“I’ll let you get to your lunch.”
“Do you want to come?” Eva offered. “It’s with Alyssa and Hannah. They work together at the Camden. I’m meeting them at a restaurant next door.”
“The ones that I met the other day? They don’t like me.”
“You hit on Alyssa’s best friend who was taken.”
“Oh, right.” She paused. “Well, I don’t do that anymore, but it’s probably better if you go there alone.”
“I’d like to find a way to thank you for your help that doesn’t involve giving you books,” Eva said. “Maybe coffee or dinner sometime?”
Ember’s eyes darted around for a moment before landing back on her. “Maybe,” Ember replied. “I should go.”
“Can I drive you to the train at least?” Eva wondered what had happened because Ember had been in a great mood before, but wanted a quick exit now.
“I like to walk. I’ll call you.” She held up the book. “Thanks for this.”
“Ember, wait…”
“It’s 11:55. You’ll be late.” She smiled, but it didn’t come close to looking genuine and she turned. “Oh, and I didn’t just know that. There’s a clock up there.” She turned back and pointed at the bell tower behind Eva where the clock did indeed read 11:55.
◆◆◆
Eva arrived a few minutes late to meet Hannah and Alyssa at the restaurant. They’d already ordered her a soda and had it sitting there for her.
“Hey, you’re late,” Alyssa pointed out with squinted eyes. “You’re never late.”
“I was cleaning out my office,” Eva sat in front of them.
“Forgiven,” Hannah replied.
“I was cleaning out my office with Ember,” Eva added with a sip of her drink.
“Wait,” Alyssa glared. “Ember as in November as in the woman that-”
“Hit on Rachel, yes.”
“Are you two seeing each other?” Hannah asked.
“No,” Eva began. “I went to see her at the restaurant last night and we ate dinner together. She came to the office to help, but we’re not dating.”
“You had dinner together and then she helped you move. You sure you’re not dating?” Alyssa asked and smirked. “You like her though, don’t you?” She smiled at Eva and then looked at Hannah. “Isn’t she acting like she’s got a little crush, babe?”
“I’m staying out of this,” Hannah said as she raised her hands. “I’m just here to have lunch with my friend.”
“I don’t have a little crush,” Eva said. “But I do like her,” she admitted. “She’s interesting.”
“Interesting?” asked Hannah.
“She’s a genius.”
“At what?” Alyssa took a tortilla chip and dipped it in the salsa bowl.
“I don’t know. I think probably everything,” Eva tried to explain. “She hides it, but she’s incredibly smart. Brilliant, I’d wager. She can read about a million pages a minute. I’ve only tested her with one math question, and it was pretty basic, but the way she came back with the answer right away and so confidently tells me that she is used to doing that. She listens to math podcasts and wants to be an actuary.” She knew she was rambling.
“Hold on, Dash.” Alyssa finished her chip. “You tested her?”
“Not in a weird way. I suspected she was bright. I was right.”
“What else do you know about her?” Hannah asked.
“Her parents own the restaurant she manages; her brother owns a bar and is engaged to a woman whose father owns Windy’s.” She paused. “She lives in two apartments. She used to be a little on the… flirtatious side,” She hesitated and then met Alyssa’s eyes, which rolled. “But she’s reformed.”
“And?” Hannah pressed. “Pretty basic stuff. What else? What’s her favorite movie or color? Why isn’t she an actuary if that’s what she wants to do? Does she want a family?”
“I’ve spent a couple of hours with her,” Eva replied. “I don’t know all that yet.”
“Dash, maybe get to know her a little more,” Alyssa replied to Eva’s questioning look. “It seems like you’re interested in her brain, which is good, but you do this sometimes.”
“Do what?”
“You get curious,” Hannah said. “It’s like you want to learn something and then you’re bored after you’ve figured it out.”
“Remember that woman from that fundraiser you dragged me to because you couldn’t find a date?” Alyssa asked.
“Carissa?”
“Yes, Carissa.” Hannah seemed to remember as well. “The botanist.”
“You were interested in learning about botany and even attended a lecture she gave and then read books about it.” Alyssa ate another chip. “And then when you were over botany, you were basically over her. You lost interest.”
“I’m not like that.”
“You took up knitting a few months ago. You made one sweater and then tried to give us all your yarn because you said you’d learned enough,” Hannah interjected. “We now have a box of yarn and knitting needles in our apartment because this one was too nice to say no thank you.” She pointed at Alyssa.
“I like to learn.”
“But she’s a person, Dash,” Alyssa stated. “She’s new and interesting right now, but don’t put her in some genius box where you try to figure out what she knows. She’s not an experiment,” Alyssa continued. “And if you like other things about her, that could tell you if maybe there’s something there.”
“Meaning maybe I won’t get bored.”
“Meaning maybe you’ll find someone to be with for the long haul,” Alyssa explained and instinctively wrapped an arm around Hannah. “I don’t mean to say that Ember is that person. I’m saying that in general, maybe you should…”
“I get it. I get it.” Eva sipped on her soda. “I think I messed up with her earlier and it’s just now making sense to me.”
“What did you do?”
