Chapter Fifteen
The ten minutes were almost up when the key finally turned in the lock and Emma entered the hall where she had to face her parents right away. When Diane saw that her daughter was fine she let out a relieved sigh, but when she noticed the girl's cheerful mood, she became angry.
"We've been calling you, where have you been?" she demanded an answer and her tone instantly wiped the smile away from Emma's face.
"Am I late? I'm sorry, I lost track of time," she apologized, but it didn't sound like she showed real remorse.
"You were supposed to be home a half an hour ago," Diane reminded her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd worry. I'll be more careful next time, I promise," Em tried to reassure them, but she couldn't have thought she'd get off so easily.
"If there will be a next time," Diane pointed out and saw the disagreement on her daughter's face right away.
"Does it mean I'm grounded?" she used the word her mother hadn't used yet.
"You would deserve it," she noted, "you should have called to tell us you were going to be late." She just wanted Emma to show some sign of responsibility, she was able to do it when she tried harder.
"I'm sorry, okay? We had so much fun, please don't ground me, we made plans for tomorrow too." This probably wasn't the best answer and Diane seriously considered telling her right now that she wasn't allowed to go anywhere tomorrow.
"That was slightly premature," she stated instead, to keep her options open.
"So I can't go?" Emma seemed offended, which Diane couldn't really understand. But she didn't want to rush into such a decision, or make one without discussing it with Will first anyway.
"I need to think about it," she left her in suspense and Emma turned to Will right away.
"Daaad," she pleaded, hoping her father would help her out.
"Your mom was worried about you. If she wants to ground you for it, she has every right," Will took Diane's side, as expected, still it felt good hearing it from him.
"Great. I didn't do anything wrong you know," Em was clearly upset now that both her parents were against her.
"That's the problem, you don't even understand what you did wrong," Diane pointed out with a sigh.
"I apologized, promised it won't happen again. I don't know what else I could do," the girl said desperately and Diane felt like it was pointless to continue this conversation now because it wasn't leading anywhere.
"Dinner is ready," she changed the subject quickly.
"I'm not hungry. I'm going to my room, if I'm allowed," Emma hissed.
"Sure," Diane shrugged and walked to the kitchen where Nat was already sitting at the table. He must have heard every word nevertheless.
Diane took their dinner out of the oven and divided it on the three plates without a word. When she sat down to eat, Will gently touched her lower arm.
"Hey, she's home, she's fine, we should try to enjoy our dinner," he whispered.
"Eli warned me about Marissa, I should have listened," she replied in a normal tone, not minding that Nat was present.
"They were just at the mall, it's not like they smoked pot," he tried to calm her, but it wasn't really working.
"Don't give Nat any ideas," she rolled her eyes.
"My ears are closed," Nat smiled and Diane's lips curled up for a few seconds too. It was much easier with him, at least for now.
"I hope so," she sighed. "Do you think I'm overreacting?" she turned to Will again, feeling a little calmer now.
"Why don't we talk about this after dinner?" he suggested in a soft tone and she gave in.
She had no intention to ruin the little time Will spent with the family, even if one of them was missing from the table. It didn't take much for Diane to start blaming herself for that.
o-o-o
She pretended to read something, but her mind wasn't present. It was in another room down the hall, where Will was having a conversation with their daughter Diane couldn't witness. She'd told him to check on Emma, because she hadn't wanted to end up fighting with the girl again. And even though she felt slightly guilty now for overreacting, she was unable to pretend that nothing had happened.
"What did she say?" Diane inquired impatiently when Will entered their bedroom.
"Not much," he shrugged as he approached her side of the bed and stopped next to her, "she asked if you're still angry."
Their eyes met and Diane saw the worry in his. It must have been hard for him to be in the middle and she wanted to reassure him that it wouldn't last much longer.
"I'm not," she shook her head slightly and even her lips curled up a little. "I probably overreacted, I know," she added, "but with the campaign, you can never know who she runs into. I shouldn't have let her go with Marissa alone." Besides feeling guilty about being so hard on her daughter, she also feared it had been her fault to begin with.
"We can't lock her up, she's seventeen," he reminded her in a soft tone and sat on the side of the bed facing her.
"I know, but I thought we taught her to be responsible." She truly wondered how come something like this never happened when Emma was out with Eric, it seemed like the boy was the more reliable one.
"I'm sure she's learnt from it and will be more careful next time," Will tactfully defended Emma and Diane wished she was able to trust her again so easily too.
"So you don't think I should ground her?" she asked for his advice, even if she suspected his reply.
"Sleep on it, okay? And whatever you decide, you know I'm going to support you." His reply was exactly how she'd imagined it would be and it made her smile.
"So good that you were home in time tonight," she placed her hand on his. She really appreciated his presence and it also worked in Emma's favor. They both needed him to be there for them.
"I know. I'm sorry I missed lunch. I'm eating with you tomorrow, no matter what," he promised and even if she knew anything could still come up, it felt good to hear him say it like that.
"I'll hold you to that," she replied with a smile.
"You can come and kidnap me if I don't show up," he joked and she couldn't hold back a laughter.
"Don't think I wouldn't," she responded playfully, motioning with her pointing finger.
"I know you well," he smiled and reached out to grab her other hand. "I really hate looking at your empty office. I'm thinking of changing the glass doors, so I don't actually see the inside." His unexpected and honest confession made her a bit emotional.
"I'd say you should give it to someone, but I'm not ready to fully move out yet. And who knows, I might even be back soon," she tried to smile and the mere thought of being back in the office where she belonged made it almost easy.
"Nonsense, you're going to win the primary and then you won't stop until you're the Attorney General," he encouraged her, as he had right from the start.
"It's sweet how much you believe in me," she thanked him with a wide grin his words caused on her face.
"Always," he reassured her, pressing her hand slightly. She knew she was a lucky woman to have someone like him on her side.
"I need to tell you how proud I am of Nat," she remembered what had almost been forgotten due to the circumstances. "He not only enjoys working in the office, he also does everything to impress Eli and it seems to be working."
"That's not an easy thing to do," he stated with pride written all over his face now.
"But when we had lunch together with the girls, he barely said a word. He actually seemed intimidated," she admitted what had been on her mind all this time. Nat wouldn't behave like that with her or his sister, so it must have been due to Marissa's presence.
"Well that Marissa girl must be something. Maybe he has a crush on her," Will said jokingly, but Diane took it seriously.
"But she's older," she pointed out with disbelief.
"Maybe he takes after his dad," he said with a proud boyish grin on his face.
Diane wasn't sure she wanted Nat to take after him in this aspect, but she was sure she wouldn't trade her husband for anyone in the world.
"I'm going to tell Emma she's not grounded," she declared and Will's smile suggested that he fully agreed with her decision. "I'll be right back," she placed a kiss on his lips."
"Want me to ask Nat about Marissa?" he teased, while he helped her get out of the bed.
"Don't you dare," she responded playfully, making him chuckle.
"Please hurry back," he whispered, pulling her close for a second.
She intended to obey his wish and spend the rest of the night peacefully in his arms.