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19
EMMA FEELS A SWELL OF UNEASE, THOUGH SHE CAN’T EXACTLYput a finger on it.
Is it because Brittany’s talking about Diana and Tom with such reverence? Or because she’s sharing charming details about their courtship, which Emma would prefer not to have prancing around in her head?
She certainly doesn’t resent Tom’s love for Diana—or at least she’s pretty certain she doesn’t. Yes, early on in their relationship, when she was praying his obvious infatuation would morph into something deeper, she experienced twinges of jealousy about the years he’d shared with his first wife. He had clearly adored Diana, and Emma knew he must still grieve for her at times. But those twinges subsided as she became more certain about her and Tom’s future. And the fact that he had loved someone passionately and been totally devoted to her during her illness only made her appreciate him more.
Brittany’s staring at her, she realizes, expecting a response,but Emma decides to shut down this line of conversation. Beyond that, she feels a sudden need to be alone.
“Well, Tom has many superpowers, doesn’t he?” she says. “Uh, this has been such a nice treat, Brittany. Since you cooked, why don’t I handle the cleanup?”
“I’m happy to help, Emma.”
“No, no, go turn on the TV and relax. There’s not much to do in here anyway. You’re such a neat cook.”
“All right.” After Brittany fixes herself a glass of ice water, she retreats from the room without further comment. Is she miffed, Emma wonders, because their conversation was brought to a halt, or is this simply Brittany being Brittany? It’s a puzzle she’s not going to solve tonight.
Even with the kitchen to herself, Emma’s unable to shake her disquiet.Why?she asks herself.What’s going on here? And finally, she knows. There’s something vaguely off-putting about Brittany’s description of Tom’s behavior. If her account is true, it means he might have kept thinking about Diana for months, and when he thought the moment was right, come up with a fake reason to schedule an appointment with her. Brittany made it sound romantic, but in Emma’s mind it’s borderline creepy.
She pushes herself out of her chair and loads the dishwasher, then takes a wet sponge to the island, wiping away a few splatters of vinaigrette and raw egg until she realizes that she’s been buffing the same spot over and over again.
Wait a sec, she tells herself. She’s looking at the situation through the lens Brittany provided and it’s not necessarily the right one. Tom might have asked Diana out when hefirst met her, but then never thought of her again until he needed an ophthalmologist. And even if his cornea wasn’t torn, his eye probably was bothering him, enough to get it checked out.
Sure, Tom can be patient when it’s required, but one of his most impressive superpowers—since Brittany raised the subject—is decisiveness. If there’s something he wants, he goes after it then and there, and if thwarted he doesn’t simply bide his time (“Life is too short,” Tom would say), but moves on, choosing an appealing alternative and going afterthatinstead. She’d witnessed this at work with their house hunting. There’d been a home they had seen earlier, one they’d loved and bid on, but the owner had suddenly announced he needed a few more months to get his ducks in a row. He’d asked them to wait, promising to circle back to them, and though Emma had been game to hold off for a bit and remain in Tom’s town house, he’d argued that they should start their search up again and find a new option, which they did. One they ended up liking even better than the first place.
And most important, Tom’s not a deceptive person. He’s a straight shooter, a truth teller, which is one of the many things that attracted her to him.
Either Brittany’s exaggerated the story in her mind over time, or Diana was simply being fanciful when she told it to her daughter years ago—but Emma’s not going to worry about it for a moment longer.
She tosses the sponge in the sink and makes her way upstairs, where she settles into the armchair in her bedroom with her iPad, returning to the same novel she attempted toread earlier this week. Miraculously she has more luck tonight.
When Emma eventually glances up from the screen, she’s shocked to see it’s ten thirty, but Tom’s not back yet. A sense of déjà vu floods her. This isn’t the first time this week she’s worried about Tom’s whereabouts. But before she can overreact, she hears steps on the staircase, and a minute later he pushes open the bedroom door.
“There you are,” she says brightly.
“Hey, sweetheart.” He sets his soft leather briefcase on the floor next to the dresser. “Sorry to be this late, but I found myself at a dinner with people who refused to leave.”
“The clients?” She bounces up from the armchair and meets him in the middle of the room, where she plants a kiss on him. There’s a faint taste of red wine on his lips, which surprises her a little. Tom always springs for a big-name wine at business dinners, but generally limits himself to a glass early in the evening.
“Yeah,” he says. “They ordered coffee, sipped it like it was a twenty-year-old single-malt scotch, and then once I’d paid the check, they sat at the table for another twenty minutes.”
“Maybe you’re just too charming for your own good.”
“Well, let’s see if they do their next campaign with us.”
“How many were in your group tonight?”
“Three of us from the agency. Four from the client. A long night but I’m hopeful it will pay off.”
“Good.”
He crosses to the armchair she’s abandoned, lowers himself onto the seat, and slips out of his slim brown loafers, which he’s worn without socks. “Tell me aboutyourday, Em.”
“Overall productive, though I never figured out who my mystery visitor was last night.”
“Very odd. You changed your code, though?”
“Yup.”
