Chance Encounters (9 page)

He looked at his worn jeans and beat up T-shirt. “Why?
What’s wrong with my clothes? I thought that American’s spend good money to buy
things that look distressed. I blend right in. Besides, no one will be looking
at me. I’ll just be the man beside the breathtaking woman.”

The sales clerk coughed. “Ahh ... I think that has to be the
sweetest thing I’ve ever heard a man say to a woman while in my store.” She
looked over at Emma. “Is he for real?”

Emma smiled from ear to ear while she looked over at Jacob.
“Yeah, yeah he is.”

Jacob grinned and held out his arm for Emma to hold onto.
“So, ducky, shall we go to a party or what?”

When they arrived at the big tent in the middle of the
grassy park area, Emma and Jacob managed to blend right in. They arrived after
the meals had been served, so everyone was dancing and socializing. Jacob
grabbed Emma’s hand and led her to the dance floor. He clung to her as they
swayed their way across the dance floor. They ended up next to the bride and
groom. Jacob looked at the newlyweds and said, “Lovely wedding. Really, it’s
quite spectacular.”

The bride shot a look at her groom and he shrugged his
shoulders. Emma almost lost her nerve completely. They were so busted. The
bride turned back to them. “Thank you, I’m glad you could make it. Enjoy
yourselves.”

Then the groom continued to make his way around with the
bride. Emma tucked her head on Jacob’s shoulder. “Oh dear God, I thought we
were busted for sure.” Jacob took a step back and spun Emma around.

“My dear girl, I don’t know when you are going to learn that
there is so much more to life than what you know. You need to learn what it is
to live a little.”

Emma noticed a pudgy man approach Jacob and tap him on his
shoulder.

“Excuse me, but would you mind terribly if I cut in?”

Jacob smiled and lowered his arm. “Not at all, chap.”

Emma watched in disbelief as Jacob stepped back and let the
stranger wrap his arm around her and sway her away from him. Jacob stood to the
side of the dance floor, admiring the scene. The man, Roger, as he introduced
himself, was a friend of the groom. So naturally Emma claimed she knew the
bride. Roger turned out to be a surprisingly good dancer. The song ended and
Emma thanked him for the dance.

Looking around the room for Jacob, she found him at a table
across the room. She stopped, watching his hands waving in the air as he told
the table a story. The sound of laughter erupted from the table, and it made
her smile.

The rest of the evening they chatted with complete strangers
as if they’d known them for years. Jacob was a natural. Wherever he went, and
whatever he said, he ended up with people congregating around him. He was the
hit of the party. He convinced everyone the bride had a distant Uncle Andrew
from the UK and that he was the second son of him. No one bothered to question
him.

By the time the afternoon wore on, Emma could hear people
talking about good ol’ Uncle Andrew, as if they really remembered him. Emma
even overheard someone describing what “Uncle Andrew” looked like. She couldn’t
help but giggle in amazement when she eavesdropped on another table’s
conversation about some of the fond memories they had of him. Here, Jacob
strolled into a room and within hours had everyone eating out of the palm of
his hand. She wondered if he was somehow magical. Some sort of hypnotist. She
had no other way to describe it. He talked, and people listened, plain and
simple.

They sipped on champagne, and snacked on fruit and cheese.
Emma could feel the bubbles burning her nose as she held the glass to her lips.
A woman wearing a navy blue sheath dress walked over to Emma and leaned into
her ear. “I hope you don’t mind my saying, but your date there is a spectacular
man. I can tell he loves you very much. It’s in the eyes. He hasn’t been able
to take them off of you all evening.”

Emma’s little champagne buzz suddenly diminished. She
quickly looked around for Jacob, and naturally found him at a table full of
people who were hanging onto his every word. She found herself staring at him
in amazement. Their eyes met, and he winked at her. That’s all it took to make
her heart flutter. Never had she experienced a single glance from someone that
could cause such a reaction in her.

The song ended, and the singer of the band announced it was
time for the bouquet toss. “All the single ladies please make your way on to
the dance floor so the bride can toss her bouquet into the crowd.”

