By
the time the plane was getting ready to land, Emma was feeling decidedly down,
but determined to face her life. Tomorrow, she’d let her staff know about the
wedding. Calling it an elopement would make it more romantic, and thus more
acceptable. She’d talk to her parents tonight, when she went to pick up Chaos.
It was a darn good plan, she thought. Until she walked out of the gate area
toward baggage claim, and found her mother, father, and grandmother, waiting
for her outside of security. And they did not look happy.
“I
tried to tell you,” Emma pointed out with frustration, any happy residual
effects of the California sunshine long gone. “But then you all just talked
about how I was kidding, and I figured I’d wait until I got home to deal with
it! I know. It was cowardly. But...”
“Emma,
this is something we would expect from Jen, not from you.”
“Well
that’s not exactly fair.”
“What
do you mean?”
“You
should have equally high or low standards for both your daughters,” Emma
argued.
“We’re
used to Jen acting crazy. But for you to marry this man, without informing any
of us? Emma, that’s just not right.”
She
leaned back against the seatback and closed her eyes tightly. “I know that,”
she said quietly. “But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time.”
“How
did you meet this man, anyway? And how do you know that he’s any good?”
Emma
laughed without humor, her eyes opening and meeting her father’s in the
rearview mirror. “I met him through Jen. And he’s a decent man, Dad.” She was
surprised to hear herself defending him, a man who had essentially blackmailed
her into marriage.
“Do
you love him, dear?” her mother asked anxiously.
Emma
never could lie to her mom. So she did the next best thing - she evaded the
question. “What kind of question is that?” she asked. “Do you honestly think
I’d marry him if...” she let the sentence trail off as her mother looked
bemused.
“No,
Emma, I guess not. But I didn’t think you’d elope with a man we never met
either.”
“I
like being unpredictable sometimes,” she said with a heavy sigh. “Look, it’s
not a big deal. We’re married. You’ll like him. I’ll bring him by. But for now,
I’ve got to get Chaos and get home. I have a really long day tomorrow, and I’m
tired.”
“Home?
Where is home now, Emma?” her grandmother asked sharply.
“For
one more night, it’s at my old house,” Emma answered honestly. “I didn’t have
time to pack my things before I left for San Diego. I’m moving in with Mason
this weekend.”
Gran’s
eyes searched hers, then seemed to shutter tight. “Fine then.” Looking away
from her granddaughter, she crossed her arms in front of her and looked out
into the night.
Emma
sighed. This was going extraordinarily badly, she thought. But it wasn’t like
she had planned this. She had hoped to ease her family into this, not for them
to hear the news by reading about it in the newspaper.
“Look
everyone,” she said quietly. “I’m very sorry you found out the way you did. I
tried to tell you before I left, but I ran out of courage, and that’s my own
fault. But I didn’t intentionally hurt you, and I hope you can forgive me.”
She
watched as her family all looked at each other, then back out into the night.
Oh hell, she thought, nearly deciding to throw Jen to the wolves, but then
talking herself quickly out of it. She’d made her choice. Now she needed to
live with the consequences.
The
reaction at work was a lot better, Emma decided. Mostly because she just lied
through her teeth. She’d learned her lesson with her family - if she was going
to make it through without being judged as an idiot, she needed to embellish
the story so it sounded romantic and wonderful and... well, yeah, fake. But
work was important, she reasoned. Her employees and colleagues needed to
respect her. So she pleaded privacy, true love, whatever it took to get people
to look at her with amusement and genuine caring, rather than with horror at
what she’d managed to get herself into.
Rhoda
was particularly enthralled. “Oh my goodness, Emma. He’s absolutely gorgeous.
You dark horse, you. So this is why you've been working at high speed lately -
so you could get home to that man. Wow. I completely get it.”
Emma
just laughed. “He’s something else all right. Hey, can you get me the Miller
file when you have a chance?”
The
only thing left was introducing Chaos to Mason. And vice versa. Mason had
called the night that Emma got back into town, and they had made arrangements
over the phone for Emma to move her things into his home the following weekend.
Mason was cool on the phone, and very business-like, and Emma was feeling a
combination of dread and stone-cold fear at the thought of moving in with him.
“Why
don’t I pick you up from work on Friday evening?” Mason asked. “We can grab a
quick bite to eat, and then we can go by and get your dog and anything you
might need for the night. And then I can have movers come and pick up the rest
on Saturday.”
Emma
sighed. “Mason, I don’t think you’ll want Chaos in your car. He sheds.”
She
heard the hesitation coming loud and clear over the phone. “And no, he’s not
staying outside. That’s what vacuums are for. Marry me, live with my dog,” she
added. “But I’ll drive separately on Friday so we keep your leather clean and
fur-free.”
“Very
well,” he said with a matter-of-fact tone that, for some reason, irritated the
crap out of Emma. “Shall I see you at my place then?”
“What
happened to the offer of dinner?” Emma asked, half-seriously.
“I’ll
ask my housekeeper to leave something in the oven,” Mason said after a moment
of silence.
Emma
laughed then. “Mason, I was joking. I’ll eat before I come - I need to feed
Chaos and load a few things in my car. I’ll be there around 8:00. Does that
suit you?”
She
heard the loud sigh on the other end and grinned. She rather liked the idea
that he was put out over Chaos because seriously??? Who didn't like dogs?
“I’ll
see you on Friday evening, Emma.” As he hung up the phone, it occurred to him
that he’d been outmaneuvered. He had planned to meet Emma’s dog on her
territory, where he could see how well or poorly behaved it was, and still
influence whether the dog would be allowed in his house. But now it seemed that
they’d be meeting on his territory. He only hoped that Chaos was like a
well-behaved small child - seen and not heard.
