[Meet Your Match 01.0] Prejudice Meets Pride

by Rachael Anderson

  One of the little girls Kevin recognized from the store poked her head around her mother’s hips. Her sandy blond hair was now pulled up into an adorable ballerina bun. She looked at him as though he had beans for brains. “It’s Emma,” she said matter-of-factly, neglecting to add the “duh” that she was obviously thinking.

  “Emma.” Kevin mulled over the name in his mind, thinking that it didn’t fit very well. The name Emma sounded so nice, so un-assuming, so… not her. He crouched down to eye level with the little girl. “And what’s your name?”

  “Adelynn Mackie,” she said. “I’m five. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-eight,” he said.

  Her eyes grew large. “You’re old.”

  Kevin smiled, liking her immediately. “And you’re perfect. It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand for a fist-bump, which she returned. Then he straightened and gestured to the bags. “Listen, Emma, I get that you’re upset I bought these for you, but I have no use for diapers or fruit snacks or whatever else is—”

  “They’re not diapers, they’re Pull-Ups.” Adelynn’s pretty smile had disappeared, replaced by a glare she must have learned from her mother. “I don’t wear diapers anymore.”

  "Adelynn, honey, go back inside."

  Another little voice spoke from behind. "Pull-Ups are diapers."

  "Are not!"

  "Are too."

  Emma shot Kevin a now-see-what-you've-done look before she ushered the girls inside and pulled out a puzzle to distract them. By the time she came back to the door, Kevin was beyond ready to call it a day.

  “Please,” he begged. “Just keep them. I’ll even let you pay me back if that’s what it takes.”

  Emma cocked her head at him. “Great. Do you take Mastercard or Visa?”

  “Neither.”

  “Then I can’t afford to pay you back.” Although she said it flippantly, the way her eyes darted away from his for a moment showed that the admission had cost her.

  He sighed. “Then pay me back when you can. Your kids obviously need this stuff.”

  She leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb and shook her head. “We’ve already been back to the store for what we need.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Of all the people who could have moved in next door, why did he have to wind up with her for a neighbor? What was her problem anyway?

  Emma let out a breath and held out her hand, not looking any happier than he did. “Okay, fine. I’ll take the groceries. But only if you promise to let me pay you back for them as soon as I find a job.”

  As soon as she found a job? Was there no father in the picture? “Um… is it just you and the girls here, or…” Kevin let the sentence hang, not sure how to finish it.

  “I’m not married, if that’s what you’re asking.” She lifted her left ring finger and wiggled it to prove her point. “Never have been.” The way she said it made it sound as though she was totally okay with it.

  Maybe she was one of those women out to prove she didn’t need a man in her life. Or maybe she was just reckless and irresponsible. Either scenario seemed to fit.

  Still, something tugged on Kevin’s sympathies. Regardless of how reckless or irresponsible she’d been in the past, she was obviously paying for it now. She couldn’t be more than twenty-four, which meant she must have had both girls as a teenager. Did she even have any marketable skills? Any schooling?

  Probably not.

  “What kind of job are you looking for? Maybe I can help.”

  She waved his offer away. “Thanks, but, uh, I think you’ve done enough helping for one day.” The way she said it made it sound like he’d done the opposite of help. She took the bags from him, stepped back inside, said “Goodnight, Kevin,” and closed the door on his face yet again.

  This time, he wasn’t even surprised. He just turned around and walked away, his feet crunching the dry and brittle grass as he cut across her lawn. Only then did he realize that he hadn’t asked her how long she planned to stay.

  The chime of the doorbell sounded through the house, making Emma tense. If that was Kevin again, she wasn’t about to open it. She pulled her knees to her chest and snuggled deeper into the chair. Was he here with another offer to find her a job since she apparently didn’t look the type who could find one on her own? Or was he here with a new car to replace her “piece of junk”? Maybe if she didn’t answer, he’d go away and leave her in peace—well, at least as much peace as she could have with Kajsa and Adelynn playing loudly in the tub down the hall.

