Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) (20 page)

     Emily quickly changed into some comfy clothes and headed for the kitchen. She opened the fridge, hunting for something to munch on. It was almost bare. Only a half-gallon of milk and a few Tupperware containers remained on the empty shelves.

     “
He is probably starving all by himself. Either that, or he is eating out way too much.”

     A wave of guilt washed over Emily. Her father needed her, he was alone and she hadn’t been here for him for almost two months.

     What had she been thinking? What made her put her childish desires for adventure and romance above the needs of her family? She only had her father left and she never wanted to regret not having enough time with him like she did with her mother.

     Just then there was a rattling at the door and a burst of laughter, not just from one person, but two. Emily peeked around the corner in time to see her dad enter with Rob following closely behind him.

     Everyone was shocked with the unexpected presence of each member in the room.

     “Emily, hey!” Her father raced over and hugged her tightly, showcasing a silent, panicked look. Showing up earlier than expected apparently raised a red flag.

     “Hi, Daddy.” She finally felt relaxed. It was so good to be close to him again. “I, uuh,” she was trying to think on her toes. “I thought I’d surprise you early!”

     He stepped back from her a little, searching her face for answers.

     “Hey, Emily.” Rob gave a short and abrupt wave as their eyes met over her father’s shoulder.

     He looked different. How was it possible he had changed in only four months? Even though Emily had only been gone for just under two, she’d avoided Rob for the two months prior to that for Alexander’s sake. Still, four months didn’t seem long enough for someone to change; yet there seemed to be something about him which was different.

     “It’s good to see you, Rob,” she walked over to give him a warm hug. She wasn’t just being cordial. It was a breath of fresh air to be around the more normal two men who had been in her life. It brought a rush of memories back and all the hang up’s she had concerning Rob seemed silly and insignificant.

     At this point she would gladly take the issues she had before over what she was dealing with in the present.

     “Back from Dartmouth, huh? How’s college life?” Rob questioned as she stepped back.

     “Uh, well…,” Emily had almost forgotten everyone besides her father thought she was at Dartmouth. She hadn’t prepared any responses. “Um, it’s college, you know. What can you say about it?”

     “Exactly!” Rob smiled “And that is why I skipped it.”

     There was that same, familiar confidence she used to think was arrogance. Now she could appreciate his personality a little better. He was smart and knew exactly where he wanted to go and how to get there. And he wasn’t about to let anyone deter him. It wasn’t pride that drove him like she’d previously thought. It was a quest for excellence, for achieving what he knew he was capable of.

     She envied his determination. She could unquestionably use a small dose of what he so easily displayed.

     “So what are you two up to?” she questioned, trying to divert the conversation from anything having to do with college.

     “Well, Rob and I had some extra work to do so we figured we’d do it in a more comfortable setting, and have some dinner while we’re at it.”

     Rob then raised a plastic bag with a red Chinese symbol printed in the middle of it. Emily hadn’t noticed it until now but the second she did the overpowering scent of soy and ginger made her stomach rumble. She was starving.

     “Do you have enough for me?” She walked over and playfully grabbed at the bag.

     Her father chuckled. “I think we have enough for four of you! Have you been eating at all while you’ve been away? You look too thin.”

     He had a concerned frown on his face.

     She glanced down at herself. She hadn’t even thought about how much she weighed. Now she noticed her yoga pants and fitted tee were a bit looser than before. And Emily by no means was a girl who needed to lose weight. She’d prided herself on the fact that she sported a fit and curvy figure. An athletic build was what she called it. But now she had more of a twig-like figure, one she’d never thought was attractive.

     “I’ve been kinda eating vegetarian since I left; mostly fruits and vegetables. I’ve also been working out a lot,” she glanced at her father.

     The subject, once again, needed to be changed.

     “Well, let’s not let the food get cold. I’m starving.” He motioned for Rob to set it on the table. “Let’s see, where is my usual? Ah, right there.” He pulled a white box from the bag that had the black markings of  S-S-P.

     “Your usual?” Emily shot her father a disappointed look, “How often have you been eating out, Daddy? The fridge is bare. You know eating out isn’t that healthy for you,” she scolded.

     “Oh, it’s only a few times a week.” Her father shrugged as he sat down and opened up his box.

     “Ha!” Rob laughed. “A few times a day,” he muttered under his breath.

     Emily laughed at the jab. It felt so good to be in an ordinary setting again.

     “Okay, okay, enough with everyone’s eating habits. I’ll lay off you, if you lay off me, agreed?” James playfully poked his daughter as she sat down next to him with a box of her own.

     “Deal,” she agreed and then dug into the delicious lo mien that summoned her attention.

     Their conversation was relaxed and enjoyable. Emily loved every minute of it. It was refreshing to engage in relaxed banter and discuss inconsequential things. It seemed to her everything she ever talked about in Eden was either very serious or exceptionally important. Especially the last three weeks. It had all been too much.

