The Girl and the Genie (13 page)

Emily smiled bitterly to herself. She wasn’t going to be able to figure it out, nor did it matter as long as she stuck with the smaller wishes she was making. After all, there was only one thing she truly wanted. In her heart she believed things were going to work out with Ethan. That it was meant to be. But if not, she had five remaining wishes to try to find true love. She’d just have to be careful to keep her true intentions hidden from Jack. She couldn’t help feeling that if Jack figured out what she was really after that he’d work in a way to mess things up for her.

After walking six more blocks, Emily turned around to head back to her motel. When the motel’s sign was in sight, she told Jack that he’d better disappear for now.

“With my mom around, I won’t be able to summon you to spend evenings with me and Winston.”

“Perfectly understandable, Miss Mignon.” Jack smiled thinly. “And please do congratulate your mother for me on her upcoming good fortune.”

With that he gave her a slight bow and disappeared within what had become his usual burst of smoke.

Chapter 12

The radio alarm clicked on at eight the next morning playing Steppenwolf’s
Magic Carpet Ride
, waking Emily up. She lay in bed for a few moments disoriented and not quite sure where she was. Then she heard the sound of light breathing next to her, and saw that her mother was sound asleep on the other side of the queen-sized bed, completely oblivious to the radio. Emily then remembered where she was and what she was going to be doing later that day. As she thought of meeting Ethan in a little less than two hours a wave of excitement hit her that left her wide awake and her heart fluttering. She reached out for the radio and turned it off, then pushed herself up so she could spot Winston, who was lying by the foot of the bed snoozing away. Minnesota was on Central Time, so it would be a minute or two after nine o’clock back in New York. Winston would normally have been up at least two hours earlier, but the previous day must’ve exhausted him.

Emily took a deep breath and forced herself to lie on her back so she could calm herself down. As she did this she was amazed as she thought of how well she had slept the night before given how nervous she’d been knowing that she was finally going to meet Ethan in the flesh. It was almost as if a light switch had been flicked off with the way she’d fallen asleep the moment she closed her eyes, and even more amazing, that she’d remained completely dead to the world until the alarm went off this morning. It must’ve been having her mother’s presence nearby. That was what must’ve relaxed and calmed her enough to fall into such a deep sleep.

Emily craned her neck to look over at the alarm clock. Four minutes had passed since she had woken up. She popped out of bed, and after several more deep breaths, headed to the shower. Ethan was meeting her at the motel at ten, which should give her plenty of time to get ready and find a bakery where she could buy pastries and coffee for them.

I love this shower
, Emily thought a minute after she stepped under the showerhead as a full blast of water continued to drench her. Smiling to herself, she thought about making another wish to have a shower just like this wherever she lived, especially since the showers in her Queen’s apartment and the condo she was now living in in Manhattan had only lukewarm water and weak pressure, at least compared to this one. Of course, if she made a wish like that, Jack would probably blow a gasket for her wasting yet another wish so frivolously. Her smile grew more impish as she thought about how it would almost be worth making that wish just to see how exasperated Jack would get.

Emily usually kept her showers to ten minutes or less, but she ended up spending an extra twenty minutes in this one; partly so she could shave her legs, but more so she could linger and enjoy the luxury of it. Somewhat reluctantly she turned off the water, dried herself off with a towel and slipped on a complimentary white terry cloth bathrobe that must’ve been meant for people at least six feet tall since the bottom of it reached Emily’s ankles. She then blew her hair dry so it fell straight over her shoulders, and once she was satisfied with how it looked she stared in the mirror and tried to decide whether to apply the makeup that she had bought specially for this trip—a subtle pink lip gloss, blush and eyeliner. It was nothing extravagant or outrageous, but it was the first makeup she had ever bought, and it would be the first time she wore any since she was seven and had snuck into her mother’s cosmetics drawer. Her eyes narrowed as she stared hard at her reflection, and tried to make up her mind. Finally she decided against using the makeup. It just wasn’t her. If she and Ethan were meant to fall in love, then lip gloss and blush wouldn’t be necessary. And forget the eyeliner. She’d probably make a mess out of it anyway.

