A Beautiful Fall (31 page)

“No. You should have heard her talking about your relationship on Sunday. She described the two of you as soul mates. I think she really loves you, Michael. It’s obvious to everyone but her. Or maybe you’re right—maybe she just doesn’t know yet what love really is.”

Michael didn’t speak; he just stood up at the table to leave.

“God’s still at work, Michael. Who knows what will happen next. You’ve always done what you knew was right, so keep trusting God. We vowed to look after Emma, and He’s vowed to look after us. For twelve years, that meant little more than daily prayer. Then we got to spend ten days with her. God might just be up to something with all that. All we can do is keep praying, keep listening. And wait.”

o o o

Bo tried to get comfortable on the large floral sofa in Christina’s sitting room. The couch was large enough with its extralong cushions, and a million and one pillows, yet with nothing but silence around to distract him, he was fidgety.

He’d read the morning newspaper and eaten eggs and toast for breakfast with a glass of orange juice. Christina had brewed a pot of coffee and lovingly checked on him every thirty minutes. But Bo was used to working hard every day, figuring out what needed to get done on the job site, and fixing whatever was broken. He just wasn’t the kind of man who could lie around all day, even if it was his body that now was severely broken.

Christina came in the room around noon to check on him.

“Are you doing okay?” Christina asked, walking into the pretty white room.

“I’m ready to get this cast off. How long have I been wearing it?”

“Three days. You ask me that every time I come in here.”

“Sorry, I’m not used to sitting still for very long.”

Christina sat down on the couch with him, taking his hand in hers.

“It’s too bad you’re not a wedding planner. This would be a great time to write the invitations and make up a checklist of things we need to do.”

Bo made an exaggerated frown.

“I’m just joking, Bo, but I do think we need to find something constructive that you can do. Is there anyone you want to talk to?”

Bo thought for a moment.

“Yeah, there is,” he said. “Michael. I promised I’d call and I haven’t done that yet.”

“Well see, there you go. Let me get you the phone.”

Christina left for the office, where she kept her portable phone. She returned in less than a minute and handed the receiver to Bo.

“I’m going to go write for another thirty minutes or so, then I’ll come back out and fix us some lunch. How does tuna salad sound?”

Bo rolled his eyes.

“Okay, how about I carve up some of that roast beef from the other night and make sandwiches?”

“Christina?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

Christina smiled and left the room. Bo dialed Michael’s cell phone and he picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, you’re not looking for a new hammer man, are you?”

“Next time we’re going to nail your feet down,” Michael said. “How you feeling?”

“Bored, but that’s to be expected, I guess. Christina’s taking real good care of me, so I can’t complain. How about you?”

“Hanging in there.”

“Hey listen, I’ve got two things I want to talk to you about. First of all, I’ve asked Christina to marry me in November and I want you to be my best man. Will you do it?”

“Of course. And you’re going to be out of your cast by then, right?” he asked.

“If I have to rip it off with my own hands.”

“That’s great news, Bo. I’m happy for you, man.”

“There’s one other thing that’s been on my mind since Monday. I’ll have to tell you the whole story sometime, but I want to apologize for what I said about Emma. I think I was just mixing up my ex with every other woman on earth, and she didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s no problem. I understand.”

“You need to go after her, Michael. It’s time for you to tell her how you feel.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Let’s just say it came to me in a moment of clarity. You and Emma are meant to be together, and if I said anything to derail that, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything ’cause I think … well, who cares what I think. You and Emma ought to be together and that’s the bottom line.”

~ Twenty-five ~

When I see you walking down the street
You’re the kind of girl I’d like to meet
You’re so pretty. Oh, so fine
I’m gonna make her mine all mine.

—T
HE
S
WINGING
M
EDALLIONS

“Hey Baby”

“So, was there any part of Boston you missed?” Colin asked Emma over lunch on Friday at Francesca’s near the Commons. The elegant little Italian restaurant overlooked a rainy Beacon Street. He scratched at the fine linen tablecloth with his fingernail. The ice chips in their water glasses swayed with the rocking of the table.

