Everlasting Love (Now & Forever)

by Johns, Melissa

"That would be great, I’ll see you there."

  Emily finished up shopping and headed home. She shared with her mom the news about the auction and went upstairs to put Emma down for a nap.

  She smiled as she looked around the art room and admired at her paintings. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and fished it out to see who was calling. "Hey Eric, what's going on?"

  "Just wanted to check in with you, my agent had me on the phone for an hour. I need some non-football talk."

  Emily laughed. "Well, your daughter is sleeping after an exhausting morning at the store and I’m digging through my paintings because I've been asked to donate one for our high school's fundraiser auction."

  "That's awesome, Gorgeous!"

  "Yeah, I’m so glad I ran into our art teacher today. I think I will drop a piece off at school tomorrow."

  "Going back to our old stomping grounds, huh?"

  Emily laughed. "Yep, going back to where it all started."

  They talked for awhile longer and then hung up. Eric was really trying to keep her up to date on all his activities. He still never told her about everything that happened at the party but she hadn’t pushed him on it either. Not yet anyway.

  Emily came across a painting that she did earlier in the year of Emma. It was of her playing on the floor with her teddy bears and dolls. There was an innocence about it and she thought it would sell well at the auction.

  The next afternoon, Emily headed to the high school with the painting of Emma. As she walked through the front doors, she smiled thinking back to her first day. She looked at the main office where she first met Sam.

  As she walked down the hallway, she looked at her homeroom where she first laid eyes on Eric. She smiled thinking back to how taken she was with him. She may not have known then but she had fallen in love with him in that first moment. It felt good to be back roaming the halls where she enjoyed her senior year. Eric and she spent a lot of time getting to know each other there.

  As she approached the art room, she glanced up on the wall and saw her class picture. She looked through all her classmates and smiled when she got to Eric, then laughed when she saw Sam smiling one of her million dollar smiles. Then, she came across Janice and her entire body tensed up. That girl had nearly cost her everything that she held near and dear to her heart.

  "Emily, you made it!" Her art teacher called out.

  Emily nodded. "Yeah, I was just looking at my class picture. Hard to believe we are graduating from college this year."

  "Time flies and wait until you get older, it moves even faster! I hope you don't mind but I asked an old friend of mine here who works in the art business to stop by."

  Emily shrugged as she entered the room. "Here's the painting I promised."

  "Emily, this is Mr. Alex Smith. He’s the curator at the art museum downtown."

  "Emily, it's a pleasure to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." He said as he shook her hand.

  "Pleasure to meet you too. I’m actually familiar with who you are. One of my art class assignments was to visit your museum and do a report on your modern art exhibit. I also attended your lecture on the grant that you hoped to receive from the state to expand the knowledge of art throughout the classroom. It really blew me away."

  Alex smiled at her. "Thank you, Emily. I'm so happy that someone was listening to me. Can I see the painting that you chose to bring in?"

  "Of course, but now I'm a little bit nervous, Mr. Smith." Emily chuckled as she put her painting up on the easel in front of them.

  "Please, call me Alex." He looked at her as he approached her to stand closely behind her and starred at her painting, giving it the scrutiny of a real work of art. Her teacher also came in for a closer look.

  "I told you Alex, she has a lot of talent. I don't even need to ask, that's her daughter, Emma."

  Alex looked at Emily. "It's beautiful Emily, have you considered selling your work?"

  "Of course that’s always been the dream, but between school, Emma and life, I just don't have the time to pursue it."

  "I can understand that but I think we really should set up a meeting so I can see more of your work. Perhaps it’s time to make that dream a reality." He said smoothly.

  Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing. "I would love that, Alex."

  "Great, I have your contact information. I will run over my schedule and have my assistant call you to set up an appointment."

  Emily noticed for the first time how handsome he was. Definitely older than her, but not by too much, and his brown eyes matched his hair. He was dressed in a fine suit and Emily could tell that he took his appearance very seriously. Emily could tell from underneath his crisp white dress shirt, he took very good care of his body as well. He reached out to shake her hand and she swore he winked at her. She felt her cheeks flush.

  As he turned to leave, Emily realized that her dreams could be coming true. She thanked her teacher for the introduction and promised to keep in touch. For the first time in a very long time, she was truly excited about her future and she couldn’t wait to tell someone about it.

  "Hey Baby, how's it going?" Eric answered.

  "Unbelievable!" Emily exclaimed as she proceeded to tell him her exciting news and about how Alex wanted to see more of her work.

  "Emily, that's terrific! I'm so proud of you."

  “Thank you. I think this could really turn in to something, but we’ll see. So, how’s school?” Emily said shifting the conversation back to Eric.

  “Busy, but I’m finishing up some paperwork. Tomorrow one of the networks is coming to interview me about the draft.”

  “Eric, that’s so cool. Are you prepared for the questions?”

  “Yeah, my agent received an email with the pre-questions so my homework is to prepare my answers.”

  “Well, keep me posted on the air date, ok?”

  “Sure, I love you.”

  “I love you too, we will talk soon.”

