“It’s not much. Your home is so beautiful.”
Emma stopped staring at the walls. Betty must have assumed she was judging. “It’s not really my home. It’s Grandad’s. For as grumpy as he is, he hates to live alone. I moved back after college. My sister had a newborn and a toddler, and it was too much for her to care for him all by herself. Anyway, I was just admiring your shelves. You’ve used this space well.”
Betty glanced at the floor. “Thank you.”
“And your mother lives here, right?”
“Yes, but she’s not dressed yet. It would embarrass her to meet you without her teeth in and her hair done.”
Emma bit her nail. “Yes, of course.” She really should have given Betty notice. What a rude way to start off trying to be friends. “I’m sorry I dropped in on you unexpectedly. Maybe we could exchange phone numbers so the next time I come you’ll know ahead of time.”
Betty’s eyes widened slightly. “We could certainly do that.” She slid out a drawer and pulled out a pen and a notepad.
Emma had just said ‘next time.’ Maybe that was a tad presumptuous. But if she was committing to changing old habits, that also meant following through on good intentions and not adding them to her pile of forgotten hobbies, like the knitting. Matchmaking was hopefully the last hobby she’d drop on that pile.
Betty slid the pad of paper across the table, and Emma wrote her name and number after adding Betty’s to her contacts list.
“Jane’s at work?” Emma asked. She took a small sip from the water bottle Betty had given her.
Betty glanced around nervously. “No, she’s not.” She sat in the chair next to Emma and leaned in. “I wasn’t sure whether to call George and explain. I promised Jane I wouldn’t. Oh, he’ll be so disappointed in me, and if neither of you wants to talk to me again I wouldn’t blame you at all. I’m sure they’re scrambling at the clinic, and it’s all my fault because I pressed Jane to get a job there. I promise I’ll tell George when this all shakes out. Don’t say anything first, will you?”
Emma shook her head. “Don’t worry about that. I haven’t talked to George much lately anyway. But I’m not sure I understand. What happened to Jane?”
“She’s gone, though her things are still here. She said she was taking a couple of sick days and driving to Sacramento.”
“To see Finn?”
Betty wrinkled her nose. “I called my sister and asked about him. She said he and Jane have been like Romeo and Juliet since high school, except not with the poison and daggers and all that. Madly in love, then they break up just to get together again.”
“I thought they were friends.” Even as she said it, Emma knew it wasn’t true. Nobody had bought that, especially not George, who seemed to see everything.
“That’s what she told us, but really he was the ex-boyfriend she left behind to move here. My sister thinks Jane hoped he would follow, and he did. She made it easy for him. Finn’s dad lives not too far from our apartment, you see.”
“Ahh.” That was the craziest thing Emma had ever heard. She was itching to call Nicole and Cara and tell them about it, but she whacked that idea over the head. She was turning a new leaf and all that. She couldn’t even tell George since she’d promised she wouldn’t. “Is Jane coming back?”
Betty shrugged. “That’s what I need to find out today.” Her mother coughed from one of the bedrooms and called softly for Betty.
Emma slid out her chair and stood. “I’ll let you go. Thank you so much for talking with me.”
Betty nodded, looking embarrassed. “It was nice of you to come, even if it’s just this once. I’m sure George appreciates your efforts.” She rushed from the room to check on her mother and came back a minute later, looking surprised to see Emma still standing there.
Emma gripped the water bottle in her hand, feeling stupid but also stubbornly resolute in winning Betty over. Betty still thought Emma didn’t like her. First impressions were hard to overcome. “I’m sorry for the things I said at the party. Truly. And actually, George doesn’t know I’m here, and I don’t want him to know. You won’t tell him?”
Betty’s face softened. “I won’t tell him. Poor George is being kept in the dark about a lot of things right now, I guess.”
“He’ll be all right.” Emma thought back to the firm way he’d insisted they go back to being friends. She was still mad at him for that, whether he was right about it or not. “I was thinking, would you like to have lunch tomorrow? I have an appointment nearby, and I could just as easily bring something to your apartment for all of us to eat, rather than sitting by myself in my car.”
“If you’re sure, I’d love that. What time?”
Emma pulled up her calendar and they planned the details. With a much lighter heart, she went off to work.
***
“She’s still not here?” George glanced around Lois’s desk, as if Jane might pop out from a hiding place behind the file cabinets or something. But that wasn’t going to happen.
Lois pointed toward Dr. Perry’s little office. “Ask him. She called again a few minutes ago and said she wasn’t coming in after all and asked to talk to him. Please have her quit or fire her already. I can’t take any more of this millennial wishy-washy nonsense.”
It was nothing George wasn’t aware of, but it wasn’t his call to make, and he didn’t have time to find out what Jane’s hourly status was from Dr. Perry. “Never mind, I have patients waiting. You can put Alice Bettany in room six. I’ll be in after my ten o’clock.”