Emma tried to slink away from the dance floor, but the woman
she had been talking to grabbed her arm. “Oh no, young lady, I don’t see a ring
on your finger. There are only a few of us single ladies here, so if I have to
do this, then so don’t you. Besides, maybe it’ll bring you some luck.”

Emma wanted to crawl under a rock. She hesitantly followed
the woman onto the dance floor. She told herself she wouldn’t even attempt to
catch it. She’d just let one of the other girls grab it. A total of ten women
stood on the dance floor. The band began to play a silly song as the bride took
her place. She tossed the bouquet into the air. Emma slowly attempted to back
her way out of the way just as the bouquet hit her in the chest. A spotlight
suddenly landed on her. The singer of the band grabbed the microphone. “And
there we have it, folks, the next bride to be. He’s a very lucky man,
congratulations!”

The crowd clapped for Emma. She just wanted to slink away.
She quickly made her way through the crowd to find Jacob. When she couldn’t
find him, she began to panic. People were congratulating her as she walked past
them. She smiled, but all the while looked around for Jacob. She caught sight
of him over by the entrance to the tent. The lights hit him from just the right
angle, and Emma’s knees went weak. He looked her in the eyes, and she was lost.

She made her way through the crowd and walked up to him.

“I see you caught the bouquet. I hope you are okay with it.”

She forgot she was holding it. “Uh-huh.”

“I have something to show you. Are you ready to go?”

Emma didn’t need to be asked twice. She followed him out
under the evening sky. She couldn’t wait to see what he had planned next.

They strolled through the park. He swung their joined arms
back and forth as they walked. Neither one spoke. It wasn’t that it was an
awkward silence, but more of a content one. She could hear the sounds of
distant screams, and the dinging of bells. “Are you taking me to a carnival?”
she asked him.

“Well if I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?”

They strolled around a bend in the park, and there was a
carnival. Emma giggled and Jacob shook his head. “When was the last time you
went to a fair?”

“I must have been ten years old, and it was in my hometown
of Sacket’s Harbor.”

“Well you know you are never too old for a carnival. It
keeps you young.” He pulled her through the gates and told her to take in all
the sights. “Look at it. Smell it. Live it.”

“Oh I smell it, and it’s making me hungry.”

He laughed and took her to the fried dough stand. After
getting their food, they sat at a table munching on their sugar topped dough.
“So tell me about the young Emma.”

She looked at him a little sideways. “There is really not much
to tell. I come from a very small town in upper state NY. It was just me and my
mom until my senior year, and then I was on my own.”

He picked at his dough without eating it. “So, you made it
to where you are today, all by yourself? That’s wonderful. I am sorry your
parents weren’t there to see you accomplish all that you have. It must have
been very hard for you.”

“It was at first. I saved every penny I had just to get
through school, and I always promised myself I would never let life get that
hard again.”

She picked at her food before looking at him. “So now you
tell me, do you still talk to your parents?”

“Oh yes. They have always been very encouraging. They want
me to live life to the fullest. So, I do. I, of course, have to check in with
them every couple of days just to be considerate, and I go home every Christmas
to spend it with them.”

After they finished their dough, Jacob led her to the game
booth. “So, ducky … pick a prize, and I shall win it for you. The bigger the
better.”

Emma looked all around and found a huge stuffed tiger. “Okay
smart guy … win me that one.” She pointed to the tiger. Straightening out his
back, he waltzed over to it.

“Ring toss, aye? Not a problem. Watch the master at work.”

Emma stood to the side and watched Jacob put a dollar bill
on the counter.

“Here you are my good man. I intend to win the lady a
stuffed tiger.”

The carnival worker didn’t respond at all; he must hear it a
million times a day. He handed Jacob three rings. “You have three chances. All
the prizes are outlined. If you get all three rings you win the big one.”

Jacob took the rings and rubbed his hands together. “Okay,
ducky, here it goes.”

He threw the first ring, but it bounced off of the post.
“Damn it,” he yelled. He threw the second one and it landed on an empty prize
post. He carefully threw the third one and it bounced off again. The worker
collected the rings and stood off to the side of the game.

Jacob slammed down another dollar. “Three more chap.”

