“Then I’ll stay.” Eva stood up. “But I’m going to bed. Are you going to finish eating?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.” She paused. “Hey, before you go in there, I have something for you.” Ember walked over to the kitchen. She removed something from a drawer and approached Eva. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
She couldn’t see what was in Ember’s hand, but she could tell it had to be something small.
“Just close your eyes, babe.”
Eva did as she was told and closed her eyes. Ember lifted her hand and placed something inside it before closing Eva’s hand around it.
“Can I-”
“Yes, open.”
Eva opened her eyes and stared down at her hand.
“Your key?”
“Yes, so you can come here whenever you want.”
“Thank you.” Eva leaned in for a quick kiss. “You taste like pepperoni.” She pulled back. “You better brush your teeth if you expect to get any tonight.” She laughed as she went into Ember’s room.
“That’s an option? Me getting some?” Ember asked.
◆◆◆
Ember woke in the middle of the night again, but instead of moving immediately to her chalkboard to work out an equation, she stared at her sleeping girlfriend. She was able to hold off for a good ten minutes before she had to touch her and run a gentle finger along the line of Eva’s jaw.
“Yes, dear?” Eva asked with her eyes still closed.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Are you okay? Do you need to go work something out?” Her eyes were still closed.
“Let’s go on a vacation,” Ember suggested.
Eva’s eyes shot open.
“What?”
“You have two weeks of filling in for Kayla, right?”
“Yes, but what time is it, Em?”
“I don’t know.” Ember slid closer to Eva. “I should have a replacement ready to go this week, and then I’ll spend a week or two getting them trained, which means we can go somewhere before you have to start your summer session, right?”
“Em, go back to sleep. We can talk about this in the morning.” Eva kissed Ember’s forehead.”
“Please, Scout,” Ember begged.
Eva’s eyes opened back up again.
“I would love to go somewhere with you, but I can’t afford it. I’m barely scraping by until I start getting my paychecks in the fall,” she said.
“I’ll pay.”
“Em, I can’t-”
“Eva, I have money to afford a vacation for the two of us. Let me do this.”
“Why is this so important now, Em?” Eva ran a hand through Ember’s ash-colored hair.
“Sorry, we can talk about this later. Go back to sleep,” Ember relented.
“Babe, just tell me.” Eva massaged the back of Ember’s neck, and Ember felt the tension release from her body.
“You’re leaving in August, and it’s almost May. I want to do something with you.”
“Oh, Em.”
“I can afford it, Eva. I can take you anywhere you want to go. Seriously, anywhere you want.” Ember was unable to hide the panic in her voice.
“Are you worried about us after I move? We’re going to be fine, Ember. We don’t have to squeeze-in a vacation now.”
“It’s not that,” Ember said. “It’s not just that,” she said a bit more honestly. “I want to go somewhere with you. I guess I just want to celebrate this new phase of my life.” She paused and started playing with Eva’s dark hair. “I’ve never taken a vacation.”
“Never?” Eva’s eyes opened wide.
“I started working at the restaurant full-time after graduation. We never really had family vacations. We had trips to Zack’s baseball tournaments that I sometimes went on, but not much else.”
“Baby…” Eva snuggled in closer.
“I narrowed my list down to two schools. Before I look into them more by going on a campus visit, and start to figure out what the next several years of my life might be like, and you start your new job, I’d like to go somewhere with you.”
“Where do you want to go?” Eva finally gave into the discussion. “And what do you mean you can afford to take me anywhere?” Eva squinted at Ember in the darkness.
“You love me already, right?”
Eva chuckled and pulled herself into Ember’s bare chest.
“Yes, why?”
“Just checking because I don’t want to date a gold digger.”
Eva laughed harder and Ember felt it in her bones.
“What?”
“I’m not a millionaire or anything, but I’ve saved well, so I have enough money to pay for a nice vacation for us and a doctorate for myself if I want one. I could put a down payment on a nice house. Not a Hollywood mansion, but something modest, like a nice four-bedroom just outside of the city or something.”
Eva pulled back and her mouth was open.
“What? How?” She stopped. “Why am I asking that? I know the answer.” She shook her head from side to side. “You’ve used your powers for good.”
It was Ember’s turn to laugh.
“I guess you could say that, but I was thinking a week somewhere warm just you and me. Bathing suits are optional.” She was given a gentle push by Eva’s hand on her stomach.
“I will go wherever you want, but if we’re on a beach somewhere, I’m wearing a bathing suit.”
“I can handle that,” Ember replied.
“You’re going on campus visits?” Eva asked after a silent moment.
“I was hoping you’d come with me.”
“Where?” Eva breathed out against Ember’s neck, and Ember could tell she was incredibly tired.
“MIT,” Ember said after a moment and ran a calming hand up and down Eva’s back as Eva settled down on top of Ember.
“MIT, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“And the other?”
Ember swallowed, and Eva’s hand on her stomach began to rub her skin.
“Notre Dame.”
Eva’s hand stopped. Ember felt Eva’s lips press to her neck.
