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Zach
Emma had classes to teach and a tournament and a bunch of shifts at Julian’s, so I had a lot planned in one weekend. Saturday morning Emma and I enjoyed breakfast together followed by a long shower. Also together. She then set off to her tennis club and I went to see my parents. I strummed my fingers on the steering wheel the entire drive. Genie would probably be there and I’d have to see her. I couldn’t avoid her forever.
I pulled up into the circular driveway and parked behind Genie’s car. As I got out and walked up the snow-covered path to the front door, I wondered what she’d said to Mom and Dad. Likely nothing. She’d snowball them somehow and they’d likely go along with it. It wasn’t like they’d know any better.
I went inside and looked around. Mom was in the family room, her laptop in front of her. She glanced up at me and smiled.
“Zach, what brings you by?” she said, setting down her computer. She got up and gave me a big hug.
“Thought I’d hang out with my parents for a bit. Where’s Dad?”
“He went for a walk. He should be home soon.”
“Okay. I’ll wait. Is Genie around?”
“She’s upstairs.” Mom’s dark eyes narrowed. “About her being home, what do you know about that?”
“Nothing,” I said as innocently as possible.
Mom blinked a few times, processing and deciding if she could believe me. “Did you eat?” she finally asked. “Louisa left something, I’m sure.”
“I had a big breakfast.”
“Well, why don’t I make some coffee while we wait for your father.”
I followed her into the kitchen and watched her load the coffeemaker. She pulled out three cups and I sat with her at the kitchen table.
“So everything is going well with Emma?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why Genie’s here? To give you some alone time?”
I groaned. Having this kind of talk with my mother bordered on gross, but her reasoning was a good one. “Yeah, I guess so. Genie’s making sacrifices.”
Mom nodded and I wanted to gag.
“I’m glad you worked things out with Emma. Your father and I were getting worried about you two.”
“No need to worry. Everything is fine.”
The backdoor opened just as the coffee finished. Mom smiled. “Perfect timing,” she said. She poured three cups and called Dad into the kitchen. Dad’s eyebrow raised when he saw me, and he took the cup from Mom and sat next to me at the table.
“It’s odd to see you today. Did something happen? You need extra money?”
Man, my parents were suspicious. “No, but I wanted to talk to you both.”
Mom’s eyes opened wide. “Emma’s pregnant? Tell me she’s not pregnant.”
Where’d she get that from? “No, Emma’s definitely not pregnant.”
“Whew. You had me worried.”
“If it’s about your allowance, we aren’t raising it. If you need more money, you can get a job,” Dad said.
“It sort of has to do with money,” I said, sipping and searing my lip with the red-hot coffee. I set the scalding cup down and pushed it to the side.
“Like I said, you can get a job,” Dad said, his voice taking on an edge. “I’d be more than happy to find you something. Or you could find your own job.”
“Okay, I get it,” I said. This wasn’t going at all like I’d expected it.
“Daniel, leave him alone. He’s trying to tell us something,” Mom said.
I could always depend on Mom to save me, even to my detriment. I grabbed my coffee cup again and pulled it close, like it would protect me or something. I looked up at Mom and Dad and they were staring at me, waiting for me to spit out what I had to say. “Well, you both know that Emma and I hit a rough patch. It’s all worked out now, but it’s given me a lot of time to think. You both know she’s coming with me to New York next year . . .” I paused. They were still staring. Why was this so hard? “So, well, anyway, I want to make it official.”
“It is official. She’s going with you, isn’t she?” Dad asked.
They weren’t quite getting it. “More official.”
Dad was clueless, just staring, shaking his head. Mom, on the other hand, covered her mouth with one hand and gasped.
“More official?” Dad said. “Would you like us to put an announcement in the paper and have it say that you’re moving to New York with your girlfriend? Is that official enough for you? Honestly, I don’t get kids these days.”
“Daniel, you’re a bozo!” Mom said. “He wants to marry her. Our little boy wants to get married.”
Dad looked at me, then Mom, then back to me. “Zach, please tell me your mother is crazy.”
“She’s not crazy. That’s the kind of official I mean.”
