Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Three weeks later, March had arrived and brought autumn with it. Emily stood at the café counter, daydreaming as she wiped the milk frother. The espresso machine hissed, and Emily quickly withdrew her hand. The last thing she needed right now was a burn. She finished cleaning it and switched it off. Her back ached. She had a pounding going on in her head that made thinking difficult. And her legs were tired. After a five-hour shift, she was ready to go home.
“You working tomorrow?” Selena asked with a yawn.
“I’m on opening,” Emily replied. “I’ve also got an exam in the afternoon. So somehow between now and then, I’ve got to study, but my head hurts and I can’t think straight.”
“The burden of being a student,” Selena replied with a grunt. “I’m supposed to be handing in an assignment right now. But I’m running late, so that’s an automatic twenty percent markdown.”
“Maybe you could make it if you hurry,” Emily replied as she wiped the bench.
Selena shut the café door, locked it and turned the welcome sign over to show that it was closed. “I haven’t finished it, and there’s no way I could submit it in time. No, I have to accept the fact that I’m going to flunk this particular assignment. I should’ve done it last night instead of going out to that party. I’ve suffered the consequences all day today.”
Emily reached for her purse behind the counter. “I was out to dinner with Aaron. He wanted to stay up late talking, and of course I loved every minute of it. But now I’m so tired that I can barely think straight. And somehow I have to go home and study the elements and functions of the endocrine system.”
Selena laughed. “Better you than me. I don’t know how you do it. You’re working a shift every day at the moment. Isn’t that a bit much?”
“I’m coping,” Emily replied. “Juggling it all. Work, study, boyfriend, sister… It’s a lot, but I’m handling it. I think.”
“Good for you. I’ll see you tomorrow!” Selena’s blonde ponytail swung back and forth as she hurried out of the café.
Emily followed her and locked the door behind her. She’d keep the keys for opening the next day. The café manager had quickly come to rely on her as one of the more responsible members of staff and often asked her to close or open. It felt good to have a steady stream of income again. At least this way, she wouldn’t decimate her entire savings. But the cost of living had risen so quickly in recent months that she found her meagre income didn’t go far, and she was having to work a lot more shifts than she’d like to.
Most of the other students had help from their parents. Her parents had long since stopped supporting her. And even though Emily received a little stipend from the government, it wasn’t enough to cover her living expenses. She was on her own, and she’d managed to find a balance. At least, she thought she had, although she was far more tired than usual and always rushing somewhere. Her roommate had started calling her the Flash , since she only ever saw Emily hurrying by at a distance these days.
Emily strode through the streets, headed for campus. She liked the new apartment that she and Madi had rented together. It was newer than the last one, with a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It provided each of them with enough space to have a little more privacy and with a good view over the parklands surrounding the university.
She climbed the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to their unit. Music emitted from the living room, and Emily found Madi there doing Pilates on a yoga mat. She wore yoga pants and a crop top, and her hair was caught up into a messy bun.
“Hey,” Emily said as she poured herself a glass of water. “Did you have a good day?”
Madi leaned forward, pressing one foot back into the ground, arms outstretched. “Fine. You? How was work?”
“Good. I’m exhausted, though, and I have to study for that biology test.”
“Oh, right. Don’t forget to eat, and I thought we might hang out on Friday night, so pencil that in. If you’re free, of course. I don’t want to assume, since you’re always busy these days.” Madi’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Emily rolled her eyes. “You always exaggerate.”
“I never exaggerate. I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Madi replied as she changed positions.
Emily laughed. “I’ll make dinner in a few minutes. But I’ve got to get started on that study. Do you mind if dinner’s a little later than usual?”
“Fine with me,” Madi replied. “But if I faint from hunger, make sure to call an ambulance. Won’t you?”
“You’re hilarious,” Emily said as she strode into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. She put her purse away and slipped out of her shoes. She sat on her chair and rubbed her feet. That felt better. Her shoes had given her blisters on her heels. She’d need to wear Band-Aids on them tomorrow, and different shoes.
