The VIP Room(120)

Emma smiled, joy rising inside of her for her friend. “I’m happy for you.”

Martha tilted her head slightly as she studied Emma. “That’s the thing about you. I know you are.” Martha came to her and pulled Emma into her arms. “I’m sorry for what this does to you. I know you and Sophie can’t afford to be without an income right now.”

“I’ll find something else.”

“Let me give you some money, something to tide you over until then.”

Emma pulled away. “No. We’ll be okay.”

“Emma—“

“Really, I’m happy for you, Martha.”

She walked away even as Martha called after her.



* * *



“What are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you, too.”

Emma slid her arm around Sophie’s shoulders and led the way toward home, a sigh slipping from between her lips when Sophie’s cellphone began to chirp even though her friends were just feet behind them.

“Can’t they wait until you’re out of sight before they start texting?”

“It’s just Jill. She wants to know if we can hang out this weekend.”

“Probably not.”

“Why?”

Emma took a deep breath, not anxious to make her little announcement. “I lost my job this morning.”

Sophie laughed. “Yeah, right.”

“It’s true. Martha sold the diner.”

Sophie stopped, her thoroughly lip glossed mouth hanging open. “You’re joking! I thought it was her dad’s, that she would never sell because it was a family legacy she wanted to leave to her kids.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.”

“What are we going to do now? The rent’s due pretty soon, and I have an appointment with Dr. Sanchez next week…”

“I know. I have a little put away. If we’re careful, it’ll cover those things and maybe a trip to the grocery store.”

“But what about homecoming? You promised me a new dress.”

“I don’t know how long I’m going to be out of work. It could be a while.”

“You promised.”

Sophie stared at her with big, rounded eyes that were filled with tears. Emma felt sick to her stomach. Her own fears had been churning there for hours and now, mixed with Sophie’s disappointment, it was just a little too much.

They walked home in silence. Emma forwent checking the mail in favor of locking herself in the bathroom the moment they were in the silence of their apartment. She hadn’t eaten all day, so there was nothing to come up, but that didn’t stop the painful dry heaves that wracked her body for the better part of ten minutes.

They’d been through so much…It wasn’t fair.





Chapter 4





No one really knew the truth of Emma’s past. Martha knew a few things, things Emma hadn’t been able to hide from her over the past three years. But it went so much deeper than even that.

As she lay in bed that night, worry gnawing at her belly, she reminded herself that things had been much worse once. At least they had a roof over their heads, food in their stomachs, and they were safe.

She couldn’t say the same thing three years ago.

It started when she was about five. She was playing with the new puppy her dad had brought home the night before and accidentally knocked into the china cabinet where her mother kept her collection of small, porcelain angels. One fell and broke. When her dad asked that night, she said she slipped in the bathtub.

It continued like that for three or four years. She would make little mistakes and her mother would lose her temper. And then came the drinking. Her mother no longer needed excuses after that. And then the men. She never told, but she got the belt anyway. It was about a month after Sophie was born when her father left. Emma had hoped he would take her with him, but he didn’t. Even when she finally told him the truth, he left her behind. Said he didn’t have room in his life for a little girl.

And then things got bad.

Emma climbed out of bed and went to the window. She could see cars in the distance, speeding along the interstate. There was once a time when she would watch traffic and wonder where all those people were going, what they did when they got there, and who they were with along the way. Did other people live their lives the way she did, or were they all like the families on television, always able to heal their differences before the hour was up?

She still wondered that. But now, she was more content to let them live their lives as long as they could do the same for her.



* * *



“You don’t have a high school degree?”

“I have a GED.”

“But you didn’t graduate high school?”

“You don’t have to graduate high school when you get a GED.”

Silence.

The man was staring at the application Emma had filled out, as though he believed he could make it say what he wanted if he stared at it hard enough.

“I’m in college,” Emma offered. “I’m studying pre-med.”

“You want to be a doctor?”

“Yes. A pediatrician.”

“That’s a pretty lofty goal for someone who never graduated high school.”