Chapter Six
It's short I know, but at least it's an update, right?
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please?" Antonia had her hands clasped together and her lower lip stuck out.
"I don't think so Antonia, you can't just spring plans like this on people, you have to give advanced warning."
"I just want her to come watch a movie with us," Antonia pouts. "Call her mom and ask."
"Antonia..."
"Daddy please, she's my friend?" Antonia pouts one last time, knowing that she'd talked her father into inviting Emily and her mother to watch Monsters Inc.
"They're out," Ephram comments as the credits begin to roll for the movie Antonia and Emily had insisted they could stay awake for.
Amy nods, "I figured they would be."
"You want something to drink before you take off?" Ephram asks. "I thought maybe we could talk about this whole dance studio thing."
Amy nods, "sure, tha'd be great."
"Tea?" Ephram asks once they've moved into the kitchen.
Amy nods, "sure."
"Listen Amy," Ephram talks while he works. "If you're going to be uncomfortable working together I could do something else, tutor kids here at the house."
Amy sighs softly, "I want us to be friends Ephram."
Ephram's eyes connect with Amy's and both stand unmoving for several seconds, before Ephram asks, "can we do that? I mean we don't exactly have the best track record with our friendship ."
"I know," Amy nods, "thinks always seemed to get complicated. But we can be friends, and I think right now we both need some friends. And what better ones than someone who knows exactly who are you."
Ephram shakes his head slowly, "not exactly. We've both changed Amy and we both have secrets. I see it when I look at you."
Amy bites her lip to attempt to force away tears, "I want to tell you Ephram, I do, really...it's just I can't right now. I just, I dunno...whenever things got back when I was a teenager you were there to help me pick up the pieces. I dunno, maybe deep down that's how I ended up in Everwood, even if I had no idea you would be here."
Ephram nods, "maybe I could use a friend. But you have to promise not to fall in love with me this time."
Amy sighs, "that definitely won't be a problem., I am so not looking for love ever, ever again."
"Amen to that,"with his words Ephram hands Amy her glass of tea.
"So then we're going to do this thing at the studio?" Amy questions.
Ephram shrugs, "it sounds like it could be cool. Completely different crowd from the symphony but I know the girls would love to take dance, and that's what it's all about, right?"
Amy smiles and nods slightly, "Emily's my entire world now, that's definitely what it's all about. So you said the symphony, is that what you've been doing?"
Ephram nods, "yeah, for about five years now."
"Did you like it?"
Ephram nods, "yeah I loved it."
"Was it everything you thought it would be?"
Ephram nods, "for awhile. And then suddenly I felt like how my dad must have felt when he realized that he really was never around when we grew up. I had to quit, Antonia and Alyssa are still young enough to be relatively unscarred by my not being around...now we just have to get over the hurdle of them adjusting to living without their mother."
"You guys..." Amy trails off, not wanting to push Ephram into talking about anything he would prefer not to.
"We're separated, permanently."
When Amy get's home Emily is still completely passed out in her arms, "here, I'll take her." Harold offers when Amy walks in the door with her.
Amy shakes her head, "I've got her, but if you could get my bedroom door that would be great."
Once Harold has pushed the bedroom door open he offers, "your mom and I were going to have same cake, would you like some?"
Amy nods, "sure, when I get her down, I come."
With one hand Amy shoves her purse off of the bed, making a louder thump than she would have cared, but Emily was out for the count and the noise doesn't bother her in the slightest. Once she is settled in bed Amy crouches down to pick up the contents of her dumped purse, her hand settling on the sleek silver cell phone that had tumbled out from the bottom. She'd completely forgotten about it, it had died the night she had gotten here and she hadn't given it another though, the only person who would ever call her on it would be Marcus.
Amy let's out a long slow sigh, Marcus. For the first time since she'd arrived in Everwood almost a week ago she thought about Marcus. Her immediate thought was what he had to have thought when he came home from work to find his wife and daughter gone, as well as most of their things. Then her mind plays the sequence of events that must have occurred after that, he would have called his parents to see if they were staying over there for the night. And then he would be at a loss because Amy had no other friends she would go to. He was probably panicked and Amy couldn't help but feel guilty, because when it came down to it Marcus did honestly love her and Emily, they were his world and Amy had left with a short note that said she was leaving him.
With a shaky breath and hand Amy picks up the phone and grabs the charger and heads to the bathroom, she had to call him and tell him that they were okay. After plugging it in Amy stares in the mirror, giving the phone time to charge, as a internal battle immediately begins. Part of her, the self-preservationist, told her not to pick up that phone and call, it told her to smash it to pieces on the tile floor. The other part told her that she had to at least call and tell him that she was okay, she had just walked away with his daughter, and in the end that's the part that won out.
Turning on the phone Amy stares as her phone flashes at her that she had missed 25 calls and had 10 voice mails. Taking a deep breath Amy hits the speed dial and holds the phone up to her ear.
The phone rings exactly one time before it's answered by Marcus, "Amy, thank God." Suddenly Amy is unable to speak and Marcus urges in a gently voice, "Amy, baby, talk to me." Another pause and Marcus asks, "Amy are you there?"
Taking a deep breath Amy responds, "yeah, I'm here."