  Squeals echoed, followed by the pounding of little feet coming her way. When the two girls burst into the front room, Emma jumped to her feet. “Where are you going?” she said quietly. “You’re supposed to be in the bath.” Water dripped from their hair and wetted the towels draped around their shoulders. Emma could only imagine what the bathroom floor looked like.

  “I’ll get it!” Kajsa announced as she barreled toward the door.

  “No, I want to get it!” Adelynn argued.

  “Girls, please—” Emma stepped in front of them, trying to slow their progress and get the situation under control. Kajsa stopped obediently, but Adelynn ducked under her arm, saying, “It’s my turn!”

  Before Emma could grab her, the door had already been thrown open, revealing a petite blond woman standing next to a teenaged, taller, and longer-haired version of herself. An easy smile appeared on both faces, and the older of the two held out a pizza box with a plate of cookies on top.

  “Welcome to the neighborhood,” the woman said. “I’m sorry we’re here so late. We planned to come earlier, but I burned the homemade dinner I was going to bring you, and the pizza delivery guy was late.” She eyed Kajsa and Adelynn with rueful eyes. “You’ve probably already eaten, haven’t you?”

  “Not dessert,” said Kajsa, eyeing the cookies.

  “Can we have a cookie?” Adelynn said in her less-than-subtle way.

  The woman lifted the plate of cookies and handed them to Adelynn. “You need to ask your mom first.”

  “She’s not our mom. She’s our aunt,” Kajsa said as she reached for a cookie, then frowned when Emma took the plate and lifted it above their heads.

  “You may each have one after you get your PJs on,” said Emma.

  Once again, footsteps pounded as the girls ran off to their room to change.

  Emma turned back to the woman with an apologetic look. “Sorry about the welcoming committee. They love visitors, and cookies are their favorite. Thank you so much.” She took a step back and gestured inside. “Would you like to come in? I’m Emma, by the way. And the two girls you just met were Kajsa and Adelynn. Kajsa’s the older, blue-eyed one.”

  “I’m sorry, did you say Kyga?”

  “No, Ky-suh,” Emma said slowly, pronouncing the unusual name.

  “Oh, I like it,” said the woman as she followed Emma inside. “I’m Becky, and this is my daughter, Samantha, but we just call her Sam. We live across the street, so you’ll probably see a lot of us.” She set the pizza box on the counter and smiled at the girls as they came racing back down the hall.

  Emma gave them each a cookie and a glass of milk before turning back to Becky. “Can I get you anything? A drink? One of your cookies?” She didn’t have much else to offer.

  Becky laughed and waved her off. “No, of course not. We just wanted to meet you and make sure you’re settling in okay.” She paused. “Are you new to town, or are you already familiar with The Springs?”

  Emma assumed The Springs was another name for Colorado Springs. “New. I came from Connecticut, and these little trouble-makers are from Ohio.”

  “Oh,” said Becky, looking as though she was trying to put two and two together.

  Her daughter plopped down on a chair and rested her chin on her hand. “How does that work?”

  “Sam,” Becky admonished under her breath. “I’m sorry,” she said to Emma. “We don’t mean to pry.”

  Emma smiled. “It’s okay. Our situation
must sound pretty strange to you. Like Kajsa said, I’m their aunt. My brother—their dad—is working on a construction crew in Michigan, and I’m just looking after them while he gets back on his feet. And we’re here because Maude was my great aunt and left the house to my mother, who has since deeded it over to me.”

  “Oh,” Becky said again, still not looking like she understood. She was probably wondering where the girls’ mother was, but that answer would have to wait until the girls weren’t around to hear it.

  “I’m actually really glad you dropped by,” Emma said, changing the subject. “Do you happen to know which elementary school is in our boundaries? I assume school will be starting up soon.”

  Becky nodded. “It’s called Oakridge Elementary, and it’s about two miles down the road. There’s a bus stop at the end of the street.” She paused. “I take it you’re planning to stay a while?”

  “For a year.” Or, at least Emma hoped it would only be a year. She had dreams and goals that she didn’t want to put on hold for too long.

