A Beautiful Fall (28 page)

Noel turned the wheel, shifted into drive, and sped the truck away in the early morning darkness.

“Thanks for taking me to the airport, Noel. It’s a cold, yucky morning, so I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. I get to be the first and last one to see you.” Noel smiled. He turned the blower on high, blasting hot air through the defrost vents and onto their feet.

Emma thought about her day and how, from here on out, it would become increasingly more complicated. From pickup truck, to private corporate jet, to ground transportation, to corporate boardroom and an all-day meeting with Northeast Federal.

She would have to find a way to quickly adjust to the rigors of her legal profession. She’d be meeting new clients from NF. She still had to read through, and be ready to discuss, the lawsuit they’d been served. Lara already warned her that it was going to be a long day. She’d be stuck at the office until at least nine or ten, sitting in strategy sessions with Robert and the other attorneys.

“You’re sweet, Noel. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

“Thanks. Coming from you, that means a lot,” he said, the two riding along in the dark. Few cars were on the road. “Did you accomplish everything you’d hoped to while you were in Juneberry?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer,” Emma said. “I don’t know. I wish some things could be simpler.”

She looked over at Noel. His face was lit by the pale white lights of the old truck.

“You’re at such a great age, Noel. I envy you. Your life doesn’t have many fingerprints on it yet. The more you live, and the more choices you have to make, the more smudges you get. Things aren’t as simple the older you get. I mean, we make decisions the best we can, but the world only grows more complicated, until one day you wake up and you’ve lost faith in your ability to be innocent.”

“Do you believe innocence can be redeemed?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Not unless you were to die and fall into a beautiful water, and be washed clean again. I guess that’s the literal interpretation of that ‘clean slate’ idea.” Emma closed her eyes and leaned her head back in the seat. She wasn’t ready to think about Boston, or forget Juneberry.

“I think life is about being redeemed,” Noel said. “I think it
is
possible, and when we decide we want that more than anything else, that’s when it can happen.”

She opened her eyes to look at Noel. “I don’t follow you.”

“Faith. It’s by faith we find redemption. That’s how we get the smudges washed off, fall into that beautiful water, and regain our innocence.”

“I’m not really a religious person, Noel.”

“Few people are anymore, Emma, but redemption is still offered through Christ just the same. Anyone can believe in Him, anyone can ask for it.”

As the sun rose that morning, highway traffic became brisk and heavy. Noel and Emma talked about his faith in Jesus, his seminary plans, and new beginnings. Emma listened, asked questions, and didn’t feel put-upon or accosted by Noel’s words at all. This surprised her. Perhaps it was because she liked him already, because she trusted him.

“You’ll want to follow the signs to where it says Air Cargo. I’m supposed to board somewhere nearby.”

Noel pulled through the gate into the parking area surrounded by a chain-link fence. The business-jet office was small, but airline personnel were going about their business as if it were just as busy as the main terminal. A Cessna 560 waited just outside on the tarmac.

“Noel, I don’t want you to have to wait again. I’ll just get out here and go into the office. You go on back to Juneberry.”

She leaned across the front seat of the truck and gave him a hug. He said, “All right,” and told Emma that he’d be praying for her. Remembering his prayers for Christina, she thanked him. They unloaded her bags and he climbed back into his truck.

She said good-bye to Noel, the last familiar face from her hometown, with a silent wave through the window. Noel gave her his friendly smile, turned the truck around, paused at a stop sign to let a rent-a-car shuttle whiz past, then drove back through the gate. A moment later, he was gone.

Emma rolled her luggage into the office. She checked in with the woman behind the desk.

“Good morning,” she greeted Emma.

“Good morning. My name is Emma Madison. There should be a ticket here for me.”

The woman looked down at her computer screen, punching keys in rapid succession. “Emma Madison.” She smiled, peering up from the screen. “I’ve got you right here. Two pieces of luggage?”

She glanced over the counter, then resumed clicking away on her keyboard.

“Okay, you’re all checked in. The jet should be boarding in just a few minutes.”

