James, listen, Ive got to tell you about the whole mess with Emily. She walked into the coffee shop, sat across from me at a tiny table, and started stirring the cold coffee in that little white mug. She didnt even touch the icecream sundae in front of her the one with those colourful sprinkles, a little leaf of mint on top and a cherry, all drizzled in chocolate. Any sixyearold would have dived right in, but Emily wasnt having any of it. Shed already decided, last Friday, that she needed a serious chat with me.
I kept quiet for ages, then finally said, So what are we going to do, love? Stop seeing each other altogether? How am I supposed to go on then?
Emily wrinkled that cute nose the one she got from Mom, a little potatoshaped sort of thing and thought for a moment before answering: No, Dad. I cant live without you either. Lets make a deal. Call Mum and tell her youll pick me up from nursery every Friday. Then we can go for a coffee or an icecream together, whenever you feel like it. Ill tell you everything about how Mum and I get on. She paused, then added, And if you ever want to check on Mum, Ill record her on my phone each week and send you the videos. Sound good?
I gave her a small smile, nodded and said, Alright, thats the plan. She let out a sigh of relief, then went back to her sundae. But she wasnt done. As the coloured sprinkles formed a little moustache on her lip, she licked it off, sat up straight and sounded almost grownup. Shed even drawn a big 28 on a card at nursery for my birthday last week.
Her face went serious again, eyebrows knitting, and she said, I think you should get married. She added a generous lie, Youre not that old yet, are you? I chuckled, Youre right about that.
Emily kept going, Not that old, really! Look, Uncle Robert, whos visited Mum a couple of times, is even a bit balding She tapped the top of her head, smoothing her soft curls. Then she froze when I stared right at her, eyes sharp, as if shed just let Mums secret slip. She pressed both hands to her mouth, widened her eyes in feigned horror, and asked, Uncle Robert? Whos that? Mums boss? I raised my voice a bit, Whos this Uncle Robert that keeps popping round?
She stammered, I dont know, Dad maybe hes a manager. He brings us sweets, a cake and sometimes, well, Mum gets flowers.
I folded my hands on the table, stared at them for a long minute, and Emily could feel that I was about to make a big decision. She knew, or at least guessed, that men can be a bit slow on the uptake and need a nudge preferably from the woman they love most.
After a long, heavy silence I finally let out a sigh, unclenched my fingers, lifted my head and said, Right, lets go, love. Its getting late, Ill take you home and have a word with Mum. Emily didnt ask what that word would be, but she knew it was important, so she shoved the last bite of sundae into her mouth, then, as if the icecream were the worlds biggest thing, flung her spoon onto the table, slid off the chair, wiped her sticky lips with the back of her hand, and looked straight at me. Im ready. Lets go, she said.
We didnt stroll home; we practically ran. I held her hand tightly, almost like a banner in a charge, and we burst into the lift lobby. The elevator doors creaked shut, taking some neighbour up a floor. I glanced at Emily, a little bewildered, and she, looking up from the floor, asked, What now? Who are we waiting for? Were only on the seventh floor. I scooped her up and bolted up the stairs.
When Mom finally flung the front door open, I jumped straight into it, You cant do that! Whos this Robert? I love you, and we have Emily I wrapped Mum in a hug, kept Emily in my arms, and Emily squeezed both of us around the neck, closing her eyes because, well, the grownups were getting a bit romantic.