“I kept asking her questions about things. How fast could she read? Stuff like that. It was like I couldn’t shut off that part of my brain that just wanted to know. She doesn’t want to talk about it for some reason. It’s not just that she’s humble. It’s like there’s something there she’s ashamed of or is trying to hide.”
“There’s probably something to that, but don’t press,” Hannah advised her. “If she wants to tell you, she will. Just get to know her and see where that takes you.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Eva took a chip for herself. “She is hot though, right?” Eva smirked. The women across from her just laughed. “And she’s funny and sweet. I don’t know how she feels. I’d be interested in a date, but I probably messed up any chance of that today.” She ate her chip. “I should focus on finding a job right now anyway. If I can’t find one locally, I’ll have to leave the city. It’s the plight of the college professor seeking positions with tenure options. They aren’t always exactly where you want them.”
“You’d leave Chicago?” Alyssa appeared concerned.
“I don’t want to. I love it here, but I have to make a living. If there are no positions nearby, I’d have to consider it.” She paused. “Maybe I should just put a pause on everything with Ember until I figure that part out. She said she’d call, but it wasn’t exactly a guarantee.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Alyssa began as their waiter approached. “Why start something you’re not sure you can continue?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
CHAPTER 6
“November, did you finish the end of the month numbers?” Her father asked as she turned away from the couple that entered and was walked to their table.
“Oh, yeah,” she answered.
“Your mother does the books, Ember. Why do you insist on doing things for her?” he chided.
“Dad, mom wasn’t here. I finished them. What’s the problem?”
“Your mother does the books, November. She loves doing the books. You manage the front of the house. We talk about this all the ti
me.”
“Dad, I’m sorry I tried to do something nice for my mom.”
“Just because you want to do something-”
“I’m better with the numbers than mom is, dad. Why can’t I just take over the bookkeeping, so mom can retire or even be here less?”
“Just because you’re better at something doesn’t mean you get to decide who does it, November. Your mother loves this restaurant. She loves bookkeeping. When you do things for her, it means she doesn’t get to enjoy it. Don’t you see that?”
“Fine! God, I’ll stop,” she grunted and matched her father.
“It’s how she feels valuable, Ember.”
“I said I’d stop, dad. I’ll only do the end of the night stuff when I close. Mom can do everything else.”
She had to have the only parents in the world who didn’t want their child using their intellect. Zack had never cared about school or learning of any kind. He wanted to play baseball. It was baseball 24/7 pretty much from the moment he first played catch with their father. Jack Elliot loved his son. That much was clear. His military career ended when Zack was about five and Ember was two. The next several years saw Jack and Francine taking over the family restaurant and Jack taking Zack all over the Midwest for baseball tournaments. As Zack’s talent continued to grow, Ember saw less and less of both of her parents.
Once she could be left alone, they’d done just that. The three of them would go on the weekend tournaments. Jack was a coach and Francine was Zack’s number one fan. Ember had shown no interest in sports. She wasn’t a big fan of school either. She’d gotten decent grades, but nothing worthy of a gold star. When her third-grade teacher reported that she was daydreaming and talking in class, her parents said that she had an active imagination. It was left at that. Ember took her first standardized test and scored off the charts. The school recommended she skip a few grades, but her parents didn’t want her to be an outcast because of the age difference, so they kept her where she was. Her teachers tried to encourage her brain, but when she got no noticeable encouragement at home, she didn’t see the point.
She graduated high school without so much as a college application because her parents wanted her to take over the restaurant. Zack was in college and was on the way to playing major league ball. He was one of the top first basemen in Division One and had a ridiculously high batting average. Ember knew that because she knew all her brother’s stats. She’d kept charts of his performance and he often called her to talk about them. Even though she rarely went to a game when her parents didn’t force her, she was able to follow things online or watch some of his games on TV.
Ember would be the sole heir to their restaurant thanks to Zack’s talent. She began her full-time work while Zack finished up school. Unfortunately for Zack, during his senior season, he tore his ACL. Zack returned to Chicago and worked at the restaurant for a few years before asking his parents for a loan to buy the bar.
Ember had made it through her life mostly invisible. As much as she’d hated it when she was younger, she’d gotten used to it. Her relationship with her mother had always been okay. They were close enough without her mother being overbearing, but her relationship with her father had always been strained. It began the moment he and Zack played that game of catch. It got even worse when she came out to them.
Her father had been raised by a military man. He had his own idea of structure and discipline, and he also had his ideal of the normal family. He’d raised a perfect son who would find a perfect wife and have perfect children. He’d even tried to fix Ember up with a male family friend after she told him she was gay. They fought, and things were combative between them until the time when Ember could afford to move out on her own. Things had been okay since then, but he didn’t like to hear too much about her personal life or really any part of her life outside of the restaurant. He also just wanted her to manage the front of the house. He took care of the kitchen and her mother took care of the books, payroll, and really everything related to numbers.
She’d tried so many times to tell both of them how much faster she could do the work, how much money she could save them by making just a few changes, and how they could expand their very successful restaurant, but her father wanted nothing to do with it.
