Emma vs. The Tech Guy (22 page)

“Yeah, I heard about the pub. Emma said you’ve been running your ass ragged, but it’s all gonna pay off soon.”

“Hope so,” Howard said.

“Have you seen Bill or Jayne?” I wasn’t deliberately trying to change the subject; I was anxious to find them. It was getting more crowded by the minute. We’d taken a chance at not having a registered guest list. We figured some people could decide that night and pay at the door. It wasn’t anything extreme, only a nominal entry fee and the ballroom had the capacity. Our initial guest list just didn’t seem bulky enough to carry a party.

“Haven’t seen Jayne, but Bill and Eleanor are right—” he gazed over at the bar area as if he’d seen them there. “Well, they were there a minute ago. Wifey’s already swaying like she’s walking across the deck of the
Titanic
.”

“You’re kidding.” I glanced at Howard out of pure habit, since he was usually the one who was behind Eleanor’s inebriated state.

“Don’t look at me,” he said. “We just got here.”

“How did this happen, and what the hell were they doing at the bar, then?” If anyone knew the story it would be Adam.

“I think he’s getting her coffee, or something.” Adam shrugged and scanned for eavesdroppers. He leaned in, and Howard and I mirrored him. “I heard he and Mrs. B. had an argument last night. She stormed out and didn’t come back until right before the party. Guess she spent the afternoon drinking with her book club friends.”

“Nice.” I thought about Bill confiding in me the other day, and I wondered what other problems they were having. “How’s Bill handling it?”

“Wait till you see his face. He’s walking around looking like he just robbed a bank. Maybe you should go find him.”

Eleanor was a wonderful lady when she was sober. A few drinks and the zaniness started. Sometimes, if she was really feeling good, she’d start with movie quotes and the talk about how much she missed working on the set. Those wardrobe stories come out almost as much as talking about her own son.

“C’mon.” I grabbed Howard’s arm, and we flew over to the bar to look. Along the way I scanned for faces of people that Bill would want to avoid if Eleanor wasn’t in prime condition. Most of the guests in attendance were readers, clients, potential readers, and even one or two community leaders. But a few of our top advertisers were invited, and those were the ones to worry about.

I noticed Marty sitting alone at a small table, watching the dance floor and bobbing his head. I guessed his girlfriend couldn’t make it—if there even was one. I still thought KittyKat88 was a mail-order bride or code name for the owner of the comic book store.

“There they are,” Howard said, pointing to a table in a far corner.

As we approached, they seemed to be having a quiet, but very private, conversation. I almost wanted to hang a U-turn, but Bill saw me and waved us over.

Eleanor’s eyes were glassy, but she did appear to be on the way down instead of the way up. Howard and I joined them at their table and Eleanor immediately perked up. We all exchanged pleasantries like everything was normal and talked about how great the party had turned out. I got a strange feeling, like they’d slipped into their perfect parents personas. It was comforting, and I tried to push down the nagging thought that this was another relationship threatened by my deception. But parents are supposed to love you no matter what, right? I knew better than anyone that that was not necessarily true. Besides, they weren’t really our parents, I had to remind myself.

Always my hero, Howard stood and asked Eleanor to dance. She hesitated a moment and looked over at Bill.

“C’mon,” Howard said, holding out his hand. I’m sure he knew Eleanor couldn’t resist his charms, and she needed to get her blood pumping. “Let’s go shake up this party.”

She stood and reached her hand out to grab his. “You had me at hello.”

Bill’s head flopped forward and he shook his head. We both chuckled as they glided off to the dance floor. The song playing was not for slow dancing, so I was curious to see what Howard would do with her.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He worked to keep his smile a moment longer. “Oh, yeah. Just the roller coaster of marriage, you know?”

I only nodded, then turned to watch Howard and Eleanor dance. She started with a basic step touch with a light clap. Howard mirrored her and shrugged when he saw me watching.

“An empty house sounds great when it’s filled with screaming kids, but the reality is completely different.”

His comment made me realize that the relationship the four of us had meant as much to them as to us.

