Page 9 of A New Chapter

Chapter 6

Zack cleared a space for them to eat at the crowded kitchen table. He got out paper plates and plasticware and set the pizza box between them. “I have bottled water, beer, and milk,” he offered, leaning into the refrigerator.

“I’ll take a beer,” Emma said and plopped a cheesy slice of pizza on her plate.

Zack twisted off the top on a Heineken and set it in front of her. “I take it this meal wouldn’t fall under a woman’s definition of a romantic dinner,” he teased, picking up their conversation from earlier.

“That all depends on the two people partaking of the meal,” she said around the big bite she had just taken.

“So, if the two people were in a romantic relationship, pizza and beer could be considered romantic?”

Emma grinned. “Something like that.” Enough talk about romance; it’s time for a subject change. “How does Gracie like her new home?”

“She likes that her bedroom here is bigger than the one at Alicia’s condo, but she’s still adjusting to the move. It’s a lot to handlefor a four-year-old.”

“You know; I can recommend some books that were written specifically for children of divorce. I’m not trying to sell you anything, but maybe they would be helpful.”

“Thanks. Maybe you can show me when I bring her to story time on Saturday.”

“Sure.”

“Since we’re on the topic of Gracie, I wanted to mention something related to us.” Zack motioned between the two of them.

Us? What us? We’re just friends. “Ok,” Emma said hesitantly.

“I think it would be best if we kept our friendship to ourselves for now. I don’t want Gracie to get confused about what you and I mean to each other. I know she misses her mom, and I don’t want her to think I’m trying to replace Alicia.”

Emma took a slug of beer to buy herself a few seconds before responding. “So when I see Gracie on Saturday, I’m not supposed to act like I’ve been here?”

Zack shrugged and looked apologetic. “If you don’t mind. At least for now. It’s fine for us to talk at the bookstore, but I don’t think she needs to know when we see each other outside of that.”

Emma had no choice but to respect his decision. He was Gracie’s dad, and he knew what was best for her, but something about his request was unsettling. She didn’t like the idea of sneaking around behind the little girl’s back, especially since they were “just friends.” Maybe that’s what Zack was concerned about—that they would become more.

“Ok,” Emma replied, “but maybe after she gets to know me, she won’t see me as a threat.”

“I certainly hope so,” Zack said.

Saturday came around quickly, and a few kids had begun to trickle in for story time. Emma hadn’t talked to Zack since Wednesday, but she hadn’t really expected to. What she found disconcerting was how anxious she was to see him, and Gracie too of course. She looked up each time the bell over the door chimed, but they still hadn’t arrived when it was time to begin.

“Today’s book is titled Guess How Much I Love You,” Emma began. She had thought of Gracie when she’d selected the story because of its gentle reminder of the love between a parent and a child. The moral might be lost on Gracie, but it was a sweet story nonetheless. Where are they?

Emma had just finished reading the first page when the bell chimed again, and she knew without looking that it was them. Zack seemed frazzled as he ushered Gracie into a chair and searched around for a seat for himself. There was a bench set up behind the row of kid’s chairs, and one mother scooted over to allow room for Zack to sit. Emma had paused reading in order for them to get settled, and had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The single mom who sat next to Zack was notorious for flirting with the single dads. Her name was Janice, and today, she wore a scoop neck t-shirt that flaunted her abundant cleavage, along with snug-fitting jeans and strappy sandals. Janice brought her son, David, to story time on a regular basis, but Emma had a strong suspicion that it wasn’t because David loved to read. No, Janice was definitely on the make, and she was pretty obvious about it. Of course, the single dads didn’t mind being the object of her attention, and were always treated to a generous view of what she had to offer. Up until now, Emma and Kelly had just laughed the whole thing off, but something about Janice’s presence today was especially irksome. She noticed that Janice had slid over just enough for Zack to perch on the end of the bench, but their legs touched thigh to thigh. Emma made brief eye contact with Zack, and he mouthed, Sorry, before she continued the story. She assumed that his apology was for being late and not for sitting too close to Janice. Since they were “just friends,” Emma had no reason to be jealous, but she still didn’t like the idea of Janice using her bookstore as a meat market.

When the story was over and the kids were munching on carrots (chosen because of the bunnies in the book), Emma glanced over at Zack. He and Janice hadn’t moved from the bench, but now she had turned toward him, offering him an even better view down her shirt. Zack smiled at something she had just said, and she touched his arm lightly with her perfectly manicured hand.

Seriously? He’s making time with that woman in my store? Emma continued to spy on them out of the corner of her eye in between making affirmative sounds to the children as they proudly held up their bunny drawings. Janice reached into her oversized designer handbag and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. She jotted something down and handed it to Zack, who tucked it into his jeans pocket. Such a player, yet he doesn’t want Gracie to knowabout our friendship. Ha! Here he was flirting with a stranger right under his daughter’s nose. Wait until I get a chance to talk to him alone. Friends were honest with each other, and Emma was going to tell him exactly what she thought of his boorish behavior today!

When David was done coloring, he ran over to Janice and demanded that they leave. Janice looked miffed that her son had interrupted her and Zack’s tete-a-tete, but as usual, she gave in to David’s whining. She and Zack shook hands before David rushed her out of the store.

While Emma had been distracted, the rest of the kids and parents had drifted away, leaving her alone with Gracie. “Did you like the story today, Gracie?” Emma asked.

“Um-hmm,” Gracie answered in typical kid fashion.

“What did you like best about it?”

“I liked that the baby bunny and the daddy bunny were best friends,” she said without looking up from her coloring page.

Emma felt Zack’s presence behind her and finally turned around to face him. “Hey,” she said.