“Yes, of course,” she said. “But … you seem agitated. Did I do something to upset you?”

Colin stopped picking. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

The waiter came by and removed their salad plates without speaking. A moment later he refilled their water glasses.

Colin sat up straight and put his hands in his lap. “Continue,” he said.

“There’s not much to say. It’s just that the fast pace here in Boston kept me from remembering my roots. It kept me out of touch with people who matter to me. It’s a whole other side of who I am.”

“I don’t follow you,” Colin said. “What whole other side?”

Emma wasn’t sure just what she wanted to share with him or how much Colin could understand.

“As much as I like what I do—representing someone who needs help—I’ve realized sometimes I need help too.”

Colin smiled, but Emma couldn’t tell if it was a real smile or something to fill the space because he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“Well, there’s more to life than just work, Emma.”

She laughed.

“Am I hearing right? Did Colin Douglas just say there’s more to life than work?”

“I don’t just work, Emma. There are a few things you aren’t aware of,” he said.

Emma tilted back her chair. “I’d love to hear about those things. What’s something you truly care about?”

“Well, I care about lots of things. I exercise regularly at the gym, play tennis and racquetball. I have a social network there—people I like to visit with every week. Sometimes I play a game of cards with the guys at the club. They’re retired lawyers who have a lot of great stories. I am a staunch supporter of the Sierra Club because I appreciate wildlife and the outdoors. I have a good opinion of which restaurants in Boston and Cambridge are the best and could probably write a review column for the
Boston Globe
.”

Emma laughed.

“I like hearing those things about your personal life.”

Colin smiled.

“And there’s more … before the first of the year I’ll probably buy a time-share on Martha’s Vineyard because I really look good in shorts,” he joked. “And I enjoy loafing around in netted hammocks. Oh, and dropping quarters into fortune-teller machines on deserted boardwalks. See? There’s much more to me than just brilliant legal work, Emma.”

She laughed.

“You’ve made a compelling case, counselor. But it’s people that really matter most. Who are the people in your life you care most about?”

“I have a father in a nursing home an hour away from here, where my brother lives. I share in the responsibility of taking care of him.”

“I’m sorry, Colin. I didn’t know that,” Emma said. “And your mother?”

“She passed away when I was young. I never knew her very well.”

The waiter appeared with their entrées. “Chicken with lemon grass and red pepper.” He set Colin’s plate down in front of him. It was a culinary work of art.

“Curry eggplant with summer squash and asparagus.” He presented Emma’s plate, and offered them both fresh ground pepper, which they declined.

“Enjoy your meal.”

“I think what’s important for you to know, Emma, is that I have an eye for appreciating beauty. I can tell excellence when I see it in art, film, or food. It’s a gift I employ in my work and in my personal life.”

Emma took a bite of her meal. “Mmm … based on the flavor of this curry eggplant, I would have to agree. You do have good taste in things, Colin.”

“Not just things, Emma, people. Take you, for example. You have depth and intelligence, and a basic goodness about you. And most importantly, you’re honest and caring. Do you realize how rare that is in the world?”

“In some places it’s less rare.”

“When something is rare, it has value. I’m not just a lawyer, Emma. Law is just a means to an end. I’m someone who’s going to succeed in life because I’m determined to win at things I want to win.”

“I’ve never heard you speak so candidly.”

“I think I’ve been derelict by not showing you the scope of my ambitions. We hold very unique positions in Boston law, Emma. The opportunities for us here are rich.”

“You’re the second person to tell me that in the last two days,” Emma said.

“That just confirms that what I’m saying is true. I know what I want. What about you, Emma, do you know what you want?”

“I don’t think I’m as ambitious as you are,” she said.

“Why not? Robert thinks your future’s extremely bright. He thinks you can write your own ticket. I happen to agree with him, with only one caveat.”

“What’s that?”

Colin put down his knife and fork. “You’ll need a partner, and I don’t mean at the law firm.”

