Chance Encounters (6 page)

The light stung Emma’s eyes when she attempted to open them.
A very sweet, grandmotherly woman was standing over her. “Ahh and she lives.”
The woman spoke with a slight southern accent. “You took quite the bump to the
head, but I think you’ll be just fine, sugar.” The woman sat in a chair
adjacent to where Emma was laying down. Emma slowly scooted up on the couch
until she was in a sitting position. “Where am I?” Emma asked. Her throat felt
a little dry and raw.

“You are in my apartment, sweetheart. You had a fall outside
in the alleyway. My husband carried you up here.”

“I was mugged. Did the police come? I heard someone yell
about police on their way.”

The woman’s bottom lip scrunched up. “No, darling. Around
here you learn to not call the police unless there is a murder. They will be of
no use anyway. Muggings happen around here every day, and well … quite frankly,
you were a walking bull’s eye.” She rested a cup of tea in front of Emma. “Why
don’t you just drink some nice hot tea? Is there someone you’d like to call?”

Emma could feel the lump on the back of her head. Looking
down, she saw that her clothes were stained and dirty. She picked up the teacup
and took a sip; the hot liquid felt wondrous going down her dry, sore throat.
“Actually, my car broke down a couple blocks away. I’d like to call AAA and
have them come out and look at it.”

The woman got out of her chair and walked over to a table by
the window. She picked up the cordless handset and handed it to Emma. “I’ll go
and fetch the number for you. You just take it easy.” The kindly woman walked
out of the room in search of the phone number. Emma sat on the edge of the
sofa, running her fingers through her hair and going over the events of the
mugging in her mind. She was thankful for this woman and her brave, strong
husband for making her attacker run off, and carrying her up to their
apartment.

The woman handed a slip of paper over to Emma. “Here you go.
It’s an eight hundred number. Do you remember the name of the street your car
is on?”

Emma thought for a moment. “No, I was so befuddled from the
car stalling that I didn’t bother to look. How stupid of me.”

The woman squeezed her hand. “No problem. Just tell me which
direction you came from and we’ll at least narrow it down. My husband, Charles,
will walk you back to your car to make sure you are safe.”

Emma traced back her steps and they figured her car had to
be on Winter St. Emma told the dispatcher to be on the lookout for a Blue BMW
that was stranded on the side of the road. Emma also explained to the
dispatcher that she didn’t have her ID on her because she had been mugged. The
woman on the phone told her not to worry; she would be able to access Emma’s
account online. Emma hung up the phone feeling a little more optimistic than
she had been feeling. She thanked the kind hearted woman for her hospitality
and walked down the three flights of stairs with Charles.

On her walk back to her car, Emma hesitated at every alley.
She was scared to death that her mugger would be hanging around. Realistically,
she shouldn’t have been worried; he had made out like a bandit with her wallet.
He was most likely out living it up on her expense. She needed to report all of
her credit cards stolen. First things first though, she needed to get her car
up and running so she could get the hell out of this city.

Charles was a very sweet man. He stood by Emma’s side for
the hour and a half it took for AAA to show up. Emma watched as the tech, Mike,
looked under her hood. When he was through with his evaluation, he just simply
shook his head. “I am sorry, ma’am, but I think I am going to have to tow her
to the nearest garage. I don’t think it’s as simple as a jump start. I can tow
you for free up to ten miles. Anything beyond that is twenty cents per mile.”

Emma wanted to stomp her foot, this was just not going to be
her day, but what was she supposed to do? “I am not from around here, I don’t
know of any garages around here.”

The man smiled at Emma’s naiveté. “We have AAA certified
garages in the area, and it won’t be any problem. Do you have someone you can
call for a ride, or would you like a ride to the garage?”

Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I just told you I am not from
around here, so I guess my only option is to go with you.”

Emma turned to Charles. “Thank you so much for everything
you and your wife have done for me. Hopefully, they’ll be able to figure this
out and I’ll be on my way. I will never forget you for all that you have done
for me. I am eternally grateful.”

Charles reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. He
pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and handed it to Emma. “We had a daughter
who would have been around your age, God rest her soul. We lost her to a car
accident years ago. Anyway, call it the father in me, but I feel you should not
be penniless. You never know, and after your ordeal, you should at least have a
little something in your pocket.”

Emma was speechless. “Charles, thank you so much, but I
cannot take this from you.”

He gently placed them into her hand and closed it. “I
insist, and so does Eleanor. You just get yourself to your new job, and that
will be all the thanks we’d need.” Emma threw her hands around Charles and hugged
him.

“I promise I will pay you and Eleanor back. I won’t forget
either one of you.”

The AAA man honked his horn. “I need to get going. I have
three more service calls to make after this one.”

