” Zainab said, flashing excited eyes. “As is Franklin. Martha caught them at it in the printing room. On the copy machine. Can you believe it?”

  Everyone else gasped and made exclamations, but Emily just couldn’t get on board with the scandal. Not only did she not care, she just felt bad for Christina’s and Franklin’s spouses. The whole anecdote made her feel very uncomfortable.

  Amy attempted again to get the attention of the room, but another old work colleague had leaned in to Emily.

  “Is it true that you’re friends with Roman Westbrook?” she asked eagerly.

  Emily felt a squirm in her stomach. How typical that these people would only think to ask about her celebrity contact. None of them had asked after Daniel or Chantelle, or wondered how she was following the death of her friend Trevor, or how her trip to England was. None of them cared about her at all. They just cared about the fact she’d had dinner with a celebrity!

  “We’ve met,” Emily said, downplaying the friendship. She didn’t want to answer any questions, especially when Roman valued his privacy so much.

  “I read in Sneak magazine that he played at a wedding in an inn once?” Zainab said. “Was it yours? Is it true?”

  “That’s just a tabloid rumor,” Emily said, shaking her head. She didn’t feel like talking about the time Roman had saved a disastrous wedding at the inn by headlining a surprise set.

  Zainab looked disappointed. “I should have known,” she said. “Nothing that exciting happens in Maine. I mean that’s why he moved there, right? To get away from the drama.”

  Emily couldn’t help but be insulted by the comment. Roman had moved to Maine because people there respected his privacy and didn’t turn him into a spectacle. He moved there specifically to get away from people like Zainab.

  Amy picked up her baby bingo board again, but was interrupted for a third time, this time by Jayne. With a sigh, Amy threw the board on the coffee table, clearly giving up in her attempts to make them play a game.

  “Speaking of Maine,” Jayne began. “Do you remember Raven Kingsley from college? The one with the white blond hair?”

  “What about her?” Emily asked, lackluster.

  “She’s moved to Sunset Harbor!” Jayne exclaimed.

  Emily frowned. The coincidence didn’t sit well with her. She felt possessive over the little town. “Why?”

  “She read an article about how it was up and coming,” Jayne said. “Some guy had written a whole article about this cute inn he’d stayed in.”

  “It wasn’t Colin Magnus, was it?” Emily asked, surprised.

  Jayne clicked her fingers. “Oh yeah, I remember now! He was the George Clooney guy who wrote about your inn. That’s so weird to think she got the inspiration to start her business from you!”

  “Her business?” Emily asked, confused. “What business?”

  “She’s opening an inn,” Jayne said.

  Emily gasped. The thought upset her. Not only of someone she knew opening a rival business, but of the fact her lovely town was being tainted by New York City types. She hardly remembered Raven but they’d bumped into each other along the way a few times. She couldn’t recall much about her personality but she knew enough to know she was just like everyone else here.

  She realized this must have been how people felt when she’d first come to Sunset Harbor. They’d seen her as a snobbish, brash city woman who had no place in their town. Now she was so well integrated she thought the same of others. She knew it wasn’t fair but she couldn’t help herself.

  Just then there was a knock on the door. Amy frowned and stood.

  “I wasn’t expecting anyone else,” she said. “It must be one of the neighbors.”

  She went over to the door and peered out the spy hole. Then she gasped, turned, and looked at Emily with a worried expression.

  “What?” Emily said, immediately worrying. “Who is it?”

  Not a neighbor, clearly. Amy wouldn’t be wearing such a guilty expression if it was just someone from her apartment block. But she couldn’t even think of who else it might be.

  “I don’t know how he got through the main gate,” Amy blathered. “I’d never have let him through otherwise.”

  “Who?” Emily demanded, feeling anxious now.

  Amy chewed her lip. Then she broke the news. “I’m sorry, Em. It’s Ben.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “What are you doing here?” Emily said, going over to the door and blocking Ben’s entrance.

  Behind her, she could hear people whispering under their breath. She realized that this would become the next thing everyone gossiped about, at whatever the next function was they ended up at without really wanting to be.

  Ben raised his eyebrows. “Hello to you, too.”

  Right away, Emily could see that he was tipsy. Memories of tipsy Ben came sharply into focus in her mind. No wonder he’d managed to bypass the intercom system; he must have charmed one of the neighbors into letting him in. It was exactly the sort of thing tipsy Ben would do.

  She so wasn’t in the mood for this. Ben had managed to infuriate her within seconds of her seeing him. The last time he’d been groveling for her forgiveness. He’d even proposed! That felt so long ago. She was married now. Pregnant. She was a completely different person.

  She folded her arms. “I don’t want you here.”

