“Meh.” She made a face into the webcam and tipped her head one way, then the other. “Some days are better than others.”
“I hear that.”
“She does okay, though. Gets herself to work and does well there. Only lets things get out of control when she doesn’t have to work the next day. So…progress? I guess?”
“And the foot? Have you put it down yet?” Gentle, Emma had to give him that. It was a question she’d expected but could admit to hoping it would get skipped. Gabriel had been telling her for months that it was time to put her foot down with her mother. Insist that she get help. Not just suggest it. Not slip pamphlets into her mailbox or send her links to AA meetings. Insist.
Emma sighed. “The foot is still hovering in the air.” Shame filled her, telling him this. She knew it was a silly reaction, but it was there. Embarrassed. Weak.
“Stop that,” Gabriel said, a sharpness in his voice. “Stop that right now. You do it in your own time. I’m not pushing. I’m just asking.”
Eyes welled and Emma clenched her teeth, willing them to clear. “I know. It’s just…” Her swallow was loud in the quiet of her apartment.
“She’s your mom.”
“Yeah.” Emma’s voice was a whisper.
“It’s okay, Em. Really.” A beat went by. Gabe waited, gave her time to collect herself. Then he asked, “So, what will you do with your Sunday off? It’s June. It’s supposed to be sunny. I hope you’re going to get outside and soak up some vitamin D.”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” The grin came as she sat up a bit, relieved to be talking about something else. “Friends are having a barbecue, so I’m going to their house to hang out on their back lawn and drink beer and eat hamburgers. I’m guessing on the hamburgers, but it seems logical for a barbecue.”
“Good. I don’t like the idea of you spreading yourself too thin and not allowing yourself any time to just…what was that phrase you always use?”
“Be a person?”
“Yes! You should people tomorrow. Just be a person.”
“I will. Promise.”
They covered a few more inconsequential things and signed off, and Emma felt lighter, like she’d been carrying a sandbag over her shoulder and somebody had just lifted it from her. That was the result of talking with Gabe, always. A glance at the clock told her it was going on two a.m. She closed up her laptop, finished the last of her wine, and headed for the bedroom.
She needed to get some sleep if she intended to be a person tomorrow. Being a person was hard work.
Chapter Ten
Out of sorts. That was the best way for Emma to describe herself on Sundays. A little bit out of sorts. Especially in the mornings. It was the only day of the week the restaurant was closed—if she didn’t have friends who cared about her sanity and well-being, she’d be open seven days a week—and every Sunday, she felt a bit adrift, like a dinghy cut loose from its larger ship.
Sleeping in wasn’t really possible for her. Never had been. It was hard to work in a field where being a night owl was necessary when you were actually a morning person, but Emma had functioned on roughly five hours of sleep since she was a teenager, so waking up before seven a.m. when she didn’t have to was nothing new to her.
A gentle breeze ruffled her hair as Emma stood in front of the open window of her living room and sipped from her second cup of coffee, strong and hot as the first. Dressed in lightweight gray sweats and a white tank top, her thick hair piled on top of her head, Emma allowed herself to feel relaxed. She inhaled the fresh morning air through her nose, held it, slowly let it out, and tried to decide what she might want to do today.
That question was decided for her when her phone pinged. It was a group text from Ryan Kim, golf pro at Shaker Hills Golf Club and one of her closest friends.
Barbecue at Amber’s today. Don’t forget. Want me to pick you up?
It was funny how she’d just talked to Gabe last night about the barbecue, but this morning, it seemed to be wiped from her brain. For a split second, she thought about making an excuse, but she’d told both Ryan and Dani—who’d also received the text—that she’d go. They’d give her so much shit if she backed out now.
While Emma preferred to drive herself so that she could escape when she wanted to, having Ryan drive was usually the better choice. He was a stickler about fitness and health, and he rarely drank alcohol. Having him behind the wheel was always a good call.
Sure, she typed. Time?
2ish? I’ll grab Dani first and be over.
