Emma's Deliverance (5 page)

“
So, where did you meet him? Who is he?”

“
He was my very first customer at the shop. I hadn’t seen him again until today after church when I went to the market to get the pie and sodas. He was in line with his mother and he said hello to me. The next thing I know he’s asking me to dinner tonight and I said yes. Wow, huh?”

Jody had the most peculiar look on her face.

“He was shopping with his mother? Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?”

Emma began to laugh. She laughed so hard that Jody started laughing too. Emma had tears running down her cheeks imagining Jason as a momma
’s boy.

“
What’s so funny? All I asked is that, don’t you think it was odd he was shopping with his mother?”

“
I know, but I guess I should explain that this isn’t a momma’s boy were talking about. He’s a big strapping fireman. His mother broke her leg and he was pushing her in a wheelchair. Oh God, Jody, a momma’s boy?” Emma said, almost losing it again. “He’s gorgeous, too. He’s about six feet tall, maybe six-one. I’m telling you Jody, I felt the strangest feeling the first time I met him. He came in the shop last month and bought some flowers for his mom. She was in the hospital. I’m so glad she broke her leg.”

“
Emma!”

“
You know what I mean. If she hadn’t broken her leg Jason wouldn’t have come in to my shop and I would have never met him.”

“
So, he’s a fireman? Cool. I’ll bet he has a mustache, right? All firemen have mustaches,” Jody said waiting to hear more.

“
Actually, he doesn’t.”

“Where’s he taking you?”

“He wanted to cook for me at his house, but I suggested we go to a restaurant.”

“
Good idea. I’m happy you’re going out, but the first date really should be in public, don’t you think?”

Emma
smiled. Jody was always looking out for her like a sister should. When they were small and Emma would have her terrifying nightmares it was always Jody that would comfort her until Marilyn came in. Sometimes Jody would crawl into bed with Emma and sleep with her for the rest of the night. Emma’s nightmares would wake up the whole house as she would be screaming and crying, sometimes for hours on end. Emma never spoke about the nightmares to anyone outside the family. While in therapy, she would refuse to acknowledge this terror even existed. Eventually the torment subsided, surfacing only occasionally.

“
I think you’re right. When Jason said he wanted to cook dinner for me even his mother raised an eyebrow. It was rather sudden, but really, I feel comfortable with him. Anyway, this has been a great day. I had fun. Let’s do it again before the weather turns too cold, okay?” She reached for her nephew, squeezed him tight while giving him a kiss, then she said good-bye to Ryan.

“Have a great time tonight, Jody said. “I want details tomorrow.”

Emma turned back and put her finger to her lips. She
had hoped Jody wouldn’t call their mom with the news yet. Emma didn’t know where or even if this was going anywhere, but she was would prefer to go on at least one date before letting everyone know about Jason.

It was a few minutes before six o’clock. Emma took one last look in the mirror checking her hair and make-up. At six-fifteen she wondered why Jason was late. By six fifty-five she was devastated. She kicked off her shoes and sank down in the sofa. She felt as if she would cry. Her emotions went everywhere.
Where is he?
Why would Jason stand me up like this?
Emma was upset. She felt confused. She truly thought he was someone special. Was she wrong? She thought she was a fairly good judge of character, but maybe she had been wrong about him. Would he ask her for a date right in front of his mother and then stand her up? Was he just a tease without regard for her feelings? This just didn’t feel right to her. She wondered if perhaps he’d had an accident. How would she know? She didn’t have a number to reach him. She stood up and looked in the mirror again. Seeing herself all made up to go out made her cry. She looked down at Sam then picked him up. He squirmed and tried to get away. This made Emma cry even harder. This was torture, pure torture. Should she put her sweats on and fix something to eat or sit there in a stupor, crying? She blew her nose and tried to stop crying.
Why did I have to tell Jody? She probably already called Mom, now I’ll have to tell them he stood me up.
“Oh, Sam, come here, please,”
she begged him to no avail. It wasn’t long after that the phone rang. Emma blew hard into her tissue then ran to the phone hoping to hear Jason’s voice.

“
Emma, I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. There was an emergency and I was called in this afternoon. Your phone number was in my car and by the time we got back to the station it was after six-thirty. I just now was able to go out to my car to get your card. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. This happens sometimes. The life of a fireman isn’t all glamour. Do you forgive me?”

He sounded so sincere and Emma knew he was telling the truth. This could have easily happened to anyone. Emma was still crying a little as it was hard for her to stop. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself. She was thankful he was okay and she was delighted to hear his
voice. “Yes, I forgive you, but only if you promise to memorize my number so if this ever happens again you can call me.”

