EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) (13 page)

Mom loved flowers and most of the paintings and photographs hanging in the house were of flowers. She weekly bought various bouquets and made beautiful arrangements. There was always a vase filled with flowers in the kitchen, dining room and
foyer. Once when I suggested dried flowers, Mom said that in feng shui teachings, it wasn’t good to have dead flowers, something about bad energy. Whatever that meant.

After I got out of the shower,
Mom came in to my room and said she was working from home. She needed to pick things up for a photo shoot and asked if I wanted to come. I said sure. She reminded me that Dad was leaving for Paris after work and to call him.

As I brushed my hair, I heard my cell beeping. It was a text from Daniel. “Can you have lunch today? Am going out of town tonight.” That put me in panic mode. Where was he going?

Instead of texting back, I called him and said, “Hi, lunch is great.”

“
Want to meet at Rosa’s near Lincoln Center at noon? Do you know where that is?”

I told him I did. We even liked the same types of food. Before I could ask him anything, he said he had to run and would meet me there. I’d
have to wait to find out.

Mom appeared in my doorway and I had to fill her in on Daniel
because if I didn’t, Aunt Cecile would. How could I tell her I met him in Central Park and that he was a complete stranger? She wouldn’t care that he was nice; she’d be thinking “serial killer.” I knew her.

I started by saying that I had just made a
lunch date and was going to pass on going with her.

After
she asked who I was having lunch with, I filled her in on the whole story. Her demeanor quickly changed. When she heard his age, Mom began pacing around my room straightening up, a sure sign that she was upset. She folded some clothes that were on a chair, and stated, “If you go out with him, I must meet him.”

“Mom, please, it’s just lunch,” I pleaded.

She pretended not to hear me and asked, “Where does his uncle live?”

“On West 72nd
Street, but I’m not going to his apartment. We’re going to Rosa’s."

Ignoring my comment
, she added, “We don’t know anything about him.”

“
You’re really not being fair. If it was a boy from school, it would be okay even if we knew nothing about him.”

“At least I
’d be able to find things out from another parent."

“I
f I was in college, you couldn’t,” I countered.

“Y
ou’re not in college, so don’t bother using that as an excuse.” She became silent and then said, “Give me his cell number.” This couldn’t be happening.

“You’re kidding, right?

She shook her head no.

“Mom, please, don’t be
ridiculous,” I begged.

“I’
ll only call if absolutely necessary.”

“Describe necessary
.” I tried to remain calm, but if she called him, I’d die.

“If you don’t come home, i
s it okay if I call him then?"

I
felt absolutely safe with him, but nodded my head yes and said, "I understand.”

“It’s about time.
I want to meet him.”

“
I promise next time, if there is a next time.” If Mom knew that Aunt Cecile had met him, she’d be upset.

She relented.
“Fine. Next time, he picks you up at the house, or no date. Do you understand?”

“Yes,
” I said, trying to mollify her.

Mom sighed
and exited without another word or his cell number. I went to my closet and started looking at clothes. I had to get out of this apartment. I put on a beige gauze skirt, a pale green tank top and beige sandals. Hurriedly, I brushed my hair and applied some pink lip gloss.

I ran downstairs and at the front door yelled bye. I didn’t wait for a response, not wanting to have another conversation.

It was a bit early, so I window shopped to waste time. Grace was walking up the street and I knew she’d ask about Daniel since Daphne must have told her about him. I hadn’t spoken to either of them all weekend though we had exchanged some texts.

“Hi Grace, sorry I didn’t call you back. I just got home this morning.”

“It’s okay. You look nice,” Grace said, looking me up and down.

“Thanks,” I responded. I could tell by the way she was looking at me that she was waiting for me to say more.

“Where are you going?” I asked, hoping she didn’t ask me the same question.

“Back to the sto
re, I had to run an errand. Where are you going?”

“I’m having lunch at Rosa’s.”

“With who?” she sing-songed.

“
A friend.”

“
That guy Daphne saw you with?” she continued.

“Yes, his name’s Daniel,” I said and began slowly moving away. Please let me get out of here.

“Oh… Daphne said he was hot.” Yes, he was hot and I felt a twinge of jealousy. Grace seemed unaware that I wasn’t engaging in this conversation and was actually trying to escape.

“So are you dating
him?” she continued with the questioning.

“
If I was, I’d tell you. We’re just having lunch,” I coldly replied.

“
You’re acting like you’re going to a funeral. What’s wrong with you?”

Why was I being so crazy? Grace was right. Ever since Daniel had come into my life I had been a horror to my friends. First, I had it out with Noelle and now, I was doing the same thing to Grace. “I’m sorry, Grace. I’m just not ready to talk about him yet.
I’m afraid I’ll jinx it.”

Part of that was true
, but more precisely, I was afraid he’d leave and I’d be crushed. Hearing about him from friends I’d confided in would be torture, so I decided to speak of Daniel only to Lily till I knew where, if anywhere, this was going. Normally, I was quite private with my emotions anyway and now with the strong feelings I had for Daniel, I was even more gun-shy.

Grace kindly let me off the hook
. “You really have to lighten up. I have to get back to work. Call me later and tell me how it went. Want to go for a walk or something later?” she asked and made me feel guilty all over again.

“
I’ll call you later. Dad’s out of town and I’m not sure if Mom has something planned,” I fibbed not wanting to hurt her feelings again. I wanted to stay home since I had been away all weekend. My bed and TV were calling me.

