Chapter 9 #2
a rideshare and set off feeling like she was seconds from exploding in a supernova of nerves and excitement.
What would he be like? What would he think of her? Would they kiss?
The final thought made her dizzy. Physical contact felt like an enormous leap after only texting, but she’d have been lying
if she didn’t admit she’d thought of it over and over in the past weeks.
She popped a mint from her purse into her mouth just in case.
When she arrived at the park, her driver dropped her as close as possible to the Botanical Building.
Balboa Park sprawled like a lush green jewel amid San Diego proper.
A network of walkways and trails, the park housed several museums, theaters, event centers, the famed San Diego Zoo, and acres of open lawns for sunbathing, picnicking, throwing Frisbees.
This late on a Tuesday night, the muse ums and gift shops had closed, but patrons still strolled the paths in the twilight air.
Emmy turned onto El Prado, the main walkway with an enormous fountain at one end and the iconic California Tower at the other,
and felt her heart rate pick up. She glanced around at everyone passing by, wondering if any of them could be Axe Murderer.
The tall man with a goldendoodle; probably not since he’d never mentioned a dog.
The fit jogger dripping with sweat and wearing earbuds; she hoped not since she’d rather he didn’t show up to their first
meeting needing a shower.
The man with sleeve tattoos pushing a stroller; she really hoped not because a kid would complicate matters more than she was prepared for.
She decided to stop speculating and wait for the reveal once she got to their intended location.
When she turned toward the Botanical Building, the lily pond stretched out before her like a long, reflective carpet. Palms
lined the walkways on either side, and flowers popped in pockets of color. The domed building sat at the other end of the
pond, flanked by lawns. She’d chosen the place for its scenic beauty and centralized location, and now as she approached a
bench to sit and wait for Axe Murderer, she couldn’t help feeling the symbolism of following a path to an endpoint.
The time had come.
Emmy sat on one of the empty benches in front of the building and gazed at the pond. The palm trees rustled. The sky had faded
into a milky blue that would soon twinkle with stars. The warm evening hummed and buzzed around her. Despite her nerves, she
felt remarkably content.
Until she heard a familiar voice.
“Jameson? Is that you?”
She turned to see Gabe Olson standing beside the next bench over, looking dapper in a button-down with a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.
“Olson?” she said, and had the increasingly routine feeling of wanting to hide from him because he’d caught her doing something
vulnerable. “What are you doing here?”
He looked over his shoulder and then sat on the other bench. “Uh, I’m meeting someone here. What are you doing here?”
“Same,” she said, and crossed her legs. She’d worn strappy sandals and a flowy floral-print dress that fluttered around her
ankles. She gathered the skirt when it fell open at the slit and she felt his eyes momentarily flash to her bare legs. “Don’t
tell me your other cousin is a curator at one of these museums or something,” she said, and turned slightly away from him.
He’d already seen her at the bachelorette party. The last thing she wanted was Gabe Olson infringing on her meetup—especially
if it didn’t go well.
Oh god , what if Axe Murderer showed up and turned out to be a catfish who lived in his mom’s basement, and Gabe witnessed her humiliation
firsthand? The thought made her want to submerge herself in the lily pond and never resurface. She would become one with the
koi.
Gabe huffed a small laugh. “Um, no. I don’t have any cousins who work at this park. I’m here to meet... a date.”
She turned to him in interest. “Oh yeah? The mystery girl you didn’t want to jinx by confessing you wanted it to become official?”
“That would be the one.”
“Well, with the flowers, the shirt, the romantic location”—she paused to sweep her arms at the view—“I have to say this looks
pretty official.”
He shyly smiled. “I guess you’re right. Still hoping not to jinx anything.”
“Hmm. Well, the night is young, Olson. I wish you luck.”
He snorted a laugh. “Thanks.”
They went back to sitting silently, and Emmy really wished he’d go away.
Why did he have to pick that bench? Seriously, what were the odds he’d chosen the same location as she had for a meetup?
It seemed astronomical. And yet, there they were.
Again. She could get up and move, but she didn’t want to miss Axe Murderer showing up, and she’d gotten here first. If anything, he should leave so she could have the space to herself.
Emmy nervously checked the time on her phone to see it was five after seven. Nothing in their history suggested Axe Murderer
was anything but punctual. She hated to think something had happened to him—or worse, he’d changed his mind and she was being
stood up.
The latter thought bottomed out her belly and almost made her feel sick.
She side-eyed Gabe and wondered if he was judging her for being stood up. How mortifying. She and Beth had not rehearsed this
scenario. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t bear the humiliation, so she pulled out her phone to text Axe Murderer
in a fit of panic.
I’m here ?
Her heart beat like a frantic drum. Her hands had begun to sweat. But she calmed when she saw his dots immediately appear.
Me too ?
Her head popped up to look around. Aside from her and Gabe, she only saw a family with a toddler playing on the lawn and the
sweaty jogger having stopped to stretch.
Where?
By the lily pond. Right in front of the building.
Emmy stood and did a full three-sixty turn to look for him.
The fantasy palette of twilight sky, stucco, lawn, and rainbow of flowers blurred by.
But she didn’t see anyone new. It was on her second rotation that she noticed Gabe standing too, phone in one hand, flowers in the other, and an expression of stupefied shock on his face.
“What?” she asked.
He silently blinked at her, looked down at his phone, and then looked back up at her.
The realization hit Emmy with the force of an atomic bomb. In a blink, the world as she knew it ceased to exist.