“
By the time I get there I’ll have your number etched on my brain, I swear. Oh, please say you haven’t eaten yet. Will you still have dinner with me?”

Emma didn
’t hesitate for one second. Twenty minutes later he was ringing her bell. They decided to go to a nearby restaurant since it was almost 8 o’ clock.

The waiter approached the table and asked if they would like a drink before dinner. Jason looked over at Emma. She ordered a glass of white wine.

“I’ll have iced tea with lemon,” he said, thanking the waiter politely. Emma changed her drink to iced tea with lemon, also.

“
Jason, when you didn’t show up on time I thought perhaps you had changed your mind. I’ve never been stood up before and I can tell you it isn’t good for one’s ego. To be honest, I was upset. It felt awful. Then I started thinking that maybe you’d had an accident or something,” she said.

“
I have never wanted to be more on time in my life. I swear. All I could think about was calling you to explain. All the way back to the station I kept wondering what time it was. It was tortuous.” He reached over for her hand.

“
You should have been in my shoes. Talk about tortuous.”

“
Really?” he said, with a twinkle in his eye and raising that eyebrow that made Emma giggle.

Emma was a little embarrassed, but she was being honest. This was such a wonderful feeling for her. She felt as if she were with a good friend. She felt like she could share her true and honest feelings.
“Yes, I thought you weren’t coming and it felt terrible. I’m glad it turned out okay,” she said with a hint of extra color to her face. “So, what’s my phone number?”

Jason was able to recite her number without looking at her card and Emma was impressed. This made her laugh. She was feeling very high and happy. She wanted to know everything about him.
“How long have you been a fireman?”

“
Five years. I started when I was twenty-three. I wanted to be a fireman since I was a kid. How about you? What did you want to be when you were a child?”

“
When I was in high school I wanted to have my own flower shop. It felt so familiar when I started to work for Carol. I was just sixteen. She owned the shop before I bought it. I knew someday I would have a flower shop just like hers. I was lucky to have the money when she wanted to sell it.” Emma hoped that would be enough childhood memories for him, but he prodded further.

“
That’s wonderful, but what about when you were little?”

He was just making small talk. Emma knew this, but she was becoming uncomfortable with his questions concerning her childhood. She tried to change the subject
by looking at the menu and asking what sounded good to him.

“
The Lemon Chicken with a salad sounds good,” he said. “What are you hungry for?”

“
I’ll have the same. I’ve eaten here before and they really do have great Lemon Chicken. I never eat red meat.”

“
I don’t either. How come you don’t eat red meat?”

Emma didn
’t know the answer to his question. Ever since she could remember she didn’t care for red meat. If it were rare it would turn her stomach. She could hardly stand the sight of blood, animal or human. Up until recently she would actually vomit at the sight of it. As a small child she would close her eyes until Marilyn could put a band-aid on any cuts or scraps she or her sisters would have.

“
I guess I just don’t like it. I really don’t care to handle any raw meat either. I mostly cook vegetarian for myself and only order chicken when I’m out. I could do without it completely. Well, except for Thanksgiving. My mom makes the best turkey, ever. Her gravy is so delicious. My dad loves to carve the bird and he kinda butchers it, but we don’t care. What about you?”

“
I eat very little chicken, but I like fish. My whole family thrives on fish. My parents didn’t eat red meat so I guess we just grew up thinking it wasn’t a good idea. Even in my teens I never tried a burger. Some of my friends gave me a hard time about it, but, for the most part, most of my friends were okay with it. It’s just that when everyone wanted to go out for burgers sometimes I was stuck with just fries.”

Emma wondered what his family was like. Was it large or small? Did he have sisters or brothers or both? As she began asking him about his family something caught her eye out the window. She was startled to see the figure of a man that reminded her so much of that man who was standing outside her shop last month. He was on the sidewalk outside the restaurant looking in. Just then a woman with two children got out of the car and joined him. The lady gave him a kiss and he pi
cked up one of the kids. As the family came in the restaurant Emma could plainly see it wasn’t the same man. She felt foolish and tried to shake it off. Maybe buying the shop was stressing her out. She decided not to mention it to her mom or the rest of the family.

Jason had been telling her about his two brothers and one sister, but Emma hadn
’t heard him. She had been focused out the window. She brought her attention back to Jason who was rattling on and on about his family. “Jason,” she said, embarrassed, “I’m so sorry. Can you start over?”

“
Start over? Which part didn’t you hear?”

“
All of it, I guess. I was somewhere else. How embarrassing, don’t you think? I’m so sorry. I guess my mind was wandering. I thought I saw someone I knew, but it wasn’t, sorry.” She tried to read his face. Did he think she was rude?

