Chapter 2
TWO MONTHS EARLIER
When the airline agent swiped her credit card to charge her for the excess baggage, Emma grimaced in silence.
And that she and Tanner had come quite lightly, but they hadn't expected that in the middle of the airport and with the plane waiting for them, Nicholas would show up with his daughter Rita, and that the little devilish girl would bring more bags than the paid ticket allowed.
Nicholas played dumb.
"My dear, I'm not the only one who's going to enjoy Rita, so it's up to you to pay for her. Wasn't it your insistence that we make this trip?"
"But it's too much luggage," Emma tried to insist.
Nicholas became serious.
"I don't like you trying to restrict Rita's freedom, you know more than anyone what she has suffered and how she is looking for a mother figure...and if you do that to her, I don't like it"
Emma gave up insisting.
It was always the same. Every time she tried to tell him something about his daughter, who was quite rude when her father was away, Nicholas would bring up his late wife's letter and how poor Rita had no mother.
Emma swallowed it all because her hopes for a serious relationship with Nicholas remained strong.
She had an urgent need to create an extended family with a man who had stood as a pillar of the community in Colorado.
At first, she even thought it was to find a father figure for Tanner, but her son had no intention of calling him father. It was his desire to show his father and Faith that he wasn't the loser they thought he was.
Tanner would never stand up to them because he was such a noble boy.
Although he didn't act as rude as Rita in front of the surgeon, he told his mother.
"He's a strange man, and I feel like he looks down on you, Mom"
The little boy was only ten years old and had a bold intelligence that sometimes frightened Emma. He was quiet, but when his tongue was out it was sharp and quick, which matched the report of one of his teachers, who told Emma that Tanner had a higher IQ than other children his age and that, if possible, it would be best to give him an education more suited to his abilities.
Tanner made the trip, quietly, though he had to have Rita as a seatmate while Nicholas and Emma sat together. The eight-hour flight that brought them to New Jersey was especially tiring.
Nicholas spent it complaining.
"Remind me why I agreed to take such a long flight?"
"Because in addition to visiting the beaches of the Jersey Shore, we'll be only a few hours away from New York, and we'll take advantage of the opportunity to visit and return in the evening"
" Where is the hotel you booked?"
"It's not very close to the beach, but the car I rented is," Emma started to explain, but Nicholas cut her off.
"I don't remember you telling me that the hotel wasn't close... What's the advantage of staying so far away?"
Nicholas's complaint about the distance to the hotel increased, so much so that Emma had to call as soon as they landed to cancel the reservation and find another one.
Nicholas suggested a beautiful four-star hotel, almost on the beach, that he had seen on an app. Of course, the cost was charged to Emma's credit card, as Nicholas argued that the bank had blocked his, and he would call tomorrow for answers.
The night they arrived, they didn't go out as Emma would have liked, but stayed in the hotel because Rita insisted she didn't want to miss her favorite show.
.
.
.
The afternoons at the beach didn't even help to distract Emma.
The firm where she worked as a legal secretary had made it clear that she only had eight days of vacation. It was really a bad time to ask for those days off, given the war between the partners, but Emma was desperate to save her relationship with Nicholas. She imagined that all the tension she was dragging around because of the hospital could be eased on this trip and she would finally propose to him.
Although every time she felt this possibility approaching, she was terrified.
She would be marrying a man she did not love and who still did not bring her the peace of mind she had hoped for.
But she was determined again, every time she remembered Faith's mocking smile.
"You can't expect a man to take seriously a single mother like you, uneducated, with a simple secretarial job... and who can't even fit into a thin dress," she openly alluded to her weight.
She only had so much time to prove her sister wrong.
Near the Jersey Shore, Emma planned a family outing to try some seafood. The place was busy and inexpensive. It was worth spending some of her credit card balance.
But once they were in the rental car, Rita threw a tantrum in front of her father about wanting to eat from the fast food place.
She had to cancel her reservation because Nicholas told her he didn't want to ruin his little girl's vacation.
At one point, while father and daughter were devouring the burgers, Emma decided to step outside for a moment to get some fresh air or she would explode.
Was it worth it to be a stepmother to such a wayward child?
Tanner, who didn't like chain restaurants, came over to join his mother.
"I have an idea, Mom"
"In fact, I feel like going back to Cheyenne right now. What's on your mind, honey?"
"Well, I have several ideas, and they all involve Rita, either throwing her out of the car or leaving her on the beach, where maybe we'll get lucky and she'll be eaten by piranhas," the boy said with a laugh. “Poor piranhas”
Emma laughed as she reprimanded her son
"Rita will be your stepsister, dear"
"And it will be a strange sisterhood, like the one Aunt Faith has with you”
Emma stroked her little boy's head.
Sometimes she didn't know whether to be proud or afraid of how alert Tanner was, already able to sense Faith and his grandfather.