Three men in business suits and a woman wearing a suit not unlike Emma’s sat in the small waiting area reading newspapers, drinking coffee, and tapping away at laptop computers.

Emma took a seat in a black plastic chair along the windowed wall overlooking the airfield, folding her skirt underneath her as she sat. She’d only brought one professional outfit with her to South Carolina, the silver tweed suit with a straight skirt, white blouse, and black pumps. It felt like a costume. She closed her eyes and breathed.
Time to transform myself back into being a lawyer
, she thought.

Her cell phone rang, disturbing the mutual silence observed by the regular corporate business travelers. Emma stood up from her seat, taking the call outside.

“Emma?”

“Yes?”

“It’s Colin. Have they begun boarding yet?” he asked.

“No, not for a few more minutes. Why? How did you know I was at the airport?”

“I’ve volunteered to be your ground transport. Robert asked me if I would. I thought I’d better call and make sure you’re still scheduled to depart on time.”

“Colin, that’s nice of you to pick me up, but you didn’t have to volunteer. They could have called for a service or I could have just taken a taxi. Your time’s far too important to be spent as my driver.”

“I don’t mind, Emma. You’ve been gone a long time and I’m looking forward to seeing you. I’ll be at the business gate waiting for you when you land. Just keep your cell phone on and we’ll connect one way or another.”

On the other side of the waist-high chain-link fence, Emma watched the pilot open the door. It folded down, transforming into stairs.

“The captain has signaled that at this time passengers are welcome to begin boarding,” came a voice over the loudspeaker. “Please make your way out to the jet and enjoy your flight today.”

“That’s my cue, Colin. They’re boarding our jet now. I guess I should just say thanks for volunteering to pick me up.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll see you in Boston in a couple of hours.”

At thirty thousand feet, Emma closed her eyes and tilted her head back into the white leather chair. This was the last moment of personal respite before surrendering her life back to Adler, McCormick & Madison. Emma sipped a glass of orange juice and thought of what her father had said in the kitchen before she left—that he loved her, that he prayed for her daily, and that it had been the fulfillment of his greatest desire to see her return home.

She wondered how her father could dream of something so simple. He hadn’t tried to guilt her into returning home as soon as possible; that wasn’t his style. He hadn’t even asked her to commit to a next visit. He’d just been content with the time God had given him, thankful to see his only daughter, and just leave it at that.

o o o

The skies above Logan appeared cloudy and cheerless. It looked like someone had pulled shut a lid on a gloomy silver dome. Emma called Colin’s cell as she deboarded, and found him waiting in his BMW on the other side of the gate.

The corporate jet indeed allowed Emma to bypass the crowds of people hustling around inside the terminals, just as Robert had promised, but there was no avoiding the horrendous traffic and construction delays plaguing the city. They sat bumper to bumper in gridlock, inching their way out of the south tunnel.

“Welcome back to the big city, Emma,” Colin joked, frustrated that his powerful BMW couldn’t emancipate them from the tedious commuter crawl. “This is the big day, right? You start work with Northeast Federal?”

“How did you know about that?” she asked.

“Robert told me. We played tennis at the club on Saturday. That’s when he tapped me for chauffeur duties.”

“You’ve known about this since Saturday?” Emma asked.

“It’s no big deal. He just wanted to make sure you got back when you needed to. That’s when we discussed the corporate jet and my picking you up. It’s an extravagant perk, Emma.”

Emma gave Colin a doubtful glare.

“When you and Robert plan details of my life without consulting me, it makes me feel like a commodity.”

“Emma, Robert’s been doing you a favor these past ten days. Premier travel treatment to get you back home for an important meeting isn’t about planning your life—it’s only about business.”

Traffic cleared up once Colin navigated past a two-car fender bender. The whirling blue lights from the police cruiser flashed in the right lane. Emma recalled the last police cruiser she’d seen in Juneberry. No lights were flashing. The policeman smiled at her. He was a friend of Michael’s.

Emma and Colin drove into downtown Boston in silence.

Colin pulled the BMW in front of a corporate high rise on Federal Street. “Robert asked me to deliver you, and I’ve done that. I’m sorry if you feel manipulated by this.… I assure you that wasn’t our intent.”

