The Long And Winding Road
Note: My thanks to NotBreathing, antiIRONY, PsYcHoJo, fcms1163, YellyBelly, almost-never, spider-man-fan, kristine, unleashmysoul and Neviegirl for the continued reviews and encouragement.
Chapter 41 - The Way Things Used To Be
On a late-summer morning roughly 5 1/2 years ago, young Emma Nelson – having walked over to the park – found JT Yorke sitting still on a swing, staring intently at his watch. She quietly walked up behind him.
"Still having trouble learning how to tell time?" she joked.
"Very funny," he replied, not startled by her sudden appearance. He then turned his head around to face her. "Took you long enough."
Emma walked around past JT and took a seat on the swing beside him.
"Since when are you concerned with punctuality, either your own or anyone else's?" she questioned. "It took me a few extra moments convincing my mom that I'd be fine before I could leave. I promised her that I wouldn't go looking for any more crazy people. But here I am with you, so I guess I lied to her."
"Keep trying, Emma. One day you'll say something clever."
Emma smiled. She knew that being there, trading teasing remarks with JT, meant things were normal and she would be okay.
"So what did you want to see me about?" Emma asked. "As if I didn't know."
"You said you convinced your mom that you were okay," he responded.
"Yeah."
"But are you?"
"Still a little shaky, but like I told you last night on the phone, I'm all right. Jordan didn't get the chance to do anything. Mom's friend, that Mr. Simpson guy, got to the hotel and took care of him before anything could happen."
"Insane," JT commented.
"I know, I know," Emma said. "You don't have to tell me that I'm nuts. I know you tried to warn me about trusting some Internet perv. Manny tried to warn me. Even that camp friend of yours who barely knows me tried to warn me. So you don't have to say 'I told you so' because I know I'm insane."
"Uh, Emma, I just meant the whole situation was insane. Not to mention that Jordan guy. Not you."
"Oh…sorry. Guess maybe I overreacted."
"I mean, you've always been a little crazy, Emma," JT smirked, "but that's got nothing to do with what happened yesterday."
"You know what I like about you, JT?"
"What's that?"
"Oh, you mean you can't think of anything either?"
"Hardy, har, har."
Then they both laughed.
"So you're really okay?" JT asked, now sounding more serious.
"JT…"
"Look, you can hide it from your mom, and Manny always looks for the happy ending in everything so I bet she'd miss something, but this is me you're talking to – the other half of the Two Musketeers. You're okay?"
"Fine, JT. Promise."
He looked at her and knew she meant it.
"Good," he responded, now feeling more reassured than he had after their phone conversation the night before.
"Maybe a little disappointed," Emma added. "I thought I was about to get my first boyfriend."
"Hey, look on the bright side. Even if he had been the age he made you think he was, he would still be too old for you. It could never work."
"This from the boy who thinks he's in a relationship with the 19-year-old waitress at The Dot."
"I'm working on it. These things take time. But I think she's falling for my charms. Every time I'm in there, she always smiles at me and offers to get me anything I want. I'm telling you, the woman is crazy about me."
"The woman is doing her job."
"Don't be jealous, Emma."
"In your dreams. And you still haven't said why it's okay for you to chase after a 19-year-old woman but bad for me to be interested in someone who – if he wasn't a lying freak – would have been 16."
"Because it's cool for a guy to get with an older woman. But when a girl wants an older guy, that's just gross. That's the way it's always been. I didn't make up the rules, I just try to live by them."
"You're a pig, JT."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
Emma sighed. From the time they were little, even when she wanted to be annoyed with JT, he could always make her want to laugh.
"If this Toby kid is anything like you," Emma commented, "then this school year is going to be very scary."
"That reminds me…the movie 'Total Annihilation' opens today. Me and Toby are going over to the mall to watch it this afternoon. Call Manny and we can all go. Nothing like zombies, blood and guts to get your mind off of everything."
"A movie sounds like a good idea, JT. But how about something else, maybe with a little romance?"
"I think there's supposed to be a kissing scene between two of the zombie creatures."
"Not exactly what I had in mind."
"Let me guess, Emma. You want one of those movies where they all say things like 'I am you. You are me. We are one with the universe. Now let's do it.'"
Emma laughed.
"And the guys in the movie will all have their shirts off at least half the time," JT added.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Emma replied, using JT's own words against him.
