Broken Lives (9 page)

“
Molly, Alec would like to
buy your portion of the house,” my attorney says, never taking his
eyes off of Molly. 

“
Sounds good to me.” She
looks at me and not at the attorney. 

“
He also wants you to sign
off on these divorce papers, while you’re here.” He slides the
papers towards Molly.

She looks down at the stack of papers, smiles
up at me, and slides them back to my attorney. “Nah, not
today.” 

“
Very well. Is there a
current address we can have for you? The one we have on file is an
old one.” 

“
Nah, I don’t have an
address; I’m staying here and there.” 

I take her house key from
her and write her a check for the house, and she quickly leaves the
office. That amount of money is certainly enough to find the
ultimate high
.

Later, I meet with Madison
and give her the keys to the house. She tells me she already has a
showing for it and she is excited that I chose her to list it. She
also tells me this is a great neighborhood and she anticipates that
the house will sell quickly. I call Marjorie’s Florist
and Gift Shop and have a bouquet of lilacs
delivered to Emma’s workplace for her.

I meet with my dad at lunch and talk to him
about Molly and her threats. I want to make sure I do the right
thing. If I make the wrong choice, people will be hurt, and if I
make the right choice, people may still be hurt. He tells me the
pros and the cons of my choices, but he doesn’t tell me what I
should do. He wants me to make my own decision, and he wants me to
know that he’ll stand behind me no matter what choice I make. By
the time I leave my dad, I am pretty sure what I need to do. I’m
certain my decision is the right one for everybody.

On my way home, I text Emma and tell her I’ll
get the kids from school and that I’ll also pick up something for
dinner. I haven’t been to bed yet and I am grateful that I work the
morning shift tomorrow. Since I didn’t sleep today, I’ll have to go
to bed early tonight. I go to Emma’s and shower before getting the
kids from school.

I get the kids from school and pick up
Chinese food from the Far East Restaurant. The kids want sweet and
sour chicken, and I get Emma and me General Tso’s chicken. When the
kids and I get home, the furniture truck is there and Emma is in
the spare bedroom. The guys are putting the bed together, and Emma
is putting the light bulbs in the lamps.

“
The furniture looks good in
here,” I say, walking further into the bedroom.

“
I think so, too. It’s so
big and masculine.” 

“
It does fill the space up.”
I walk over to kiss her. She wraps her arms around me and tells me
she missed me.

“
I went to the store and
bought some sheets and a comforter so you won’t have to sleep on
the couch tonight.” 

“
That was thoughtful of you.
Will I be sleeping like a princess on purple and pink princess
sheets tonight?” I joke. 

She looks up at me and smiles. “You’ll be
very pleased to know that no, you will not be sleeping like a
princess on princess sheets.” 

“
All done here, Ma’am,” one
of the delivery guys announces. 

“
Stay here, I’ll walk them
out,” I say, as I bend down to kiss the tip of her nose.

“
Good, I’ll get your ninja
sheets on the bed for you.” 

I look at her and she smiles. “Gotcha,” she
says, giggling. 

I smile at her and say, “Yes, Emma, you
did.”

I walk back into the bedroom and Emma is
putting a gray and white comforter on top of a set of black sheets.
“Wow, this is very distinguished looking.” I walk over to the other
side of the bed and help Emma put the oversized comforter on the
bed. 

“
Good, I’m glad you like it.
I also bought black curtains for the windows. I thought it may help
you sleep on the days that you work nightshift.” 

“
Emma, that is very
thoughtful of you.” 

“
It’s not a big deal. I was
actually able to look around the store since you had the kids
today.” 

I walk over to her side of the bed and kiss
her. “Thank you, you are amazing.” 

“
I’m amazing because I
didn’t buy you princess sheets?” 

I lower her to the bed and she giggles. I
kiss her and the kiss becomes serious. She moans and I roll over on
the bed so she is lying on top of me.

“
Daddy, can we eat now?”
Raelynn asks from the hallway. 

“
I almost forgot about the
kids.” Emma stands up and straightens her red dress. She reaches
her hand out for mine and I take it.

“
I’ll be right there, Rae.
You and James get washed up for dinner.” I stand up and look at
Emma. 

“
What?” 

“
Baby, would you go out to
dinner with me tomorrow night?” 

“
It’s Tuesday, we have
taekwondo,” she reminds me. 

“
What if I find someone to
cover me, you skip a class, and we see if Brooke can take the kids
with her and the boys?” 

“
Alec, I would love to have
dinner with you tomorrow night.” 

Emma

I left work a little early so I could get
ready for dinner with Alec. He didn’t say where we were going and I
have no idea. I curl my hair in big loose curls and decide on a
black form-fitted dress. I do a little extra makeup with smoky eye
shadow and red lipstick. I choose diamond-studded earrings, black
heels, and a black clutch to complete the outfit. Alec called and
said he’ll be a few minutes late and that he showered and dressed
at work. Brooke also called to say she got the kids from school and
is taking everyone out for pizza before going to their taekwondo
class.

I pick up the house and try to calm the
butterflies in my belly. When the doorbell rings, I double check
myself in the mirror before answering it. I look outside and see
that Alec is standing there in a black suit. I smile and open the
door. “Hi, you don’t have to knock.” I open the door for him to
come in. 

“
Tonight we are on a date —
we are not roommates. You look lovely this
evening.” 

“
All right, thank you and
please come in. You look very handsome.”

“
Thank you, and these are
for you.”

Alec hands me a beautiful bouquet of lilacs.
I take the vase of flowers from him and smell them. “These smell so
good, thank you.” 

“
You are more than welcome.
Are you ready?” 

“
I am, where are we going
tonight?” 

“
It’s a surprise; are you
ready?” 

