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“Hello beautiful.”
“Hi there.”
“Where are you right now?”
“I'm in the car.”
“Hands free I hope.”
“Yes. I'm on my way to you.”
“Six words never sounded so beautiful.”
“I have news.”
“Is it good news?”
“Yes.”
“Is it face to face news?”
“I got the house, Stephen.”
“You did? The house you underbid on? The house on DuPont Circle?”
“That’s the house.”
“How does it feel?”
“I'm a little nauseous.”
“You should eat something.”
“I'm not sure that’s going to solve the problem. I could always eat though. I’ll probably stop at Arby’s on the way. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, but I don’t think processed roast beef is going to help very much.”
“You're a dirty old man.” She laughed.
“I'm just trying to make you laugh. I hear it in your voice…something’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just…” now she sighed. “This is a lot.”
“But you wanted it?” he asked.
“Something inside of me did, yes.”
“You loved that house.”
“I adore the house. It’s perfect for…” Emily stopped. “Do you want the French Dip and Swiss?”
“That sounds good.” Stephen replied. “I missed dinner tonight.”
“Didn’t we have that conversation?”
“Multiple times if I recall.”
“Where are you right now, Stephen?”
“Um…” his voice went in and out. It sounded muffled, like he was suddenly underwater.
“I didn’t catch that honey.”
“I'm in the Truman Building. I'm leaving soon; there were meetings all day. I could be home in a half hour.”
“I’ll beat you there.”
“I'm going to have a beautiful woman waiting for me when I get home? It's not even Christmas.”
“You forgot the most important part. It’ll be a beautiful woman with food.”
“I'm starving.” He admitted.
“Then I'm gonna take such good care of you. I’ll feed you, draw you a hot bath, and maybe use some of that massage oil that warms on contact. We have to be careful when pulling out the big guns though.”
“Who takes care of you?”
“You take care of me…I take care of me. I'm fine, Stephen. I'm at the drive-thru so I’ll see you in a little while.”
“I love you, Emily.”
“I love you too. Bye.”
Emily pulled into the Arby’s parking lot, driving around the semi-circle to the drive-thru. She was less than 15 minutes from Stephen’s condo. The both of them were settling, separately and together. Stephen hadn't owned a home since divorce from his wife 15 years ago. Emily hadn't at all.
The condo she’d lived in since her return to DC six years ago was her father’s. It was owned, just not by her. The house was amazing…Emily fell in love with it the moment she saw it. How was it possible that it was now hers? Was the nausea ever going to go away?
“Welcome to Arby’s, can I help you?”
She took a deep breath, ordering dinner while shuffling around the boxes in her mind. Things that were happening were good things. They might be a little scary and new but they were good. She wasn’t a little girl anymore, being shuffled around against her will. The teenager who couldn’t even find peace and quiet in her own mind was long gone. The page was turning for Emily Prentiss. It was practically blank; all kinds of adventures were waiting to be lived and written.
***
Stephen smiled when his maroon Buick Lacrosse pulled into his parking space and he saw her Mustang next to him in guest parking. She was home; he was always going to be happy about that. It had only been four months, this time around, and they had both declared love. Stephen didn’t know what the future held. Emily had left him before.
He knew that she never wanted to hurt him but she had. At 53 being heartbroken was not on his list of things to experience again. He’d had enough to last a lifetime. Stephen wanted to hold on but not too tight; love her but not too much. The latter was impossible.
He was madly in love with Emily Prentiss. Pumping the brakes did nothing to stop him from crashing and burning. Emily seemed content with him, Stephen just wasn’t sure if that was the same as happy. One seemed passive while the other was active. He knew she couldn’t be passive for long.
He still smiled thinking about her as he climbed out of his car and walked toward his condo. It was drizzling now so Stephen put a little pep in his step. He walked up the steps and let himself in. As soon as he walked in, Stephen heard thunderstorms. Emily always used them to relax. He could smell Arby’s too and his stomach responded appropriately. Taking off his coat and putting it in the front closet, Stephen walked into his living room.
“Dulcinea!” there was something in him that always wanted to call out the name of the woman he loved after a hard day at work. Cheesy yes, but he wanted it anyway.
“Hi.” She came out of the kitchen quickly and walked into his embrace.
Emily exhaled when Stephen wrapped his arms around her. She liked this…she liked this a lot. It had been a long time since there had been a sanctuary like this. With Stephen, Emily felt safe. She felt safe, loved, and happy. There were people in this world who took those feelings for granted.
They acted as if life owed them that much; like it was a given. No one was guaranteed anything so Emily was grateful for every moment she and Stephen had. She didn’t always know how to feel, react, or relate. Life had left her a little exhausted. One of the biggest reasons Emily knew that this was important was despite everything else she felt, she never felt exhausted with Stephen.