Emma sent a thumbs-up emoji, then set the phone down, deciding on one more cup of coffee. She’d taken two steps and her phone pinged again. This time, it was Dani. As expected.
A thumbs-up? Seriously? Are you seventy?
Her soft laugh carried through her apartment. The thumb had been a running joke ever since she had sent one accidentally, and Dani teased her mercilessly about it, though Emma wasn’t quite sure why. Now, she sent them on purpose. Constantly.
Feels like it sometimes, she sent back. Hey, bring a couple bottles of the Meritage for Amber. I’ll pay you.
Dani agreed.
Normally, Emma would make an appetizer or ask about helping with the main course. After all, she was a chef and her friends knew that. But Amber was one of the sweetest people on the planet, and she was adamant about not wanting Emma to work in any way, shape, or form on her day off. Since showing up empty-handed was not an option for her, wine it would be.
Third—and final, oh my God—cup of coffee in hand, she walked across the hardwood floor to her bedroom and began the loathsome task of figuring out what to wear.
* * *
“I don’t understand how life is so unfair.” Danielle Schwartz stood with her hands parked on her hips, looking annoyed as could be, though Emma knew she was pretending. “How is it that you can wear something so simple and look so gorgeous? How?” She waited for Emma to fold herself into the back seat of Ryan’s two-door coupe, then pushed the seat back and got in.
“Listen, somebody with your movie star hair is not allowed to complain,” Emma said. Dani had a head of thick curly hair that fell past her shoulders in waves of sunset red.
“Agreed,” Ryan said, raising one hand. Then he pulled out of the EG’s parking lot and pointed the car toward Amber’s house.
“Please. My hair enters a room before I do. Take a good look now because summer is here, and that means humidity, and that means it’s ponytails and buns and braids and hats until fall.”
“I hear that,” Emma said. Most people would be surprised how humid it could get in the summer in the Northeast. “I’m so glad I had the AC installed in my place last year.”
They chatted a bit, but the ride was quick, and Ryan was parallel parking on Amber’s street before they knew it.
“Who’s gonna be here?” Emma asked. “The usual gang?”
“I think so,” Dani said with a nod. “You know Amber—there will probably be some newbies. She loves to weave new people into her day-to-day gang.”
Irony. Dani never saw it and Emma smothered a grin. Dani and Amber were so much alike in their love of people and their outgoing personalities, it was frightening. Not that either of them recognized it. They were good friends and had been for years, but they could also rub each other the wrong way, which Emma always found fascinating.
Wine bottles in hand—Ryan carrying a six-pack of flavored seltzer—they headed up the driveway and followed the music around to the backyard.
“Hey!” Amber said when she saw the trio come through her back gate. “You made it.” She hugged both Ryan and Dani, but seemed to save most of her hugging energy for Emma. Wrapping her up and holding her tightly, Amber said in her ear, “I’m so happy to see you. I miss your face, you know.”
Emma squeezed her back, her own heart growing at the warm welcome. She and Amber had been friends in high school—many of the people mingling in the yard had, she could see—but they’d grown closer after college. Wh
en many of their classmates were off exploring the world and finding bigger, more exciting places to live, she and Amber had both come home to Shaker Falls not long after getting their degrees. She hadn’t expected that to be a bonding thing, but it was.
“Here.” Dani held out a bottle of the Meritage. “This is for you.”
Emma held hers out, too, and Amber laughed. “You guys. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Open it and have some,” Emma told her. “You’ll be glad we did.”
“On it.” Amber waved toward the small crowd that was hanging in the backyard. “Go mingle. There are munchies on the tables under the tent. Feel free to go swimming if you want. Levi’s going to throw burgers, hot dogs, and chicken on the grill by three o’clock.” She grinned and the world seemed to glow. “I’m so happy you’re here!” She squeezed Emma’s arm, promised a quick return with wine, and headed in the back door of her house.
Emma turned to scan the yard just as Dani made a small sound and said, “There’s John Garcia. My sources say he’s opening a liquor store over near Clifton by the end of summer.”