“
It’s okay. I’ll start over, but pay attention this time okay?” he teased.

She
smiled and tried to relax.

“
I have two brothers and a sister. David, John, and Karen. David’s the oldest. Then me, then John and Karen, in that order. David lives in Germany. He’s been in the Army since he was eighteen. He’s thirty-two now. He and his wife Joanne have a little girl, Rachael, who is named after our grandmother. John’s twenty-four and single. Karen’s twenty-one and still in college. I’m twenty-eight and still single,” he said smiling.

He had this cute little look on his face that Emma seemed to be drawn to. She liked the way the corners of his mouth would curl just before he laughed.
He was wearing a tee shirt and blue jeans. Over the pocket of his tee shirt was the name of some Mexican restaurant in Montana. “When were you in Montana?” she asked, trying to be clever and impress him.

“
How did you know I went to Montana?”

Emma smiled what she hoped was a sexy smile, but didn
’t answer him. She just continued to smile.

“
Come on, Emma, how did you know that?” he asked looking intrigued.

Emma thought she had him, but he proved too clever for her. She noticed the curls at the corner of his mouth again just as this huge smile came across his face. He looked down at his pocket then reached across the table and took
her hand in his. He pulled her hand to his chest and placed it on his pocket. Her face went flush.

Jason must have noticed because he quickly put her hand back where he had found it. He looked at her tenderly, but th
en with a little laugh he said, “For a few minutes I thought I was having dinner with a psychic. You had me going.”

This tickled Emma.
“If I had some tea leaves I could read your fortune.” She picked up her glass of iced tea and swirled it around looking into the liquid. “Wait just a moment. I think I see something. Yes, yes, there it is. I see you will be spending a lot of time with a beautiful young woman who owns a flower shop.”

Jason reached for her hand,
this time Emma put her hand in his. She felt this tingle run up her spine. As she looked at Jason she wondered if he was the one. Suddenly she felt flushed again. She knew he noticed her color change. She felt warm. Emma was surprised by her boldness. This wasn’t her usual demeanor. She hoped she hadn’t gone too far. This was only their first date and she was sending him signals of great interest. Abruptly, she turned the conversation back to his family and he asked her to tell him about hers. She was happy to talk about the Jenkins family. A look of great fondness filled her face.

“
I have two sisters. The youngest is Teri, she’s in her last year at Clayton Community College. Then there’s Jody. She and I are the same age, but she’s married. She and her husband Ryan have a son named Louie. He is the sweetest little boy.”

“
So, you’re a twin? How cool is that.”

“
No, we aren’t really related in the sense that we don’t have the same parents. I was a foster child, but they’re the only real family I’ve ever known. My parents are dead and I have no other living relatives. I’ve lived with the Jenkins since I was four years old.” She hoped he wouldn’t ask any more questions. “That’s why my name is Taylor, not Jenkins.”

“
I’m so sorry. What happened to your parents?”

“
They were killed in an automobile accident.” She said it in a way that made Jason understand it wasn’t something she liked to talk about. They sipped on their drinks and when the waiter returned they ordered their food. They talked about their favorite movies and Emma told Jason about Sam.

“
Well, I must confess, I don’t know much about cats. We never had cats when I was growing up. David is allergic, I think. Or maybe Dad just didn’t like them. One or the other, but I have never been around them. We have always had dogs. I don’t have any pets right now. I just bought a house and was thinking about getting a dog, but I haven’t made up my mind what kind yet. I have to build a fence first and do some more landscaping. The house is brand new so there’s still a lot to do. I did some of the finish work myself. I just got done with the tile in the kitchen a few weeks ago. I would love to show it to you. . . sometime.”

“
I’m sure your house is wonderful, and I would like to see it, sometime.” She was smiling and Jason was smiling back. They talked all the way through dinner and Emma didn’t want the evening to be over. She knew it had to come to an end and she wondered if there would be another date with Jason. She was certain he liked her. She hoped there would be many future dates.

After dinner Jason drove Emma back to her apartment. He walked her to her door. Emma unlocked the door and opened it. She could feel Jason right behind her. He was very close. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. It made her feel strangely odd. She felt quivery inside. It was a warm feeling and
she liked it. Jason took a step closer. He was almost touching her now. Emma took a very small step back towards him and she could feel the heat from his body. She wanted to take another step, but she knew if she did she would actually touch him with her body. She knew they had to be just barely apart. This excited her. She thought about turning and giving him a kiss. She wanted to, but it just seemed too soon. She moved forward a little, then turned around to face him.