Daniel
was waiting outside talking on his cell. My heart jumped and all my doubts vanished.

He was wearing faded
blue jeans, a plain white T-shirt and black sunglasses. His hair was slicked back like he had just jumped out of a shower and he looked amazing.

“Hi, you look lovely.” Lovely, who says t
hat? It sounded like my father.

“
Let’s go in. Our table’s ready.” He led me inside and I followed him as he veered around all the people. The hostess took us upstairs to a corner table by the window. After ordering our lunch, I couldn’t wait anymore and had to ask where he was going.

"To
London, but the trip was canceled.”

I was so happy to hear that.
“I thought you might be leaving for good.”

“Y
ou can’t get rid of me that easily,” Daniel said smiling.

“Why was your trip canceled?”

“Squatters moved in to my house and I wanted to see if I could do something about it.” He had a home in London! “My lawyer said that I didn’t have to come. He’s starting the eviction process and will get them out.”

“Evict the squatters? Don’t they just arrest them?” I asked confused.

“No, I have to formally evict them. Squatting isn’t illegal if entry isn’t forced.”

“You’re kidding?”

“No. I’m not. I know that it’s crazy. I had a problem with squatters a few years ago and my uncle took care of it through his contacts in London. After that, I hired a couple to live at the house full-time. They went on vacation for a month to visit family in Poland, so I asked a friend to check on the house and she called yesterday and said she saw people inside. I’ve instructed the lawyer to offer them money, so possibly that will expedite things. Squatting’s been a problem in Britain since at least the fourteenth century.”

Daniel didn’t seem that concerned with his illegal visitors
, so I dropped the subject. We talked about his family and he told me about his uncle. His name was James Haydin, worked for the US government and lived primarily in DC. Daniel said he was going to DC soon to visit his family because he came directly to New York from Australia. Every time he mentioned travel plans, it felt like my heart stopped beating.

“Are you close to your cousins in
DC?” Daniel looked uncomfortable, but I had no idea why.

“Not really, I see them mostly
on holidays. We really have very little in common. They’re both married.” Daniel had no parents, no siblings and much older cousins; it explained why he acted so mature.

When I asked what his parents did, Daniel proudly said,
“They both went to Oxford and were physicists.” He raised his eyebrows as if I should understand something from that answer.

It hit me.
“Oh, that’s why you read Einstein.”

Daniel smiled and said,
“Yes, that was the reason, but I’ve always been fascinated by Einstein’s genius. One of my favorite quotes by him is ‘A happy man is too satisfied with the present to dwell too much on the future.’"

“That makes sense. P
eople should live in the present instead of always thinking about the future.” Daniel stared at me strangely. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

“
Simple as that quote seems, it’s quite complex.” I didn’t know what he meant, so I changed the subject.

“Where on 72nd Street does your uncle live?”

We both reached for some chips and our hands brushed. I felt a tingle. It was so weird like static electricity.

“The Dakota
. I’m sure you know the building.”

“Are you kidding?
That’s my favorite building.” John Lennon lived there and got shot in front of that building. Every time I walked by that secretive and imposing building, I wondered what it looked like inside.

When Daniel said I was invited over anytime, the thought of going to his u
ncle’s apartment actually made me very nervous.

After lunch, he walked me to my building and I noticed Mom sitting in the lobby reading a magazine. Oh no! When she saw us, she walked outside. This was so humiliating.

“Oh… hi… Mom,” I said, glaring at her. She ignored me and scrutinized Daniel. “Mom this is Daniel Haydin. Daniel, this is my mother, Lena Devon.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Devon.”

Mom started asking him questions. Poor Daniel, he couldn’t get away from being interrogated. First by me, then Lily and Noelle, and now my mother.

When Mom asked him about college, Daniel glanced over at me and said, “
I might start college soon and stop putting it off, Ma’am.”

Ma’am?
It must be the English boarding school influence. Even Mom’s eyebrows arched as she turned to me. Daniel said he had to run and I hoped that Mom didn’t scare him away.

“Well, he’
s cute and charming. Different somehow,” she commented.

Different? I wasn’t even going to ask.
“Why were you waiting for me?” I asked, ignoring her comments. “It’s embarrassing that you’re spying on me.”

“I figured since he lived on 72nd
that he might drop you off. Why didn’t you tell me he was in Chappaqua? I spoke to Aunt Cecile and she said she met him."

“
He called after I had talked to you and offered to stay with us till Aunt Cecile and Uncle Ian came home. That was it.”

“Well, you
still should’ve told me. I don’t appreciate hearing things from Aunt Cecile.”

“
I’m sorry,” I said but didn't really mean it.

Mom knew I wasn't being sincere because she glared at me and said,
“It bothers me that we know nothing about him.”

She was being crazy.
“His uncle lives in the Dakota. One of your friends might know him. Well, maybe not. His uncle lives in DC mostly and only comes to New York for work.”

Mom left to run her work errands. I had enough of her hysteria and went upstairs. Maria called and said I was
needed at work on Tuesday and possibly Thursday.

After dinner, Mom and I
took Amber for a walk in the park. Thankfully, all the way to and from the reservoir, Daniel was not brought up. Enough had been said for one day.

Lily called when I got home
and I told her that he had a house in London.

S
he said, “You know I like him, but try not to get too attached. With a home in London, he can leave anytime he wants.”