  Ben shook his head, looking hurt. “I’m not trying to stir up any trouble, Em. Can’t we be mature adults?” Rather aptly, he hiccupped on the word adult. “We were the most important thing in each other’s lives for seven years, after all. I don’t see why we can’t be friends.”

  “I have enough friends,” Emily said. “And it’s not like I’m going to be in New York City on a regular basis for coffee dates. There’s no point.”

  “Why are you being so hostile?” Ben challenged, laughing in a sloppy drunken way. He held his hands up. “I come in peace!”

  Emily suddenly felt a presence at her side and turned to see her mother hovering at her shoulder.

  “Ben,” Patricia sa
id, smiling insipidly. “What a pleasant surprise. Are you coming in for some cake?”

  Emily shot her a horrified glance. “Are you kidding?”

  “Oh, Emily,” her mom said in that way that made her blood boil. “A slice of cake never killed anyone.”

  Amy shot Emily a helpless expression, like she just didn’t know what to do. She always played the peacemaker. Being stuck between Emily and her mother was never a pleasant place to be. Adding Ben into the mix was a recipe for disaster.

  Emily just sighed and moved away from the door. There was no point arguing with Patricia. The dragon always won, and it wouldn’t be fair to make Amy stand up for her and be dragged into a brawl on her behalf. Looking triumphant, Ben entered the room, waving friendly hellos to people Emily wasn’t sure he’d even seen since they’d been together. He chose a seat beside her mother, who had just sat down again, and Emily felt her skin crawl. He was always buttering Patricia up. In fact, it was probably their breakup that had made Emily and her mom’s relationship break down so dramatically. He’d acted as something of a buffer between them, and Patricia had often sought out his company even though she never seemed to enjoy Emily’s.

  Frustrated, Emily sunk back down into her seat, folding her arms protectively about her.

  “Do you want to be part of the sweepstakes?” Jayne said, handing him a clipboard with paper on it.

  Emily shot her a death glare. Jayne pulled a tense expression. She and Ben had remained on friendly terms ever since the breakup, something that frustrated Emily at the best of times. But it didn’t usually present itself in such a public way.

  “Just date of birth and birth weight,” Jayne continued. “Since we know the gender and name.”

  “Jayne!” Emily exclaimed, exasperated. Ben had no right to know any of this.

  Jayne flinched and looked sheepish. She just couldn’t help but put her foot in it.

  “You know the gender?” Ben asked, taking the clipboard and looking over it at Emily. “What are you having?” Then he noticed all the baby clothes on the table. “Oh, a girl, I guess.”

  “Charlotte,” Patricia added.

  Emily snapped her head toward her mom, frustrated. Why was everyone so determined to include Ben in her pregnancy all of a sudden?

  Ben looked genuinely moved. He hiccupped as he said, “How lovely.”

  He scribbled something on the paper, his handwriting sloppy and missing the box entirely. Emily sighed heavily, wishing this nightmare would end.

  Amy handed Ben some cake and, as he began to eat, Emily at least hoped it would soak up whatever liquor he’d been consuming.

  Needing a distraction, she hunkered down and looked over the predictions in the sweepstakes. Someone had put down Christmas as the date of birth, even though Christmas was twelve days after her due date and she’d almost definitely be induced if it went on that long. And the weights ranged from a manageable-sounding seven pounds to a terrifyingly large prediction of ten pounds!

  “I hope she’s not that big,” Emily said, touching her stomach anxiously.

  “The weight isn’t the issue,” Patricia said, swishing her gin and tonic in her glass. “It’s the head circumference that’s the main thing. You had a very large head, Emily. And didn’t I know it!”

  Ben roared with laughter and Emily grimaced, her hand fluttering to her forehead. Patricia had already sunk too many gins, her tipsiness reaching similar levels to Ben’s. Emily knew how it went from here—a slow descent into her mom putting her down until they ended up having a blazing row. She could almost feel it coming.

  “So Emily,” Ben said, “I heard that you’ve been expanding the business. A restaurant, spa, and island! It sounds amazing.”

  Emily narrowed her eyes at Jayne. “I wonder who told you.”

  Jayne looked guilty. Amy, clearly sensing that things were getting extremely tense, leaped up to fetch more drinks for everyone.

  “I’d love to come and see it some day,” Ben added. “Last time it was just a shell.”

  He chuckled but Emily frowned even harder. Ben was making it sound like the time he’d turned up at the inn had been some kind of planned visit, rather than him barging into her life to shake things up again and force himself back into the spotlight.

  “I’d prefer it if you didn’t,” she said.

  Ben laughed, stubbornly pretending that Emily was making a joke. Everyone around looked very uncomfortable.

  “How’s the kid?” he added. “Danielle, is it?”

  Emily couldn’t help but think he’d deliberately mixed Daniel’s and Chantelle’s names up. He knew full well their names. He was just being disrespectful.

