The Reunion: Emma's Vacation (The Starting Over Series) (3 page)

“
Are you kidding me? You can
’
t rush love, Ash. We don
’
t want to hurry and find some random man who isn
’
t the right one. This is a crazy idea,
”
Claire said rolling her eyes.

“
No, it really isn
’
t. Listen, I don
’
t want any of us to rush. I just want us to focus on it. Are any of you actually focusing on finding love right now?
”
Ashley asked looking around.

“
Well, no, but that is because I am focusing on my kids,
”
Shelby said.

“
Is it really, Shelby? Or is it fear or laziness or complacency?
”
Ashley challenged.

For a moment, the table was quiet as the women sat and looked at each other.

“
Could we really do this?
”
Claire asked, breaking the silence.

“
Sure, we could. We just need a plan,
”
Ashley said.

“
Alright, let
’
s plan then,
”
Emma said surprising herself. She dug a piece of paper and a pen out of her evening bag.
“
Let
’
s write down the rules, and we will all sign it.
”

“
Well this is very official
…”
Shelby said with a chuckle.
“
Shall I get a notary too?
”

“
Very funny. I have found that when I write down my goals, I am telling the universe my intentions. It makes things more real to me, and more likely to happen,
”
Emma said.

For the next thirty minutes, the women ironed out the rules of their challenge. They would meet back at the hotel lounge two years from that night. During the time that they were looking for their soul mates, they were not allowed to use dating services of any kind. They had to find
“
the one
”
on their own without outside assistance. They also had to do at least one big thing to find him, like taking a trip alone. Finally, they could not be in contact at all during those two years.

When they had finished ironing out the details, they all signed the document and shook hands. Emma could not believe she was participating in such a crazy plan, but she also could not envision herself living her life without love forever.

As the women parted ways after the reunion, each one felt the pressure to find the right man and meet back in two years.

Emma Donovan was not known to be a wild woman. She was the rock of the group, always holding them all down to Earth. She and Ashley were at opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to personalities, but Emma respected Ashley
’
s ability to go after what she wanted.

It had been two weeks since the reunion, and Emma knew she was not yet making any strides to find Mr. Right. She had promised the other women that she would do what it took to find someone.

“
Mommy, when am I leaving for Grandma
’
s?
”
Samuel asked as he bounced into the room and interrupted her thoughts.

“
She will be here to pick you up in about ten minutes, love,
”
Emma said hugging him and kissing his red hair.

“
Will you miss me?
”
he asked with a grin.

“
More than anything. I cannot believe you will be gone for one whole month! But, Grandma is looking forward to taking you traveling with her in the RV,
”
Emma said with a smile.

Samuel would be going on a cross country trip with Emma
’
s mother and step father. They lived in their RV most of the year, and Samuel had been asking to go with them for years. Emma decided that now was the free time she needed to start working on her
“
love plan
”.

A short time later, Emma
’
s mother arrived and loaded Samuel up into the RV.

“
What will you do with this free time, Em?
”
her mother asked.

“
Oh, I have some plans. I might even take a trip myself. I
’
ve asked for a few weeks off from work,
”
she said.

“
How will you survive financially without working?
”
her mother asked, worried.

“
I have some vacation and sick time accumulated. I
’
ll be fine, Mom
…”
Emma assured her.

Emma waved goodbye to her Mom and Samuel as they drove down the road in front of her home. She had never been without her son for this long, so she knew she needed to make a quick plan to get her mind off of missing him.

***

“
So, what is your plan?
”
Lorraine asked as she worked the dye into Emma
’
s hair. She had been going to Lorraine to have her hair done for as many years as she could remember. In fact, she had done Emma
’
s hair for her wedding those many years ago.

“
I don
’
t really have a plan. I am supposed to make big moves and do things that make me uncomfortable
…”

“
Well, that shouldn
’
t be hard for you. Everything makes you uncomfortable, doll,
”
Lorraine said with a laugh. She was right. Emma was never a fly by the seat of her pants woman.

