Chapter 69
There was always something to ruin the moment. The message made her stomach turn. Her blood turned to ice, and she wanted to throw up. She sat up in bed and furiously replied.
*What do you want? How did you get my number?*
A response came quickly.
*We need to talk. Meet me on Saturday. The Hotel Belmont, Room 719. 3pm.*
*No,* Emma typed back. Grace was crazy. Why was she doing this? *I won’t go.*
*You better come. It’s about Will and his family.*
Emma didn’t reply. *This is stupid,* she thought. Grace was not in her corner and nothing good could possibly come from meeting up with her. But her curiosity was getting the better of her. Nobody knew about Will and his family better than Grace.
“Fuck,” she groaned. “Why is this my life?” Whenever she let herself believe things might work out between them, she’d get another sign. “Listen to the universe, Emma,” she said to herself. “It’s obviously trying to talk to you.”
The water stopped running. Emma closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She felt Will get into bed.
“Emma?” he called softly. She didn’t answer. She was feeling warm and fuzzy after her shower, but now she was cold and prickly. Will eventually gave up, and snuggled in to sleep beside her.
Emma couldn’t sleep at all.
The sunlight streamed in, and Emma had laid awake most of the night, stewing over the day and Grace’s message. Will nuzzled her from behind, but Emma pushed away from him.
“You’re mad about yesterday,” he stated. Emma didn’t answer. “I can explain,” he offered. “Grace and I were at the restaurant just for lunch. We aren’t…”
“What you do with Grace is none of my business,” she leapt out of bed. “You don’t owe me any sort of explanation.” She gathered some clothes and a clean towel. “I don’t need anything from you. Just let me know when you need to me disappear and I’ll vanish like I never existed in your life,” she escaped into the bathroom and away from him.
Will was left dumbfounded in the bed. Her mood swings were getting worse and worse. He understood that she was angry with him, but whenever it seemed like she was going to let him explain himself, she would flip out on him. Things couldn’t keep going this way. He had to do something.
Emma got dressed and left the house, leaving Will behind in a whirlwind of confusion. She had Jack take her to visit her father. She planned to spend the day with him. His progress was amazing, and felt certain that soon she’d be able to get him out of the hospital. When she arrived, her father wasn’t in his room. A nurse saw her, and smiled.
“Hello, Miss Emma,” the nurse called.
“Hi. Where’s Daddy?”
“He’s in therapy today. You should go over,” the nurse seemed excited.
“I will,” Emma answered.
“Let me take you,” the nurse offered. Emma nodded in agreement. The walk to therapy was short, but she encountered much of the hospital staff, and they seemed to giggle and whisper as she walked by. “What’s going on today?” Emma asked.
“You’ll see,” the nurse sang. They arrived to the therapy suite. Emmett was seated in his wheelchair. A few staff members stood behind him.
“Hello, Daddy,” Emma skipped to him, and kissed his forehead.
“Hello, sweetheart,” he greeted.
“What’s going on with everyone?”
“I have a gift for you,” he answered.
“Yeah? What is it?”
“Step over to the side, Miss Emma,” one of the nurses held Emma by the shoulders, and guided her a few steps away from her father. One of the staff members handed him a cane and held him to stand. Emmett looked at his daughter, turned towards her and began to take slow steps in her direction.
Emma gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth, and her eyes flooded with tears.
“Daddy,” she squealed. “You’re walking! Look at you! I can’t believe it!” Emmett reached her, and she threw her arms around him. “I can’t believe it,” she sobbed.
“Surprise,” Emmett said, hugging her back.
“He’s been working so hard,” the therapy assistant said, holding back his own tears.
“Thank you all so much!” Emma cried.
“I can’t go very far, and I get… tired easily,” Emmett added.
“Daddy, they told me you’d be a vegetable. That’d you’d probably never walk or talk again. And look at you now! This is the greatest gift I could ever get! I love you so much!” Emma wailed.
“Don’t cry,” Emmett soothed her.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so happy.” She wiped her tears away.
“Let’s get you back to your room,” the nurse said, wiping her own tears away.
Emmett was wheeled back to his room. The hospital staff cheered and applauded for him in the hallway, congratulating him.
“You’re popular around here,” Emma teased.
“I’ve been here… a long time,” he chuckled.
“Well, not much longer I don’t think.”
“Where will I live?” he asked.
“With me, of course!”
“And Will?”
“Yes,” Emma deflated. “And Will. You’ll live with us.”
“Everything okay?”
“Um, yeah. Things are a little difficult right now, but everything will be okay. I have you back now. That’s all I need.”
“You will always… have me. I won’t fail you… again.”
“I know you won’t Daddy. I know you won’t.”
Emma had a great day with her father. She watched him walk towards her, something she thought she’d never seen again. Even before his accident, he would only exist strewn upon his bed or recliner in a drunken stupor. She hadn’t seen him upright in years. In a strange way, that accident that almost killed her father, had brought him back to her.
And somehow, Will was at the center of it. Just like everything else in her life. But that couldn’t continue. If these last few weeks taught her anything, it was that they weren’t meant to be. They may have a few good moments here and there. And would treasure those moments. But they’d never be anything more than a few moments. Life was more than that. And hers was too short to spend living moment to moment. She deserved more than that.
While her father slept, Emma decided she wouldn’t go to see Grace. She didn’t need anymore information about Will or his family. She would play her part as his wife for the rest of their time together and then she’d be able to move on.
When all of this began, she was alone. But she had family, and that was enough.