Emma hopped up into the passenger side of the tow truck. She
waved good-bye to Charles and watched as he faded into the background as they
drove across the city to the garage. She promised herself she would find a way
to pay them back for everything.

They pulled into a local garage hidden within the city. It
only had a couple of bays, and a full service gas pump. Emma hopped out of the
truck and watched as her BMW was lowered from the tow truck. She noticed a man
walk out of the garage, wiping his hands on a rag. “Hello there. What have we
got here?”

The AAA driver explained his findings to the mechanic. None
of it made any sense to Emma, but what she did notice was the mechanic shaking
his head before disappearing back into the garage. Emma closed her eyes and
took a deep breath. “Please don’t be any more bad news.”

The mechanic emerged from the garage minutes later with
another mechanic. One of them hopped into the car and popped the clutch into
neutral while the AAA man and other mechanic pushed the car to a garage bay.
Emma slowly walked over to stand quietly by. The AAA driver nodded his head at
Emma as he ran to his truck and backed out. For some reason, Emma felt as if
she had been abandoned in this strange city. The mechanic closed the hood to
her car and walked over to her. “Well, I am going to need a couple of hours to
go through and figure out what it is. I have some coffee in the waiting room.”

He looked her up and down. She must have been a sight. Her
clothes were dirty and unkempt from her struggling with her attacker in the
alley. Her hair was matted up, and her make-up was running down her face. “We
also have a bathroom where you can freshen up while you wait.” He walked into
the back of the garage and disappeared from sight.

Emma reached into her backseat and retrieved her overnight
bag. She didn’t have much with her because she was attempting to virtually
drive straight through to New York. She took her bag into the waiting room and
looked around for the bathroom. When she found the door, she walked past a
couple of people sitting in chairs watching a baseball game on the TV. Once in
the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and took a good look at herself in
the mirror. She almost didn’t recognize her own reflection. Her long, brown
hair was a tangled mess. When she saw her bruised cheek and that her make-up
was smeared around her cappuccino colored eyes, she began to weep. She felt so
out of her element, and now that she was alone, the reality of what had
happened to her set in.

When she could breathe again, she pulled her hair into a
ponytail and leaned over the sink to scrub the dirt off of her arms and wipe
away the raccoon eyes. She changed out of her soiled clothing into a clean
T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts. When she was through, she looked at herself
in the mirror and shook her head. Even at thirty, when she wore no make-up and
her hair was pulled back, she was mistaken for a teenager. She supposed that
was a good thing. Throwing her dirty jeans and blouse into her bag, she exited
the bathroom. She walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup, but
when she took a sip she nearly spit it back out.

“It’s probably not what you are used to is it?”

Emma turned around and noticed a middle aged woman sitting
behind the counter.

“You are right … it’s not,” Emma responded with an awkward tone
to her voice.

The woman broke out into a gruff sounding laugh. “Well, we
have a Starbucks a few blocks away. It’s not too far. I think you’ll have
plenty of time, if you wanted to go.”

Emma hesitated. She only had the money that Charles gave her
and she didn’t know what she’d need for her car.

It didn’t take her long to make up her mind once she got
goosed by someone’s dirty Labrador mix and the room erupted in laughter. She
hurried out the door and down the sidewalk. She just wanted to get her car fixed
and get to New York. She was already done with this city.

She entered Starbucks and felt a pang of familiarity that
made her smile. She could almost picture herself sitting there at a little
table with Renee, sipping on a peppermint mocha while discussing wedding plans.
“The wedding …” Just the thought made her stomach twist into knots.

She stepped closer in line. Finally, it was her turn. She
ordered just a regular, strong coffee. She fumbled through her pockets, trying
to pull out the money Charles had given her. The barista behind the counter
smiled at her. “Go ahead and take the coffee. It’s on the house.”

Emma looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure? I have
money.”

He smiled back. “Can’t a guy just buy a pretty girl a
coffee?”

Emma accepted the coffee and thanked him. “You’ve just made
my day,” she said. He winked at her and turned to the next customer in line.
She found an empty table outside on the patio with a newspaper resting on it,
which was left behind by someone who’d sat there before her. She sat at the
table and flipped through it while sipping on her coffee, thinking that the day
was finally beginning to look up.

She was busy reading the book section of the newspaper, when
all of a sudden she could hear a familiar, boisterous, British accent headed in
her direction. Could it possibly be? She poked her head around the side of the
newspaper, and low and behold there was Jacob walking straight for Starbucks
with two other people. He caught sight of her and quickly sent his friends on
ahead of him into the coffee shop. “Well, well, well. I knew the fates would
bring us together again, ducky.”

Emma couldn’t find the words. She just simply smiled.