On
Friday night, Emma again pulled up in front of Mason’s home and looked up at
the imposing structure. Again, she noted the lack of anything homey about it.
It was cold and fairly unwelcoming, much like the man who owned it. Her
husband, she thought wryly.
“You
set for this, Chaos?” she asked, looking into the back seat where her energetic
dog was standing and looking out. Hmmm. He looked less energetic than normal,
she thought. He looked almost... wary? With a quick pat on the dog’s head, Emma
climbed out of the driver’s seat of her car, and went around to let Chaos out
of the back. She took hold of his leash and grabbed her purse, then made her
way to the large and very intimidating front door. As she had done just a
little over a week ago, she rang the doorbell and waited, gripping her dog’s
leash nervously.
Chaos
sat next to her, looking up in confusion, but wagging happily when she reached
down to scritch his ears. Hearing footsteps on the other side of the door, he
stood up, almost as if he were preparing himself for a formal introduction.
When
Mason pulled open the door, Emma's eyes widened in surprise. He was dressed in
an old pair of sweats, with an obviously well-loved t-shirt clinging to his oh-so-defined
abdomen. When he just stood there, clearly amused by her staring at him, she
came to her senses and asked, “What, no tie?”
He
raised an eyebrow in a way that Emma envied, then looked down at the
well-behaved dog at Emma’s feet.
“This
is Chaos?”
“This
is Chaos. And I have no idea why he is being as well-behaved as he is. Not that
I'm complaining.”
He
looked up at her, his gaze narrowing. “He’s normally not this good?”
She
grinned then. “He’s normally not this calm. I think he’s intimidated by your
house. Can we come in?”
He
stepped aside, still looking at the dog dubiously, as if he expected it to
break off leash and go careening around his house, breaking things.
She
stopped when they were in the front door and knelt down next to her dog. Chaos
was shaking - that was unusual.
“Chaos,”
she said in a calm voice, “this is Mason. Mason is a good guy, OK?”
“You
need to tell him that so he won’t attack me?”
But
Emma didn't really register his words or the joking way in which he said it.
She was worried about her dog. Looking up at Mason, she said quietly, “He’s
scared. And I'm not sure why.”
Mason
looked down at the dog with some level of concern. The animal moved closer to
Emma and was looking up at him with some trepidation.
“He
might sense that I’m not completely comfortable around dogs?” Mason guessed.
Emma
shrugged. “Maybe. But I’m not used to seeing him worried about that. He usually
just tries to make friends.”
“How
about if you let him off leash?” Mason suggested.
“You
don’t mind?”
“Does
he listen to you when you tell him to stop doing something?”
“85%
of the time,” Emma admitted.
“Then
let him off. Let’s see if he calms down a bit.”
Somewhat
reluctantly, Emma reached down and took the leash off of Chaos’ collar.
Squatting down to eye level, she scritched his ears and said quietly, “It’s OK,
sweetheart. Honestly. Are you OK with Mason petting you?”
“Mason
may not be OK with this. He won’t bite me, will he?”
Emma
shook her head. “No. He’s gentle. Just reach down and rub his head.”
She
watched as Mason stretched his hand out slowly, and laid it gently on Chaos’
head, gradually reaching out his fingers to scratch the dog’s ears.
Chaos
looked up at Mason, his tail starting to wag.
“You’re
doing great,” Emma assured him. “Keep going.”
She
watched as Mason crouched down in front of them and reached out to rub his head
with both hands. Chaos closed his eyes, sank to the floor, and promptly went
belly up.
“What
is he doing?” Mason asked in alarm, half-rising. Emma’s hand on his arm stopped
him.
“He
wants a belly-rub. This is a good thing, Mason,” she added. “It means he trusts
you.”
“Why
does he trust me? I’m a stranger.”
“Maybe.
But he trusts me, and he sees that I trust you. Plus, he has his own instinct.
He’s fine with you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Emma
watched as Mason slowly reached out and started rubbing Chaos on the chest and
belly, and the dog just closed his eyes and wiggled closer. When Mason finally
stopped, Chaos rolled on his side and looked up at him with love.
“That’s
it,” she said. “You have a friend for life.”
“Why
was he shaking so badly when he came in?” Mason asked.
Emma
shrugged with some concern. “I honestly have no idea. Sometimes dogs react to
things in ways we don’t understand. And I got him when he was several months
old, so there might be something here that caused him to remember some bad
experience he had before I adopted him. But it doesn’t matter. As long as he
knows that he’s safe here and that you’re a good guy, he’ll be fine.”
“He
seems like a nice dog,” Mason said half-skeptically.
And
Emma laughed. “Oh, he is. He’s a handful sometimes, but he’s a sweetheart.
You’ll see. I have his crate and his things in my car. Can you hold Chaos while
I slip out the door and go get them?”
Mason
shook his head. “No, you stay here. I’ll go get your things. Your bedroom is
upstairs - the first door on the right.”
Emma
took a deep breath. “OK. Thanks, Mason. I have mostly dog things, and one
suitcase for me. I’ll get the rest in the morning.”
“I’ll
help you,” he offered.
“It’s
not necessary.”
“Maybe
not. But I’ll help you anyway.”
Emma
nodded. There was no point in fighting over this, especially when he was trying
to be nice. “OK. Thanks. I’ll take Chaos out back and then we’ll go upstairs.”
“There’s
a fenced-in back yard for the dog, and your room has a deck that has stairs
down into the yard. So you should be able to let him in and out from there if
that’s easier.”
Emma
looked at him with surprise. “Seriously? That’s wonderful! Thank you. That will
make any late-night bathroom breaks so much easier. Thanks, Mason.”