Fortunately, he never inquired much about the dreaded question: Who was my father?
When he was younger, he asked a couple of times, but Emma dodged the question by telling him that his father had left one day, but she didn't know he existed.
That was so Tanner wouldn't have an abandonment complex.
Anyway, her son's above-average mental level and intelligence development made him mature sooner, and he never asked again because he realized he was hurting his mother, the person he loved the most.
Then they returned to the hotel, where they had two rooms. One where she stayed with Tanner and the other where Nicholas stayed with his daughter. The logical thing to do would have been to rent a family room, but Nicholas told her he didn't want to force Rita.
Although Emma hated the idea at first, and it added to the bill, she actually began to like it and couldn't wait to get back to Cheyenne.
Nicholas had given her no sign that he intended to ask for her hand, and that frustrated her.
The next day, which was the penultimate day of their stay, they went to the mall to look for some bargains on brands and souvenirs.
While Emma browsed the racks, the kids spread out throughout the huge center. Nicholas stayed in the sportswear section.
Just then, Emma's cell phone rang, and she recognized the number as her work phone.
Three minutes later, the rack she was holding fell to the floor and a petrified Emma had to hold onto one of the shelves.
“Are you all right?” a woman's voice woke her from her trance.
She wasn't even able to answer the kind question from the woman who circled her worriedly.
She had just received the dreaded call that she was fired and that there was no need for her to return to the firm on Monday.
“But...this is serious Emma Darby?”
The same voice of the woman who had assisted her brought her back and she looked at her caller.
The dyed red hair and the smile so typical of Lisa Maldiva were details impossible to forget, even though it had been ten years since the last time she had seen her.
Although she was still startled by the call, she let herself be embraced by that eloquent former high school classmate.
“Lisa Maldiva... How is it possible?”
“So you remember me,” the woman, who possessed a high rate of confidence, took her hand as if they had never severed contact.” I came here to cover for a saleswoman friend as a weekend job, but I live and work in New York,” the young woman smiled genuinely. “But you have to tell me what a girl from Cheyenne is doing in New Jersey”
“I'm on vacation with my fiancé,” said Emma, who began to faint with nostalgia at the sight of the kind lady and pointed her finger. “My son Tanner is over there”
“And I'd love to meet him! How are you?”
Emma couldn't hide it anymore.
“I'm sorry, Lisa... I just got a call with bad news and I don't think it's a good time”
Lisa smiled understandingly.
“I'm not going to pressure you, I'm just glad to see you in spite of what happened between us”
Emma was about to answer when she heard some shouting that made a big commotion in the direction where her son Tanner was. When she heard her son's voice, Emma looked at Lisa as a sign of apology before running over.
The scene was pitiful.
Security guards and other onlookers surrounded Tanner and Rita in a small circle.
“What’s going on,” Emma demanded to know. Behind her, Lisa arrived as well.
“Are you this girl's mother?” asked one of the guards.
“That's not my mother!” shouted Rita. “She only fucks my father”
At that, Tanner raises his voice.
“Be very careful what you say about my mother!”
“But it's true, and I can't wait for me and my father to be free of you. As if old Darby is going to die soon and leave her part of his inheritance”
Emma was petrified at what she heard, and at that the guard made it clear to her.
“If you know this girl, you should know that we caught her when she was taking the alarm strips out of some watch boxes she kept in her backpack. Charges will be filed against the parents or guardians”
“ I didn't steal anything, Tanner did! “Rita shouted, pointing at Emma's son.
“You're a lying little thief”
“And you're the son of a tramp! “Rita replied, viciously.
“Shut up, you stupid little girl! “Emma exploded as she had never exploded before.
At that moment, Nicholas appeared at her side, who gave Emma a hateful look and went over to hug Rita.
“My daughter is not to blame, it's probably that boy's fault,” Nicholas accused.
But Emma was untied. She had put up with so much from that man and that horrible spoiled child.
She slapped Nicholas.
“Don't disrespect my son, next time I won't talk back!”
Nicholas wanted to hit her back with another blow, but Lisa, who was watching the scene, intervened.
“Let's see if he dares to hit a woman, I'll beat him to a pulp myself!”
Nicholas, a natural coward backed up a few steps.
“That's enough, but someone has to answer for the watches the girl wanted to steal,” said the guard, in a rather loud voice.
Nicholas looked at Emma. It seemed that even in that circumstance, he planned to ask her to use his card to pay for what Rita had taken. Finally, the man took the watch boxes from the backpack and returned them to the guard.
“There is no need to press charges. It was a mistake my girl made because of bad company,” giving a contemptuous glance at Tanner.
“Your daughter's bad company, I predict she'll spend her adolescence in a correctional facility! “Tanner didn't want to keep quiet either.