“Your sources? Do you work for the CIA now?”
“Hey, maybe I do.” Dani made an exaggerated face, arching one eyebrow comically high as she pointed at Emma. “You don’t know.” She stuck out her tongue, then beelined for John, who wasn’t going to know what hit him, poor dude, and Emma shook her head and smiled at the thought. Her friend was a force, that was for sure.
She had always liked Amber’s place, and now that Levi lived there as well, it seemed even warmer somehow, even more inviting. The backyard wasn’t huge, but it was a decent size—big enough to hold a small patio, an aboveground swimming pool, a grill that rivaled the cooking area in Emma’s own restaurant kitchen, and a small tent covering two rectangular tables of food and drink. She estimated roughly fifteen to twenty people hanging out, but she knew from experience that folks would come and go all day, and by the evening when Levi stoked the fire pit, there would only be a handful left.
“Here you go.” Amber returned and held out a glass of wine for Emma. She held up hers. “Cheers.” They touched glasses and sipped. “Oh, that’s good.”
“Right? Dani introduced me to it last month, and I ordered a case for the restaurant. It pairs really well with a lot of things.”
“Levi mentioned the other day that he wants to come in for dinner again soon, so maybe next week?” Amber’s eyes suddenly went wide before Emma could answer, and she whispered, “Oh, wow, I didn’t think she’d actually come.”
The words were spoken so quietly, Emma wondered if she was even meant to hear them. She followed Amber’s gaze and felt her own eyes widen a bit in surprise at who had just walked through the gate.
Charlie.
* * *
Charlie waited a split second too long to spin around and hightail it back to her car. Amber saw her, made eye contact. Standing next to her was none other than Emma.
“Shit,” she muttered.
How had it not occurred to her that Emma might be there? How had she not thought to prepare for the possibility? How had Amber not told her? She stood there, just inside the gate, six-pack of beer in one hand, pie in the other, and couldn’t move. Paralyzed. Legs made of lead. Feet rooted right into the grass. Luckily, Amber came her way. She watched as Emma headed in the opposite direction and went in the back door of the house.
“You made it,” Amber said, her face open and happy, and Charlie felt the tiniest bit better due to the Amber Effect. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
Charlie hadn’t been, either. If she was going to be honest, that’s what she’d say. And if she’d known Emma would be in attendance, she probably wouldn’t have come at all. But she’d spent breakfast with her parents, who then went off to church followed by a potluck, and they wouldn’t be back until the evening. Sherry was off with friends for the day—and probably wouldn’t have talked to Charlie if she’d stayed anyway. And then she was alone. In the house, in the quiet. She was hit with a sudden urge to go somewhere, do something, anything but sit around in that empty house. She remembered Amber’s text from yesterday with the reminder about the barbecue, the address to her house, and that had been all the push she’d needed.
Now she was here.
And so was Emma.
“Did you bring me a pie?” Genuine or feigned, it didn’t matter. Amber’s delight helped Charlie breathe a little easier.
“I did.” She held up the box. “Chocolate peanut butter. It needs to go in the fridge if you’re not going to cut it right away.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” Amber grabbed a woman who was nearby, handed her the pie to take inside. Then she put an arm around Charlie’s waist. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to some people.”
Relief and gratitude circled when Amber led her into the yard and toward a small group of people standing near some coolers, rather than into the house where Emma had gone. Is this how it’s going to be? We just avoid each other until the end of time? Charlie stifled a sigh as Amber introduced her to Brian, his wife Tara, a guy named Ryan, and Amber’s boyfriend, Levi.
Charlie shook everybody’s hands, smiled.
“Here, let me take that.” Levi took the six-pack and put it in a nearby cooler, then picked one bottle back out and held it up. “Yeah?” he asked her, and she nodded as Brian and Tara noticed another couple coming through the gate and left, presumably to greet them. Once Levi had popped the cap and handed the beer over, he said, “Amber’s told me a lot about you.”