  “What grades will they be in?” Becky asked.

  Emma placed her hand on Kajsa’s head. “Kajsa will be in first, and Adelynn in kindergarten. They’re both very excited.”

  “That’s great news,” said Becky. “I hear that all of the kindergarten and first grade teachers are wonderful, so you really can’t go wrong with any of them.”

  “That’s a relief to hear,” said Emma. “And speaking of teachers, I know I’m kind of late to the game, but do you happen to know if any schools in the area are looking for an art teacher? I could really use a job.”

  Becky gave her an apologetic look. “Not that I know of, but I could ask around. I would think most schools have already hired teachers by now though.”

  Exactly what Emma had been afraid of, although some teachers had to bow out at the last minute, like she’d had to do. So there was some hope. “I know, but it doesn’t hurt to call around and make sure.”

  Becky nodded, still not looking very hopeful. “I’m friends with a few teachers in the area, so I’ll give them a call tomorrow and let you know what I find out.”

  “Thank you. I’d really appreciate that.” First dinner and cookies, and now this. Why couldn’t all her neighbors be this nice? If Kevin had showed up with a plate of cookies and a welcoming smile, things would have gone down a whole lot differently. Instead, he’d felt the need to patronize her.

  Realizing the girls hadn’t interrupted once, Emma glanced their way and found them with Sam. She’d drawn a few simple line drawings that the girls were now coloring. Emma walked their way and looked over Kajsa’s shoulder. “Wow, Sam, I’m impressed. Are you taking art classes?”

  Sam looked up and blushed, then quickly dropped her marker. “No. I just like to draw. I’m really not that good at it.”

  “I disagree,” said Emma. “You’ve got a good eye.”

  Sam shifted, looking uncomfortable with the compliment, and Becky laughed. “I completely agree. Sam’s just really modest and doesn’t like people making a fuss about her. But before I let her off the hook, I have to add that she’s a wonderful babysitter as I’m sure you can see. She’s a junior in high school and is probably more responsible than I am. Feel free to call her anytime you need one.”

  “I’d love to babysit,” Sam was quick to say. “Your daughters—” She stopped herself. “I mean nieces are adorable.”

  “Yes, they are.” Emma loved the idea of a sweet, budding artist watching the girls when she couldn’t. Sam would be perfect, and Kajsa and Adelynn already seemed to love her. Emma’s heart warmed, feeling like Becky had just heaped on a large spoonful of sugar into her life. If Emma could do her part and find a decent job, it was only a matter of time before her lemonade sweetened even more.

  Emma’s brow furrowed in concern as she set her phone down with a frustrated clang. She’d spent the last two days calling all the schools in the area—high schools, junior highs, elementary schools, charter schools, even private schools—and, just like Becky had warned her, no positions were available for an art teacher. Emma was welcome to bring by a resume in case something opened up later on, or fill out an application to be a substitute teacher, but that was all the schools could offer. Becky didn’t have any luck either.

  Dropping her head to her hands, she went over her options. She could always find a job working as a receptionist or a clerk in a store, but the thought of doing that made her stomach clench. Her entire life, she’d fought to take forward steps in her life, no matter how small they were, and now it felt like the only options available included a very large step back.

  Emma loved art. She loved painting. She loved teaching. But now, here she was, in a strange state with two girls to look after, contemplating a job answering phones all day long. Or worse.

  Giggles sounded from the open front window, and Emma went to investigate, leaning her shoulder against a pillar on the front porch. The girls had wandered from the enclosed backyard to the front, looking bored, and who could blame them? The hot, August heat and crusty grass wouldn’t appeal to anyone. Emma wouldn’t be surprised if they made a run for it and fled across the street to Becky’s beautiful yard instead.

  Emma pushed away from the pillar with a purpose. Although there was nothing she could do to brighten her job prospects at the moment, there was something she could do to brighten the yard for the girls, and she’d do it right now. Then on Monday, she would resign herself to the clerical jobs listed in the classified ads.