  She folded her arms, losing the last ounce of patience she’d had for this whole situation.

  “What are you doing, Ben?” she demanded. “Pretending like you care about my life? My family? What is your plan here?”

  Out the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the worried faces of her so-called friends.

  “No plan!” Ben replied with a laugh. He seemed determined to laugh everything off and pay no heed to the fact that Emily was genuinely furious right now. It was typical, Emily thought. He’d been like that when they were together as well, always acting like her emotions didn’t matter, always disrespecting her needs. How had she put up with it for so long?

  “I want you to go,” she said, the anger in her voice rising.

  Ben looked like the hurt party, casting appealing eyes around at their witnesses. Emily wondered whether he’d come here expressly to make her look unstable. Or maybe it was just for the gossip, for the drama. He knew she was an easy target, that he could rile her up and make her cause a scene.

  “Look, Em, I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to upset you. I just miss you and I wanted to see your face again.” His voice slurred as he spoke. “I always thought you’d be carrying my child.”

  Emily heard someone gasp. She herself was rolling her eyes. This was so ridiculous. Ben had never expressed an interest in having kids with her. He always made it seem like it would be disgusting for them to do so. He was just here for the attention, to be in the limelight once again, to score some points in front of their past acquaintances.

  “BEN!” Emily shouted, losing her cool entirely. “GET OUT!”

  Amy leaped up. She always hated a public outpouring of emotion. She beckoned Ben to stand.

  “Maybe you should leave now,” she said.

  Ben shook his head and put on his best pathetic, hurt expression, playing the wounded party. It suited his face so well, but Emily was impervious to him now.

  “Oh, Emily,” Patricia said with a sigh. “You’re being so unfair.”

  Emily turned sharply on her mother. “It’s got nothing to do with you!” she cried.

  In her peripheral vision, she could see people flinching and looking awkward.

  Amy, ever the peacemaker, suddenly stood up. “I think perhaps it might be time to wrap things up here,” she said to the stunned guests.

  They didn’t need telling twice. People scurried to collect their belongings and started streaming out.

  Emily felt awful as she mumbled goodbye and thank you to each guest. They filed out one by one, giving Emily cautious looks as they passed. Of course, Ben lingered as long as possible.

  “GET OUT!” Emily screamed, shoving him to the door.

  Once he was out in the hall, she slammed the door in his face and stood there panting. When she turned back, the apartment was empty apart from her mom, Jayne, and Amy. Amy was busying herself collecting paper plates. Jayne, ever the drama queen, was looking entertained by the whole thing, and slightly amused. Patricia, on the other hand, seemed completely unimpressed.

  “Emily Jane,” she scolded. “What an ungrateful display!”

  Emily was furious. “Who told Ben I was coming to New York City? Amy?”

  Amy turned from where she was scraping cake into the trash can. “Babe, it was not me. I wanted you to have an amazing party. Why would
I invite him?”

  Emily turned on Jayne. “You!” she said. “You told him about me moving to Maine. Did you tell him this as well?”

  Jayne held her hands up to indicate innocence. “I was not going to make that mistake twice, Em,” she said. “I learned my lesson last time!”

  Just then Patricia piped up. “Oh, it was me, all right? Goodness, Emily, I didn’t think you’d make such a scene about it.”

  Emily stared at her mom, completely bemused. “Why the hell did you invite Ben? Why are you two even talking?”

  Patricia regarded Emily coolly. “I invited him because it’s your last chance before the baby comes. There’s still time to leave that silly Daniel and his brat of a child and settle down properly with Ben.”

  Emily’s mouth dropped open. She could not believe what she was hearing.

  “How DARE you?” Emily screamed. Rage consumed her, turning her vision red. “I should never have thought you could change. I can’t believe I wanted to figure things out with you. You don’t change. You can’t. All you want to do is meddle in my life and make me feel terrible!”

  Patricia looked completely nonplussed. “Stop being so dramatic,” she sneered.

  But Emily wasn’t backing down this time. The Mama Bear she’d become had no time to spare on toxic relationships, even if Patricia was her mother. It seemed so clear to her now that things would never be good with her mom. There was no chance for them. Unless she had a brain transplant.

  “Mom,” Emily said between her teeth. “This is it between us. I can’t keep trying to fix things with you. It will never work. So I just have one last thing to tell you.”

  Patricia rolled her eyes. She clearly didn’t think Emily was being serious.

  “Dad is dying,” Emily said. “Okay? You deserve to know that. But that’s it. I don’t want to see you ever again. That’s the last thing we need to talk about.”

  Patricia’s face changed, finally. The news of Roy’s impending death had been able to penetrate her cold exterior in a way Emily’s ranting and raging had not.

  “What do you mean?” she asked her daughter. “Roy? He’s dying?”