Uh-oh seemed to be Charlie’s initial reaction on a regular basis now. She kept it to herself and instead said, “Oh yeah? Well, don’t believe everything you hear. Amber’s a huge liar.”
“Really?” Levi said, a glimmer in his blue eyes. “She speaks very highly of you.”
“In that case, do believe everything you hear.” She took a slug of her beer as Levi and the guy named Ryan chuckled. “She only speaks the truth, always.”
“Levi!” Amber called from the back door. “Can you get the grill started?”
“Yes, dear,” he called back, earning laughter from around the yard. “Whatever you say, dear.”
And then it was just Charlie and Ryan.
“So, how do you know Amber?” Ryan asked. He was handsome and probably in his thirties. His jet-black hair was neatly styled, and his khakis, docksiders, and navy blue polo shirt made him look like he’d stepped out of the pages of a J.Crew catalog. He took a sip from the can of grapefruit seltzer he was holding.
“We actually went to high school together.”
“Really? So, you’re from here?”
“I am. But I’ve been in New York City for several years.” Charlie wasn’t sure why she felt the need to slip that in, but it had come out before she realized she was going to say it.
“Yeah? You’re just back visiting?” Charlie was pretty sure Ryan’s questions were innocent, just a guy making small talk with a girl. Despite their intrusive nature.
“For a little while, yes.” She took a slug from her beer and shifted the subject smoothly. “What about you? From here?”
“Oh no.” Ryan shook his head. “I’m from Philly.”
“Wow, really? What brings you to Shaker Falls? A job or love?” She lifted one shoulder in a half shrug and smiled. “It’s usually one of those two things that makes us leave home, right?”
Ryan nodded his agreement. “Agreed. For me, it was a job. I’m the golf pro over at SFGC.”
“Seriously?” She couldn’t contain her delight. They spent the next twenty minutes just shooting the breeze about golf. It was a sport she’d always wanted to learn to play but had never taken the time to.
The day went on, sunny and warm and friendly. Charlie visited with so many people. Some she remembered from school. Some were new. And as the sun began its descent, she was surprised to admit she was having a really good time. Much better than she’d expected. She and Emma had mostly avoided each other, but as the crowd
thinned and people started to leave, that became harder to do. She was thinking maybe it was time for her to go when Amber came up behind her, linked an arm in Charlie’s, and walked her toward the portable fire pit set up toward the back of the yard.
“You’ll stick around for a while? This is the best part—when the acquaintances have gone home, and it’s just my favorite people left. We’ll sit around the fire, make s’mores. It’ll be fun.” At Charlie’s hesitation, Amber said quietly, “Please? I’m so happy you’re here and I’d love for you to stay.”
She took in the small circle around the fire pit as she and Amber approached. Levi was stoking the flames. Ryan sat with his legs out straight, feet crossed at the ankle, and laughed at something the woman next to him said. She had a mass of red curls and an infectious giggle—Charlie had heard it several times during the afternoon and it had made her smile, just as it did now. A woman named Kyra—the one who’d taken the pie in for Amber—sat on the edge of her fold-up chair, beer in her hand, listening to a story being told by the one last person around the fire: Emma.
Fighting her instinct to turn and flee—that seemed to be her go-to response to seeing Emma in any situation now—Charlie pasted on a smile.
“Here,” Amber said and gestured to an empty chair next to Kyra. “I’ll be right back.” She turned and headed back toward the house.
Charlie took the offered chair and settled in, then looked up and realized exactly where she’d sat.
Directly across the fire from Emma.
Chapter Eleven
So Charlie was staying for a while longer, apparently.
How to react? Emma stifled a sigh and took a sip of her wine, held the plastic stemless wineglass in both hands and turned it slowly in her fingers. She hadn’t planned to have all that much to drink, but seeing Charlie walk through that gate had kicked her nerves into overdrive and the size of her sips had increased by quite a bit. Or a lot, as the day went on.
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