  Emma reminded the girls to stay in the yard and away from the street before she opened the garage and started looking around. After a few moments of searching, she finally found the control box for the sprinklers. Like the house, it looked old and tired, but once Emma wiped away the dust, she could still read the words written under each knob. An old and yellowed owner’s manual, encased in a sheet protector, hung from the box. Emma opened the pages carefully, and with one eye on the girls, scanned the directions. With a smile, she confidently turned the knob to manual, set the number of minutes for the first zone, then twisted it back to Run. She watched the yard, waiting anxiously for the sprinklers to pop out of the ground and give the girls a fun surprise. They would squeal in delight and probably race inside to put on their swimsuits.

  The seconds ticked by with no sprinkler action, and Emma’s smile soon faltered. She bit her bottom lip and studied the box once again. Another perusal of the instructions, and she was sure she’d pressed the right buttons. So where was the water? Why weren’t the girls squealing? This was supposed to be the one thing that went right today.

  Hmm… maybe it was an electrical problem. Although the box was plugged in, all the dials were manual, so it was impossible to tell if it was receiving power. Emma glanced around, wondering where the circuit breaker would be.

  “You look a little lost. Can I help?” a deep, masculine voice sounded behind Emma, making her jump. She whirled around and barely refrained from rolling her eyes when she saw Kevin. She suddenly felt like a magnet who attracted knight-in-shining-armor wannabees. It would be one thing if the whole grocery incident had never happened, but it had, and Emma wasn’t about to play the needy role yet again.

  “Aren’t you late for work?” Emma said, noticing that Kevin was dressed in nice slacks and a starched, button-down shirt.

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced at the red sport convertible running in his driveway before returning his attention to Emma. “I don’t have appointments on Friday. It’s sort of a catch-up day, so I usually go in a little later. I saw you out here and figured I’d drop by to say hi really quick. We sort of started off on the wrong foot the other day, and well, since we are neighbors…”

  “We’re good, Kevin,” said Emma. “No hard feelings on my side.”

  “Nor mine.”

  “Great.”

  Instead of leaving, like she expected him to, he looked around the garage. “Everything okay?”

  “Yep.” Emma smiled, a l
ittle too brightly. “Just looking for the circuit breaker.”

  Kevin’s eyes quickly scanned the garage, finally coming to rest on the far corner. “I think that’s it over there. Did you trip a circuit or something?”

  Emma started toward the box. “I just wanted to make sure the control box for the sprinklers is getting power.” She tried to sound confident, like she knew exactly what she was doing and didn’t need any help. But when she arrived at the circuit breaker box and pulled the door open, a bunch of switches stared back at her, like beady black eyes, challenging her to know what to do with them. Emma glanced over everything, searching for anything that looked out of place. But they all appeared to be perfectly lined up. Oh brother. Now what?

  “This box is getting power, so it’s not a power issue.” Kevin was at the control box, checking it out. “Are you sure you programmed it right?”

  “Yes,” Emma said crossly. Did she really not come across as someone with a brain? “I do know how to read instructions.”

  A hint of a smile appeared on his face. “I’m sure you do.” He paused, as though trying to think of another reason her sprinklers weren’t working. “I’m assuming you turned on the stop and waste valve, right?”

  Emma bit her lip. He’d assumed she’d done that, which meant any intelligent, logical person would understand what he was talking about. But Emma had no idea what a stop and waste valve was or why she’d need to turn it on. She’d never rented a house with a yard and didn’t know much about sprinklers. The house had water, why didn’t the yard? It didn’t make sense.

  The corner of Kevin’s mouth pulled up, and he shook his head as though he couldn’t believe Emma was that clueless. He scanned the garage once more then strode forward and grabbed a rusted, metal T-shaped tool that hung between two nails. He carried it out into the front yard, squatted down, and pried off a green lid in the front corner of the grass. Then he plunged the end of the tool down, fiddled with it for a moment, and turned it slowly to the left.

  Emma watched in fascination. So that was the stop and waste valve. Huh.