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure,” Ember assured her. “I would like to go to both campuses and walk around, maybe sit in on a couple of classes and see if I like them.”
“That’s great, babe. I’m really glad you’re moving forward with this.”
“I know you’re tired,” she said softly in Eva’s ear. “Let’s talk more tomorrow.”
Eva didn’t reply because she was already asleep.
◆◆◆
“Okay.” Eva opened her computer. “Let’s get started.”
“Awesome.” Ember sat next to her. “I’m thinking maybe an island somewhere.”
Saturday morning had been good so far. Ember had made breakfast in Eva’s kitchen for the first time and taught Eva as she made them both veggie omelets. Eva had gone for her run while Ember remained and showered so that Eva could shower when she returned. Now they both sat on the sofa with wet hair.
“We’re not doing the vacation thing now. We’re looking into the school thing.”
“School thing?” Ember questioned. “What school thing?”
“I know I was almost asleep when you told me, but did you really think I’d forget that you’d narrowed your search?”
“No, but it’s a campus visit, and maybe I’ll audit some classes while I’m there. I’ve already picked which ones. I’ll go in the fall and check them out.”
“I thought you want to enroll for the fall.” Eva turned to face her.
“I do, and this is maybe where I get girlfriend points because I don’t want to be away from you.”
“For a campus visit, you mean?”
“I’d have to be there for at least a weekday to audit and then a day just to walk around and get a feel for the city and-”
“Babe, you’re not doing that.” Eva laughed. “That’s not how
someone like you does a campus visit.”
“Someone like me?” Ember sat Indian-style facing Eva.
“We’ll send an email to the head of the applied mathematics department at both universities, explain your abilities and the need for the accelerated program. We’ll send samples of your work. Preferably, a video of you doing it, so they know it’s really your work. They’ll email you back and tell you they’d like you to come for a visit. If you really impress them, which I think you will, they’ll even pay for your trip. They’ll pair you with a professor from the department, show you around, probably test you a little and then request that you take more tests to determine your aptitude and whether or not it’s a good match. They’ll offer you a slot in the fall and help you build your program.”
“Wow!” Ember said after Eva’s speech. “I guess it pays off to date a hot professor, huh?” She raised her eyebrows.
“In this case, I’m just the girlfriend.”
“Can you come with me?”
“I’d love to, but I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m your girlfriend, Ember. This is about you picking a school. You should be fully focused on that and not worried about me.”
Ember gave Eva her best puppy dog eyes and lips. “Come on. Please.”
“No, babe. You need to do this on your own. I’ll be here waiting to hear about your decision.”
“That’s less fun.”
“If you want though, maybe we can arrange your Notre Dame visit around my trip to find a place to live. I won’t do the school stuff with you, but I can drive you there and then go check out possible apartments. I’ll probably have to stay for a couple of days at least. I might consider staying in a hotel and allowing you to stay with me for the night instead of driving back right away.”
“You might?”
“I might.”
“Can I do something to convince you?” Ember leaned forward.
“Yes, you can go to MIT on your own and come back and tell me all about it.”
Eva pulled back.
“Well, that was mean.”
Eva laughed.
“Let’s get working on those emails and then you can try to convince me another way.”
“Less mean.” Ember took the computer from Eva’s lap.
◆◆◆
“Lunch with your mom. What do I need to know?” Eva asked as they arrived in front of Ember’s family’s apartment building.
“Nothing.” Ember took her hand and then looked up at the windows. “My dad won’t be here until tonight, so we won’t run into him. That’s a plus.”
“I guess we should go in then. It’s kind of cold out here, babe.” She turned to Ember. “Should I call you babe in there? Will she hate that? Should I not hold your hand or touch you or-”
Ember’s lips pressed to Eva’s. She kept them there for a moment before opening her mouth and finding Eva’s open. Eva felt less cold as their tongues met and danced and their arms wrapped around one another.
“Stop worrying. Just be yourself,” Ember told her as they pulled away.
“Okay.” Eva was blushing.
When they arrived at the door, Ember hesitated a moment. Eva heard her inhale deeply before knocking. A moment later, a woman answered the door.
“Honey, why’d you knock?”
“I didn’t know if we should just walk right in,” Ember replied.
Eva could now see a slight resemblance to Ember, although the woman’s color was darker.
“Well, that was stupid.” She turned to Eva. “I’m Francine.” She held out her hand.
Eva shook it. “Eva. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Come on in.” She motioned for the two of them to head inside.
Ember allowed Eva to walk in before her and then she helped Eva with her coat. Eva caught Francine’s eyes on her daughter as she hung it in the closet and then hung up her own to turn back to both silent women.
“What?” Ember questioned.
“Nothing,” Francine replied.
“I know that look, mom. What did I do wrong?”
“You know what, you did nothing wrong, November. I was actually impressed with you for a second there, but I think that’s gone now.”
Eva laughed. Francine reminded her of her own mother. Mothers must just have this way of talking to their adult daughters.