"You like to go on and on about equal rights. How about you fight for a worthy cause?"
"And that would be…?" Emma asked, rolling her eyes in anticipation.
"It's not fair that we're always stuck seeing bare chests of guys in the movies," JT explained. "We never get to see the bare chests of any of the women. That's reverse sex discrimanotorianism or something."
"Could you repeat that, JT? You were talking, but the only thing I could understand you say was 'Oink.'"
"So we're agreed on seeing 'Total Annihilation.' Just get Manny to agree and that will make it anonymous."
"You mean unanimous," Emma corrected.
"That too."
"But isn't it R-rated? They wouldn't let us in."
"It's not," JT replied. "But even if it was, I could find a way to get us in."
"Not another elaborate scheme…"
"I could come up with something. And even if that didn't work, there's always bribery."
"Bribery?"
"My dad says that bribery is sometimes the best way to get what you want in life."
"Your dad says a lot of things, JT," she said, frowning.
"I don't know why you don't like him, Emma."
"I've never said I disliked your dad," young Emma said, knowing her words were only technically true. She didn't like the man, but hadn't specifically said so to JT. "He just seems…cold. Different from your mom."
"I know it looks like he doesn't say much or do stuff with us. He's just real busy a lot of the time, that's all. But he still makes time to joke around."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Like when I got back from camp, I overheard him tell my mother how he was sorry camp was over so soon because it was nice that they could have the house alone for a week. He said it was just like the good old days before I was born."
Emma, disturbed by this, started to say something, but JT continued.
"It sounded strange, so I asked my mother about it later. She smiled and said that it was just him joking around. That I shouldn't pay any attention to what he says. You think maybe he's where I get my sense of humor from?"
"No!" Emma said without hesitation. "I…uh…mean that your humor is all yours. You're in a class by yourself. And he…well, he's not like anyone else either."
'And thank goodness you're nothing like him, JT,' Emma thought but kept to herself.
"I guess that makes sense," JT said.
"But your mom is right. Don't take anything he says seriously, okay?"
"Sounds like you're the one who's being all serious now, Emma."
"Just promise. And tell me if he ever says anything mean to you."
"He's my dad, Emma. He says things like that, but he wouldn't mean any of it."
Emma stared at him.
"Fine, Emma. I promise not to let anything he says bother me. Just relax already."
'Someday,' she thought, 'his dad and I are going to have a long talk. Sure, JT can be too silly for his own good a lot of the time, but nobody gets to make fun of him but his friends – and only because he knows that's just kidding around with him. And he does the same thing with us.'
"So are we all going to the movie today or what?" JT broke Emma out of her thoughts.
"I already know I'm going to regret it, but I'm in. I'll call Manny later and we can all meet at my house then catch the bus."
"Good. Zombie carnage, here we come."
"JT, someday you're going to outgrow those ridiculous creature movies."
"Bite your tongue, girl."
"You like those old comedies that sometimes come on TV. I'm surprised you don't ever go to that theater a few blocks from here that shows all of those kind of films. It's not the great new stuff with the big stars, but it's got to be better than something like 'Total Annihilation.'"
"I think that place only shows the oldies on the weekend. And anyway, why go and pay to watch something I can see on TV for free? No, Emma, the mall has all the best movies. I can't imagine spending money on something old."
"Your old-age waitress will be heartbroken to hear that."
"You're a laugh riot," JT said sarcastically.
"Having trouble keeping up with the jokes today, JT?"
"Now who's dreaming? Everyone knows I can out-funny anyone in this neighborhood. Just like I can out-swing you."
"You? Out-swing me? On THIS planet?"
"I've always been able to swing higher."
"Now that IS funny, JT."
"Then prove me wrong."
"You're on."
They both began swinging back and forth. JT turned his head toward Emma as they continued.
"Hey Emma!"
"Yeah?"
"I'm glad you're okay."
Emma, still swinging, looked back at him.
"I'm glad you're okay, too."
"But I'm still going to beat you at this," they both said in unison, which made them laugh.
Fast-forward to the present, where JT and Emma stood facing one another in the newspaper office within DCS.
"There's so much I want to say," Emma told him, "yet it's hard to know where to begin."