  Emily hung up as she pulled into the driveway. She was anxious to get inside to see Emma and tell her parents about the news. As she walked up the sidewalk her cell phone rang but she didn’t recognize the number.

  She stopped on the porch to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Can I speak with Emily please?”

  “This is.” Emily said hesitantly.

  “Emily, this is Alex from the museum.”

  “Oh! Hi, how are you?” Emily smiled and relaxed a little as she sat on the front stairs.

  “I’m fantastic! I know we just spoke but I checked with my assistant and it turns out I’m free for dinner tomorrow night. I realize that it’s short notice, but I was hoping you could join me so we could talk more about your future. If you have a book with prints, I would love to view them.”

  Emily sighed. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. I really haven’t had a chance to sit down and put it all together yet. I guess I didn’t expect to have the opportunity to show it to anyone until the rest of my life settled down a bit.”

  “That’s fine, we can arrange for a viewing date in the near future. I would still love to get together to talk about your future though, if you’re free that is.”

  Emily smiled at those words. “Well, can I suggest that you come here, to my house and have dinner with my family? Afterwards, I will give you a tour of my extremely small art room. That way you can see the originals.”

  “That sounds great, what time is good for you and your family?” He asked smoothly.

  “Does six p.m. sound alright?”

  “Perfect.” Alex said as Emily proceeded to give him directions to the house.

  “I will see you tomorrow evening then, Alex.”

  “I’ll be counting down the minutes, Emily.”

  Emily blushed as it occurred to her that he was flirting with her and then quickly put the thought out of head. Now she had even more to tell her mom and Paul.

  The next evening as she was helping her mom prepare dinner, she felt her cell phone ring in her po
cket, it was Eric. She wanted to talk with him but hit the button to send him directly to voicemail. This was a big night for her and she needed to concentrate.

  “Emily, it’s already five thirty, why don’t you head upstairs and get dressed. I can finish up in the kitchen.”

  “Thanks Mom,” she said as she sprang up the stairs. She took a quick shower and dried her hair. She clipped part of it up and left the rest parted over her shoulders. She wore a light blue dress with matching heels. As she applied her makeup, she thought about Alex and felt so guilty. This man was coming here to help jump start her career and she was wondering if she looked good enough for him. She frowned at herself in the mirror and whispered, “Get a grip, Emily.”

  She heard the front door bell and looked at herself one last time. She headed for the stairs as she heard her mother make introductions. “And this adorable one is Emily’s daughter, Emma.”

  “Yes, I could tell right away. I saw Emily's painting of Emma and I just realized now how accurate it was, plus she has Emily’s eyes. Your daughter has great talent, and I can’t thank you enough for welcoming me to your home.”

  Emily listened from the staircase, keeping out of sight for the time being.

  “Thank you. She started drawing at a young age and I could tell that she was talented. We entered some drawing contests back in Texas and Emily always won. Then, after her father and I separated, I moved back here to Buffalo, but Emily stayed in Texas with her father for awhile. It wasn’t until her senior year of high school that she decided to move up here and I’m so happy she did. I could tell that something was wrong by the dark quality that her artwork took on – it has always been a window into her emotions."

  Emily flushed with embarrassment as she listened to her mom tell her life story to a complete stranger. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, dinner with the family. She suddenly felt very young and awkward about the situation.

  “Her art teacher is a very close friend of mine and told me that she showed a lot of talent in high school,” Alex told her parents.

  “Yes, when she started college and got pregnant with Emma, we were all concerned that she would stop drawing and painting, but we were wrong. She just ended up using Emma as her influence.”

  “That’s beautiful. Is Emily around?”

  Emily took that as her cue as she walked down the staircase and her eyes immediately found Alex standing in the middle of her living room.

  He looked gorgeous in a freshly pressed light blue button down dress shirt and light beige slacks. She noticed that the top few buttons of his shirt were undone which made him look sexy as hell and just casual enough for the evening. His dress coat was already hung at the front door. She swore his lips curled in to a soft playful smile as she approached them.

  “Emily, so nice to see you again and you look lovely this evening,” he said reaching for her hand and softly kissing it.

  “You too, Alex. I’m so happy that you could make it.” Looking to her mom for confirmation, she added, “I think dinner is ready if you would like to follow us to the dining room.”

  Alex nodded and followed right behind her. Emma giggled as Emily picked her up. “Mommy, we talk to Daddy soon, right?”

  Emily’s eyes moved to Alex’s as he smiled at her. “Yes, Sweetheart. We will call him later, ok?”

  The dinner conversation consisted of Emily’s life and why she found comfort in painting. They discussed how the art business worked and how difficult it was to get your foot in the door.

  By the end, they were discussing Emma. Her mom and Paul got up to clear the dishes and grab dessert for everyone.

  “So, tell me about Emma’s father,” Alex asked looking at her once they were alone in the room. She normally would have been taken back by a complete stranger asking that question but Alex had a very strong yet disarming personality that put her at ease.

  “He’s graduating from Syracuse this May. Do you follow football at all?”