JACOB TOOK A seat across from Emma
and took hold of her hands. “I knew it from the moment I first laid eyes on you
that our paths were destined to cross again.” He threw one of his hands in the
air in a poetic gesture. “It was written in the stars, fated in the heavens for
us to meet.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile at this crazy man. She had
never in her life met anyone quite like him. She wondered if this was how all
of his encounters happened. If this was how if seduced each one of those women
just as he was attempting to do now. Suddenly she remembered the journal. Never
in a million years did she ever think she would see him again. She had read his
deepest and most personal thoughts. He took her hand in his and kissed it. “I,
madam, am Jacob. I believe your name is … let me think … Emma. Am I right?”

“How did you know?” Emma responded.

“I told you. Destiny, my dear, destiny.” He winked at her.

While keeping her hand in his, his two friends walked to the
table carrying a cup of coffee for Jacob. Jacob turned to his friends. “Todd,
Lena, this is the beautiful Emma. Emma and I have been crossing each other’s
path for hundreds of miles now.”

Lena was the first to smile and say, “Well hello, Emma.
Welcome to Tennessee.”

The next forty-five minutes passed by as if it were only a
few. Emma had never laughed so hard in her life. She had never come across such
an eclectic group of people. She learned that Lena and Todd were insanely
happily married. They met Jacob while they were backpacking through Europe.
Emma couldn’t believe that just like that Jacob shows up on their doorstep and
they took him in. The world she lived in just didn’t work like that. Matthew
had been social, but guarded. He never opened their house up to passing
strangers. It was refreshing to see people connecting from all aspects of life.

Emma heard her name being called. She hadn’t realized until
that moment that she was still holding onto Jacob’s hand. She looked from her
hand to Jacob’s face, and blushed as she gently slid her hand away. She turned
to see the middle-aged woman from the garage walk up behind her. “There you
are. I see you found the place okay. Gus is done looking over your car, and he
needs to have a few words with you. I told him I knew where you were, and I’d
go and fetch you.”

Emma looked back at her new friends and shrugged her
shoulders as she rose from the table. “Car troubles … it doesn’t sound so good.
I’d better be going. It was so nice to meet you all.”

Emma was taken aback when Lena threw her arms around her and
hugged her. “I’m so sorry that your visit to Tennessee has been filled with
nothing but trouble. It truly is beautiful here. Maybe someday you’ll pass
through again and you can look us up so we can show you the true Knoxville.”
She wrote her number and address on a paper napkin and handed it to Emma.

Emma smiled at her kindness. “Thank you, Lena. I just might
take you up on that offer once I am all settled in New York.”

Emma’s eyes met Jacob’s. She didn’t know how to leave things
with him. She wondered if she should hand him over his journal or hang on to
it. Jacob sensed her uneasiness, so he walked over to her. In his joking,
casual manner, he threw his arm around her shoulder. “Well, guys, I am going to
see this lovely darling back safely to her car. I’ll catch up with you later.”
Lena and Todd both smiled and waved good-bye.

Jacob practically skipped Emma down the sidewalk. She felt
like an elementary school girl playing on the playground. He was such a breath
of fresh air. He seemed to know how to lighten even the darkest of
circumstances.

By the time they arrived at the garage, Emma was hysterical
with laughter. She watched Jacob mimicking people as they walked by. He would
follow behind them and make funny gestures while the unsuspecting people
strolled along. He was so carefree.

As soon as Emma entered the office she knew it was bad news.
Her car was not outside waiting for her, it was still inside, on a lift. Her
mood plummeted. She watched as Gus walked through the door and into the waiting
area. “Well, I have some good news and some not so good news. Which would you
like first?”

Emma exhaled loudly, waiting for the next blow.

“Just tell me. This has been the longest day ever and I have
a feeling it is going to get a hell of a lot longer.”

Gus snorted at her comment. “Ain’t that just life though?
Anyhow, the good news is I can fix it. The bad news is I can’t get the part for
two days.”

Emma let out a gut wrenching sigh. Jacob jumped in, “What’s
wrong with her car?”

Gus wiped his hands on his pant leg and reached over for a
piece of paper. “It’s the differential air intake adjustor valve, or DISA for
short. It’s actually fairly common in the BMW. The part runs around two hundred
dollars. The problem is I don’t carry foreign car parts. Not much of a call for
it around here. So, the best I can tell you is two days, that’s with FedEx
express shipping it to me.”

Emma fell down onto a seat. She needed to think. She was
stranded with no phone, ID, or credit cards. She had only two changes of
clothes; the one she was wearing, and the other was soiled from her attack. She
felt like she was going to pass out.

“Can I use a telephone please? I need to make a phone call.”

Gus pointed to the office. “Sure, you can use the phone in
the office.”