She had brought underwear, a worn pair of jeans that were near threadbare at the knees and a tee shirt with her into the bathroom, and she took off her robe and slipped on her clothing. Later, after she bought food and coffee and returned to the motel suite, she’d put on a more business-like skirt and blouse for her meeting with Ethan.

Her mother was still asleep, but Winston had woken up and was making little grunting noises as he lay on his side and stretched his legs. With a snort, he flipped over onto his feet and waddled to Emily, his tail wagging. Emily greeted him with a hug and some scratches under his jaw, which made his tail wag harder. She straightened up, moved over to the bed, and gently shook her mother’s shoulder until her eyes opened.

“Good morning, dear,” Alice Mignon said, her voice tinged with a smoker’s hoarseness. She coughed to clear her throat, then squinted badly against the morning light as she glanced at the clock. “Wow, it’s late,” she said, her voice sounding only slightly better. “It’s been years since I’ve slept as late as a quarter to nine. It must’ve been all the driving yesterday. Left me more worn out than I realized.”

Emily reached down to hug her mom and kiss her, then told her that Ethan would be arriving at the motel in an hour and fifteen minutes, and that she needed to be heading out before then.

“Don’t worry about me,” Alice Mignon said. “I’ve got a full day of sightseeing planned in Minneapolis. First a sculpture garden and then three museums. It may not be New York, but from what I’ve been reading, Minneapolis is a very cosmopolitan city. And safe, too.” She had emphasized the words
cosmopolitan
and
safe
for Emily’s benefit, probably as a not-so-subtle endorsement for Emily to consider moving to Eden Prairie, if not Des Moines. Alice Mignon brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and said, “Don’t worry, Emily, I won’t be in the way here. I promise.” She gave Emily a quick look up and down and smiled sweetly at her daughter. “Are you planning to meet this author dressed so, um, casually?”

“No Mom, I’m running out now to grab some food and coffee, but I’ll be dressed appropriately for when Mr. Blake arrives.” Emily had hesitated briefly before saying
Mr. Blake
. It sounded unnatural for her to be calling Ethan that, but she wanted to discourage her mother from thinking that this was anything other than business between her and Ethan. “I’ll pick you up something also.”

“That won’t be necessary, dear. Don’t trouble yourself, please.”

Emily made a face as if the idea of her not picking up food for her mother was an utterly ridiculous concept. She turned to leave. Winston had begun making small whimpering noises to let her know that his bladder was full and he badly needed to go outside. She had her hand on the door knob while at the same time Winston pressed his snout against it, when her mother called out asking what time she should return to the room so they could go out for dinner. Emily felt a twinge of guilt since she had been thinking up until that moment that she’d invite Ethan to dinner that night. Well, that would just have to wait until her mother headed back home, which would be in only three days. She turned back to her mother so she could smile at her, and making sure no hint of disappointment could be picked up from her voice, told her that five o’clock should work fine.

##

Emily needed twenty minutes to take Winston for a walk, another twenty-five to drive to a local bakery and pick up an assortment of pastries that included cinnamon buns, bear claws, apple tarts and slices of pound cake. She first bought three large coffees, figuring she’d get one for herself, her mom and Ethan, but then she thought Ethan might prefer a latte, so she added one, and then she started worrying that he might be sensitive to caffeine, so she also added a decaf large coffee. By the time she left the bakery, she was loaded down with several pounds of pastries and a cardboard box full of different types of coffees.

Since Winston had taken the trip with her, she put him in the back seat on the ride back to the motel so the pastries would be safe up front. While she drove she balanced the cardboard box full of coffees on her lap so they wouldn’t fall over and spill. Winston wasn’t happy about the arrangement, nor was she particularly thrilled about it, but she got back to the motel with the pastries and coffee intact, not quite sure how she had managed that.

When they got back to the motel, Emily led the way up the staircase that led to her suite while Winston plodded along behind her. Halfway up, Winston let loose with a half growl and half bark and took off running, his thick body nudging Emily’s legs as he raced up the stairs. Emily was surprised by this; first, she’d never seen him run that fast, second, she’d thought he’d want to stick close to the food, especially with the strong buttery aroma from the cinnamon buns. When she got to her room, Winston was standing guard outside the door, a low growl rumbling from him.

