Page 42 of Switching Places

He laughed and tossed the phone on the bedside table. How much had been put on and how much genuine?

It didn’t matter. She knew how to push his hot buttons. Would she open the door if he stormed over right now? Or would she play coy a bit longer? He’d wait. Saturday was only two days away. Anticipation would make their coming together all the sweeter.

Chapter Thirteen

Emma stayed well away from the bedroom window the next morning while she dressed, then went to look over at Logan’s house. No lights shone, but the bright sun would make lights unnecessary. He’d gone to work.

After a light breakfast, she searched near the phone and found Lily’s address book. She looked through it to see if she could find the name of the tennis club. Maybe she could go and find someone to play with. No doubt Lily had some regular friends, but Emma didn’t begin to know who to call. If she could just drop by the club, chances were that she’d find a pickup game.

She reached for the phone when it rang.

“Hi, honey.” Her mother’s cheerful voice came across.

“Mom, is something wrong?”

“No. Can’t a mother call to say hi? I’m missing you, darling.”

Emma usually spoke to her mother almost every day, if only for a few minutes. It was more habit than a real need, but maybe that was only on her part. Her mother might feel differently.

“I’m glad you called. I broke it off with David,” Emma said. “You and Gerald should probably know in case you run into him.”

“Oh, honey, David’s so nice and steady.”

Emma grimaced. “Too much. I want a bit of excitement in life.”

The silence on the other end was telling.

“Not as much as Lily. But more than what I have,” she said to fill the dead air.

“It’s natural, I guess. For the young.”

“Mom, how did you and Dad meet? You two come from such different backgrounds, I’m only now realizing how far apart you were.”

“I visited my aunt Marilyn in New York. Your father was an actor starting out in some off-Broadway production. We met, fell madly in love and that was that.”

“Did you enjoy the excitement?” Emma asked slowly.

“At first. It was so different from Lynchburg. But once you girls were born, I wanted more of what I knew as a child, stability, roots, family ties. Your father never wanted that. He was, and still is I suppose, quite content to play all the time. Excitement was like an elixir for him.”

“So after the divorce you went home to Lynchburg.”

“We went to Lynchburg. A few months later I met Gerald and fell in love all over again.” Her voice softened. Emma never doubted the love between her mother and her stepfather, it was evident whenever they were together or spoke of each other.

“But Charlottesville is a bit—”

She couldn’t call it dull. It had been her home for years.

“A bit quiet if you are comparing it with L.A. Yes. And maybe you need to fly a bit before settling down.”

“I’m having a wonderful time. Yesterday I drove Lily’s car. The boys would die to have a ride in it—a candy-apple-red Mustang convertible.”

“Don’t tell them or they’ll bug us to death to visit Lily. Have her come here, she could drive the car.”

Emma laughed.

“I think she moves a bit faster than driving a car from California to Virginia. But I’ll tell her.”

“And the neighbor? Have you seen more of him?”

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