Page 106 of The Emma Special

“I like to keep the house clean. I…” Emma put her hands on her hips and looked at the tiled floor. “I just want to be a good wife for him, okay?”

Katie brushed crumbs from the counter into her hand.

“We thought you were happy, Emma,” Allison said quietly. “Are you happy? Are you okay?”

Emma nodded. “James is really sweet.”

“But are you happy?”

“Yes?” Emma looked from Summer, the bravest and most fiercely independent of all of them, to Allison who narrowed her eyes—probably trying to dissect every nuance of Emma’s words—to Katie, whose kind and supportive encouragement was unmatched. “I feel like I’m in trouble,” Emma’s shoulders sank. “Why am I in trouble for keeping his house clean?”

“Ha!” Allison threw out a finger at Emma’s chest. “That’s why. You said his house.”

Katie and Summer nodded in agreement.

Summer popped open the top of a flour container and shoved her hand deep in the powder. “Forgive me, friend.” Summer flung a fistful of flour into the air.

White powder shot across the room and splatted against the upper cupboards. Before Emma could process what had just happened, another blast of powder hit the opposite wall. Fine dust floated in the air, hanging over everything before slowly dissipating like a morning fog.

Emma stood in the middle of the kitchen between the sink and the island with her hands pressed to her cheeks. “What are you doing?”

Katie lifted Emma’s phone. “I’m texting James to come home for sloppy joes. If you can be cool about this, we’ll believe that you’re happy.”

Emma snatched the container of flour from Summer before she could throw anything else, but in her hurry it slid from her grasp. Poof! Flour exploded across the kitchen floor.

Allison’s laughter rang through the room. “Emma! Why are you making such a mess?”

“What kind of housewife are you?” Summer exclaimed.

Katie smiled a little too sweetly. “James and Daniel will join us for lunch. Let’s watch the next Marvel movie while we’re waiting.”

Emma sputtered. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

Allison looped her arm in Emma’s. “Come on. We’ll help you clean this up after while. Summer, grab the plate of cookies, would ya?”

Emma looked over her shoulder as she followed her friends to the living room. They expected her not to care they’d invited a tornado into the kitchen? When James came home and saw their mess he would… Well, he might… Huh. She didn’t know what he would do.

He didn’t get upset much. Would this be the breeze that started the avalanche?

Emma pulled to a stop. “Can I just⁠—”

Allison tugged. “I’d rather you didn’t. Tell me about Mason. You said he was single?”

Emma shrugged. “I said he wasn’t wearing a ring.”

“Next time, find out if he’s seeing anyone.”

Summer flopped on the couch and clicked on the TV. “What happened to Paul? You two were making eyes at each other at Honkey Fish last week.”

“Yeah, we chatted. He’s not my type. I need someone a little more ambitious. Someone classy.”

“Classy like a personal trainer?” Katie took the remote from Summer and scrolled through their suggested movies.

“Maybe.” Allison led Emma to the couch, then moved to the recliner. “I don’t know yet. Someone mature. A man who knows what he wants and goes and gets it. A swanky business owner or something.”

“Swanky business owner for Allison, coming right up!” Emma thought of Mason’s straight-forward coaching when she’d joined James at the gym. James deadlifting was far more distracting than anything she’d noticed about Mason.

He’d shown her how to use some kind of upper body machine because she wasn’t cleared from her PT for anything else. “I’ll call you to hop over to the gym next time. You can see if Mason is swanky enough for you.”