“What’s wrong, boy?” Emily asked.

Winston responded by making his growl louder, his head thrust forward.

The door opened then as Alice Mignon stepped out. Winston tried to bull his way past her, but Alice used her knees to keep Winston from entering the room while she closed the door behind her.

“Let me take that from you, Emily,” Alice Mignon said in a hushed whisper as she took the bag of pastries from where it had been perched on top of the coffees. She led Emily a few steps away from the door so she could tell her that her author had arrived early.

“He came ten minutes ago,” Alice Mignon said. “I think he’s the quiet, shy type. Nervous also. But better looking than he is in that photo. And seems nicer also. Who knows? Possibly even husband material.”

Emily was about to protest that last comment when her mom cut her off. “I know, I know,” Alice Mignon said. “He’s only an author, and you’re his editor, and the two of you need to work together, but you never know about these things. Let me help you get all this in there, then I’ll take off. And don’t worry, dear, you look very pretty in what you’re wearing.”

It was nine-thirty-five. Emily had given herself plenty of time to get back to change. She hadn’t counted on Ethan arriving this early. She imagined how she looked in her grungier, hanging around clothes, and shuddered. It wasn’t the impression she wanted to make, but she decided it didn’t matter. Maybe her being dressed this casually would put Ethan more at ease. Anyway, it wasn’t as if she was going in there naked. At least she had put a bra on earlier.

Winston had his snout up against the door, still growling like a low running motor. This concerned Emily. The only time she’d seen him growl before was with Mitch, but that was a far more vicious growl. This growling was more perfunctory.

“Behave,” she told him.

Winston cocked his thick, round head at her and gave her a confused look, but also stopped his growling.

“If he was one of those little yappy dogs, I’d pick him up,” Alice Mignon said. “But I’m afraid I’d break my back trying that with him. Do you want me to take him today?”

“He’ll behave himself,” Emily said with a certainty she didn’t fully believe. She didn’t want to burden her mother with Winston and keep her from going to the museums and other places that she had planned. She gave the Bulldog an especially stern look. “Won’t you, Winston?” she demanded.

The dog let out a half-snort and half-grunt by way of acknowledgment. Emily had taken his leash off earlier, but now she rested the cardboard box holding the coffees on a thick hand railing so she could take the leash from her jacket pocket and slip it back on Winston, who gave her an annoyed look as she did so.

“I’d better take that, dear.”

Emily gladly handed the leash to her mom. The way Winston’s shoulders were hunched, he was going to be dragging whoever held the leash into the suite, and it would be mortifying if he did that with Emily on the other end of it and she ended up spilling the coffees because of it. In her mind’s eye that scenario played out with her tripping and the coffees spilling all over Ethan.

“Keep a tight hold on him,” Emily said as she picked up the box of coffees and went back to the door to unlock it. The moment she opened the door, Winston charged through it, huffing and puffing as he pulled Alice Mignon into the room. Emily followed after them, pleading with Winston to stop.

Chapter 13

It ended up being quite a commotion with Emily and her mother frantically pleading for Winston to stop, all the while the dog emitting loud wheezing and huffing noises as he strained furiously on his leash and succeeded in dragging Alice Mignon into the suite. Winston continued to bull his way forward, only stopping when he got within a foot of Ethan Blake. Then he stood frozen in his tracks and gave the writer a cockeyed, wary stare. Ethan peered coldly at the dog, returning the same look. Emily put the coffees down so she could rush over and scold Winston.

“Is he safe?” Ethan asked, his voice showing his concern.

He’d better be, Emily thought
. But she didn’t say that. Instead she stumbled out something about Winston being good-tempered and never acting out like this before. It was mostly the truth, but not quite. There was that one time with Mitch where Winston wanted to take a bite out of that creep. Emily felt her cheeks reddening as she rambled on about how unusual this was for Winston. It was not the first impression she wanted to make.