  Alex laughed. “I actually do. I love the game, shocking I know, an art guy with a love of football.”

  Emily chuckled. “Well, do you know who the starting quarterback of Syracuse was this year and who is expected to go first in the draft?”

  Alex thought for a moment. “Are you telling me that Emma’s father is Eric Mason?”

  Emily nodded and whispered, “And my fiancée.”

  Alex just stared at her. She couldn’t read his expression but she saw his eyes move to her empty fingers and she suddenly felt embarrassed.

  “No ring?” He asked in a way that made it as much of a statement as it was a question.

  “It’s upstairs. I jumped out of the shower quickly and left it behind.”

  Alex nodded. “Well, you guys are about to have a wonderful life together.”

  “I hope so, we have suffered through four long years of college to get to this point and I just realized that you probably don’t want to hear this stuff,” she laughed nervously.

  “I will listen to whatever you want to tell me, Emily.”

  Emily blushed again as she stood up. “Did you want to head upstairs and I will show you my art room?”

  Alex nodded as he followed behind her, she felt him staring at her even though she couldn’t see him. She didn’t know what was happening inside of her but she couldn’t stop feeling guilty about it. In the little time they had spent together she realized she definitely liked Alex. Now, she just needed to figure out a way to control it. He was older than her and she was engaged to the father of her baby. This was all wrong, this couldn’t happen.

  She opened the door to her room and welcomed Alex inside. “Here it is. Feel free to look around. I tried to organize it somewhat for your visit.”

  Alex smiled as he walked around the room. He examined each drawing or painting without saying a word. She crossed the room as he approached the painting of her that she did a month ago when she was in a really bad place. Alex didn’t move. He just stared at it. She approached the painting, causing her shoulder to brush against his arm. She held her breath as she felt the electricity from the touch.

  Her eyes drifted shut for a moment, trying to pull herself together as she heard Alex finally speak. “Emily, I’m not going to ask if this is you because I can clearly tell that it is but I want to know the meaning behind it.”

  “I was pretty depressed about a month or so ago. I was feeling lost when I came in here and I honestly didn’t realize what I was painting until it was finished. I was frightened by what was staring back at me. It was a wakeup call really. I didn’t want to become her so I had to take my life back.”

  She felt Alex turn away from the painting and look at her. “And did you?”

  Still very much aware of how close they were, Emily nodded. “I think so. I confronted my issues and things are going better, smoother now.” She looked up to find his face very close to her own and realized she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.

  “I’m moved by this painting, it’s beautiful. Can I borrow it? I would like to show it to some colleagues of mine but I know something like this would be very difficult to show strangers, so don’t feel pressured by my request.”

  Emily shook her head slowly. “No, that’s fine. What is the point of painting if you aren’t willing to share it with the world, right?”

  She smiled up at him, and then froze as she saw his hand slowly move up and softly trace her cheek. His touch forced her to hold her breath again.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be doing this,” Alex said as he removed his hand from her face and took a step back.

  Emily didn’t know what to say, her body was deceiving her as she missed his touch already.

  “I will contact you later on so I can return this to you, but I think you have a promising future, Emily.”

  “Thank you, Alex. You have no idea what that means to me, I have always wanted to share my work with the world.”

  “And you will, I promise you that.”

  Emily walked him to the
front door so he could say his good night’s to her family. Before he was even in his car, she found herself thinking that Alex was different than the guys she knew. He was older sure, but it was more than that. He was sophisticated, debonair even. He sure knew how to handle himself and Emily knew she needed to see him again.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The draft was finally here. It was late April and Eric was a complete mess. All of the media outlets agreed – he was sure to go first and the pressure was really getting to him. Emily tried to stay focused so she could graduate on time which meant that Emma was spending a lot of time with her Grandma. She hadn’t heard from Alex in over two weeks. She was worried that his colleagues weren’t interested in her work and she was beginning to write the whole thing off. Maybe she wasn’t going to get her big break after all.

  Eric and his father flew out to New York City on Wednesday to meet his agent and talk draft strategy. Eric wanted Emily there as well so, she decided to skip the remaining classes for the week and join him.

  She was packing the last of her clothes when Eric called. “Hey Gorgeous, are you getting ready?”

  “Yes, I’m just finishing up and then I’m heading to the airport. Will you be able to pick me up?”

  “Yes, I have a limo ready to drive out there.”

  “Limo, huh?”

  “You better get used to it, Baby. This is how our life is going to be for us from now on, I promise you.”

  “Eric, you know that all I need is you and Emma. I could care less about all the extra stuff.”

  He laughed. “I know, but life is going to better with it. Just you wait.”

  “I’m sure it is and I’m so excited for you, Eric. But this is all just so unbelievable to me that sometimes, I don’t even know what to think,” Emily said and then realized this probably wasn’t a conversation they should have over the phone right now, so she added, “I just can’t wait to get there!”

  “I can’t wait to see you."

  “Well, if you want me to get to my flight on time, I need to leave now. I will see you soon, ok? Love you.”

  Emily finished packing and carried her suitcase downstairs. Emma was in the living room watching cartoons.