Page 82 of A New Chapter

“Really? How sweet of them.” Kelly enthused.

Damian shifted in his seat and shot an undecipherable look at Zack. “That’s the first I’ve heard about this.”

Zack returned his gaze and replied, “Mom just mentioned it when I dropped off Gracie.”

Emma attempted to dispel the awkward exchange. “Well, tell her that I would love to come.”

Zack draped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. She leaned into him, her chest tight with emotion. Emma looked forward to spending Christmas with Zack, Gracie, and the rest of his family. It warmed her heart that Alex had thought to invite her.

Kelly, on the other hand, looked distinctly uncomfortable. “If you don’t want me to come, just say so,” she snapped at Damian.

Damian appeared to be taken aback by her straightforwardness. “Hey, if you can handle the chaos, then by all means, come.”

When Kelly didn’t look pacified, he added more softly, “I want you to come.”

His words did the trick, and the rest of the evening progressed smoothly. Shortly before nine o’clock, Zack announced that he had to leave, and Emma stood up with him. Damian and Kelly decided to stay for one more beer, so Zack and Emma walked out together. Zack followed her to her car and leaned against it.

“It would be nice if we didn’t always have to come and go in separate cars,” he said while she fished out her keys.

“I agree,” she said softly.

Zack pulled her against him and put his lips on hers. Emma opened her mouth to him, vaguely aware of the people that came and went from the busy parking lot. A minute later, they reluctantly parted.

“Hey, did I mention that Gracie is with her mom this weekend?” Zack wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Emma giggled. “Yes, you might have mentioned that once or twice. You know that I have to work this weekend, right?”

“I know, but we’ll still get some alone time.”

“Sounds wonderful,” she said and reached up on her tiptoes for another kiss.

Emma’s warm feelings morphed into trepidation when she turned into the drugstore parking lot. She sat in her car for a few minutes and breathed deeply. Here she was, a grown woman, afraid to go inside the store. What must a teenager feel like in this situation?

Emma finally went inside and selected two pregnancy test kits. She added a few other items to her cart as if to disguise the real purpose of her visit. A young girl rang up her purchases and didn’t even flinch when she handed Emma the bag.

“How ridiculous am I?” Emma said when she drove away. Not since her divorce had she felt this jumble of emotions. She drove home in a fog, collected her mail, and let herself in. Setting her package down on the counter, she checked her phone and discovered that she had two new voicemails.

The first one was from her cousin. “Hey, Emma, it’s Phil. Debbie and I were just wondering what you’re doing for Christmas this year. You know you’re always welcome to come down and visit us. We’d love to have you. Give me a call.”

The second message was from her mom. “Hi, Emma, it’s Mom. Dad and I plan to arrive two days before Christmas. After we get settled in at the campground, I’ll give you a call.”

Oh my God. In all the hustle and bustle, Emma had forgotten about her parents, and now she had already accepted the Kostas’s Christmas dinner invitation. Not only was her stomach queasy, but now her head hurt. Afraid to take anything for her headache in case she might be pregnant, Emma decided to head up to bed. According to the instructions on the pregnancy test, it was best to take it in the morning, so there was nothing more to be done tonight.

She had just snuggled under the covers when her phone rang. Despite all of the turmoil going on inside her, she smiled when she answered Zack’s call.

“I miss you,” he said first thing.

“You just saw me twenty minutes ago.”

“Really? It feels like longer than that!”

Emma giggled and warmed at the rich tone of his voice. “I miss you too,” she said.

“So what’s happened in the twenty minutes since I’ve seen you?”

If you only knew… “Well, I listened to two voicemails. One from Phil and one from my mom.”

“Funny, Phil called me a couple of days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to call him back yet. What did he have to say?”