"I know how you feel," JT agreed. He knew he probably should have had a snappy comeback ready instead, but despite Liberty's earlier encouragement he was nervous about how this conversation would go.
"All right," Emma continued. "First let me say in no uncertain terms that I am not now – nor have I ever been – jealous of Ellie Nash."
"Okay."
"That said, I've never had much use for her."
"I've noticed," JT responded.
"She has an awful personality. She belongs in some dark, smoke-filled coffee shop reading bad poetry about how all life is meaningless, while some guy sits in the corner playing the bongos. And I don't think I'll ever know what Caitlin had in mind keeping her on staff, even part-time, when she could have been rid of her once the whole co-op deal was over. Caitlin could have done much better with anybody else working as her research assistant."
"Like you, for instance?" JT questioned.
"Like anyone. I'm sure that to Ellie it's just a job. I bet she doesn't really care about any of the subjects she's done research on."
"Interesting opinion there, Emma. Hope you don't mind if I disagree."
"She's your friend. A peculiar choice, but so be it. We can agree to disagree about her. Just know that I'm not jealous of her."
"Good. There's no reason for you to be. Anyway, I can't imagine her thinking about me in any way besides friendship."
"That's good to know. Although if she did have those feelings, at least it would show she has a certain amount of good taste. God…Would you listen to me?…Going on and on AGAIN. You must get so annoyed with me sometimes."
"Emma, I've known you practically my whole life. The batteries in your Chatty Cathy doll used to wear out long before you ever did. Don't start worrying about talking too much at this point. If you could maybe ease up on the insults against my friend, though – at least when you're around me – that would be good. After all, you're probably going to make friends with some really strange people at that university, and I bet you won't want me questioning your sanity about it."
"Point taken. But what makes you think any new friends I make would be strange?" she asked as she proceeded to sit up on the table beside Liberty's computer.
"Simple. You're an oddball-magnet, Emma," JT replied while sitting back down in the chair next to the table. "No doubt about it."
"Hey!"
"But I say that as the top oddball in your life."
Emma laughed.
"You seem to know the right things to say, JT. Often in spite of yourself, but still…"
"Cute," he replied sarcastically.
"What I'm saying is that you know how to deal with people – even talkative, alleged oddball-magnets like myself. That's a good quality for a boyfriend to have. It's also a good quality in a boss. One of many reasons you're going to be a great boss once you're officially the theater's new owner."
JT looked at her in surprise.
"Don't look so shocked," she smiled. "I've known all along that you'd be good at this. My argument has been about your timing, not your ability. I've told you as much. But given my overall attitude, I suppose it's easy to see why you might have forgotten that part of what I've been saying."
"Which made me crazy enough to not even bother listening to all of your phone message."
"In the part you missed out on, I said that I wanted you to call me back last night because I wanted to hear all about your plans. The plans you never got to finish telling me because I kept shutting you down. If there's a real reason for me to be mad at Ellie where you're concerned, it's that she was giving you the encouragement which should have been coming from me."
"You were just going with what you believe," JT responded.
Emma got down off the table and stood next to where he was sitting and looked into his eyes.
"What I believe in, JT, is you. And as much as I'd enjoy having you with me on campus, and as well as I know you'd do if you were there, I realize that you've got an even better idea about what's best for you. I'm sorry I've been so slow to listen to you."
"Emma…"
"No, I want – no, I need – to apologize. If anyone had kept after me like that, trying to push me into doing something that I felt wasn't right for me, I'd have been in full attack mode. All things considered, you've shown a lot of patience."
"Maybe a little, mixed in with some stupidity."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're not the only one who needs to give an apology," JT explained as he stood up. "I went out yesterday morning and made arrangements to buy a business. Just like that. Didn't hesitate for a moment."
"You knew what you wanted and went for it. Nothing new. And nothing wrong with it."
"I also didn't bother to run it past you. Very dumb."
"It's not like you needed my permission."
"I know, but still… This is a big thing, and you should have been in on it with me. Right from the start. Even if you were against the idea, you should have known about it before it became a done deal."
"Okay, I admit, that did bother me a little."
JT stared at her.
"Okay, maybe more than a little."
"I'm sorry about that, Emma. Not that I bought TMD – that, I'm very happy about – but sorry that I did it without letting you know once I decided to go after it."
"You're forgiven if I'm forgiven," she replied. "No, I take that back."