Suddenly, Emma looked up and saw a familiar face. Her stomach started to churn, and she felt as if she might even get sick. It was Tiffani, her ex-husband
’
s mistress.

“
What
’
s wrong, honey?
”
Lorraine asked as she noticed Emma fidgeting in her chair. The hairdresser looked up and noticed the voluptuous, young blond standing at the front desk in her hot pink, skin tight dress and strappy heels.

“
Her,
”
Emma whispered as she pointed.

“
Ah, yes. I remember that woman,
”
Lorraine said through gritted teeth.
“
Maybe I will get her in my chair and shave her head for you.
”
Emma let out a big belly laugh at Lorraine
’
s remark which caused Tiffani to turn and look at her.

Rolling her eyes, Tiffani headed for Emma
’
s chair. She always loved to taunt Emma, and Emma always took the high road by ignoring her.

“
Well, hello, Emma. I see you are dying your hair again,
”
Tiffani taunted as she approached in her clicking high heels.

“
Tiffani
…
Shouldn
’
t you be at the plastic surgeon
’
s getting something injected?
”
Emma responded. She was surprised at herself for speaking up. Tiffani was taken aback.

“
Excuse me?
”
Tiffani said offended.

“
What do you want?
”
Emma asked looking off in the distance.

“
I just wanted to see how Samuel was doing?
”
The idea that Tiffani was asking about her son when Henry was ignoring him infuriated Emma.

“
That is none of your concern,
”
Emma said with a scowl.

“
Well, he is Henry
’
s son
…”

“
Is he? Well, you might ought to tell Henry that since he never calls or sends money for his son,
”
Emma said. She knew she should take Henry back to court, but she just didn
’
t have it in her to fight him anymore. She would have never thought he would become a deadbeat Dad.

“
Henry is a busy man, Emma. He has a lot to do these days.
”

“
Well, then I am sure he appreciates you being around for his every need,
”
Emma said rolling her eyes as she turned back around to the mirror. Lorraine just stood back and let the ladies have it out.

“
Yes, he appreciates every thing I do for him
…
Many of the things you wouldn
’
t do for him
…”
Tiffani whispered loudly with a smirk.

Without thinking, Emma shot up out of her chair and grabbed Tiffani
’
s hair in her hand.

“
You listen to me, you two bit bimbo. You are a whore, and everyone here knows it. So, why don
’
t you take your trampy dress and your hooker high heels and go hang out on the street corner where you belong?
”
Emma said through gritted teeth.

Tiffani stood there for a moment in shock before Emma released her hair and sat back down.

“
Lorraine, what do you think about adding some highlights over here?
”
Emma said pointing to the top of her head acting as if nothing happened. Slowly, Tiffani backed out of the salon and walked to her car.

“
Oh, my God! Emma! You are a gangster!
”
Lorraine said laughing.
“
I have never seen you act like that before. What has happened to you?
”

“
I don
’
t know. I am not exactly proud of that outburst
…”
Emma said putting her head down.

“
You should be proud. Way to stand up for yourself!
”
Lorraine said patting her on the back.

“
If you say so
…”
Emma said with a smirk. She knew Lorraine was at least partly right. She did need to stand up for herself more often. And her first step was to figure out where to go to get some time to think and put her head on straight.
“
Say, Lorraine, do you still have that little cottage down at Naughton Island on the Georgia coast?
”

“
Sure do. And it
’
s vacant right now too. We just did some renovations on it. You are certainly welcome to stay there if you
’
d like.
”

“
Really? That would be fantastic. I just want to get away from here and have a nice, quiet place to think. I know Naughton Island is kind of remote, so that would be a perfect fit.
”

“
It
’
s yours, girl. I can definitely see that you need a break from this place!
”
Lorraine laughed that big belly laugh that made her so unique.