Chapter Two - Emma

Mrs. Schumer had drained me of all of my cheeriness and all the relaxation the lunch martini had afforded me, and so, I was in the back room, eating a chocolate cupcake from the pastry shop down the street that our student assistant, Carrie, had fetched for me during her break.   I nearly cried when she set the cupcake down, silently, in front of me, as I cleaned up my station, in preparation for my next appointment.   Her kind brown eyes had witnessed a particularly cruel comment Mrs. Schumer had made.  I couldn’t even thank her for her unbelievable kindness.   I couldn’t even form the words. 

Not five minutes later, as I prepared to greet my next client, I heard Marissa’s sickeningly sweet voice call out, “Well, hello, Charles.  It’s awfully nice to see you again.”  Then, she giggled.  She actually giggled.  I didn’t think Marissa was capable of giggling. 

Charles had kept his reply to his usual soft undertone.  I couldn’t hear it through the closed door.  Marissa’s reply, however, carried because she wanted it to stab my heart, “She’s in the back room.  I’m sure no one will mind if you find her there.”

Mitzy came to my defense.  I don’t know what she said, but Carrie came in quietly.  I looked at her, and said, “I know.  Charles is here.  Thanks, Carrie.  For everything.”

“Mitzy wants to know if you would like us to call the cops.”

“No.  I’ll be out in a moment.  The police will just create a scene.  It’ll be easier and faster if I find out what he wants and deal with him and let him on his way.  I would appreciate it if you could see to Ms. Cunningham and start shampooing her hair.  She’s the sweet thirty-something woman with the red-headed bob sitting in the waiting area.   She’ll understand and easily follow you to the shampoo area.” 

“No prob.”

A few moments later I had composed myself and wiped all traces of chocolate away from my clothes, and even gargled with mouthwash.  Listerine following chocolate was not my favourite taste, but I would be lucky if it was the best taste in my mouth after I found out whatever had crawled up Charles’s a*s all of a sudden. 

He was seated, comfortably enough at the end of the couch, flirting with a twenty-five year old blonde client of one of my colleagues.  His cerulean blue eyes, once my biggest downfall, caught the sunlight and he suddenly glanced my way.  “Emma.  No cops?  I’m disappointed.”

“Keep talking, Charles, and they can easily be called.  Why are you here, and you know you’re not supposed to just show up without calling first.”

He produced a small bouquet of three white roses.  “I took a chance.  I figured if I called you would delay the meeting indefinitely, and since I need to talk to you, I thought, if I brought your favourite flowers, the cops couldn’t possibly get here if you threw me out after asking you to dinner.”

“Why do you want to have dinner?”

“You haven’t said ‘thank you’ for the flowers.”

“Well, I would, if they were the right colour.” 

“I thought it was white roses.” 

“No, white roses were Tina’s favourite.  Or.. was it Tiffany?  Or Brittany?  Oh, it was one of the bimbos that shared our bed with you… when I was working…. to put you through law school.”

“Oh… right,” he was looking for an exit.  Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, I thought.

“Well, I have some important news, and I sort of need to talk to you.”

“Well, I sort of need to keep my job, my sanity, and see to Ms. Cunningham’s hair, and since that’s more urgent in MY life right now, I’m going to go do that.  Right now.”

I turned to walk away, and he grabbed my arm.  Hard. 

“Ouch.”

“Don’t walk away from me, Emma!” 

“I wondered how long it would take for angry, I’m-not-getting-my-way-so-I’m-going-to-behave-like-a-five-year-old Charles to come out of his shell.  What’s the matter?  No new girlfriend to listen to your thousands of lies about where you were last night or the night before?”

He wouldn’t let go of my arm, and his grasp only tightened.   I winced in pain, as he whispered menacingly into my face, “I’m not leaving until you promise to have dinner with me.”

I was crying soft tears.  “Okay.  I’ll meet you for dinner.”

Mitzy came running into the lobby area, screaming, “Let her go, Charles!”  In her hand, by her side, was the silhouette of the nine millimeter she kept in the safe in her office.  

He relinquished my arm and chuckled softly.  “Put away the toy gun, Mikayla.  I got what I came for.”

“Then go,” she said, standing in a firm stance.

“I’ll call you in a few days, Em.  To make plans.  Any place special you want to go?”

“No.  Just leave.  And try to remember, I asked you to call me Emma.”

“I’ll try.  Talk to you soon.”  He turned and winked at the blonde he’d been flirting with less than ten minutes prior.   She winked back.