I look at Alec, who is
smiling at me. I can’t help but smile back. “I am.
Where did you get the suit? Do you have an
apartment I don’t know about?” I joke. 

“
No, I took the clothes to
work with me. I didn’t want to get ready with you. I wanted this to
be special.” 

“
It still would have been
special, no matter where you got ready.” He opens the door for me,
and I take his hand after he locks up. We walk to the car in
silence. When he opens my door, I look up at him.
“If I forget to tell you later, I had a really
good time tonight.” 

“
Thank you,
Emma.” 

He waits for me to get situated before
closing my car door. I watch him walk in front of the car to the
driver’s side. He stands tall and confidently. He squares his
shoulders and looks around before getting into his car. We fasten
our seatbelts at the same time and he looks over at me and smiles.
I get butterflies in my belly — I can’t be certain why. This isn’t
our first date, so why do I feel like it is? 

“
Are you ready,
Baby?” 

I nod. Just the way he says that increases
the flutter in my belly. I look away from him when I feel the blush
rise to my face. Am I ready for what? It’s just dinner, right?
Again, I feel like this is our first date. He reaches over the
console and takes my hand. 

I look over at his handsome face; he winks at
me before looking back at the road. He is clean shaven, and his
hair is neatly combed. Alec has put a lot of thought into this date
tonight. His suit looks new, and his shirt looks like it has been
starched. I look at my dress and smooth it out. I hope I look as
good as he does. All of a sudden, I feel underdressed.

“
Emma, you look stunning
tonight.”

He always knows what I am thinking. “Thank
you, but I feel underdressed. Maybe I shouldn’t have worn something
so snug?” 

He looks over at me and squeezes my hand. “I
think it’s perfect for this evening.” 

All of a sudden, I feel perfectly
dressed. 

We pull up to the valet parking at Café
L’Europe at St. Armands Circle. 

Alec says, “I’ll get your door for you.” I
watch Alec as he gets out of the car and shakes hands with the
valet attendant. He carefully places the valet ticket in his inside
jacket pocket before opening my car door for me. I stand and smooth
my dress out before taking his hand.

We walk hand in hand into the crowded foyer
of the restaurant. “Hello, Dr. Collins, we have your table waiting
for you. Please follow me.” 

“
Thank you,
Theresa.”

I hold Alec’s hand as we follow the hostess
through the crowded restaurant to a secluded table for two in back
of the room. The table is small and intimate. A single white rose
sits in the center of a round white linen cloth-covered table. The
lights are dim, and soft music plays in the background.

Alec pulls my chair out for me as the hostess
stands close by. Alec takes the only seat across from me before
unbuttoning his jacket. He smiles at me and then smiles at the
hostess.

“
Your server will be right
over.” 

“
Thank you, Theresa. Is
everything ready?” 

“
It is. She is getting your
drinks for you now.” 

“
Perfect, thank
you.” 

I watch as the hostess leaves and I look over
at Alec. He is watching me with a slight smile on his lips. “Let me
guess, call-ahead seating?” I say, joking.

“
No, Emma, I put a little
more thought in it than that,” he says, reaching across the table
for my hand.

“
I can see that. What’s the
special occasion?” 

The waitress comes over with two glasses and
a bottle of champagne. I try to release the hold of Alec’s hand but
he tightens his hold on mine. I look up at him and he is watching
me. The waitress pours the champagne and leaves immediately after.
I was expecting her to tell us the specials or at least give us
menus. 

“
Is this our anniversary?” I
finally ask. 

He smiles, “No, Baby, we don’t have an
anniversary, yet.” 

“
Did you do something that
you need to apologize for?” 

“
I hope
not.” 

“
This is Tuesday night,
right?” I ask, as I place the white linen napkin across my
lap.

“
Yes, Emma, it’s Tuesday. A
toast?” he asks, raising his champagne glass. 

I raise my glass to his. “To
happiness?” 

He clinks his glass to mine, “To a lifetime
of happiness,” he says.

The server comes back and places two
beautiful green salads on the table with some bread and dipping
oil. “Fresh ground pepper for your salads?” she asks.

We both decline and she smiles and
leaves.

I watch Alec as he places his napkin on his
lap. “They make a wonderful Italian dressing. I also went ahead and
ordered our meal. I hope you like everything.” 

“
It smells wonderful, and I
am sure I will.” I cut my salad and take a bite. “It is delicious.”
I decide to just go with the events of the night. Alec has put a
lot of time and thought into it, and he has excellent
taste.

The waitress comes by the table to refill our
champagne several times throughout the meal, but she never lingers
for too long. I’m sure those are strict orders from Alec. 

Our meals arrives and it is filet mignon,
rosemary rice, and fresh snow peas. It smells delicious and my
mouth begins to water. I close my eyes and inhale again. When I
open my eyes, Alec is smiling at me. “It’s as good as it
smells.” 

“
I’m sure it is.”

He watches me as I cut my steak and take the
first bite. I close my eyes again and Alec laughs, quietly. “Should
I give you a moment?” 

I open my eyes and smile. “Yes, please. This
is so good.” 

“
I know.” 

I look at his untouched plate. “You haven’t
tasted it yet.” 

“
I don’t have to. A great
chef always cooks to perfection. I’ve been here enough to know that
this will be just as delicious as it was the last time I was
here
.
I am savoring
the anticipation.” 

“
You do have excellent
taste.”

“
Thank you. You look
absolutely beautiful this evening, Emma.” 

“
I was talking about the
food, but thank you. I wish I had known we were coming to such a
fancy restaurant. I feel underdressed again,” I say, sitting up a
little straighter and flattening out my napkin on my
lap. 

He just watches me and says, “You look
stunning.” 

As we eat our meal, we talk about families,
vacations, and holiday traditions. Alec keeps the conversation
light and positive.