Emily Calls It (The Emily Series) (5 page)

“Really,
you two talked about it?
This must really be something, Ethan
.”

“Allison is
great. We like being together.” I knew that was all true. How could you not like Allison?

“She’s one of my best friends. Which reminds me Ethan, I need to call her. I better go.”

“No need, Em, she’s here, just in the other room.” Well of course she was, I thought. I smiled, thinking it was a relief to know they were together. I wanted someone great for each of them, and who would have thought they would’ve found it in each other.

“OK, well tell her to call me later when she’s not staring into your eyes.” Yeah, I was teasing him; what are little sisters for? “I start my internship tomorrow
and I want to get together with her afterward.”

“That’s right. Your internship. I’ll tell her. Bye, Em.”

“Bye.” We hung up, I put away laundry, made the bed and the grocery list. Overall it was a very productive day, and by six o’clock I was bushed. I needed to grab a few things at the store and figure out what to wear my first day. First impressions were a big deal, and I wanted to make a good one at TWP.

FIVE

The First Day

Allison called from her dorm that night. We had a great talk helping me to prepare mentally for my internship. We agreed to meet the next evening for a first-day recap and catch-up. I was happy that I had a busy week ahead of me, without a bunch of time to think about Graham. At night before I fell asleep was the hardest. I missed him and thought about him all the time. It was hard to avoid, but I was excited about starting the internship so I tried to focus on that.
I
n what seemed like only minutes, it was morning.

I selected a green silk blouse and a black skirt with my favorite black pumps. I assumed I probably wouldn’t wear a skirt and heels
every
day, but today it was important to look my most professional. I introduced myself to the receptionist and waited while she announced my presence to someone over her phone. I had no idea what to expect, and butterflies drifted around in my stomach. I shifted in my seat a couple of times while I checked out photos on the wall. The firm specialized in office buildings and performing arts theaters. I knew this when I applied, but had no idea of the magnitude. As I admired the buildin
gs, a woman probably in her mid-
forties approached me. She had short red hair, glasses and wore a cream-colored suit with two stands of pearls.

“Emily, welcome.” She extended her hand. “I’m Sharon, Director of Design. Let’s get you settled.” She walked ahead, and I followed, looking to the right and left at the sea of cubicles. They weren’t your ordinary grey fabric cubicles. They were chrome and maple with some really trick chairs that looked like they’d been stolen right out of the
USS Enterprise
.

She started to introduce me, walking up and down the rows of cubicles. I knew I wouldn’t remember everyone’s name but I was going to try. There was Ken with the pencil behind his ear, and Lori with the spiky hair, and so on. I tried to make associations I would remember. Then we came to someone I actually did know.

“And you know Colin.” She pointed to Mr. Ryan, who stood up to greet me. His name was Colin; I don’t think I ever knew that.

“Hi, Emily. Welcome.” That seemed to be the corporate salutation.

“Thanks, Mr. Ryan, I’m happy to be here.”
Sharon
watched us interact with the slightest smile.

“Please, you can call him Colin, everyone else does,”
Sharon
said jokingly. Evidently the propriety of being a teacher was limited to the classroom. I smiled at her comment but didn’t call him by his first name. I was a little old fashioned, and liked it when the person in question requested you address him casually himself. We finished the tour, and
Sharon
showed me to my desk, near two other inte
rns and two junior associates.
A girl with shoulder length black hair and severely cut bangs had the cubicle next to mine.

“I’m Whitney.” She leaned over the partition, letting her hands dangle on my side. “This place is great, you’ll love it here.” She was perky like a preppy cheerleader but dressed in all black with heavy black eyeliner like others I’d seen
that called themselves Goth
. She seemed almost a contradiction. I didn’t know what to think about her, but I was glad she was so friendly.

“Hi, I’m Emily.” I reached over and shook her hand.

“I’m a
third year from the University.
I take it you’re a second year?”

“I’ll start my second year in the fall, so I guess so,” I answered.

“Cool, I’m glad to meet you
,
Emily. I have a ton to get done on this office building so I’m sure we’ll be working together.” She pointed to her computer screen.

“I’m happy to help.” And I was.

The rest of the day was about getting familiar with the projects and meeting more people. By the end of the day, I had to massage cheeks that ached from smiling all day. A good problem to have. It was six o’clock before I knew it, so I started to pack up while everyone was leaving. I
t
wasn’t much compared to what I hauled from class to class at school, but I still had to power down my computer and grab my lunch bag and purse. As I watched my screen go black I sensed someone standing near my cubicle.

“How was your first day, Emily?” Mr. Ryan was standing outside my cubicle with his briefcase.

“Great. Thanks again for all your help.” I tapped the top of my computer screen. “I’m sure it’s going to be a great experience.”

“It was my pleasure. And Emily,” he rested his hand on my cubicle partition, “you should really call me Colin here. I’m no longer your teacher, you know.
”

“Of course, Mr. Ryan.” Old habits. “I mean Colin.” I felt my cheeks flush just slightly.

“Are you ready?” He pointed to my purse in my hand. “I mean, can I walk you out?”

“Sure, that would be nice.
”
  

As we walked through the office, no one looked up or even noticed us. For the fi
r
st time in Mr. Ryan’s presence, I didn’t feel like I was associating with my teacher, but instead with a colleague. I felt OK calling him Colin now.

“I’m over there.” I pointed in the direction of my car. It was summer, so it wasn’t dark. Walking to my car was hardly dangerous. The idea that he walked me out didn’t feel like a protective gesture, but instead a chance to hear about my day. It was friendly, and I appreciated it.

