Page 34 of Throw Away the Key
“I don’t think so. Just talk to her.”
Emma nodded. “Thanks, Joy. You know, Granny and I were talking about your art installation and we want to bring Zora and Reid to come and see it.”
“Yes, I'd love that! Shoot me a text and let me know when–I’d love to be there when y’all come through.”
“Will do, I still have your card.”
“Perfect. Well,” she reached over the counter to pull Emma into a hug. “Take care, and I'm sure I'll see you soon.”
“Sounds good. Probably at the farmer's market,” Emma smiled.
“Right,” Joy grinned.
Emma waved as Joy exited the store, her shoulders drooping as time passed.
Later that night, as she arrived back home from having drinks with Zora and Reid and Granny, she knocked at Sadie's door, but there was no sound and no answer. She could hear the faint sounds of Billie Holiday and assumed that Sadie had eitherfallen asleep or simply wasn’t ready to talk, so she climbed her steps to her apartment,
wondering whether she and Sadie had made a mistake.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Em. Earth to Emma,” Zora waved her hand in front of Emma's face.
“Huh? Oh, sorry,” Emma had been staring out the window at nothing in particular, her mind wandering, rolling through mental footage of the night before and what could have happened.
“Are you okay?” Zora leaned back against the counter to regard her friend, who had been stationary for the past hour.
“Yeah,” Emma sighed. “I'm fine.”
“You didn't get to talk to her last night?”
Emma shook her head. “No, if she was home, she didn't answer the door when I knocked. I can’t help but think that it had to do with us.”
“It’s not unreasonable to have thoughts like that. I mean, this was supposed to be your first date, right? Time will tell. It's possible that she wasn't home and that's why she didn't answer.”
Emma opened her mouth, but Zora continued.
“And yes, before you say anything, she could have called you. She could have given you an explanation, and you deserve one. But, she's human. She may be going through something that you know nothing about.”
Now why did she have to go and be all logical?“No, I know you're right,” Emma tried not to whine, though she was tempted to throw a full-on tantrum. “I keep running everything over in my head, thinking maybe I pressed and shouldn't have, that I didn’t recognize a boundary.”
“You're not really one to overstep though,” Zora said softly. “Like, you, are you extra in some ways? Yeah. Are you a bundle of energy and light? Yeah. But no, you're not someone who sees a boundary and decides to play at its edges. You give people their space.”
Granny sidled up next to Emma, nudging her with her hip as she patted her on the back, her warmth radiating from her tiny frame. “It's not a bad thing to wear your heart on your sleeve, you know.”
Emma huffed. “Yeah, but I feel like I did the thing we all know you’re not supposed to do–I put all my eggs in one basket. I choose to give up dating around and literally the first woman I see, I throw myself at her.”
“Now, come on, you've got to give yourself some credit. You didn't throw yourself at her. You didn't even think she liked you in the beginning.”
Emma cracked a smile. “I’m still not completely sold that she likes me at this point. But it does seem like something is there–was there.”
“I think we would all say that, to be honest,” Granny nodded. “Don't fight your emotions. They're valid. But also, don't run through that long list of what-ifs, because there is no honest explanation until she tells you what's on her mind. So just give her that opportunity when she's ready. She's gonna have to see you either way–she can’t avoid you forever when you live at the top of the stairs.”
I’m tempted to just sit outside her door and wait until she gives me an explanation. Might be extra, but I bet it would be effective.“You're right.”
“Excuse me, is there an Emma Sparrow here?” A man stood just inside the door of the bookstore in a black polo and slacks.
“Hi, that's me.” Emma eyed him nervously.Did I forget to pay a credit card or something?
