Emma's Deliverance by Susan Vance Read Free Book Online Page B

sorry. This happens sometimes. The life of a fireman isn’t all glamour. Do you forgive me?”
    He sounded so sincere and Emma knew he was telling the truth. This could have easily happened to anyone. Emma was still crying a little as it was hard for her to stop. She took a few deep breaths and tried to compose herself. She was thankful he was okay and she was delighted to hear his voice. “Yes, I forgive you, but only if you promise to memorize my number so if this ever happens again you can call me.”
    “ By the time I get there I’ll have your number etched on my brain, I swear. Oh, please say you haven’t eaten yet. Will you still have dinner with me?”
    Emma didn ’t hesitate for one second. Twenty minutes later he was ringing her bell. They decided to go to a nearby restaurant since it was almost 8 o’ clock.
    The waiter approached the table and asked if they would like a drink before dinner. Jason looked over at Emma. She ordered a glass of white wine.
    “I’ll have iced tea with lemon,” he said, thanking the waiter politely. Emma changed her drink to iced tea with lemon, also.
    “ Jason, when you didn’t show up on time I thought perhaps you had changed your mind. I’ve never been stood up before and I can tell you it isn’t good for one’s ego. To be honest, I was upset. It felt awful. Then I started thinking that maybe you’d had an accident or something,” she said.
    “ I have never wanted to be more on time in my life. I swear. All I could think about was calling you to explain. All the way back to the station I kept wondering what time it was. It was tortuous.” He reached over for her hand.
    “ You should have been in my shoes. Talk about tortuous.”
    “ Really?” he said, with a twinkle in his eye and raising that eyebrow that made Emma giggle.
    Emma was a little embarrassed, but she was being honest. This was such a wonderful feeling for her. She felt as if she were with a good friend. She felt like she could share her true and honest feelings. “Yes, I thought you weren’t coming and it felt terrible. I’m glad it turned out okay,” she said with a hint of extra color to her face. “So, what’s my phone number?”
    Jason was able to recite her number without looking at her card and Emma was impressed. This made her laugh. She was feeling very high and happy. She wanted to know everything about him. “How long have you been a fireman?”
    “ Five years. I started when I was twenty-three. I wanted to be a fireman since I was a kid. How about you? What did you want to be when you were a child?”
    “ When I was in high school I wanted to have my own flower shop. It felt so familiar when I started to work for Carol. I was just sixteen. She owned the shop before I bought it. I knew someday I would have a flower shop just like hers. I was lucky to have the money when she wanted to sell it.” Emma hoped that would be enough childhood memories for him, but he prodded further.
    “ That’s wonderful, but what about when you were little?”
    He was just making small talk. Emma knew this, but she was becoming uncomfortable with his questions concerning her childhood. She tried to change the subject by looking at the menu and asking what sounded good to him.
    “ The Lemon Chicken with a salad sounds good,” he said. “What are you hungry for?”
    “ I’ll have the same. I’ve eaten here before and they really do have great Lemon Chicken. I never eat red meat.”
    “ I don’t either. How come you don’t eat red meat?”
    Emma didn ’t know the answer to his question. Ever since she could remember she didn’t care for red meat. If it were rare it would turn her stomach. She could hardly stand the sight of blood, animal or human. Up until recently she would actually vomit at the sight of it. As a small child she would close her eyes until Marilyn could put a band-aid on any cuts or scraps she or her sisters would have.
    “ I guess I just don’t like it. I really don’t care