“O-M-G! You and Emma are getting married?” Genie nearly screamed it and Dad spilled some of the coffee he was about to sip. It landed on the table but managed to miss hitting anyone. Genie came up from behind me and threw her arms around my neck. “I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Wait, everyone relax. I haven’t said anything to Emma yet, and call me crazy, but I probably should ask her first.”
“I can help with all the wedding details,” Genie said. I shot her a look, the kind of look that told her I hadn’t forgiven her yet. She got the message and quietly took the empty seat next to me.
Dad grabbed a rag from under the sink and wiped up the spilled coffee. He then resumed his seat and gave me a hard look. “Don’t you think you’re a little young for this?”
“I agree,” Mom added.
“Yes, but I don’t want to get married tomorrow. I was thinking we could have a longer engagement, maybe get married in a year or two.”
“How about you wait until you’ve graduated from law school? The last thing you need is the distraction of a huge wedding.”
Huge wedding? No one mentioned anything about that. “That’s something Emma and I can discuss.”
“If you want me and your father to pay for it, then we want you to wait until you finish school.”
“Wait a second,” Dad said, throwing his arms up in the air. “When was it decided when they should get married and who was paying for it? Don’t you think they are a tad young to be engaged or married?” Dad said to Mom.
“We were twenty-three when we got married.”
“And that was a long time ago. A very long time ago!”
Mom’s face soured. “Do you think we were too young? Are you regretting anything?”
I tried not to smile. Dad walked into that one. “No, darling, I’m not. I’m just trying to point out that they might be a bit young.” Her hard look made him sink a little in his seat. “Okay, I’m with your mother. If you want us to pay for it, then you wait until you’re finished school.”
I grinned. That was easy. “Let me talk to Emma. I’m not even sure she’ll say yes to me.”
We talked some more and I told them how I’d already talked to Emma’s mom and hoped to speak with her father. Dad got called away by the phone and Mom decided there wasn’t much more to discuss. Suddenly it was only me and Genie.
“I can help you ring shop,” she said.
“Are you for real?” I asked in a voice low enough so that Mom and Dad wouldn’t hear.
“Look, I’m sorry, but let me help with this.”
“I don’t even want you to know about this.”
“How long are you going to stay pissed at me?”
“As long as I want to.”
“You know, if it hadn’t been for me, you and Emma probably wouldn’t even be back together.”
My jaw dropped. “Wow. That was desperate.”
She sighed. “Okay, I’m throwing everything at you. I want you to forgive me.”
I threw up my hands. “Fine, I forgive you. Happy now?”
She smiled and pulled me into a hug. “I’m so glad you forgive me for this, because I’m about to piss you off again.”
I inched out of her embrace and gave her a hard look. “What did you do?”
“You want me to be happy, right?”
A pit formed in my stomach. “If you are sneaking around with Paul, I’ll kill you.”
She tapped her fingers on the table and my anxiety level grew by the second. “No, I’m not sneaking around with Paul. I’m not sneaking around with anyone, but . . . I’m going out with Ben tonight.”
I wanted to strangle her. “Ben Morrow? The guy who’s been making me crazy for the last few months? The loser who tried to steal my girlfriend away from me?”
“I think you’re being dramatic there. I highly doubt he was trying to steal Emma.”
“So you went into the lion’s den for me and fell for the lion?”
“Weird, huh?” she said, her voice squeaking out.
“I’m still going to kill you,” I said with a forced smile as Mom passed us by. She was on the phone and wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying.
“Think of it this way; if he’s dating me, he won’t be sniffing around Emma. It’s a win-win situation.”
“I don’t know who’s worse. Paul, Steve or Ben Fucking Morrow.”
“Give Ben a shot.”
I let out a huff. “You sure got over Paul Andrews fast.”
She rolled her eyes. “I thought Paul was a good-looking guy. I still think that. What happened just happened,” Genie said, taking on a serious tone. “It was stupid, the stupidest thing I’ve ever done. And I’m glad it didn’t get far.”
“Because Emma caught you.”