◆◆◆
Sunday morning Ember stared at her phone yet again trying to decide if she should call or text Eva. She wanted to talk to her. She wanted to see her. She wanted to touch her. She wanted to kiss her. She wanted Eva Dash, but she hadn’t been with a woman in a while and that was for a reason. She didn’t want to lead Eva on and she still wasn’t sure a relationship was what she was looking for. She was restless and stuck, but her love life was only part of the reason. She didn’t want to drag Eva through something like that.
Sunday evening was the weekly family dinner, and yet again, she arrived alone while her big brother Zack arrived with perfect and beautiful Grace, who Ember really did love. Ember hardly said anything as she listened to them all talk about the restaurant, the bar, and the upcoming wedding. Her mother always asked her to bring someone to dinner and Ember never did. Francine apparently failed to consider why.
It wasn’t just about Ember finding a woman to bring. It was about subjecting that woman to her father’s attitude about the fact that Ember loved women. She’d have a wife someday, not a husband. Her mother had not been okay in the beginning about Ember being gay, but had grown more comfortable with it over time. She’d been trying to get Ember to settle down for the past several years, but she’d also been working on Jack to get him to accept it as well.
Dinner ended when Zack and Grace had to leave. Ember wondered for a moment if her parents even noticed she was still sitting in their living room when they both said goodbye to her brother and their soon-to-be daughter-in-law and then made their way toward the bedroom. She stood, said good night, hugged them before leaving and walking aimlessly around the city. Did her family ever really want her? Would they have been better off with just Zack? Would things have been better if Zack hadn’t been born and she’d been an only child?
It was terrible to even consider those things because she loved her brother. He’d beaten up the bullies that went after her in school. He’d told boys they’d better treat his sister right before she came out, and had some similar conversations with a few women over the years. He’d called her at least once a week when he went away to college. He let her ramble on about his stats. She thought he could improve certain things like his speed around the bases or his bat angle when attacking the curveball. He’d always tried to get their parents to focus on Ember. He’d thanked her for her tips when they’d resulted in good things on the field and made sure to do so in front of their parents. But it never amounted to much.
When she’d readied herself for bed by throwing on a t-shirt and shorts, she climbed in and picked up the book Eva had given her. She opened the first page and began reading, but just as she finished the first chapter, her phone rang. She picked it up off of her bedside table and smiled.
“Hey.”
“Hi, I’m sorry if it’s late,” Eva said.
“No, it’s fine. I just got into bed.”
“Oh, me too,” Eva said.
“So, what’s up?”
There was a moment of silence.
“I wanted to apologize,” Eva said at last.
“For what?”
“I find myself fascinated by you, Ember.”
“Oh.” Ember’s head fell.
“I know it’s not something you want to talk about. That’s why I wanted to apologize. I don’t know why you hide that part of yourself, but I wanted you to know that if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t ask about it anymore.” Eva exhaled, and Ember heard it. “I wondered if that’s why you hadn’t called.”
“I’ve been busy at the restaurant, and on Sundays I’m usually with my family,” she said. “If I’m being honest, I could have called. I didn’t know what to say, Eva. I don’t want to be fascina
ting to someone like that.”
“I know. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I was playing twenty questions about your brain.” She giggled. Ember smiled again, loving the sound. “I’d like to still take you out for that coffee. I promise I’ll ask you normal questions and you can do the same.”
“I could do coffee.”
“What’s your schedule like this week? I’m pretty open, as you know.”
“I do Zack’s payroll on Monday mornings. Then, I’m at the restaurant. Tuesday, I can do coffee if you want or lunch.”
“How about coffee on Tuesday then?” Eva proposed.
“That sounds good.” Ember smiled.
“Okay. I know a place near campus that’s pretty good.”
“Sally’s?” Ember asked.
“Yeah, you know it?”
Ember laughed.
“I go there every Thursday with my friends. I know it well.”
They hung up and Ember found herself smiling. Her whole day had been fairly normal to her, but nothing all that pleasant, until Eva’s call. Now, she was smiling at the thought of seeing her on Tuesday morning.
CHAPTER 7
Eva arrived first and sat at a side table at Sally’s, a small coffee shop that also served breakfast sandwiches. She’d brought her laptop, so she could respond to some of the feelers she’d put out for summer jobs all the while looking for something permanent. She’d gotten a cup of coffee to justify her taking up a table at the busy shop, but when Ember arrived, it was only half-finished and cold.
“I thought I was late again until I looked at the clock and realized you must have been very early,” Ember said as she sat down in front of her.
“Oh, hi. Sorry, yeah. I got here a while ago.” Eva closed her laptop. “Let me get you something. What do you want?” She stood up.
“Just for you to sit down for a second.” Ember laughed and undid her coat.
Eva noted it looked much nicer than the other one Ember had worn on Friday, but was also likely less warm. When she removed it, she was wearing a dark blue sweater. Ember had on skinny jeans that disappeared into boots which were sprinkled with remnants of snow. Eva looked back up and saw that Ember was staring at her. Her hair was down and framed her face, but she was wearing an adorable winter hat that she removed, put on the table, and then attempted to fix her hat hair.
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