“OK. You have a nice evening
,
Emily. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You too, um, Colin.” He smiled when I said his name.

When I got to my apartment, Allison was waiting by the front door. I was thrilled to see her. I had an amazing first day at TWP and couldn’t wait to tell her about it, about my week at home, and hear about her week while I was gone. There was so much to talk about!

“Hi!” I almost screeched with excitement trotting over to her and hugging her tightly.

“Hey, how are you?” She sounded concerned and that didn’t fit my present mood.

“I’m good. Really good.” I pulled the door open. “I had such a great first day, I can’t wait to tell you about it.”

“I’m so glad
,
Emily. I’ve been worried about you.”

“I know, I’m sorry I worried you and Ethan, but I just had to get out of here. I know the whole, ‘your problems just follow you story’ but I needed to take a break. And you know,” we walked into the living room, “I think
it really helped. So tell
me what’s been going on with you?”

“Well, it’s only been a week. Nothing new to report really.” She seemed a little preoccupied and I couldn’t think why.

“What’s up Allison? I tried to get her to look at me. “Come on, spill.” I took her hand and pulled her to the couch so we could both sit. She hesitated.

“It’s just that…” s
he started.

“Yeah?” Then my buzz took a dive. “If it’s about Graham, I don’t want to hear it.”

“No, it’s not. I know we’re not talking about him anymore.” Her brows furro
wed. Something was up.
“You remember that first Beta T party we went to?” Please! How could I
forget?
The one where Ethan, before they were even dating, carried her out after she disappeared upstairs with some Beta T guy. I never knew what happened, but he found her alone and dressed so she claimed she just drank too much. I always suspected foul play, but kept it to myself at her request.

I responded simply. “Yeah
?
And?
”

“Well, Ethan was playing poker last week with a bunch of guys. Two were from the Beta T house. One of the guys started spouting off about how he helped a pledge put a bunch of Everclear in some of the girls’ drinks.” Allison was visibly upset now,
I reached across and took
her hand, trying to comfort her. “He put two and two together and knocked the guy clear across the room.” That sounded like something Ethan would do. And well deserved, I
added mentally
.

“So you think that’s what happened to you?” I asked, fairly certain of the answer.

She nodded and looked down at her hands. “Yeah.” She was ashamed.

“Don’t you dare act like you did something wrong. My brother did exactly what he should have, given the circumstances. I would be shocked and disappointed if he did any less.” She still didn’t look up. “Allison, seriously.
”
I squeezed her shoulder trying to get her to look at me. “You did nothing wrong. I’m just glad Ethan got to the bottom of this. Maybe next time that creep will think twice.” I was pretty glad she was dating my brother before, but now I was
really
happy.

“Can we change the subject?” She shifted on the couch.

“Yes.” I did a quick drum-like pat on my legs. “I had the best day.” Allison smiled at not just my good day, but the change of subject. “I met some of the nicest people, and I worked on my very first office building elevation. It was awesome.” Yeah, I know, maybe not to her, but it was totally cool to me.

“That’s great, Emily. I knew you’d do well.”

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Who knows if I even did it right, but it sure was fun.” I giggled at myself like a little girl
.
We talked about my day, the week I spent in Two Rivers, and the week Allison spent at the beach. Overall, it was a great conversation; that is, until she brought up Graham.

“He asked about you that day at the beach.” She had a concerned look on her face again.

“Why would you bring him up?” I knew Trish was trying to encourage me to give him another chance, but I certainly didn’t expect it from Allison. “You were the one encouraging me to move on.”

“I did encourage you. I mean, I am. I just think he’s really sorry. He spent forever telling me that he made a huge mistake.”

“He did make a huge mistake, and what I realized while I was away is that I deserve better. I’m not going to settle for less.” I shifted toward her. “And frankly, I’m a little disappointed Allison, you’ve gone soft
on the topic
.” She let out a half-sigh, half-laugh. I kept talking.

“I did some thinking at home. And spent some time by myself trying to get to know that girl you met the first day of school.” I rested my hand on my chest. “How did I get so lost in him? I know I started out as myself, then somewhere along the way I turned into someone else; someone he invented. I don’t want to be that girl. The one that drinks white wine and forgets who she really is.” I paused for a few seconds. “You know, I had a beer the other night, and it was refreshing, in more than one way.” She crinkled her forehead wondering what I meant. I told her all about Scott.

SIX

Something New

The next morning I slept right through my alarm. I woke relaxed and calm like it was the weekend. And for a second I thought it was, then with a gasp, I sat straight up completely panicked. It was seven o’clock and I needed to leave in thirty minutes. Yikes! I jumped up and hopped in the shower, regretting the fact that I hadn’t set out my clothes the night before. I went through my morning routine in record time, pulling my hair back into a
ponytail
as I went through my closet. I didn’t have time to make a lunch. I barely had time to grab a granola bar
.
I did a quick inventory of what to wear, slipped on my shoes and grabbed my keys; then, whoops…dropped them. Great!  I leaned over, scooped them up and dragged them across the kitchen counter shoving a granola bar in my purse. I turned to walk out and heard something drop to the floor. I almost didn’t care since I was in such a hurry, but I bent down, saw something shiny and picked it up. My key. The key I had given Graham so many months ago. The one I later asked him to leave here. I never saw him leave it, and forgot about it after that day. I stared at it
,
remembering the day I gave it to him then the day he left it. I shook my head and realized that yes, I was going to be really late. I put it on the counter and
disregarded it
, along with a few memories, and
then I was out the door
.