Nicholas, embarrassed by the murmurs, took his daughter's hand and approached Emma.
“You're not worth the wait”
“Then what your daughter said is true,” Emma spat, trying to hold in her anger. “You're a gold digger who expected my father to give me some of his money”
“Do you think a man like me would look at an insignificant, unsuccessful broad like you?
At those adjectives, Emma swallowed hard, but kept her composure so as not to make another scene.
Nicholas and the little thief quickly left the premises.
When the scene was over, the onlookers quickly dispersed and Emma, who felt very embarrassed and wanted to cry, looked with her eyes for her son to leave the place.
Only there she realized that Lisa was still with them.
“I think you need to drink some water. Come with me out of here”
Emma and Tanner allowed themselves to be led by Lisa, who took them to the mall's staff feeding station, where no one was there.
Emma sat down while drinking bottled water. Lisa brought the boy a strawberry milkshake.
“He was a jerk,” Lisa consoled her.
“It's true,” agreed Emma, who was still hurt by the insult and by the discovery that her fiancé was nothing more than a cheat after her father's money. Money that, by the way, she would never get.
“Do you want something else? “asked Lisa while she was checking the refrigerator.
Emma wiped her tears.
“Don't think I'm crying because of that scoundrel,” Emma clarified. “A little earlier I got a call from the firm where I work. I don't have a job anymore”
Lisa closed the refrigerator.
“ Gosh, that's awful!”
Emma hugged her son, who came to sit next to her.
“The worst thing is that I just realized that Nicholas took the car I rented”
“Mommy, don't you want me to treat you to my milkshake?”
Emma stroked his hair in response.
“I don't even feel like going back to Cheyenne, because I'm sure Nicholas will spread gossip to suit himself and I don't have any extra money...and that means I have to ask my family for help,” Emma replied, but in her mind she only had Faith's giggle etched in her mind.
Unemployed and even more despised by her family.
Even though Nicholas fled with the car, she still had a key card to the hotel to go get her bags and return plane tickets.
“If only she could start back somewhere else, away from Cheyenne,” Emma reflected almost to herself. “Sorry Lisa, we just met again and I don't want to get you in trouble “she made a gesture of taking her bag to leave.
“That's not why I'm seeing you, Emma”
“How? I don't understand”
“I know we haven't seen each other in years...but you know I left Cheyenne because of the shame of what I did to you,” Lisa was silenced by Tanner.
“Holy cow, there's some grown-up talk coming up that I can't hear,” the lively boy stood up and picked up his glass of malt. “I'll be outside, so you two can talk about your secret”
“Honey...”
“You're a smart bomb, Tanner! “laughed Lisa.
After the boy came out, Lisa approached Emma and took her hand.
“I feel I can try to repay you somehow”
“What do you mean, Lisa?”
“Leave Cheyenne behind and come with me to New York, which is the cradle of opportunity. Great schools, jobs and all away from your family. Away from that maggot Nicholas and his delinquent little daughter”
“What the...?”Emma was stunned.
“I work for a cleaning company as a handywoman. I have a rented apartment in Queens and I have an extra room where you and Tanner can stay. It's small but cozy”
Emma blinked in surprise.
It had only been a few hours since she had matched with Lisa Maldiva and now this unimaginable proposal was coming up.
It was tempting, but she couldn't leave it all behind, even though her heart broke every time she thought that she was unemployed and that Nicholas was not the man she thought he was.
She hadn't even had time to process Nicholas' words and the meaning that he had only approached her because of Mr. Darby's fortune, money that she was never going to get, so that showed how uninformed the surgeon from Colorado was.
She thanked Lisa for the proposal and wrote down her number because she was glad to find her back. They had been best friends all their teenage years and he could tell she was still the same outspoken girl she had always been and even if she went back to Cheyenne with her tail between her legs he wanted to keep in touch with her via network messaging.
Lisa escorted her and Tanner to catch an app car to return them to their Jersey Shore hotel.
“I really liked your friend, Mommy,” Tanner mentioned to her.
“And I liked meeting her again”
It seemed her son read her mind and made no allusion to what happened with Rita and Nicholas. He was hoping to get his belongings out and move to a cheaper hotel while he waited to catch his ticket back to Cheyenne.
But when she arrived at the blessed place, she discovered that both Nicholas and his daughter had left, but not before going through her suitcases making a mess of everything.
Emma almost lost her mind when she realized she was missing the thousand dollars she had hidden in a sock.
Nicholas had stolen it.
She wasn't even sure how to report it. Would they believe a single mother over a respected Colorado doctor?
After nearly an hour of tears, it was Tanner himself who handed his mother the cell phone.
This was not just a request, but an acceptance on the part of the child.
To start over and put the nightmare behind her, Emma had to call Lisa Maldiva and accept her help.