It was absolutely amazing.  Acting like a jackass, he could still pick up a blonde.  Maybe that was the appeal.   He turned and quickly left the salon.  Marissa’s gaze followed him as he opened the door of his gold Porsche and crawled into his tiny sports car.  “What a man,” she sighed.

I rolled my eyes at her, as  Mitzy came over and put her arms around me.  “Are you okay, Em?”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not seriously thinking of having dinner with him, are you?” 

“I’ll be careful, Mitzy.  I promise.”

“Em.  I think it’s a mistake.  Look what he did to your arm.” 

It was already bruising, his hand print evident.

“I know, Mitzy, but if I don’t go, he’ll just keep coming and coming until I go, and by then, he’ll be really angry.   It’s better to just go and get it over with… whatever it is that he wants.”

I saw the pity in her eyes and she wiped my tears away.  She hugged me close.  Perhaps, Mitzy had the right idea about men. 


“I’m calling Fitz right away!”

That was Bella’s exclamation the moment she saw my arm.  I had managed to keep it covered from her during a lovely homemade dinner, but had removed my hoodie while folding laundry. 

“It’s not that bad.”

“EMMA!  Why didn’t you call the police?  Why didn’t you call Fitz?  Charles is not supposed to come within fifty feet of you.  That’s why we worked to get a restraining order.  It wasn’t easy.”

I knew what she was saying was true, but Charles had not bothered me in nearly a year.  There was a reason he wanted to see me.   I just hoped that I would be able to grant whatever request he seemed to have. 

Sensing my mood, Bella changed the subject.  “I got a new case today.  I was hoping you would…”

“Look over the file and give you my impressions?”

“Well, your impressions are nearly spot on.  It’s eerie.  I just need a place to start.”

“What’s up?”

“It’s a missing teenage girl.   Her grandmother came to see me this afternoon.”

“Oh,” was all I could muster.  The missing children, especially the teenagers always hit me hard.  I didn’t know how Bella did her job as a private investigator.  I was simply grateful that she had been my friend when I needed evidence for my divorce that Charles had been cheating on me.   “I’ll take a look at the file after I finish the laundry.”

“Thanks, Em.”

She was silent for more than five minutes.  I finally broke down and asked, “What?”

“I just would prefer to call Fitz.  If nothing else, to have the bruise documented.”

“You’re not fooling me.  You just want a booty call.”

“Well…, “ she blushed, “there is that, yes.”

“Don’t use me for your sexual exploits!”  I teased. 

She picked up my black bra from the pile.  “And don’t use me for your lack of sexual exploits!”

“What?”

“You wore your black bra.  Tell me again why you didn’t sleep with Jackson?”

“He said the wrong thing…. At the wrong time.”

“Again?”

“Yeah.  It’s a special gift we have.”

“Boy, he really is bad at this, isn’t he?”

We giggled. “Yes, but he tries, so hard.  It’s endearing.”

“Em, you know he’s a good man.”

“I know.”

“And, he’s not a man that’s ever going to bruise your arm… or your face.”

“I know.”

“Then, why?”

“Why won’t I sleep with him?”

“Yes.”

“Because I love him.”

“Well, that makes complete sense.”

“Bella… I didn’t expect it to.  I’m just afraid that… after Charles… Well, Charles hurt me and I thought I loved him.  I don’t want to feel that pain again.”

“So, you keep a perfectly wonderful man at arm’s length because a perfectly awful man hit you and fucked every bimbo in town?  Sure.  That makes sense.”

“Bella, I want to sleep with Jacks, I really do.  I just… panic, every time we get close and then, either he says something or I say something and the mood just disappears…”

I trailed off when the doorbell rang.  I just glared at her.   “You didn’t go to the restroom.  You went to call Fitz!”  I screamed out, as I ran from the living room into my bedroom and slammed my door. 

“Emma!  I did it for you..”  Ding-dong, went the bell again, as she was torn whether to follow me or not.   I realized who had won out, as I heard the soft drawl of Fitz’s voice as it carried up the stairs. 

He followed his voice and gently knocked on my door about ten minutes later, his normally calm drawl calling from behind the door, “Emma.  Can I come in?  Please?”


 

Reviews

[O. Ragnarok]

Interesting, how you manage to keep introducing new characters, and I still manage to keep up. This is really, really good. I'm wondering about Emma's fainting spells, though. That one element is really what keeps my attention here.