Emma's Deliverance by Susan Vance Read Free Book Online

lunch Jody and Emma took Louie to get a closer look at the water. They took off their sandals and let the cool water caress their toes. It felt good and Emma walked a little further into the lake until she was ankle deep in the water. Jody was right behind her keeping Louie high enough so he wouldn’t get splashed and get frightened. He was squealing with delight watching the children play in the sand and running back and forth in the water.
    “ Next year, little man, I’ll take you swimming with me, okay?” Emma said, touching little Louie on the chin with her hand.
    “ Emma, Louie will only be fourteen months old. Let’s give him some time to get some lessons first. Oh, by the way, Ryan and I want to go out to dinner tonight. Will you watch Louie for a few hours?”
    Emma wasn ’t planning on telling Jody about her date tonight. She didn’t want to make a big deal about it and she knew Jody would do just that. She thought for a second and decided she had no choice but to tell her sister she had a previous engagement for the evening.
    “ Gee, Jody, I can’t. I’m sorry but I have plans for tonight.”
    “ Really? What kind of plans?”
    “ Okay, okay, before you get all excited it’s just a date.”
    “ What do you mean, just a date?”
    “ Okay, it’s just a date with the most handsome man I have ever seen.” Emma was blushing and smiling. She was more excited than she had realized. She was going on a date and it felt wonderful. She could see the expression on Jody’s face. She could tell Jody was happy for her.
    Emma flashed back to a conversation she and Jody had a few years earlier. She remembered something Jody had said to her on that day. “Emma, when are you going to find a boyfriend? Then we could double date. I swear you’re so pretty I’d think that you’d have lots of dates.”
    “ It isn’t that guys don’t ask, Jody, I just haven’t met anyone I feel like spending time with. I’ll know him when I meet him. He just hasn’t surfaced yet. Besides, I love spending my time with the family. I know it would be fun to double date with you and Ryan, but I like hanging around with the family. It feels comfortable and safe.”
    “ What do you mean safe? You say the strangest things sometimes. Having a boyfriend has nothing to do with being safe unless he’s been in prison or something. Watch out for the guys with tattoos of snakes and spider webs on their elbows. Oh, don’t forget the tear tattoo under the eye. I think that means they’ve killed someone,” she had said.
    Jody had only been teasing her that day, but in a way, there was a bit of truth to it. Emma didn ’t seem to be interested in dating at all. She did have a few casual dates, but it was usually Emma’s idea to stop seeing them. Jason was different. Emma felt comfortable with him right away. He made her nervous, but it had nothing to do with fear. It was a pleasant nervousness she felt. She wanted to be near him. He excited her in a way that she had not experienced before.
    “ So, where did you meet him? Who is he?”
    “ He was my very first customer at the shop. I hadn’t seen him again until today after church when I went to the market to get the pie and sodas. He was in line with his mother and he said hello to me. The next thing I know he’s asking me to dinner tonight and I said yes. Wow, huh?”
    Jody had the most peculiar look on her face.
    “He was shopping with his mother? Doesn’t that seem a little odd to you?”
    Emma began to laugh. She laughed so hard that Jody started laughing too. Emma had tears running down her cheeks imagining Jason as a momma ’s boy.
    “ What’s so funny? All I asked is that, don’t you think it was odd he was shopping with his mother?”
    “ I know, but I guess I should explain that this isn’t a momma’s boy were talking about. He’s a big strapping fireman. His mother broke her leg and he was pushing her in a wheelchair. Oh God, Jody, a momma’s boy?” Emma said,