AN: Whoa, I said I was going to have it up, and I actually did it! hahaha! Yay! Only a few minutes passed midnight over here...anyway, I hope this one turned out okay. I'm not sure if I got the characters quite right. Sorry no Puckleberry in this one! Gotta give Will/Emma a little lovin'! :o) Please R&R!
Nine Snow Globes
Emma Pillsbury loved snow globes. Her father bought her the first one the day she graduated from college. Since she graduated in December, the globe was actually a Christmas themed one. It was the partridge in a pear tree from "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Every Christmas, he added a snow globe to her set.
Her father died last year, so the last one he gave her—nine ladies dancing—was her favorite. She had bought herself the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth globes on her own, but the nine ladies held a special place in her heart.
It was cleaning day at Emma's house. Well, every day was cleaning day, but today was her extra cleaning day. Her mother was coming into town for Christmas. She spent the day vacuuming, disinfecting, and doing laundry. She was dusting when Ken called her.
"Oh, hello, Ken," she said, void of emotion.
"Hey, Emma, what are you doing for Christmas?" Ken asked gruffly.
"My mother is coming into town," Emma said. "What are you doing?"
"Hoping to see my best girl," Ken said aloofly.
Emma grimaced, secretly glad he couldn't see her face. She felt so bad for leading Ken on; he was a sweet man, a good man. But she was settling. The man who truly held her heart was a married man. Notice she didn't say happily married man; though, even if Will and Terri did have their problems, it was not her place to judge…or hope, for that matter.
"Well, that's very sweet of you, Ken, but I'm going to be tied up for most of the break with Mom. I hope you understand," she broke it to him gently.
"Not a problem, Em. I understand," Ken rushed to say. "I'll see you at school."
"See you," Emma said.
"I love you, Em," Ken said softly
It was so quiet that Emma barely heard it. But, she did. And she resisted the urge to sigh. She hated that he had these feelings for her.
"Thank you, Ken. Goodbye," she said swiftly, hanging up the phone.
The only problem was that as she hung up the phone, she was so startled that she dropped the snow globe she had been dusting: her nine ladies globe.
Emma didn't have time to cry. She just hurriedly picked up the bits of glass and sopped up the water. Once her floor was mopped and swept, and the bigger pieces put away, Emma then allowed herself to cry.
She didn't like to cry; the salty tears made her feel dirty. But she couldn't help it. Her father's last gift was broken, and she didn't know what to do. Emma curled up on her couch and cried herself to sleep.
The next day at school Emma was decidedly down. Will noticed her sad eyes and questioned her at lunch. They were sitting in the lounge along with Ken and Mrs. Sampson, the science teacher.
"Emma, are you okay?" Will asked tenderly.
"Well, I'm just a little upset. I dropped a very special gift while cleaning, and it broke," Emma admitted solemnly.
"Oh, dear, what was it?" Mrs. Sampson asked.
"A snow globe from my father," Emma replied. "It was the last one he gave me before he died."
"Emma, I'm sorry," Will said quietly.
Will's heart squeezed for Emma. She looked like a lost little girl when she spoke of her father. They had only spoken of him a few times, but Will knew Emma thought very highly of her father. Just like most girls and their fathers, Emma's father was her hero.
Emma smiled at Will, thankful for his sympathy. "Thank you, Will," she said sweetly.
Ken saw the look that passed between Will and Emma. He grumbled something about football practice and abruptly left. Emma looked down ashamedly.
"Which globe was it, Em?" Will's question brought her back to the moment.
"Nine ladies dancing," she whispered.
Will nodded thoughtfully. He wished there was something he could do to comfort Emma. She was his best friend. Sure, he sometimes fought a slight attraction to her, but at the end of the day, she knew him best than most anyone. She gave him advice when he didn't want to hear it, but she was always kind and understanding and generous to a fault. He needed to do something for her. He excused himself from the table, and Emma watched him go with her heart in her eyes.
After school, Emma traveled to the little mom and pop shop that carried unique snow globes. Maybe she could find a replacement. She wandered the aisle of trinkets and trifles. Suddenly, she saw it: the shelf with the days of Christmas globes. She scanned each one, but sadly couldn't find the one she wanted. She asked the elderly woman at the counter if they had any more.
"No, honey, someone bought our nine ladies today," she said gently.
Emma could've kicked herself for not getting there soon. Maybe she could've made it in time to buy it. Oh well, no use crying over unbought snow globes.
Emma made her way back her home and found Ken waiting for her.
"Oh! Ken! What are you doing here?" Emma asked, clearly surprised.
"I got you an early Christmas present," Ken mumbled, shoving a small box into her hands.
Emma opened the box and saw the top of a snow globe. Her breath caught in her throat. She lifted the globe out of the box, and her heart dropped. It was beautiful, with a seashore and lighthouse. But it wasn't the one she wanted. Story of my life, she thought, uncharacteristically bitter.
"It's very lovely, Ken. Thank you so much," Emma thanked him.
"I've got to go. I just wanted to give this to you since you were so upset early," Ken said, shuffling on his feet.
He leaned over to try to kiss her, but Emma stiffened. He kissed her cheek anyway, trying his best to brush off his hurt. She thanked him once more, and Ken got in his car and drove off.
Emma was baking cookies when she heard a knock at her door. Putting the cookie sheet in the oven, she ran to answer the door. She was thinking it'd probably be Ken again so she was surprised to see Will on her doorstep.
"Will! What are you doing here?" she asked, shocked.
"Hey, Emma," Will started. "I felt really bad at lunch today. I know how much your dad meant to you."
"I appreciate that, Will," she said, still a little confused.
"I was planning on giving you this tomorrow, but I didn't want to give Ken or anyone the wrong impression, so…" he trailed off.
"So, you thought coming to my house would give people a better impression?" Emma giggled.
Will's head shot up, and he caught her eyes dancing. She was actually teasing him. This woman would never cease to amaze him.
"You know what I mean," he said chuckling.
"Yeah, I do," she replied softly.
"Anyway, I got you this. I hope you like it," Will said, handing her a small gift much like the one Ken gave her.
Emma held her breath as she opened the box. That's when she saw it: the nine ladies snow globe. Emma had all she could do not to throw her arms around Will's neck. It warmed her heart so much to know that he cared enough about her, friend or whatever, that he would find a gift so dear to her.
"Will," she breathed, "it's perfect. Thank you so much."
Will simply smiled at the look on Emma's face. He appreciated Emma more than he could ever say. If getting this small gift for her could show her just of fraction of that respect, then he'd gladly do it again and again.
Emma thanked Will once more, and after they hugged, he too got in his car and left.
Emma smiled as she set her gift from Will next to the globes from her father and Ken. She loved the one she had received from Ken; it was very sweet of him. But she couldn't help that the eight original globes from her father and the new one from Will were the nine snow globes especially close to her heart.
AN2: I hope you like this one. I didn't mean for it to sound like Emma didn't appreciate her gift from Ken; it's just that the Christmas ones from her father meant so much to her, and Will completed the set. Ken's was sweet in itself too though. So, please understand why I did it that way! Hope that makes sense! lol Remember, R&R = Love :o)
