Sarah was thoughtful. “No. As long as it’s not life threatening or morally threatening, I can handle not knowing every little detail of her life the second it comes off the presses. I want her to know that she can trust you.”
“Well, it’s neither of those two things, rest assured. Now, when do I get to meet your dad?”
And here we go. “How about now? Come on. He’s on grill duty, his favorite pastime in all of life. He’s going to love you, by the way.” Sarah knew this was a big introduction. Her father was the most important man in her life, and she needed for him to see how wonderful Emory was.
There was a spring in her step that took a shuddering leave of absence the moment she took in the scene ahead. Carmen and Roman stood next to the grill laughing. Alongside them, complete with her smiling father’s arm on his shoulder, stood James. Sarah froze, and her mind scrambled to piece together the probable series of events.
“Surprise,” her mother whispered in her ear from behind. Sarah’s fears were confirmed. Unable to form a complete sentence, she felt herself ushered by her mother over to the group, Emory lagging somewhere behind.
“Hey there, beautiful,” James leaned in and kissed her cheek.
She was still in somewhat of a state of shock and answered evenly. “Hi.”
“I hope you don’t mind me popping in on you. Your father invited me when I stopped by the job site earlier this week.”
“I told him to!” Her mother grinned like the cat that swallowed the canary. “I knew you’d be thrilled to see James, and this gives him a chance to meet the rest of the family.”
James wrapped his arm around her mother’s shoulders. “Well, then it’s you I have to thank, Mrs. Matamoros.”
“Call me, Yolanda,” her mother answered dreamily.
Sarah couldn’t believe this was happening, but was determined to keep a cool head. “You’re always welcome, James. It’s nice to see you.” She looked to Carmen, whose eyes widened as if to say “I had no Godforsaken idea this was going to happen. Please don’t kill me.” She offered a tiny helpless shrug to punctuate.
Deciding to stay the course, Sarah pressed forward. “Papa, I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is my friend, Emory Owen. Emory’s the CEO of her own company and went to Stanford.” A few bonus points couldn’t hurt, right?
Roberto Matamoros turned to Emory and extended his hand warmly. “Are you the artist Graciela was telling me about?”
Emory smiled and took his hand. “I suppose so, though I don’t actually paint anymore.”
“My granddaughter thinks the world of you. Welcome to our home.” He patted her hand and bowed his head. But his attention shifted back to James and Roman, the men clearly taking precedent with him in this moment. “So, James, do you have any other big projects lined up?”
“Several actually. It’s hard to juggle them all, but if I want to make partner someday, I have to burn the midnight oil.”
“The corporate world can be cutthroat, that’s for sure,” Emory interjected.
“I do okay.” James turned to her.
“I’m sure you do.”
James eyed Emory and Emory eyed James until finally Sarah couldn’t take it anymore. Clearly picking up on the tension, Carmen swooped in and saved the day. “Emory, we haven’t met yet. I’m Carmen, Sarah’s best friend and, might I add, closest confidant,” she said, emphasizing the words. “She tells me everything. I’m thrilled to finally meet you.”
Emory beamed. “Thank you. I’ve been anxious to meet you too. Sarah tells me that you two have quite a history.”
“You can’t even imagine.”
“Sarah,” her mother interrupted. “Why don’t you introduce James to your brothers, and maybe later he can meet Grace.” She shot her a not so subtle wink, which Sarah refused to return. Sarah looked apologetically at Emory, who stared back at her blankly. Feeling caught and unsure how to proceed, she begrudgingly gave in to the pressure.
“Sure. Follow me, James.” She walked James across the yard, and when they were out of earshot, tugged on his sleeve bringing them to a halt. Yes, they were in the middle of the yard, and yes, people were watching them, Emory included, but she had to figure out this situation and quick. “James, I just need to be clear. I’m seeing someone else. I thought you understood that.”
“I do and I respect it entirely, but it doesn’t mean I’ve completely given up on you forever. We’re still friends, right?”
Sarah softened. “Yes, but that’s all it can be. I just want to be sure we’re on the same page.”
“We are, beautiful.”
She closed her eyes momentarily in frustration. “See, right there, that’s what I’m talking about.”
“The fact that I called you beautiful?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. If it makes you uncomfortable, it will never happen again.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Unless you want it to.”
“James.”
Over the next ten minutes, she introduced him to all the same people she’d introduced Emory to. There seemed to be a markedly different reaction to James. At the mention of his name, her friends and loved ones lit up, a sign that they’d been prepped by her mother well in advance about who he was and his potential place in Sarah’s life. In response, he was universally given the careful attention she’d hoped they’d show Emory. It was disheartening and entirely counterproductive to what she’d hoped to accomplish that day.
Leaving James to continue his in-depth discussion on drafting techniques with Robert, Sarah located Emory across the yard, who much to her horror was standing with her mother and cousin Martin, the creepy funeral director. Realizing that her mother was already in matchmaker mode and a rescue mission was now necessary, she wasted no time. Sliding up next to Emory, she briefly squeezed her hand. She needed to explain things, and now was as good a time as any. “Can I borrow you for a sec?”
Emory turned to her with immense amounts of gratitude in her eyes. “Sure. Excuse me, Martin. Maybe we can finish the uh, embalming story later.”
Sarah led Emory back into the house and down the short hallway. “Where are we going?” Emory asked.
“Shhh.” She quickly pulled Emory into the small hallway bathroom, closed the door, and locked it. As she turned around, Emory offered a plastic smile and it didn’t escape Sarah that she stood about as far away as the tiny bathroom would allow.
“Let me explain.”
“There’s no need. I know you didn’t invite him.”
Sarah closed the distance between them and tucked a strand of hair behind Emory’s ear. “All the same, I’m sorry.”
“I know.” But Emory didn’t seem convinced.
“It bothers you. I can tell.”
Emory stared past Sarah at a stack of decorative hand towels. “It’s just been a while since I’ve had to hide who I was. I don’t like how it feels. Your parents are very excited about the prospect of you and James, and I get to watch that play out. It’s…less than fun.”
“I know, trust me, I know. I guess I just wanted to finesse this for them a little bit. Parcel out information slowly. I know my family, and it will be better if I can ease them into the idea of you and me.” She let her hands drop from Emory’s shoulders where they’d rested. “I’m sorry. I feel like I’m screwing this whole thing up.”
Emory tilted her head and met Sarah’s eyes. It was clear she was softening. “Sarah, look at me.”
She did.
“So it’s not the easiest of days. Let’s just try and get through it. The fact that James is here just caught me off guard and complicated an already touchy situation for me. But I’d rather not focus on that. I’d rather focus on you, which is all I tend to do lately anyway.”