The worker handed him three more rings. All three times the
rings bounced off the posts. Jacob cursed. Emma burst out laughing. “Jacob,
let’s just go and move on now.”

He stomped his foot and turned back to the counter. “No, my
lady wants a tiger, and a tiger she will get.” He slammed down another dollar,
and was handed three more rings.

After five more failed attempts, Jacob was about to give up.
The carnie handed him a small tiger, no bigger than the palm of his hand.
“Don’t tell anyone,” was all the man said.

Jacob, feeling defeated, accepted the mini tiger and thanked
the man. Holding it behind his back, he walked up beside Emma. He pulled it out
and handed it to her. “It’s not exactly the one you wanted, but I still got you
a tiger.”

Emma took the tiger and smiled. “I love it, Jacob, its
purrrfect.”

He smiled back at her knowing she meant it.

They rode the Ferris wheel, and he took her on the
merry-go-round. She was having such a good time she nearly forgot about her
problems. She felt like a kid, so carefree. She wondered when the bubble would
burst, when the other shoe would drop. “Hey, you’re doing it again. Don’t let
that fool ruin this.”

He held his hand out and she accepted it. “I’m sorry, Jacob.
I am having a wonderful time. That’s what I was thinking about. I really wasn’t
thinking about Matthew.”

He squeezed her hand and led her off of the ride. “Come on,
it’s time for your next adventure.”

Jacob led her across the park to an outdoor amphitheater.
People were wandering around and it looked as though a show was being set up.
Jacob squeezed her hand. “Follow me.” He led her into the amphitheater and
straight down the center aisle to the stage.

“Jacob, we can’t just walk in here.”

He laughed at her. “Who says? Have I steered you wrong yet?”

Lena and Todd were there, standing by the side of the stage.
Jacob waved to them as they approached. Emma couldn’t help but notice Lena
beaming a smile when she saw them. Lena walked over to Emma and hugged her.
“It’s so good to see you again. I know the circumstances were less than
desirable before, but the result was well worth it.”

Emma had to agree. If her car hadn’t broken down, she never
would have crossed paths with Jacob again. So, something good did come out of
her ordeal.

Jacob walked off and left Lena standing with Emma. She
watched in apprehension, so Lena rubbed her arm to comfort her. “Come and sit
with me a minute. You know how guys can be, I’m sure he’ll be out in a minute.”
She winked at Emma, and led her to two empty seats directly in front of the
stage.

When they were seated, Lena asked, “Has Jacob mentioned to
you that Todd is in a band?”

Emma shook her head.

“Well I don’t know if you are up on the music scene, but
Todd’s band has quite a following. Have you ever heard of The Gray Stripes?”

Emma vaguely remembered hearing something on the radio, so
she nodded her head. “Well his band is playing tonight, here at the
amphitheater. Jacob asked us if it would be okay if the two of you came a
little early for a sort of preview.”

Just as Lena finished her sentence, Jacob and Todd walked
out on stage with two acoustic guitars. They started to strum their instruments
as Jacob walked to the microphone. Emma threw her hand over her mouth. “Tell me
he is not going to sing.”

Lena giggled. “I can’t do that. He’s actually pretty good.
They did a lot of singing together while we were in Europe.”

As Jacob began singing, someone started in on the keyboard,
and then came the drums. “Jacob says this song has some meaning to it that
you’ll understand. It is a song written by The Plain White T’s,” Lena explained
to her. “You are a very lucky girl, he doesn’t sing to just anyone you know.”

Lena started to sway her head back and forth to the music.
Emma could only watch Jacob admiringly, and listened to the words from the song
he’d chosen for her:

“My head is stuck in the clouds, she begs me to come down.
Says, ‘Boy, quit fooling around.’

I told her, ‘I love the view from up here, warm sun and wind
in my ears.

We’ll watch the world from above as it turns to the Rhythm
of Love.’

We may only have tonight. But, ‘til the morning sun you’re
mine, all mine.

Play the music low, and sway to the Rhythm of love.”

Emma could feel the words pulse through her body. She felt
as though the song was written just for the two of them, right there, right
then, in this place and time. If she hadn’t felt it earlier, she knew now that
she was falling for this strange, adventurous, wondrous man.