“Out of this jacket, Mister.” She smiled as she pushed the Kenneth Cole suit jacket off his shoulders.
“I can see you’ve already slipped into something more comfortable.”
He thought she looked amazing in his blue silk boxers and Hanes tank top. She was wearing a blue satin bra, which was obvious under the see-through top. Her feet were bare and her hair pulled up in a messy yet adorable bun-like thing. She was so damn beautiful. It was like she didn’t even try.
“I practically tore off my clothes when I walked through the door.” Emily told him.
“Damn, I thought that was my job.”
She laughed, hugging him again and giving him a kiss. Stephen deepened the kiss, holding her just a little tighter. That suited her just fine. She ran her fingers through his hair.
“C'mon, it’s been a long day and you need to eat.”
Holding his hand, Emily walked him over to the dining room table. He sat down as she went into the kitchen to grab their sandwiches.
“How was work?” he asked when she joined him.
“It was a strange case. It wasn’t a copycat at all but someone who turned out to be obsessed with a serial killer’s widow.” Emily shook her head. “I don’t even know…making sense of what we can encounter sometimes probably isn’t in my best interest.”
“So tell me about the house.”
“Right now all I know is its mine. I have the escrow information but I think for tonight I'm just going to pretend it’s not happening.”
“You're adorable when you pretend.” Stephen said.
“Well I'm super duper sexy when I'm keeping it real.”
Stephen smiled, biting into his sandwich. Emily pointed to his drink.
“I got you root beer.” she said.
“You know me too well.”
“Tell me one thing I don’t know about you.”
“I'm sorry?”
“Tell me one thing I don’t know about you.” Emily repeated.
“Harvard rejected me.” Stephen replied.
“Bastards.”
“That was pretty much my assessment at the time.”
“What else?”
“I don't know…we've known each other for quite a long time.”
“I'm sure I don’t know everything about you.” she said.
“I probably know less about you. Why don’t you tell me something I don’t know about you? It can be big or small; I'm not going to be picky.”
“Everything floating through my mind at this exact moment makes me look bad.”
“That wasn’t what I wanted, and you'd never look bad to me Emily.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Tell me one good thing about you. Tell me a thought or a memory that always makes you feel good.”
“Jack and I singing songs always makes me happy. I'm trying to teach him How Soon is Now but it’s a little complicated. He nailed the first verse though. I might be biased but the kid’s a genius.”
“You glow when you two are together.” Stephen said. “You glow just talking about him.”
Emily nodded. She didn’t need to tell Stephen that she loved Jack. She loved kids and wanted so much to be a mother. It was a void inside of her that never went away. Emily wasn’t going to be able to fill it with other things as she had other voids.
“Let’s just do it.” he said.
“Whatever you're getting ready to say will probably scare me.”
“I know a lawyer…I know a few lawyers. I won't over involve myself if you don’t want me to but I can put you in contact with people who want to help. I know how much you want it. You deserve it.”
“Who's going to give me a child?” Emily asked.
“You know that private adoption is a little bit different.”
“Ahh yes.” She nodded.
The kid went to the highest bidder. If you had a check big enough you could get a kid in the mail in 7 to 14 days. Emily knew people who went that route. It was just another perk of having too much money. That didn’t make them bad people; she just wasn’t sure if that route was for her. Paying to fill the void was more desirable than the emptiness though. She wasn’t hurting for money.
“Don’t knock it; not everyone is selling snake oil.”
“Answer me a question.”
“Of course.” He nodded.
“How come we always end up having these serious, life-altering conversations?”
“Gravity is pulling us toward them, and each other.”
“Gravity,” Emily leaned in closer and kissed him. “Thy name is Stephen.”
He caressed her cheek. “Do I push it? I don’t want to overstep, Dulcinea, I just…I don’t want that.”
“A healthy push never hurt anyone. Are you finished eating?”
“It was delicious. I love you, Emily Prentiss and it means so much that you're taking care of me.”
“I love you too.” she kissed him again. “So do you want a shower or bath tonight? When you're done there will be major cuddling and a Dark Shadows three day weekend marathon on television.”
“Dark Shadows? Are you serious? I'm voting for a quick shower so I can get back to you and some evil in New England.”
“Who said you were going to be alone in that tub?”
“Oh. Then I'm going to have to vote for the bath.” He grinned from ear to ear. “I’ll clean up dinner and you can get dessert ready.”
Emily got up, smiling as she skipped into the bedroom. Stephen laughed and cleaned up the sandwiches. There was time to talk about everything from the new house to children to fill it. He didn’t want to rush them.
He feared rushing her might send Emily into another retreat. The truth was that Stephen wanted to slow down and enjoy every moment twice. Time, unfortunately, didn’t work that way. In the blink of an eye an entire lifetime could be over. He wasn’t in the mood to blink tonight.
***