Page 124 of The Emma Special

He trudged slowly up the three steps to the front door. He would enter the house, tell his wife hello, and ask her to join him for a dinner date. He could pick up where they left off. Courting her. Dating her. Wooing her. Showing her how much he loved her. If she was keeping score, that wasn’t his concern. His job was to keep loving her.

He pushed his shoulders back and opened the door.

Emma’s butt in cut-off jean shorts wiggled in the entryway as she bent over, pulling on her shoes. She stood up straight and faced him, stomping into the second shoe.

“Oh, hi! You’re home early. I have to run, though. I’m walking Mrs. Jones’s dog. Catch you later!”

Darting past him like a woodland fairy, she zipped out of the house, leaving James standing alone in the quiet house, holding a bouquet of flowers she hadn’t even noticed.

It was a replay of that night in high school. He kept his head up, just like he’d done then. With movements disconnected from his emotions he methodically walked into the kitchen. He closed his eyes, waiting for the large vase to fill with water.

He was there again—standing outside the greenroom, waiting for Emma to come out. He’d put on a clean shirt and fixed his hair. After two hours controlling a spotlight, he’d been exhausted. She probably was too. He wanted to be the first to tell her how great she’d been on opening night. The door opened, and he stepped forward.

Emma’s young face, wiped of stage makeup and glowing with happiness, broke into a huge smile. She laughed, and her gaze slid past him.

“Hi,” he said, lifting the flowers toward her. “You did a great⁠—”

But she was already gone, running past him to a group of loud girlfriends.

Now, she was off to another job, presumably to “pay him back” for all he’d done for her.

The water overflowed his vase, and he shut off the tap. He dropped the flowers in the water and turned away, willing his heart to ignore the pain. Funny, he hadn’t done anything he hadn’t wanted to, yet she still acted like he was suffering or that he’d made some great sacrifice in order to help her.

He stepped into the bathroom and hung his head over the empty toilet. His stomach had been rolling in unease all day from the stress, but as much as he wanted to just puke up the anxiety, it didn’t come. Giving up, he placed his watch in the holder, and a glimmer on the counter caught his eye.

Her ring. She’d taken her ring off and left it at home.

Yep. It was all falling apart. Or really, nothing had changed. Emma hadn’t wanted him in high school, and the years since hadn’t changed anything.

Hours later, James munched on a mouthful of popcorn as he clicked through the movie offerings on his TV in his big, empty living room. It was well past dinner, and Emma still wasn’t back from walking Mrs. Jones’s dog.

If that’s where she really went.

Nope. He couldn’t entertain thoughts like that. He had to trust his wife. She’d given him no reason to doubt her loyalty.

There were three quick footfalls on the porch before the front door swung wide open. “James!”

He was on his feet in an instant. “Emma?”

Emma stumbled into the living room with tears streaming down her face. “James, it’s gone!”

“What’s gone?”

“The couch is gone! The room is gone! Our bookshelf and all our books are gone!” She wiped at the dark marbling of makeup on her cheek. “How could they do this to us?”

“Slow down. I don’t understand. Are you talking about that ratty old couch at Brews and Books? Did they replace it or something?”

“Yeeesss! And now it’s gooonnnnee. The couch was there when I got my first period. It’s where Katie and I had our first fight. It’s where we cried when Chelsea moved away in eleventh grade. That couch has been through so many things with us, and what are we supposed to do now?”

James slid his hands up and down her arms, trying and mostly failing to comfort her. “I’m sorry. I know how much that couch meant to you.”

She sniffed and wiped at her face again. “It was homey and friendly, not like this cold thing.” She kicked the couch and her face immediately scrunched in pain. “Oww!”

Her sobs began anew, and he looked around for something… anything to help calm the spiral.

Finally deciding nothing in the room was going to ease her hurt, James slid an arm behind her back and stepped to her side. “May I?”

She nodded, and he swept her into his arms. Tucking her face into the crook of his neck, she let the tears come freely.