Emma excused herself and made her way to the back of the
office. Who was she going to call? Renee? Emma quickly dialed her best friend’s
number. She tapped her foot as it rang and rang, cursing as voicemail picked
up. She couldn’t leave a message, what would she say? She didn’t have a phone
to have Renee call her back. She slammed the phone down. Who could she call?
She had two days to get her car back. Two days was a short time, but it was
going to feel like an eternity. She hesitated. Before she could change her
mind, she dialed the telephone.

“Hello.”

“Matt, it’s me.” She hated herself at that moment.

“Emma, thank God. I’ve been worried sick. Where are you?
What number is this you are calling from?”

“I’m stuck in Knoxville. My car died and I have to wait two
days to get the part. Anyway, the reason I am calling is …” She stopped short,
trying to think of the right words. “After my car broke down, I got mugged. I
lost my whole pocketbook. I had everything in it. All my contacts, money,
credit cards, license. I am stranded—”

Before she could finish the sentence, Matt was yelling on
the other end, “What the hell are you saying? Are you hurt? What are the police
doing about it? I am on my way.”

“Matt … no! I don’t need you to do that. What I need is for
you to send me some money by the time the car is done being repaired. I don’t
need you to physically come here.”

“It’s too late, Emma. I already Googled the phone number you
called from. I am coming one way or the other. It’s not about you and me right
now. I just want to see for myself that you are all right. I will take care of
all the credit cards. Also, I know a few people at the registry, so I’ll
request a duplicate and bring it with me. I am going to throw some things in a
bag and hop in my car. I will be there in two days. Since you have no phone,
meet me at that garage. I will take care of everything. Do you want me to make you
a reservation at a local hotel?”

“I don’t have an ID, Matt. I have no way to prove who I am.
I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you here in two days at this time.”

As she started to hang up the phone, she could hear Matt, “I
miss you, Emma. Baby, I still love you.”

Emma blinked hard as she hung up the phone without
responding. She didn’t want to even think about him or them at that moment. She
just wanted to make it through the next two days.

She walked back out into the waiting room. She smiled
despite herself when she spotted Jacob dancing with a little girl, who was
standing on his feet as he whirled her around the room. The little girl’s
mother sat there clapping and taking photos with her phone. Jacob looked over
and noticed Emma and smiled at her.

He bowed to the little girl and walked her back to her
mother.

“So, what’s the plan?” he asked her with a playful smile.

“I arranged for someone to meet me here with my stuff in two
days.”

Gus heard her response and smiled. “All right then, we are
settled. I should get the part the day after tomorrow, and I will be done by
this time then.” He walked back into the garage and the door swung shut behind
him. Emma was a little nervous about what would happen next. She’d never lived
life on a whim. She’d always had things meticulously planned out.

“Well, ducky, I guess you can consider me your personal body
guard and tour guide while you are in town. So what do you say we go and find
us some grub?” He reached over and grabbed hold of her hand. Butterflies
fluttered in her stomach; it was a feeling she had never experienced before.
She happily followed Jacob out into the street, and as she did, she left her
worries with her broken down car.

Jacob led her into the late summer sunset of Knoxville. “I
am going to show you how to live it up a little, Emma. Let’s go and have some
fun.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh as he dragged her through the
now lively streets.

They walked up to a nearby pizza place and he suddenly
stopped. “Please tell me that you like pizza?”

“Sure, I like pizza.” She laughed as she said it.

He opened the door and held it open for her. There was a
sign that read,

It was only six-thirty, so they still had time.

“Two small cheese pizzas, please.” He grinned at the girl
behind the counter.

“I’m sorry, sir, but it’s one pizza per party,” she
responded with a nervous tone.

“Well, as you can see there are two of us, so wouldn’t that
technically make two parties?”

The girl shook her head but smiled. “Okay! I will give it to
you, but only because you’re cute, and your girlfriend looks hungry.”

Emma blushed, and Jacob thanked the woman as he led Emma to
a corner booth to wait for their pizza.

They sat and he winked at her. “See, love, easy as pie …
pizza pie.”

When the pizzas were ready, he led her to a small park a few
blocks away, where they had a picnic under the now darkening sky. He kept the
conversation going while they ate. She sat back and laughed at his comical
display. At one point, he had her laughing so hard that she nearly spit out her
pizza. Jacob watched Emma laugh at his anecdotes. He liked the sounds she made
when she was happy; she had a slight snort when she truly laughed, and that
sound made him smile.

When they finished their pizza, Jacob laced his arm around
hers and walked along Main Street. They made their way over to Market Square
where they stopped by Rita’s Italian Ice, who was handing out samples. Jacob
managed to charm the woman working and they both ended up with lemonade Italian
ice for each of them.