“Anyway, I know you’ll come around. You want me to be happy. So how about some ring shopping?” she asked in a pathetic attempt to change the direction of the conversation.
“I won’t be needing you for that. Besides, I’m going to Pine Falls to ask for Paul’s permission to marry his daughter and you’re definitely not invited to that.”
“That’s so sweet. And old fashioned.”
“Thanks . . . I think.”
“So you’re sure you don’t want me to help?”
“I’m pretty sure you’ve done enough.”
“If you change your mind . . .”
I got up from the table. “Nope. No chance I’m changing my mind. I’ve barely forgiven you.”
#
I WAS PENT UP WITH bundled nerves as I drove to Pine Falls. I could have called Paul in advance, but did he deserve it? Nah. He’d made out with my sister, so treating him with a huge amount of respect wasn’t at the top of my list. He was lucky I was even bothering with him.
I pulled up to the gravel parking lot of Andrew’s Antiques. A few cars dotted the parking lot and when I went through the front door, a bell chimed. I saw Henry first and he furrowed his eyebrows. He came over to me right away.
“Hello, Henry.”
“What’s wrong?” Emma’s grandfather asked, his face etched with worry.
“Nothing. I came by to talk to Emma’s dad.”
Henry’s face eased a bit. “You want to talk to Paul? Not about what happened with your sister, right? I don’t think we need to revisit that.”
“No, I’m here to talk to him about something else. Is he here?”
“In the office. I don’t need to referee anything, do I?”
“I hope not.”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. “The office is through the stock room door and to your right.”
“Thanks.”
I walked slowly, taking in a few deep breaths. Why was I nervous? It wasn’t like what Paul said would make a difference. If he didn’t think it was a good idea, I didn’t care. I didn’t think Emma would care either. As I slipped through the door, I could hear Paul talking on the phone about an armoire. As I neared the door and stood in its threshold, Paul looked up. His blue eyes opened wide and then he returned to his call, wrapping it up in an instant. He hung up and stood.
“Hi, Zach.”
“Paul.”
“Come in,” he said nervously. “What can I do for you?”
I shut the door behind me and took a seat. Paul did the same. “I’m not here to talk about Genie. I’m here about me and Emma.”
Paul nodded, seemingly relieved. “Okay. Are things going well with the two of you?”
“I’d say so. Look, I don’t want to draw this out. I’m here because I love your daughter and I want to marry her.” There. All done. After my experience with my parents, I decided to get straight to the point.
He stared at me for a long time, no reaction at all. “Is Emma pregnant? You guys haven’t gotten yourself in trouble, have you?”
Why was everyone jumping to that conclusion? “No, Emma isn’t pregnant. I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her. And before you freak out like my parents did, I don’t want us to rush this. I think it’s important that we both finish school. What I do want her to know is that I’m committed to her.”
Paul nodded. “You’re both so young. You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you.”
I quelled my annoyance. “I’m here for your blessing.”
Paul let out a deep breath. “Zach, you have my blessing, but the only thing I want to say is not to rush. Emma loves you, she’s going to New York with you, so why do you need to rush into an engagement?”
“Why not?”
“She’s twenty years old. There’s a whole world out there. You are her first boyfriend. Look, I want her to live life to the fullest. I worry that . . . she’s going to be the loyal wife while you have some grand life. I don’t want her in the shadows.”
Wow. I hadn’t expected that. Of all the things Paul Andrews could have come up with, that wasn’t one I’d considered. “You think she’s going to become some kind of Stepford wife?”
“Maybe. I worry that she’ll let you shine and she’ll fade away.”
“I’d never let her do that. She has hopes and dreams and I’d never snuff those out.”
“You say that now, but I hope you stick to those words five or ten years from now.”
“You have my word.”
We both stood and he held out his hand. I shook it.
“You both have my support and my blessings. And Zach, I appreciate you coming out here. Thank you.”
I nodded and left the office. I ran into Henry on the way out and we chatted for a moment, but I didn’t spill the beans. He’d have to wait until everyone else found out.
As I got to my car I made a call to Brett. He answered right away.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“I need a favor. A really big favor. You need to help me pick something out.”