Emma had spent the last two days thinking about Robert’s proposals and predictions, about her future at the firm and a possible political career. She had convinced herself it was primarily a ploy on Robert’s part to keep her at the firm.

Now after hearing Colin speak, Emma had to rethink everything again. These men had the same look in their eyes, a look she could only describe as greed. They both behaved as if Solomon’s gold were just beyond their fingertips, and Emma was the key to that treasure.

“Do you know what brought me to Boston, Colin?”

He shook his head.

“It’s kind of funny. I came here to be a success too, but mostly I came here to find a place where I belonged, and would never have to worry again because I could protect myself from anything that threatened me.”

“You’ve succeeded at what you set out to do,” Colin said, smiling.

“No, Colin. I think I failed. I severed my roots, cut myself off from my lifeblood and the people who love me. I was such a fool. Why didn’t I ever see it?” she said, shocked by the clarity of her vision. “Thank you, Colin, for clearing something up for me.”

Emma stood up from the table, pushing back her chair.

“Good-bye, Colin.”

“Good-bye? Emma, wait …”

She exited through the busy restaurant and out the front doors, and hailed a taxi in the rainy street. Colin followed her outside, but didn’t try to stop her as she stepped off the curb, climbed into a yellow taxi, and was whisked away.

“Where to?” the driver asked her.

Emma gave her the address on Federal Street for Adler, McCormick & Madison. It was still early in the Friday lunch hour; there was a good chance Robert would be there. Emma needed to see him immediately. It all made sense now.

She rode the elevator to the twenty-sixth floor and strode through the office. Robert looked up from his desk when he heard the commotion. Emma saw that he had someone else in his office, but barged in anyway.

“Robert, I need to talk to you,” she said, catching her breath, still wet from the rain.

“Emma—I was just talking with …”

“Robert, I quit. I’m sorry, but I can’t wait another minute to say that. I’m sorry if it sounds abrupt. I know you’ve been incredible to me these past nine years, but I have to go and I have to go right now. I finally figured it out. I’m in love with someone who’s never used me or taken advantage of me, and I come from a place where people watch over each other, and I’ve been so blind for so long. I have to go back. So, effective this minute, I quit.”

“Emma, if you’d let me get a word in edgewise …”

“Don’t try to talk me out of it, Robert. My mind’s made up. I’ve got to call my dad. I’ve got to put a call through to …”

The man sitting with his back to Emma in Robert’s office chair turned around to face her. It was Michael. He stood up.

“Hi,” he said. “I came to Boston because I needed to find out how you really felt about me. Now I think I know.”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you, Emma. We have a guest in the office,” Robert said, pointing to Michael.

Emma rushed to Michael and held him for all she was worth. Tears came, and at that moment Robert shook his head slowly, a smile coming to his face despite the obvious truth that he had just lost his star lawyer.

“You really do love me,” she said, tears forming in her eyes.

“I do,” Michael said.

“Emma, why don’t you show Michael your office?”

Emma lead Michael across the gallery floor to her office. All the associates in their cubicles stopped work to watch them, the Boston hotshot lawyer and the Juneberry cowboy. She closed the door behind them.

And kissed him.

“What made you come up here like this?” she asked.

“I had a long talk with Samantha and with Bo. I just felt like it was time to tell you how I feel, how I’ve felt about you my whole life,” Michael said.

She shook her head in disbelief. “I just quit my job.”

“I know. I was there.”

“I’m moving back to Juneberry,” she said, shocked by the sound of the words coming out of her mouth. “I’m going home.”

“I was hoping you’d come back with me.”

Emma threw her arms around Michael, feeling his embrace close in around her. It felt like a healing.

Outside in the lawyers’ gallery, Emma heard a commotion. She opened her eyes to see Colin making his way to her office. Susan followed behind him.

“Mr. Douglas, you can’t go back there without an appointment,” she called after him.

“I just want to talk with her,” Colin said, sounding only half reasonable.