     After dinner they decided to break out a card game and the laughter continued for hours as they each tried their best to outsmart one another.

     Eventually they quit because, thus far, the two men hadn’t gotten any of the extra work they’d brought home for the weekend done. It was simple and mundane stuff like updating client’s accounts, stuff generally left for a secretary or assistant, but Emily knew her father had taken it on as a distraction, as a way to keep himself busy.

      “Cindy has three little kids at home and needs to spend time with them. I didn’t want to keep her at work late.”

     Her father had always carried a compassion for others and she’d loved him dearly for it. He never failed to see something from someone else’s perspective. Nor did he ever hesitate to put himself in their shoes and try and grasp what he could not always see.

     Emily finally excused herself for bed, giving her father a kiss on the back of the head.

     Her bed, though less cushiony than the pad she’d slept on in Eden, was so welcoming and familiar, and simply sweet. It was only a matter of minutes before she was in a deep sleep.

     She woke abruptly, sitting up and glancing around her. Light was flooding through her window although it was dim enough to indicate it was still early morning. Her breathing was labored and even though she could not remember the details of her dream she was left feeling like it had been a nightmare, a very real and frightening nightmare.

     She glanced at the clock. It was 6:20, which was sleeping in for her compared to when she’d been awakened each morning these past weeks. She didn’t have a clock in Eden but Olivia never failed to get Emily up as the sun was rising.

     Forgetting where she was for a moment she started to get out of bed, the thought of being late driving her feet to the floor but then the dreamy state dissipated and she remembered where she was. She also remembered she had absolutely nowhere to be.

     Falling back down on her sheets, she let out a sigh. It felt good to have nothing on her agenda. Her time in Eden had not been like school, where she had weekends to look forward to. In fact, she was never even sure what day it was while she was there. Days and weeks seemed to be measured differently.

     It took twenty minutes for Emily to accept that she was not going to fall back asleep, no matter how much she wanted to. She finally resolved to drag herself out of bed and groggily made her way to the kitchen.

     Hunting for her mother’s mug was comfortingly familiar. Hot cocoa would hit the spot. It was a commodity she hadn’t realized she missed while in Eden.

     Making her way to the living room with her steaming cup of cocoa, she was entranced by the demure view through the living room windows. It seemed so different even though she’d grown up with it. Eden had grown on her quickly; its extravagant beauty left an imprint on her mind which now made the city seem dull.

     But, she didn’t want to think about Eden right now. She’d come to escape all of that.

     Without glancing behind her she dropped down to take a seat on the couch.

     “Oh!” Emily yelped as she made contact with something hard and lumpy beneath her.

     “Huh?” Rob popped his feet up in reaction to Emily sitting on them.

     His sudden response startled her again as he sat up quickly like a Jack in the Box.

     “Ahh,” her voice was louder this time and in a hasty spasm she fumbled her mug of cocoa. It spilled all over Rob’s lap.

     “Whoa, hot,” Rob gasped as he jerked his body upward flinging Emily to the ground.

     A moment of silence followed the three-second-long debacle.

     Rob looked around, obviously confused. He then glanced down at Emily. She sat on the ground in her tangled robe, looking at her empty mug with shock, her mouth agape.

     Both of them started laughing hysterically.

     “I didn’t know you were there,” Emily said between chuckles.

     “No, it’s okay. Nothing like hot cocoa to wake you up in the morning.” His comment brought another burst of laughter as they both looked over his wet suit pants.

     She’d managed to spill the entire contents of her mug on the most embarrassing spot possible, which made her laugh even more.

     Popping up she ran over to the kitchen to grab a towel. She handed it to him so he could wipe up some of the lingering moisture.

     “I didn’t know you stayed the night,” she said, taking a seat in the chair across from him.

     “I didn’t intend to but your dad and I ended up working until three in the morning, and I just kind of passed out.” He used the towel to sop up what he could but the damage had been done and there was no reversing it. “I don’t know how Cindy does it all. It took two grown men four hours to do things she does in two hours by herself.”

     “That was sweet of you to help.”

     “I’m always willing to help. Your dad has done so much for me. When an opportunity arises to repay him, I take it.” Rob gave up trying to clean his pants and tossed the dishcloth on the coffee table in front of him.

     “Well, I know he appreciates it,” she paused a moment, wondering if she should continue. She could feel her emotions rapidly rising to the surface. “And I appreciate it as well. It means a lot to me that you’ve kept my father company while I’ve been gone,” her voice cracked.

     Rob immediately sensed the mood change. He hopped up and slid over to sit on the coffee table so he was only inches from her.

     “You okay?” he searched her eyes.

     Emily let her head hang. She feared acknowledging her feelings would open a floodgate of emotions she toiled to keep hidden. “It’s just harder than I thought it would be.” She finally looked up. “I just miss my father. And, things aren’t going as smoothly as I had hoped…for me, that is.”