21. Emma
21
EMMA
“D r. Emma!” Jason yelled with delight as I followed Marcus through the front door.
“Hi, Jason,” I said. His joy lightened my mood considerably, but I was still deep in a funk, brought on by doubt and accusations from Kevin.
“Are you staying for dinner?”
“Yes, she is our guest for the evening,” Marcus said. “She had a rough day, so be nice to her, kiddo.”
“Do you want to watch me play my video game?” he asked, as if that was the nicest thing he could think of.
“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but you know what would be better?” I asked.
Jason nodded his head enthusiastically, eyes wide, waiting with anticipation for me to tell him what could be better than watching him play his video game.
“Could I play with you?”
“I have another controller! We can set it up for a second player.” He bounded away and disappeared into the living room where his game was set up.
“I think you just made his entire week,” Marcus said as he took my things to place on a hook.
“I could use some unadulterated enthusiasm right about now,” I confessed. “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“I think it’s great,” Marcus said.
“You won’t need me to help make dinner or anything?”
He shook his head. “Lily and I can handle dinner. I invited you here so you could rest and regain your composure after today’s ordeal.”
I let out a weary sigh. “Ordeal it was,” I agreed.
“Dr. Emma! Dr. Emma!” Jason called from the other room.
“What am I getting myself into?” I asked wearily, casting a side glance toward the living room where Jason excitedly waited for me.
“Not a clue,” Marcus admitted.
“If you don’t play video games with your kids?—”
He shook his head. “Not my parenting style.”
I braced myself and headed into the living room. Jason had Mario Kart on the screen, the character selection waiting for me.
“Oh, I know this one,” I said as he handed me a controller.
“You game?” he asked, his excitement evident.
I shook my head. “Not really, but I have played this one before. You might need to remind me what I’m doing. It’s been a while.”
The competition was fun. Jason beat me level after level. Never once did it feel like he was trying to humiliate me or prove that he was dominant and smarter. It was a competition, sure, but not a confrontation—not like my meeting earlier in the day with the board and Kevin. That encounter had felt like a fight for my life. I didn’t know how long we played, but before I knew it, Marcus was standing behind us, laughing.
“Jason, are you letting her win?”
“Dad!” Jason said, dragging out the word as if Marcus had exposed some big secret.
“It doesn’t matter whether he’s letting me win or not. I’m terrible at this game,” I said.
“Well, once you finish this level, wash up for dinner.”
The video game made the cha-ching and cheering noises as Jason conquered the level.
“Well, I guess that’s it for the game today,” I said, handing my controller back.
“You didn’t even win once.”
I shook my head. “Nope. It wasn’t about winning. It was about having fun.”
“Aren’t you mad?”
“Nope. That was fun.”
We took turns washing up in the downstairs bathroom, and I was the last one to the table. It was nice to see they sat around their dining room table for dinner. I didn’t know if this was an everyday occurrence or just something they did because I was joining them, but there was something comforting about seeing them as a family unit.
Marcus scooped a serving out of a casserole dish and handed the plate to Lily. “Would you pass that to Dr. Emma, please?”
She didn’t pass it. She practically threw it on the table in front of me. “Here,” she huffed, rolling her eyes.
My presence was not welcome, as far as she was concerned, and she was making that quite obvious. Earlier, I had chosen to ignore the raised voices coming from the kitchen and enjoy my time with Jason. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to ignore this.
I hoped she was willing to keep the peace for the duration of our meal—or at least while I was sitting at the table. I hadn’t come over to cause a problem or a scene.
“Lily,” Marcus said sternly, “I expect you to have better manners when we have a guest.”
She continued to make her annoyed teenager sounds. “I can’t believe you let her come over for dinner unannounced. You should have said something.”
“I did say something as soon as we got home.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Can we not have this conversation right now?” Marcus sounded worn out by the topic.
I smiled awkwardly across the table at Jason. He just shook his head, rolled his eyes, and made a funny face. His expressions were clearly in response to Lily’s attitude.
As much as I liked Marcus, and as much as I knew that there would never be anything between us beyond flirtatious colleagues, I didn’t think I had it in me to go up against teenagers if there were ever to be more.