“Impressed?”
“She’s never brought a woman here. Did she tell you that?” Francine asked Eva.
“Yes, she told me.”
“And the first time she does, she lets you walk in first and takes your coat for you. It was nice. I liked seeing my daughter be nice to someone she’s dating.”
“She always does that for me.” Eva glanced at Ember. Her face lit up when she did because she caught Ember blushing. “I don’t think I’ve ever said thank you to her for it, but there are these little things she does sometimes that I think she had to get from somewhere. She opens doors, pulls out chairs, and always takes my coat. It’s very sweet.” Eva placed a soft hand on Ember’s neck and just rested it there for a moment.
“She gets that from her father,” Francine said. “He still does that for me to this day.”
Ember’s face changed at the mention of her father and Eva dropped her hand.
“Lunch, mom?”
“Now don’t get upset with me, but I told a little white lie to get you here.”
She took off in the direction of the kitchen or maybe the dining room. Eva didn’t know. The apartment opened up to a large family room with an open path to the back where there were obviously more rooms. Ember and Eva had no choice but to follow behind.
“What white lie, mom?” Ember asked as they entered the kitchen.
Eva looked to the right to see a large, dark wood dining room table where she saw Ember’s father, her brother, and the woman she recognized as his future wife, Grace, sitting at the table.
“Hey, little sis.”
“Mom?” Ember’s body was tense as Eva watched her react to seeing her whole family around the table. “You said it would be just us.”
“I won’t take offense to that, I guess,” Zack said.
“Shut up, Zack,” Ember scolded.
Eva took her hand, no longer caring if anyone in the room would have a problem with it.
“Mom, you said she knew,” Zack stated.
“I lied. My husband and my daughter are barely talking. She stopped coming to dinner. I thought this was the best way to get you both in the same room because neither of you would expect Sunday lunch when we always do dinner.”
“Mom, this is a trap. That’s not okay.”
“Ember, sit down so we can eat,” Jack stated gruffly.
“No,” Ember replied. “It’s one thing to be at the restaurant together, but I told you I didn’t want to talk until you were ready to have an actual conversation.”
“Both of you, sit down. We can eat a civil meal together. We have a guest,” he ordered.
“Eva,” Ember stated while glaring at her father. “My girlfriend that I love. I brought her here to meet you, mom. I don’t like this ambush. It’s not fair to me or her.”
“Em…” Eva tried to calm her down by placing her other hand on Ember’s forearm.
“We’re leaving. I shouldn’t have gotten you into this.” She looked to Eva. “I’m sorry.”
Eva looked around at the four people in front of them and made a decision.
“This is ridiculous,” she said after a moment, and saw the looks of surprise on all four faces. “Mr. and Mrs. Elliot, I love your daughter. I love her like crazy. I’m almost thirty years old. I’ve spent my life studying the words of the world’s greatest authors. Maybe our story wouldn’t compare to some of them, but I met her at a time when things in my life weren’t great. I thought I’d end up alone because I hadn’t found anyone that made me feel how she makes me feel.” She took a breath. All eyes still remained on her as if they expected her to continue.
“Ember is a remarkable person.” She chanced a look and got her confirmation that Ember was just as surprised as everyone else. “She is kind, loving, hilarious and beautiful in that classic kind of way that you don’t see often anymore. She’s one of the best friends anyone could have. Did you know that to help her friend figure out if she should take a job or not, Ember did hours of work using advanced math that the majority of the world will never understand? She whittled it down for Charlie, so that she could make the right decision? Do you even understand how smart she is? She is MENSA smart. She is responsible and giving. I love her, and I love how she loves me.” She squeezed Ember’s hand. “She is this chivalrous person, and apparently, she gets that from you.” She looked in Jack’s direction. “And I understand that I’m not who you pictured for her because I don’t have a damn penis, but God, I love her. I am good to her, and I will continue to be good to her because she deserves that. She deserves everything.” She met Ember’s eyes again and noticed they had tears in them. She paused and wiped a tear off Ember’s cheek. “You guys need to work this out because I know you love your family.” She turned to the rest of them. “And I know you all love her despite how you act sometimes, because anyone that knows this woman, loves her. They can’t not.”
The room was silent save the sounds coming in from outside.
“Well, I like her,” Francine said after a moment and then smiled in Eva’s direction.
Zack and Grace both laughed. Ember’s father was not laughing but appeared to be contemplating something. He stood after a moment and approached the two of them.
“Cubs or White Sox?” he asked.
Eva looked to Ember because she didn’t know what to say to that. Then she looked just past his head and could see Grace and Zack both holding up their hands in the shape of the letter C.
“Cubs?” She guessed.
He nodded.
“I’m Jack.”
“Eva.”
He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did, and then turned to face Ember.
“Ember, we can talk in my study after lunch.”
Eva watched Ember’s face change back to register surprise.
“Not just about the restaurant?”
“Fine,” he stated, and then immediately turned around and began to walk back to the table.
The Best Lines Page 25
