Chapter Five

So Mark and Emily continued to meet at the little coffee shop, every afternoon, while Emily was on break. They talked for about an hour each time...about life, family, work, New York. Mark tried his best to avoid any mention of his friends, but they were so much a part of his life that it was hard not to.

"...and so after that I took the blue dye out of my hair and I have remained a blonde ever since,"Emily just finished telling Mark the story of when she had dyed her hair blue in high school. Mark laughed.

"Now you're one person that I could never picture with blue hair,"he said.

"Oh, my life has been pretty strange all right,"Emily assured him.

"Not as strange as mine, I bet,"Mark replied.

"Really? Have you ever dyed your hair blue?"Emily asked.

"No...but I have been dumped by a lesbian,"Mark joked. Then he stopped. He hadn't even thought before he said that. He had no idea how Emily felt about that kind of stuff...

Lucky for Mark, she laughed.

"Okay, you win!"she said. Mark smiled, laughing more out of relief than happiness. "Was this one of your many mysterious friends that you have successfully managed to avoid talking about these past three weeks?"Mark blushed a little.

"I haven't been avoiding it..."he muttered.

"Yes you have! Trust me, I can tell. You told me these guys are like your family...there's no way you could talk about them this little unless you were trying to avoid it,"Emily explained. Mark sighed.

"I...I just don't know how you'd...well they're kind of...they don't..."He took a deep breath. "There are lots of things about my friends that most people aren't as open to as I am." Emily looked at him curiously.

"I like to think of myself as pretty open-minded. Try me,"she offered. Mark hesitated...

"It...it's complicated, Emily. Very complicated. I don't...I don't want to make you uncomfortable,"he said.

"Mark, I'm not going to stop being friends with you because of the people you hang out with! Besides, it takes a lot to freak me out,"Emily assured him.

"Yeah, well, this just might do the trick,"Mark sighed. Emily let out a deep breath.

"Okay. I'm not going to pressure you any more. Obviously this makes you uncomfortable and I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me,"she decided.

"Thanks Emily. I appreciate that,"Mark said. Emily shrugged.

"We all have our secrets,"she said. Mark nodded. Then a question came up that he had been meaning to ask Emily for a while...

"Hey Emily, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Does your husband mind that you meet me here every week?"Mark asked. Emily nearly squirted coffee out her nose. She coughed a little, placing her cup down, and looking up at Mark.

"I'm, uh, not married,"she replied.

"Oh! Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed like that...does your boyfriend mind?"Mark re-worded.

"No boyfriend,"Emily said.

"Fiancee?"Mark guessed. Emily shook her head.

"There's...no male in the picture,"she admitted. Mark paused.

"...is there a female?"he asked. Emily laughed.

"No! Nothing like that,"she assured him.

"Okay, just checking,"Mark said.

"I'm a single mom-to-be,"Emily explained.

"That must be rough,"Mark commented. Emily shrugged.

"I'm getting on with life,"she said. "I've been trying to live life the way you do, Mark. Appreciate things, look on the bright side...and it's helping."Mark grinned.

"Well, glad I could help someone,"he said. "Does your, er...ex live around here?"Emily shook her head.

"No...no, he lives back in England. I moved here a few months ago. He left me when he learned about the baby, so I moved back here where most of my family lives so they could help me out a bit,"Emily explained.

"Oh, I bet they've been great,"Mark said.

"Actually...I haven't exactly found them to let them know yet. I guess I'm kind of avoiding it. I'm...I'm pretty scared to tell them. I'm afraid of their reactions, what they'll say, what they'll think of me..."Emily confessed.

"Emily, they won't turn you away, if that's what you mean,"Mark insisted.

"What if they do?"Emily asked. Mark sighed. He couldn't speak for her parents, he had no idea what they were like...

"Well...no matter what, this isn't something you can hide from them. But, if things don't work out too well...I'll be here for you,"Mark assured her. Emily smiled.

"Thanks Mark. That means a lot to me,"she said.

"Hey, no problem. I can't let a friend down,"Mark said.

"Then don't hide your other friends from me,"she said, putting her notebook into her backpack and swinging it onto her pack as she stood up. "By the way Mark, I've been writing a poem for you."Mark looked at her.

"Really?"he asked.

"Yeah. I started it last week,"Emily replied, wrapping her scarf around her neck.

"What's it about?"Mark asked curiously. Emily just smiled.

"We all have our secrets,"she replied. And she walked out of the coffee shop. Mark watched her as she ran across the street, and sighed. He had to tell her about his friends...but how?

This one was a quickie, mostly just to set up Emily's past and get things ready for her introduction to the bohemians(which will come up in a chapter or two!)Thanks for all your feedback!