"What?"
"You're forgiven even if I'm not forgiven."
"You're definitely forgiven," he assured her.
Emma reached out a hand and took one of JT's in hers.
"Much better," JT said, smiling.
"What's that?"
"It's just that last night I was holding your hand and telling you my good news and you pulled your hand back. You hadn't done that before. You pulled away like you had just touched something disgusting."
"I was upset, JT. Mad. But I didn't mean for you to take it that way."
She squeezed his hand.
"Anyway," Emma countered, "you practically pushed me out the door a few minutes later."
"It didn't look like there was anything else to say. At least not right then. But I shouldn't have let things end like that. And then today, I'm the one that left the MI lab instead of us just finishing the conversation. And the more I think about it…how I've been acting…God, Emma…I'm turning out to be just like him."
"Him who?"
JT just looked at her, his expression growing more and more troubled. Emma then realized what he meant.
"No, JT. Put that right out of your mind. You are NOT turning into your so-called father. You are nothing like that guy."
"It's probably a personality inheritance or something."
"I don't think it works that way."
"But it makes sense, Emma. He was always more focused on business than family, and on going after what he wanted whether his loved ones had an objection or not. Neither of my parents would ever really argue; they'd just walk away, try to forget about it and never deal with anything. I don't remember him even getting angry – at me or anyone. He'd just make some sarcastic comments and take off."
"Okay, first off, you're buying this place because it's something you truly want and despite my initial concerns, I'm with you 100 percent. You're not steamrolling over me.
"And as far as the possibility of you focusing all your attention on running the business, don't worry. Regardless of how things have been this week, I really do know you – at least as well as you know yourself, if not better. If anyone has a built-in system for knowing how to balance work and fun, it's you. You're not going to neglect me or your friends or anything else you care about just because you have something new going on. Besides, the rest of us wouldn't let you get away with it anyway."
They both laughed slightly, easing the tension.
"Next," she continued, "your sarcastic comments are never cruel. Hey, most of them are even funny."
JT smiled at that last comment. He had always believed that Emma was funnier than she gave herself credit for.
"But when you get serious," she continued, "you're not nearly as sarcastic as when you're in a good mood. And you're almost always in a good mood. So that's different from him.
"And last, we may have spent some time apart last night and today, but you at least tried to talk to me before Math. I'm the one who got us going on Round 2 by complaining about your not calling. And we're here now, talking things out, settling our differences and forgiving one another. So you definitely believe in dealing with situations and resolving them.
"I think we're more like my folks in that they butt heads sometimes but they believe in what they have and are always willing to fight to make it better – even when it means sometimes fighting with each other. We're not going to become like your folks and never deal with the problem areas. If nothing else, we're both way too stubborn to give up on an argument."
"I never want to be like him, Emma. So cold. Uncaring."
"You're not going to, Jamie. I promise."
"You make it sound so simple."
"That's because it is," she assured him. "You're you and he's…well, we both know what he is. You couldn't be like him even if you tried. It's not in you to be like that. I don't ever want you to think otherwise."
"I hate arguing with you, Emma, but I'd rather do that sometimes than just let things go on like everything is always fine even when it's not."
"I agree. Lucky for us, we usually don't have much to fight about. And we always work it out…even if it takes us a couple of days to come to our senses."
Still holding Emma's hand, JT pulled her closer to him. He then slowly removed his hand from hers and wrapped his arms around her. In silence they looked into one another's eyes before he finally spoke.
He quietly said the words "I love you, angel" and then kissed her. They continued to kiss for several moments thereafter. In due time, the need for more oxygen won out over pleasure and they pulled back.
"I love you, too," Emma told him.
"So we're okay?" JT asked her.
"What do you think? Emma smiled. "This is the beginning of that final stage of arguing known as making up."
"This stage, I like," JT said.
"Yes, we're okay. We're better than okay, Jamie. But…there's one thing you've got to do for me."
"I'm almost afraid to ask."
"After you're done with work tonight and before we eat dinner, I want a guided tour of your new business."
"It's not like I bought a new building, Emma. I think by now you've been there often enough to know where everything is."
"But now it's all yours. Or at least it will be in a few more weeks. I want to see the place through your eyes. I want to hear all those things you wanted to tell me last night. What it means to you. What you want to see happen. