Not What She Seems (8 page)

He was almost done with his meal when she had a chance to come join him. She sat down across from him and set a diet soda on the table. “So, what did you have in mind for Tuesday?”
 
She clasped her hands together and put her elbows on the table.

“I’ll come pick you up at
9:00
again, if that’s all right. I thought we could try out that new skating rink. Do you know how to ice skate?”

“No.” Her eyes widened. “What about Connor?”

“Oh, they have ice skates for kids his age. And I’ll help him learn to balance. They give lessons to three and four year olds.”

“Well, I think it sounds fun, I guess.” She swallowed.

Steven laughed. “I assure you it’s a safe activity for children. I learned to ice skate as a child. Maybe after lunch we can take in a matinee. I hear that new animated movie is supposed to be good.”

“Connor would love that.” Emily looked quite pleased.

“He’s such a bright child. Is he going to start Kindergarten next year?”

Emily seemed bothered by the question. She frowned, and twisted her hands. “I don’t know if he makes the cut off date.” She suddenly took a great interest in something on the floor.

“You said he will be five in March. Don’t they start Kindergarten at age five?”

She shrugged her shoulders, and looked him in the eye. “So, you work in
New York
? That’s quite a long commute from here. What exactly do you do, Ethan?” Her eyes narrowed and she pursed her lips.

Steven felt the mood change, and thought that perhaps he had upset her somehow.

“I’m an entrepreneur, but I’m taking a bit of time off right now.” Probing, he looked into her eyes.

“That must be nice, to take time off whenever you want,” she snapped. He blinked and she quickly softened her face and said, “I could use a vacation myself.”

Steven wasn’t sure what had just happened. He watched her sip her soda, and studied her features. She looked a bit anxious; he could see worry lines on her face. He wasn’t sure what to say, so they sat in silence for a few moments.

“So,” he said trying to lighten the mood, “do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“I have an older brother named Aaron. He’s married and living in
Australia
with his wife.”

“That’s pretty far away. Do you ever get to see him?”

“It’s been six years since I’ve seen him.” Emily paused, and said quietly, “He flew out for my wedding.”

“You must miss him.” Steven felt bad for her as he watched her blink back tears.

“Yes, I do.”

“Where are your parents living?” Steven asked carefully. She hadn’t spoken of her family to him.

Her voice was almost a whisper. “My parents died right before Connor was born. Their house was robbed. They were found stabbed to death in their bed.”

The bottom dropped out of Steven’s stomach. No wonder she hadn’t mentioned her family. “I’m so sorry, Emily.”

She wiped under her eyes with the tips of her fingers.
“Seems like that was a lifetime ago.”

“Did they live in a large city?”

“No, they lived in
Minnesota
, in a small town called Stapleton.”

“You grew up in
Minnesota
, and never learned to ice skate?” Steven joked. Emily cracked a smile.

“No, I grew up in
Arizona
. Not many ice skating rinks there. We moved to Stapleton when I was seventeen.” After the words escaped her lips, Emily’s face turned white and she jerked her head up. She seemed flustered, and knocked over her drink. “Oh, no,” she said, standing up. “I’ll go get a rag to clean up this mess.” She ran to the kitchen and came out a second later with a white cloth. Her hands trembled as she mopped up the soda.

“Here, let me get it.” Steven took the rag from her. “Sit down and enjoy the last two minutes of your break.” He stood up and pulled out her chair for her.

“Thank you.” She sat down looking terrified. “I don’t know how that happened.”

“It’s just a little spill. Don’t worry about it.” Steven cleaned it up in a few seconds, and then sat down and looked at Emily. She was shaken up about something, and Steven was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the soda. He decided to leave it alone, and change the subject.

“Do you think we’ll get more snow?”

“They predict a couple of inches more by morning.” She peered out of the window. As they chatted about the weather, she seemed to relax, and soon she was back to her usual self.

“Well, I had better get back to work. I’ll see you Tuesday morning,” she said brightly. Steven watched her as she walked back to the kitchen. He got up, and put his warm leather coat on. Impulsively, he pulled out a large bill and put it on the table. Then he paid his bill and left before Emily saw his enormous tip.

Chapter Nine

Tuesday morning came with clear skies and sunshine. The bright sun reflected off the snow and ice, and turned the streets into a winter wonderland. Steven picked up Emily and they were on their way to the skating rink, Connor in his car seat, happily chatting about the snow.

Emily sat in the passenger seat of his truck looking radiant. Her hair was knotted at the base of her neck, a few loose strands framing her face. Steven turned on the radio, fiddling with the dial until he found a station playing Christmas music. They sang along with
Jingle Bells
and
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
. Connor laughed, and clapped his hands after they finished each song.

Emily glanced back at her son. “He’s so happy around you.”

“No, he’s just laughing at me because I’m so funny looking.”

“Yeah, you’re a real David Letterman.” Her laughter filled the truck. It was good to see her relaxed and joking with him again. Warmth filled his chest. He could imagine spending the rest of his life with her.

“When I was young, we would have a family night once a week. No matter how crazy my father’s schedule became, he would make sure he had time off for family night. One night we went ice skating. I was probably only five or six, and I was having such a great time that even after my mother fell and twisted her ankle, we stayed and skated. We found out later that she had fractured it. But she hadn’t wanted to spoil our family night, so she’d skated on a broken ankle for over an hour.”

“And this story is supposed to help me feel better about ice skating?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. A smile tugged at her lips.

“No,” he said smirking at her, “it’s supposed to help you understand what kind of family I come from.”

Emily’s face became serious. “Well, your family sounds wonderful.” She fiddled with her gloves and didn’t look at him.

An awkward silence filled the car.
Trying to come up with something to say, he blurted, “Oh, I have that money for you.”

She still didn’t look at him. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

Steven cringed. He’d said the wrong thing. Maybe he shouldn’t have offered to pay for her tuition. It might put a strain on their relationship. But he couldn’t back out now. Besides, something in him wanted to take care of her.

When they arrived at the skating rink, he handed her the money order, hoping she wouldn’t ask why he hadn’t given her a check. Even though he’d had to sign the money order, his signature was bad enough that no one could have read it anyway. She took the paper from him and stuffed it in her purse, hardly even acknowledging it. She must feel bad for having to take a hand out from him. He vowed not to mention it again, in case she felt awkward for taking money from him.

Tuesday morning turned out to be the perfect time to skate. The place was mostly empty. Steven helped Connor put on his skates while Emily got used to walking with hers on. Then Steven pulled Connor on the ice and he squealed with delight. Emily stayed close to the edge, grabbing the wall if she needed to.

After a while, Connor got pretty good at keeping his balance, and they were able to all hold hands and skate together. Emily continued to stay close to the wall, but held onto it less.

“You’re getting good at this,” Steven said.

“Well, I haven’t broken anything yet.”

He laughed, enjoying the smile on her face. She looked away, and Steven had a hard time capturing her gaze again.

******

Emily ended up sitting beside Steven at the movie theater. Her heart pounded as he put his arm around her. She debated whether or not to put her head on his shoulder, and finally decided it wouldn’t hurt anything. It felt so good to be close to him, and she pushed the thoughts of leaving town out of her head. She was going to enjoy being with him while she could.

The theater got dark, and Emily found herself so cozy that she closed her eyes and soon dozed off. She dreamed that she was back in Stapleton, in the beautiful home she had shared with William.

She walked through the kitchen, her heels clicking on the tile floor. Something pulled her through the house. Her fingers trembled as she pushed the door open and walked into the dining room, around the beautiful mahogany table set. The polished wood reflected the large crystal chandelier that hung from above. Slowly she crept toward the door to the living room, unable to stop herself. Knowing what she would find there, she clutched at her throat, unable to breathe. The door opened, and there he lay on the floor in a pool of blood. Tears streamed down her face, and she ran to kneel beside him.

“I’m so sorry William. I didn’t mean to,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to, Will, I didn’t mean to…”

“Emily,” someone whispered. “Emily, wake up. You’re dreaming.”

Emily awoke with a start. “What?”

“It’s okay; you just fell asleep for a few minutes. It looked like you were having a nightmare.” Lines of concern deepened on Steven’s face.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She couldn’t stop herself from trembling.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I… um–” she stammered, not being able to think clearly. She could still see the blood on her hands. “I just need to go to the bathroom,” she finished. “Watch Connor for me, would you?”

“Yes, of course.”

She slipped out, a sick feeling starting in the pit of her stomach. In her dream she had been telling William that she hadn’t meant to kill him. She got the feeling that she had been talking out loud.

The cold water numbed her, and Emily scrubbed her hands with the soap. They felt sticky. She leaned up against the sink, and tried to stop shaking. A little cold water on her face helped her calm down. She dried herself off with a paper towel, and took a deep breath.

No one in the theater seemed to notice as she slipped back into her seat.

Steven turned to her, his eyebrows knit together. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. It was just a silly nightmare. I got frightened, that’s all.”

His arm slid around her shoulders, and she stiffened. No point in pretending anymore. She could never be what he wanted her to be… what he deserved. Her past would catch up to her sometime. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around herself as they watched the rest of the movie in silence.

She thought back to when she had married William. He’d been so charming. She had met him only a year after she got out of high school. He was the only son of the prestigious Theodore Grant, who owned half the town of
Stapleton
. William had money, and wasn’t afraid to use it to get what he wanted. And he wanted her.

At first, their marriage seemed like a dream. He took her to fancy parties at the country club his father owned, and she felt like a princess. But then things started to get strained. He started drinking heavily when things weren’t going so well at work. He would only hit her when he was drunk, but he was getting drunk almost every day near the end. He was drunk the day he died.

******

Connor chatted about the movie while they drove. Steven smiled as he listened to Connor talk about the different parts of the show. He was such a bright child. Emily has brought him up well. Half way home, Connor quieted down, and Steven stole a glance at him. He had fallen asleep in his car seat.

Emily sat in her seat, unusually silent, and Steven wondered what she was thinking. They were almost to Emily’s apartment when Steven decided to break the silence.

“A penny for your thoughts.”
He grinned at her playfully.

“Oh, I was just thinking about my Aunt Edna.”

“You have an Aunt? Where does she live?”

“She lives in
Oregon
. She wants me to come visit her.”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Steven said, disappointment tugging at him a little. Honestly, he didn’t want her to go. “How long do you plan on visiting her?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She glanced down at her hands. “I haven’t seen her in years.”

Steven sat silent for a few moments. “What about school?”