With a sigh, she turned to the computer and logged in. Emails filtered into her inbox. There was one from her professor of anatomy. She’d handed in an assignment for that subject several days ago but wasn’t expecting feedback yet. She opened the email with a frown and skimmed over the words.
Her results were back already. She’d gotten a D.
Emily sat back in her chair, stomach in knots. That was almost a fail. It was only a quiz to start off the semester, but it was still concerning. She thought she’d been prepared for the quiz—more than prepared. But as soon as she’d sat down at the computer screen with the quiz in front of her, she’d realised she wasn’t ready. She hadn’t studied enough. Still, she’d believed she would at least get an average grade—C or maybe even better.
With both hands pressed to her face, she groaned. This was too hard. How could she manage it all?
Her mobile rang. Aaron’s name flashed across the screen. She answered, her throat still tight from what she’d just learned.
“Hey, baby,” she said. “I’m so glad you called. I need to hear your voice.”
“Hi there. What’s going on? Are you okay?” His deep voice soothed her nerves. But it was all too much. She was close to failing. How could she manage everything? She’d always thought of herself as a capable person, but she wasn’t succeeding.
“I got my quiz results back. It’s worse than I thought.”
“What’d you get?”
“I can’t believe it, but I got a D.” She braced herself for his response. What could he say? He was always so supportive of her, but how could he spin an encouragement out of such a terrible grade?
“That’s not so bad,” he replied. “It’s only the beginning of the semester. You’ve hardly studied the subject much at all yet. The professor is probably just trying to determine what you know coming into the topic.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” she replied, already feeling a little better. “Am I putting too much pressure on myself? I wanted to do well, but I feel like I’m failing.”
“You’re definitely not failing. And it’s okay to put pressure on yourself as long as you don’t beat yourself up when you don’t meet that standard.”
She sighed. “I know you’re right. It’s just so hard right now. I miss Sunshine, and Joanna. I miss my old life. And don’t get me wrong—I’m glad I’m here. But it’s difficult. I’m making minimum wage at the café, so I’m having to do shifts every day. And between that, my study, making time to see you… I’m running on empty. I’ve got so many bills to pay, and everything keeps costing more and more. I need to focus on studying, but I don’t have the time to put in the amount of effort I want to in order to get good grades.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I know it’s a tough time for you.”
“I don’t want to complain. I have it good. There’s nothing I should be complaining about. I’ve got everything I could want. I’ve got you, and I’m so happy. And I’m studying to be a midwife, which I know will be a wonderful career.”
“You’re allowed to complain. It’s okay,” he replied. “Even when things are going well, sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with it all. I know I felt that way when I was commuting from Sunshine. It was too much. So, I made a change.”
“I can’t make a change, though, can I?” Emily asked, rubbing her eyes. “I’ve got four years of this. And I don’t know how I’ll make it through.”
“Maybe,” he replied. “There might be something you could do differently.”
“Do you have any suggestions? Because I’m open to anything. I’m really sinking here.”
“What if we got married?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “Huh?”
“If we were married, you could live here with me, and I’d pay the bills. You wouldn’t have to worry about working, and you could focus on your studies.”
She hesitated, her eyes wide. Was he serious? Did he just propose to her over the phone? Surely not. But it wasn’t a bad idea. In fact, it was a great idea. It was exactly what she wanted, only she hadn’t expected it just yet. And she didn’t want him to marry her if it was just to solve a problem. She longed for the romance of a proposal, wanted him to marry her because he loved her so much that he couldn’t bear to live without her.
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.”
“That’s fine. Take all the time you need.”
As she hung up the phone, she was overcome with a sudden rush of happiness. He wanted to marry her. The timing wasn’t right, and the proposal had been spontaneous, but he’d said the words. And she lay back on the couch with a huge grin on her face.