Lily slammed her fork down on the table and stood up, knocking her chair over. She kicked it instead of picking it up and stormed off.
“Excuse me,” Marcus said through clenched teeth as he deliberately set his fork down, stood, picked up her chair, and then followed her. “Lily!”
I heard them yell through the door. “I can’t believe you brought her home, Dad!”
“I’m allowed to have a colleague over for dinner?”
“But you brought a woman into our house. How could you disrespect Mom like that?”
There was a pause, and I swear I could hear Marcus growl with frustration.
“This was never your mother’s home, and bringing a guest over for dinner is hardly disrespectful to her memory.”
“Well, you can’t make me eat dinner with her.” Lily’s voice was wound tight and laced with tears.
“Why would I put her through that? Clearly, you are not welcome at the table tonight.”
Marcus’s lips were set in a firm line when he returned to the dining room. “I apologize for my daughter’s behavior.”
“You shouldn’t have to apologize because Lily has a bug up her butt,” Jason muttered.
“Jason, that is inappropriate.” But I noticed Marcus didn’t reprimand him further.
“It’s hard being a teenager,” I said. “And she probably sees me as some kind of a threat.”
“You are not a threat, Emma.”
I shook my head.
“Dinner was… thank you for dinner. It was delicious. But I should go. You have to work some stuff out with your daughter.”
“Do you have to go?” Jason practically whined.
“I’ve had a long day,” I admitted. “And I don’t think I could handle your defeating me at Mario Kart anymore tonight. I should go.”
I slowly stood up and picked up my plate to take it into the kitchen.
Marcus stood and took my plate from me. He then grabbed Lily’s plate and, with his back, pushed his way into the kitchen, and I followed him in.
“I’ll see you home.”
“No, you don’t have to. I can… I can get myself home.”
He set the plates into the sink and leaned his hip against the counter, folding his arms. He looked at me, his eyes raking all the way down to my toes before returning to my face and meeting my eyes.
“You’re still shaken up, and I don’t think what Lily had to say was very helpful. I would feel better if you let me see you home.”
“Well, you’re a grown man, and I can’t stop you. Will the kids be okay?”
“The kids are old enough. They know how to lock the door behind me.”
Instead of taking the long hallway back to the front of the house, we cut through the dining room, where Jason had abandoned his plate. We found him back on the couch in the living room with a game controller in hand.
“I’m going to take Dr. Emma home. I need you to do the dishes tonight.”
“Dad…”
“Jason.”
All he had to do was say his son’s name, and the kid’s entire demeanor changed. He set down the game controller and stood up, heaving his shoulders with a heavy sigh. “Okay, I’ll get the dishes done.”
“I’ll be back later.”
I shrugged into my coat and slung my satchel over my shoulder. Marcus followed as I walked down the stairs from his door to the sidewalk.
“It’s nice. Do you mind if we walk to the corner before we catch a cab?” he suggested.
“Sure, that’s fine.” I folded my arms, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. We walked in silence for a bit.
“Really sorry about Lily’s attitude. I don’t know where she’s gotten some of these ideas of hers.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This whole disrespecting the memory of her mother.”
I shrugged. “I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this. Maybe she’s afraid that you’ll somehow forget about your wife.”
He let out a low chuckle. “I could never forget about Blair. But that doesn’t mean I can’t start thinking about someone else.”
“Maybe Lily has some romantic ideal that you could never love anyone the way you loved your wife.”
“I don’t think I could,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be able to love someone else. It would just be different.”
The way his voice went low and slow sent a shiver down my spine.
“Can I see you home, Emma?” he asked.
This time, he was asking me a completely different question. I nodded.
On the cab ride, I couldn’t stop looking at him. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and I was giddy with anticipation. I held his hand the entire way as I led him through the lobby and up the elevator of my apartment building.
As I fumbled with the key at my front door, Marcus leaned in close and braced his hand right above the lock.
“You know what my intentions are?”
I gulped and looked up at him. I could hardly speak as I nodded.
“And you are okay with that?”
“I’ve known the entire cab ride over,” I admitted. I didn’t care what his kid thought about me. I wanted this man, and it was clear that he wanted me.