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Arriving back at the rescue, Emma and Luke fell into an awkward silence, unsure of what to say to each other. Finally, Emma turned to Luke and spoke up.
“Well, I’d better find Grandpa before he ends up staying for an extra shift. He’s been known to do that,” Emma said with a tinge of disappointment in her voice, not wanting their afternoon together to end.
“I’ll leave you to it then. Bye Emma.”
“See ya later, Luke.”
As they said their goodbyes, Emma walked toward the rescue building, replaying the day’s events. Lost in her thoughts, she was caught off guard as the rescue doors flew open and Charlotte stormed out.
“Ugh!” she exclaimed, barely avoiding running into Emma.
Emma quickly reached out and grabbed Charlotte’s arm. “Hey, are you okay? What’s going on?”
Charlotte groaned. “Oh, nothing. And everything. Why do guys have to be so frustrating sometimes? Or all the time?”
“You’re going to have to give me a little more to go off of than that,” Emma told her.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Charlotte said.
Emma observed Charlotte’s uncharacteristic irritation and anger. She had never seen Charlotte so affected by anyone before, except when she argued with her mother, which was always infused with humor. Emma almost wanted to laugh at how upset Charlotte was, but knew it wouldn’t help the situation.
At that moment, Jeremiah came walking out of the rescue, looking over at Charlotte out of the corner of his eye. She spotted him and folded her arms, lifting her gaze up to the sky and doing everything she could to ignore him. Emma couldn’t help but crack a smile, which she hid under her hand.
Jeremiah held a shiny object, which Emma initially mistook for a coin but soon realized was larger than that. Jeremiah pocketed it and hastened towards Luke’s car, where Luke greeted him with a smile and friendly gesture, but Jeremiah ignored him and slammed the door shut.
As he pulled out of the parking lot, Emma waved goodbye. Luke waved back before driving away onto the street.
Charlotte grabbed her hand and forced it down. “Don’t wave at him. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Emma turned back to the sulking teenage girl in front of her. “Who? Luke?”
She shook her head. “Not Luke. It’s the son who has some major issues. I think he might need to go back to preschool and learn the basics on being polite.”
Emma wanted to tell Charlotte to give him a break, but decided against it. She was already mad enough, and didn’t want to make it worse.
“Well, here’s my best girls.” Liam walked up to him and put a hand on each of their shoulders. “Don’t worry about that boy, sweetheart.”
Charlotte sighed. “I’ve got to go back inside.”
Liam and Emma watched as Charlotte hurried back through the main doors.
“Well, shall we go and get some ice cream?” Liam asked.
“Oh...” Emma put a hand on her full stomach. “Can I take a raincheck on that ice cream?”
Liam smiled. “Of course. It’s about time for my afternoon nap anyway.”
“Let’s head back to your house then.”
A few minutes later, Emma pulled onto the road and started off in the direction of Liam’s house.
“Hey Grandpa, how was Jeremiah today?”
Liam turned to her. “He was fine. Quiet, that one. Although he did say something to Charlotte that got under her skin.”
“His mother, Luke’s wife, passed away about a year ago,” Emma told him. “And since then, he’s been having trouble expressing his emotions and anyone else he comes into contact with, but more so his father. You saw the interaction between them. They don’t talk.”
Liam nodded. “He’s just hurting, that’s all. He’s in the anger stage of grief, most likely. He’ll come around. He’s a bright boy. I just wish he didn’t upset poor Charlotte.”