“I’m sure it takes some getting used to. But you two will work it out.” I turned to face him, wearing a determined expression. I touched his hand resting on the table. “I know you will.”

He set his hand on mine. “Thanks, Emma. Your support lately has really helped.”

We sat a while longer watching the two boobs take over the dance floor. By the time the song ended, they’d broken out every corny dance move since the seventies. When the music shifted to a slower song, Eleanor wrapped her arms around Howard and he shot me a helpless, “save me” expression. I held back a snicker and then pretended not to be watching.

“Looks like Howard’s got things under control,” Bill said. He gave the room a quick once over. “Mind if I go have a word with Chuck Peterson?” He gestured with his head to one of our interactive stations.

“Not at all. I’ll catch up with you later.” It gave me a chance to look for Jayne. I needed something positive to focus on, and I was praying to find her alone. Before I got up, I executed a discreet make-up check by opening my small purse and holding the mirror inside. Lipstick was perfect, and though I was starving, I didn’t dare risk having a chive in my tooth.

“Would you like to dance?”

I snapped my purse shut and turned to find a hand reaching out to me. I followed a black-suited arm up to wide shoulders and then to sparkling blue eyes. The five o’clock shadow was nowhere to be found on the cheeks that stretched into a smile.

“Guy.”

He stared, waiting for my reply. Reading his expressions was getting tiresome. The coldness from the day before was gone. Was it that silly hug? Or was he doing the same thing I was,  simply trying to enjoy the evening? I went for the latter. I took his hand and let him lead me to the dance floor.

Our last dance, in Vegas, had been a farce and ended abruptly. Would we make it through a whole song this time? The song was a flashback:
Take My Breath Away
by Berlin. I felt like we should have been on roller skates instead of dancing. Neither of us spoke at first. He held me tight and, for once, I didn’t feel like running. I closed my eyes and pretended nothing else in the world existed. Nothing but the two of us dancing in that moment. God, I was so tired. I wondered why people made things so complicated when the pleasure of life lived in the simple moments.

“It’s a great night.” His words were soft in my ear. I felt his strong arms through his jacket beneath my hands.

“Yeah, everything looks incredible.”

“So do you.”

My heart jumped in surprise. I hadn’t expected that. It wasn’t that he’d said it, it was the way he’d said it. The tone behind it seemed to carry a hidden message, but I remained quiet.

After a moment he pulled back so he could see my face.

“I was going to say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” Then, he must have caught terror in my expression, because he put on a playful grin and added, “I mean, I can’t help it if you look gorgeous. I’m sure everyone else noticed, too.” He chuckled and turned away.

“Thank you,” I said. And it hadn’t killed me to say it. “You don’t look too bad yourself.”

“You should be very proud,” he said, changing the tone.

“Well, I did have some help.”

“But it was your vision, your plan.”

“I guess.” I was getting used to feeling good. But the word
plan
clanked around in my brain. Whether he was saying it or not, he thought I was calculating. And the truth was, he was right. I pulled back to put a little distance between us. Howard looked our way as he walked with Eleanor back to the table. Guy smiled and nodded at them.

“You should be dancing with your husband,” he said, his stare still following Howard.

“Actually, I ….” I trailed off, and our eyes met.

He watched me expectantly.

“I ….”
Am I really doing this
? My mouth hung open, and I heard the words, but they weren’t there. They were still stuck in my head.

“What?” He searched my eyes, almost as if he knew something big was about to happen. “Do you want to tell me something, Emma?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Chapter 23

“Emma! There you are.”

I released my grasp on Guy and turned to find Jayne lunging toward us with Hank in tow.

“Jayne, hi,” I said in some type of robotic voice. It took me a minute to get my bearings and retrieve my game face. Then the reality of Hank standing there grinning like Big Foot with a lobotomy sank in. Wow, I guess Emalia was right. I knew in that instant that Jayne couldn’t marry him. It wasn’t because he was big, dumb, hairy, and a loser that used his runaway dog as an excuse for a booty call. It was because I knew Jayne didn’t love him. I could see it on her face as she leaned in to hug me. Almost like an apology.