Emma turned to Colin. “I’m sorry if I bit your head off. I know you meant well. It’s just that this shift back into the fast pace feels a bit like whiplash.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re back. I’m sure your office is, too. You’ll find your groove soon enough.”

“Thanks,” she said. Emma got out of Colin’s car. A bitterly cold breeze cut through her like a razor. Colin pulled her bags out of the jammed trunk space.

“Robert wanted you to meet him right away in his office. I’ll call you later, okay?” he said.

“Okay.”

Emma hoisted her carry-on over her shoulder, rolling the larger bag behind her. She managed the rotating front doors and got into the east elevators that went all the way up to twenty-sixth floor. When they opened, she made her way down the wide hall with the bright fluorescent tube lighting and entered the reception area of Adler, McCormick & Madison.

“And here she is,” the firm’s receptionist greeted Emma.

“Hi, Susan. It’s nice to see a friendly face. How are you?”

“I’m fine, but things haven’t been the same around here without you, Emma. We’ve missed you. Robert’s in his office. He wants you to see him right away.”

“Thanks.”

Emma ferried her luggage around one more corner and into her office. Everything was just as she’d left it: the large mahogany desk in the center that Robert ordered for all the partners, the Asian rug laid out underneath it. Her soft leather couch along the short wall next to the door. Her phone, computer, bright orange coffee mug filled with pens, and a copy of the latest Sue Grafton book all sat on her desk, untouched and yet dust free. Someone had even been kind enough to water her philodendron and the mini rosebush on the windowsill. She’d have to thank Susan later.

A memo board on the wall next to the door caught Emma’s attention. On it, she’d pinned ticket stubs from
Les Miserables
. Next to the stubs, hung a hunky photo of Hollywood heartthrob Ricky Costell that Lara had pinned up and personalized for her in her best impersonation of heartthrob handwriting, “I love you, Em.” There were half a dozen business cards from people she’d run into at soirees as well as from potential clients and the menu from a Chinese place that delivered. It struck Emma that there were no photographs of close friends, family, or siblings on her wallboard.

She stowed her luggage in the corner behind her desk and set out to freshen up before meeting with Robert. No sooner had she crossed the threshold of her office door when she heard Robert’s voice.

“Emma!”

She looked and saw Robert standing just outside his office.

He waved her over and simultaneously disappeared inside. Emma zigzagged through the support staff cubicles, waving hi to a few as she made her way to his grand corner office.

“You just get in?” he asked, standing in front of the compressed glass window with the shade completely open. Outside, the dark clouds had taken the sky hostage.

“Yes, just a few minutes ago.”

“Sit down, I’d like to talk to you for a moment.”

Emma took a seat in one of the two thousand-dollar leather chairs Robert provided for clients. He was wearing a navy business suit and striped tie and suspenders to dress up a more conservative look. His jacket hung on an antique coat rack near the door.

“First of all, welcome back.”

“Thank you,” Emma said.

“I don’t think any of us knew when we heard about your father’s heart attack it would mean losing one of the firm’s key partners for the next ten days. But we endured. Before I tell you what’s on the agenda for the day, I need to see if you’re ready for Northeast Federal.”

“I’ll fall into gear quickly, Robert. Don’t worry about me.”

“Good. I need to say something about this trip of yours, Emma. Look, I’m the first one to say if you have an emergency you should take time off to attend to things. But to stretch two days into ten? A planned vacation is one thing, but we’re in a critical time here, and we needed you in the office as soon as possible. How soon was it that your father got out of the hospital, the second day? This sort of thing sends a message to everyone that we’re an unbridled firm, that our leadership is ungovernable. I don’t need to hear any explanations about why your trip was extended. What I want is your word that you’re 100 percent here, invested in the longevity and success of this firm, and a bright career that’s right in front of you.”

“I’m back, Robert. Ready to work.”

“Good, now that that’s behind us, let’s get you up to speed on our meeting this morning with Northeast Federal.”

~ Twenty-three ~