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After the women fight for several more minutes over who ought to be the sorriest, Sylvie asks Emma how their coffee was. Of course, my sandwich making is well and truly finished by now, but I can’t leave. I have to know what Nick Fenton might have said to Emma, and how she felt about it.
“He was nice enough. You know, a bit intense for my liking, but maybe that’s just me. He talks a lot, that’s for certain. He talked about his job. He’s in sales for a car firm. He spoke about what it was like for him when he lived in Sharon Springs. He said he left in his late teens because he didn’t really fit in here.”
This news surprises Sylvie. “Really? I never got that impression from him. I always thought he left because he had bigger ambitions than this town could ever offer him.”
Well, that was probably one of the reasons. Another was likely because he had used up all the girls in the area and no one, including the girl’s parents, had any time for him. I can only imagine that there were plenty of tears spilled over those years.
“Well, I don’t know him, and he didn’t say anything about his ambitions. Maybe it had more to do with the tough time he had in school,” Emma says.
“I didn’t really know him in school. He’s a few years older than me.”
“Apparently, he didn’t have much luck with girls back then…”
What?!
“…he said he was used by them. They would date him for a few months, and then dump him. Those experiences have made him wary of relationships. He hasn’t been in a relationship in years because the last girl he was with, broke his heart.”
I have only noticed that the tight grip on the knife I’m holding has caused my knuckles to go white. Mainly because I know that what Nick Fenton has told Emma, is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. The way I remember it, it was entirely the other way around.
It makes me wonder if the guy is up to his old tricks again. Heaven knows if they’re his most recent tricks, and he’s never changed. My mind wanders back to the BBQ. I know he spotted me and Jackson coming over. I’m also, almost certain, that’s what caused him to make a swift retreat. But while he walked away from the women, I noticed that he didn’t go too far. Even as we approached, Emma was saying something about being hurt in relationships. She had stopped talking about that by the time we had reached her, but now, I can’t help but wonder if Nick heard what I did. Could he be using her own story against her?
Maybe you’re looking too deeply into this, Finn.
Maybe I am. But I have already deduced that Emma brings out a protective side of me. Much like Sylvie, something has evolved that makes me want to shield her from the world. I know I can’t. I know she has to make her own mistakes. More to the point, she’s not mine to protect. If she were, that would be different. If she were mine, not one bit of harm would come to her. But she’s not.
I’m thinking about Nick again, and I’m wondering if I’m not jumping to conclusions. It’s been twelve years, and in truth, I can’t know if he hasn’t been in crappy relationships where he has been hurt. It still doesn’t make his lies about school OK, but then, no man wants to talk about his mistakes.
I’m quite experienced with people jumping to conclusions of late. I’ve suffered a lot of flak because of Miranda’s slanderous words. People will believe anything. And of course, if it’s on the internet, it must be true, right? I roll my eyes at that thought. Rather than wanting to actually discover the truth, they’ll go on what they think they know. It’s not a nice feeling when god knows how many strangers, who do not know you at all, only believe one side of a story. But how am I being any different now with Nick?
Maybe I ought to at least warn her.
She’s not yours to protect, Finn.
Yes. I know.
Apart from jumping to conclusions, it’s not my place to tell Emma who she should or should not be dating. How would that make me any better than her mother? A mother who has smothered her and sheltered her for the entirety of her life. And yet, I’m still angry. I’m angry at the lies. Nick Fenton was certainly not the one being used when we were in high school. I know. I remember the man and his behavior clearly.
Of course, nor am I fool enough not to know why I feel so intensely about this situation. Mine or not, Emma Bolton has caught my attention, and feelings have begun to grow. I’m still a married man, on paper at least, and yet, I just can’t help myself. There’s something about her that draws me. Like a moth to a flame, to use the worst cliché in the history of mankind. And yet, it’s true.
Emma intrigues me. I know there is so much more about the woman I would like to get to know. And yet, surely, I ought to wait until I’m a free man before I make any moves. My phone rings, and in the strangest of coincidences, it’s Gary.
While a part of me would love to stay and hear what else went on, I need to take this call. Besides, I think I’ve heard enough. While Sylvie had convinced herself that there was something exciting in Emma and Nick’s coincidental coffee soirée, Emma’s tone has told me something different. By her words, and her lack of enthusiasm when talking about their conversation, I get the distinct impression that Nick has not made any lasting impact on Emma at all. Ironically, Sylvie’s words of warning return to my mind. “You’re too much for her.”
From what little I have heard, I think that applies more to Nick and his intense chase. And I do believe it is a chase for him. I remember the guy I went to school with, and while I’m struggling to stop myself from jumping to conclusions, his manner with Emma at the BBQ, and the ensuing way he acted with her today, is the thing that will have excited him. He always liked the chase. It’s the reason, after the girls had finally succumbed to his charms as the strong, athletic jock, that he dumped them so quickly afterward.
I lift my sandwich, slide my thumb across the screen to answer, and leave the kitchen.
“Well, man,” Gary says. “How are you doing? Have you had a chance to think about what we talked about?”
“I have. And I think you’re going to like my answer.”
