Page 29 of Save the Date

“Emma’s telling the truth. We were walking to my car from the restaurant and the next thing I knew she was on the ground screaming.”

“That must have been terrifying,” Debbie said as she perched on the table next to Emma and stroked her hair.

“I almost had a heart attack. But Emma was a hero. She whacked her kneecap right back into place.”

“Emma, you’re not supposed to do that! You should wait for a doctor if you dislocate.”

“How was I supposed to know that? It’d never happened before,” Emma argued before realizing she didn’t want to revert to a petulant teenager in front of her potential future husband.She wanted to wait at least another month or two before he saw that side of her. “I didn’t even think about what I was doing.”

“It was pure instinct,” Will added for her benefit.

Emma’s cheeks felt warm at the thought of their charged moment in the car.

“Where is the doctor?” Alan demanded.

“I don’t know. They put us in here over twenty minutes ago.”

“I’m going to go talk to someone.”

“Dad, you can’t—”

But he had already stormed off. Alan always preferred to take action over ruminating in his feelings. Between him and her overly private mother, Emma wasn’t sure how she had ended up being so open with her emotions. She probably had her anxiety disorder to thank for being so comfortable crying in public.

“Just let him go. You know what he’s like.” Debbie sighed. “Will, I’m sure you’re exhausted. We’re happy to take it from here if you want to get home.”

“Oh,” Will said with an adorable touch of surprise.

Emma and Will exchanged glances, but they were too early in whatever was happening between them to know what the other person was trying to convey. Emma hoped her eyes said,You can totally go if you want but I’d much prefer you to stay.

“I guess I should probably get out of your hair,” Will said politely as he walked over to Emma. Debbie did a pretty good job of pretending to give them privacy by turning to read a sign on the wall about the Heimlich maneuver. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Yes, please. Sorry about…” Emma gestured to the lower half of her body.

“Never apologize about that,” he whispered in her ear before giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Emma fought off a full-body shiver so as not to embarrass herself.

“Great to meet you, Debbie.”

“You too. Maybe we can take you out to dinner soon as a thank-you for all your help?”

“I’d love that. Assuming Alan doesn’t get arrested for assaulting a doctor.”

Both women giggled like schoolgirls as Will waved and walked away. As soon as enough time had passed for them not to be overheard, Debbie squeezed Emma’s hand and declared, “Lock him down.”

Emma was certainly going to try.

Thirteen

“IT ISN’T FAIR EVERYONE GOT TO MEET HIM EXCEPT ME,” Jackie complained as she set up the ring light. Since their last recording, Jackie had also invested in new second-living-room wallpaper that went better with Emma’s “ghostlike” skin tone. Emma probably should have been offended by the description but she knew the redesign was an act of love.

“It’s not like I planned to dislocate my knee to orchestrate the meeting. I didn’t even invite Mom and Dad to the urgent care. They just showed up.”

This was technically true, but Emma knew as soon as she told them where she was headed they were going to come. They were “those parents” and based on all the other types she’d heard about over the years, Emma’s gratitude outweighed her occasional annoyance.

“Mom is obsessed with him by the way. She keeps mentioning his striking blue eyes and asking me where to take him to dinner.”

Emma smiled as she imagined the four of them at a nice restaurant together. No more tables for three and an empty chair to remind Emma she might be unlovable.

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