A Different Kind of Forever(86)

Kevin was sitting at the dining room table, working at his laptop. He looked relieved as Diane came in.

“Emily’s upstairs.” he told her. “You’ll have to ask her to come back, and I think she might say no, but keep asking. She wants to be back here, okay?”

Diane nodded and walked upstairs slowly. Emily’s door was closed. Diane knocked once, and immediately Emily opened it. Diane folded her arms across her chest and waited.

“Mom, I’m sorry.” Emily said in a small voice. “I was really upset and I didn’t mean to say those things to you about Michael. You were right. If I’m supposed to be grown-up, I’ve got to stop being so selfish and stupid about stuff. I was mad ‘cause I thought he should like me better.” Emily had been looking at the floor, twisting her hands together. She looked up at her mother. “So, I apologize.”

Diane pressed her lips in a thin line. “Sit down, honey,” she said.

Emily sat on her bed, legs crossed Indian-style. Diane stood over her, arms still folded.

“If I see Michael, again, will there be a problem?”

Emily shrugged. “No. I wouldn’t like it if you hated my boyfriend, so I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Oh, great. So you’ve just guilted me out of all objections to any future boyfriends you may have in this life and the next, is that it?”

Emily’s mouth twitched. “No, Mom.” Pause. “So you’ll be seeing him again? Megan said he was in London.”

“Yes. He’s in London. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”

“Oh.” Emily looked up shyly. “Did you go to his house?”

Diane sat down next to her on the bed. “Yes, I’ve been to his house.”

“What’s it like?”

“Long. Elegant. He has very sleek furniture, no knick-knacks. He lives on a lake and it’s beautiful. He has a studio, with a glassed-off sound booth, and all this ridiculously sophisticated equipment. He collects Japanese art.”

“You like Japanese art,” Emily said.

“Yes. We have lots of things in common.”

“Is he really in love with you?”

“Yes, honey, he really is.”

“Are you in love with him?”

“Yes. I am. I wasn’t sure, for a long time, if I was or not. But I do love him. Very much.”

Emily looked at her mother sideways. “Are you going to get married?”

“Honey, I don’t think I want to get married again.”

“Can we go to the Grammys?”

“What?”

“The Grammy Awards. Do you think we can go?”

Diane bit back laughter. “I don’t know, honey. Why don’t we wait on that one?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Diane took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I should have told you from the beginning, but I was afraid you’d have, uh, expectations, and I wasn’t sure we were going to last. I was going to wait for him to come back, invite him over, and just kind of let you get used to the idea. It was a mistake. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to find out about this over the Web.” Diane gave her a hug. “Are you ready to come home? Rachel is coming in early on Friday, and we were all going to get dressed together and see the play. Stay here. You’ll be back at your fathers’ that night anyway. Stay and see the play with us.”

Emily shrugged again. “Yeah, okay, that sounds like fun”

Diane exhaled silently. “Okay, then. I’ll tell your Dad.” She went downstairs, thanking the gods. Kevin was packing his briefcase.

“She’s staying.” She hugged her ex-husband tightly. ‘Thank you so much. I don’t know what you did or said, but thank you.”

Kevin kissed her forehead affectionately. “I didn’t do anything. Really. I think she just figured it out for herself.” He shrugged into his jacket. “This guy she was talking about.” He looked at her with interest. “He’s in a rock band? I mean, I don’t care who you date, you know that. And I want you to be happy, Diane, I really do. But how old is this guy?”

“About three years younger than your wife,” Diane said dryly. Kevin had the grace to color slightly.

“Well, I hope he’s worth it. I know what these past few weeks have cost you. I’ll bring the rest of her stuff tomorrow. And I’m seeing your play on Friday. I’ll take the girls with me from there. Break a leg, or whatever.”