“You look beautiful,” I said. She wore a low-cut black dress with off-the-shoulder, quarter-length sleeves with a teardrop necklace that landed right at the top of her cleavage like a sign saying “Look here.”

“Thanks, sweetie. You too.” She yanked Hank to her side. He wore dark pants with a button-down, dark gray shirt that was tucked in with a thin leather belt circa 1988. His free hand held a cream puff he must have picked up from the dessert table.

“Guy, this is my
fiancé
, Hank.”

“Good to meet you, man,” Guy said, sticking out his hand.

Hank inspected the cream puff in his hand. “You too.” Then he crammed the whole thing in his pie hole and shook Guy’s hand.

We all sidestepped off the dance floor to clear the way for others. I thought about sidestepping all the way out the door.

“I hear congratulations are in order,” Guy said after brushing the crumbs off his palm.

Shit, I blew that one
. What kind of maid of honor doesn’t congratulate the bride and groom?

Jayne and Hank exchanged smiles and nods. “Yeah, she finally came to her senses and realized she couldn’t live without her Hankburger.”

I caught myself before my body convulsed, but my face may have given me away. I glanced over at a cluster of dancers to cover.

“Congratulations, you two,” I finally said. “I’m really happy for you.”

Jayne eyed me suspiciously as I held my breath in and my smile in place. Hank spread his arms wide and trained his sights on me with an expectant look.
Me
? I almost looked over my shoulder. Was that what I had to look forward to as the maid of honor? He wrapped his meat hooks around my waist, a tad too low for my comfort, and lifted me into a hug. I could only imagine poor Jaynie in this same position.

“Good thing you’re tall,” Hank said. He set me down and smoothed out his shirt. “My brother is my best man, and he’s bigger than me.” An unusual pride emanated from his silly grin.

I took a step back, checking myself to make sure my boobs hadn’t gotten shoved out of place for viewing. “Great.”

“Well, I’m going to make sure all the equipment is working fine,” Guy said. He nodded a goodbye and disappeared into the crowd.

“Yeah, Howard’s probably wondering where I am.” I started to back away myself. “And I should probably make sure—”

“Emma, wait.”

I stopped and Jayne turned to Hank. “Sweetie, can you get us some drinks and have a seat? I’ll find you in a minute.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll get me some more of those donut holes, too.”

“Okay, go ahead,” she said, nudging him off like a toddler. “I just need to help Emma with a few things.”

We walked silently to the lobby, both knowing the conversation would warrant a little privacy. I didn’t know what she was going to say, so I couldn’t plan what I was going to say. Did she want me to talk her out of it? Did she want me to make her feel good about her decision?
Dammit
. My frustration was not from being unprepared, but from needing to be that way.

We sat on a sofa bench right outside the ballroom. I waited for Jayne to speak first. A man exited the restroom across from us, stopped to zip his fly, and found both of us watching him. I don’t think either of us was really looking at him, more like through him. But he didn’t seem to mind. He straightened up, sucking in a deep breath that puffed out his chest. Then he stuck a hand in his pocket and started to amble over like he was Jay Z. I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head, sending him into a quick turn and back toward the ballroom. When I looked at Jayne she was smiling.

“What?”

“Really?” I gave her the head tilt.

“He was cute.”

“So anyway, I’m assuming you wanted to talk about your future
husband
.”

She turned her body toward me, placed her hands in her lap, and picked at a jagged nail. “Are you really happy for us?”

“I’m happy if you’re happy.”

She nodded and tried to make the corners of her mouth turn up.

“You are happy, aren’t you, Jaynie?”

“Of course I’m happy. I’m getting married.”

“And you’re sure that Hank’s the right guy for you?”

“I’ve … loved Hank for a long time. And we’re suited to each other.”

That was code for he’s the best she could get, or maybe deserve. This was unsteady ground, but I was pretty good at avoiding landmines.

“Wow, that’ll be great if you guys ever join a bowling league, or maybe a bridge club.”

I made her laugh, though I could see it was either that or cry.

“Do you even like Hank, Emma?”

Her desperation caused a tiny lump in my throat. “He’s … an interesting guy. And if you really love him—”

“I do.”

“But.”

“What?”