Page 7 of The Emma Special

Emma flipped to her stomach and propped her chin in her hands. “Why do I have the feeling my spunk isn’t going to get me very far at this job?”

Turning and fisting her hands on her hips, Katie frowned. “I’m shocked. Where is this negativity coming from? Did you talk to your mother this morning?”

“No.” Talking to Mommy Dearest first thing in the morning was a surefire way to begin a crummy day. Emma knew better than to bring that rain cloud on herself.

But just because she hadn’t heard her mother’s voice this morning didn’t mean replays of past conversations weren’t bouncing on repeat in her head. Her mom would never believe Emma could land an office job, much less hold onto it.

Katie crossed the room and sat beside Emma. “You’re smart. Quick, intelligent, insanely talented. I know your mom tells you that you’re not, but she’s so wrong.”

Emma rested her head against Katie’s leg. Whatever damage her single parent had done to her self-esteem, Katie was determined to repair it. “You’re the best. I guess we’ll find out in a few hours if I’m cut out for big people work. I’ll just play the part until it feels right.”

Katie brushed Emma’s hair away from her face. “Just think. You could get your surgery before Christmas!”

Surgery. Besides her unaffectionate mother, the knee surgery Emma desperately needed was the other thing raining on her parade. After a botched slide into home base her senior year of high school, her poor ACL was shot. Living with the pain was a regular part of her days, but sometimes she tried to remember what it had felt like before the injury—what it might be like to be pain-free again.

Katie glanced at her watch. “Oh! I’ve gotta run. Those grits don’t serve themselves. Are you ready?”

That was another thing that nagged Emma incessantly. Not having a vehicle meant she had to bum rides from her friends, but how could she possibly afford a car when she could barely pay her part of the rent? “Yep. Last one to the tank is a rotten egg.”

“The tank” was Katie’s Bronco—the one she’d inherited from her older brother, Drake, on the joyous occasion of her sweet sixteen. The thing had seen its better days in the nineties, but it was dependable and tough enough to withstand the beating Katie put it through.

Back it into a fence? No scratches.

Bump it with a buggy in the grocery store parking lot? No problem.

Take a little off-road detour? You got it.

The blue-gray tank had survived as much as the girl squad, and it was still running strong. It was the golden retriever of vehicles, and Emma only hoped to own one as dependable one day.

“It’s not a race!” Katie shouted from the bedroom as Emma left her behind.

Katie was one-hundred percent letting Emma win, but it was nice to pretend she didn’t have a janky knee holding her back.

She shuffled to the kitchen where a thermos of hot coffee waited for her. She grabbed it and quickly opened the pantry to snag a granola breakfast bar and a can of green beans to eat at lunch. With the sustenance safely tucked in her purse, she high-tailed it for the door.

Emma slid into the passenger seat just as Katie strolled out the house and locked the front door behind her like a responsible person.

Emma was still panting when her friend got in and tossed her purse into the back seat. “Did you have fun? You’re going to make that knee worse if you don’t quit running around.”

“That was not running. That was a lil’ hop, skip, and shuffle.”

Katie pressed her lips together and turned the key. “Don’t worry about the new job. I’ll pray for you.”

“Me too. I’m going to get started right now.” Emma clasped her hands to her chest. “My sweet Lord, please, please, please help me have a good first day at my adult job. Please bridle my tongue, shut my mouth, and help me act like a professional. Please don’t let my knee give out so I fall on my face or accidentally tell anyone I love them while ending a phone call. Amen.”

“Except me,” Katie added.

“Of course. Love you forever, babe.”

Katie, Summer, and Allison were the only people Emma ever said I love you to. She didn’t have a dad, and Mom wasn’t the type for sugary words.

Her mom probably loved her, but neither of them had said anything about it in recent memory.

Katie parallel parked by the downtown sidewalk like it was as easy as putting on pants. “Last stop! Your future awaits. Please disembark and mind the gap.”

Emma lifted a brow at the beige building with a large sign above the door. “Anderson and Associates, LLC… Looks like all my dreams are coming true,” she mumbled.

Katie grabbed her hand. “Come on. It’ll be fun. You are fine. We’re all just faking it out there anyway. You’re the most real of any of us. Be yourself, and write down everything they tell you to do. You can ask them to repeat instructions or slow down. They’ll love you. You don’t have to pretend to know it all on the first day.”