Page 78 of The Emma Special

Katie stepped forward. “Did he kiss you yet? Is it official?”

“Just because he’s good looking doesn’t mean you have to date him.” Summer linked arms with Allison and Katie, keeping her rubber boots off the blanket. “Except, bringing you food is a good sign. Now, you sit here and look pretty. We’ll be back with flowers in a jiffy.”

Emma relaxed and closed her eyes, letting herself soak in the warm air and listen to the sweet chatter of her friends picking wildflowers on Summer’s property. She must have dozed off again because she awoke with a start.

“There she is,” Summer said with a smile. “Guess we don’t need the prince to kiss her.”

Emma lifted her head slowly. A bouquet of daisies rested on her chest. “Was I Snow White or Aurora?”

Katie shrugged, “Maybe the Lady of Shalott?”

Emma yawned and tried to sit up. “I think these pills are messing with my head.”

Allison dug into her tote and pulled out a smaller bag of homemade oat bars. “You need more carbs, Em. Now that you’re awake, we need you to talk.”

Emma looked from one friend to the next. Surely with Allison’s organization, Katie’s empathy, and Summer’s boldness, they’d be able to help her come up with something.

“Do you need a notebook?” Allison offered. “Are you over-thinking dating James when you want to say yes, and you’re trying to talk yourself out of it just because?”

If only dating James was the decision to be made today. “Well, it’s actually about my knee. I’m officially at a fork in the road. Like I’ve never been before. They tell me that surgery is the only way to fix it, or I’ll be on crutches the rest of my life. If I don’t get the surgery, I’ve read that the pain will subside, so I won’t be living with that anymore… but the joint isn’t connected where it’s supposed to be, so it has no support. I could brace it and probably be able to walk. Never run or—” She swallowed, unable to speak the rest, dance, play, skip, jump…

Allison pulled her legs under her to sit cross-legged. “Nope. We vote for the next option.”

“I have to make money. To start, you know those little crochet animals I make for the kids at church sometimes? They really like those. I can start making those in bulk while I’m sitting, and maybe you could sell them in your shop, Summer?”

“Sure, I’m happy to do that. If we get them up on the website we can feature them as a new product.”

Katie stripped the leaves off of a stem and passed it to Summer. “Those would pair well with your lotion and soap gift baskets.”

“Since you’re free,” Summer said while arranging a colorful blend of flowers. “I could use help again on Mondays with the sourdough. It’s not much, but having your help to bag the cooled loaves and put the stickers on gets me through the day with my head on straight.”

Allison remained quiet and slowly shook her head. She paused while tying the twine around her latest bouquet of zinnias, daisies, and some kind of purple flower.

Katie grabbed a bundle of wet zinnias from the bucket and efficiently began trimming ends. “What are you thinking, Allison?”

“It’s not going to be nearly enough. Emma… I know you’re going to try to fight me, but I have the trust fund Granny started for me when I was born. I haven’t touched it, and it’s just sitting there⁠—”

“Absolutely not.”

“I own this land outright,” Summer said slowly. “I could take out a loan against the value⁠—”

“Summer! No. What are you even saying⁠—”

“I could sell the tank—it’s got to be worth something,” Katie added.

Emma’s eyes blurred, and a familiar burn tickled her throat. What was happening? Her friends were willing to give up so much for her? “Stop it. This is my leg, not your⁠—”

Katie’s hand covered Emma’s shaking shoulder. “What options do you have? We’re not going to watch and do nothing.”

“Okay, but you can’t do all of that. Or even some of it. That’s too much. I can’t⁠—”

“You can’t let the people who love you most in the world help you when we’re willing?” Summer asked. “We’d do anything for you, and you don’t have to twist our arms to make us.”

Cheese and crackers, this was the bottom of the barrel. The basement in the metaphorical rock bottom.

“Gimme your hands.” Allison wiped her hands on the blanket and reached for the girls beside her.

The four friends linked their hands together and Allison bowed her head. “Lord, we need…”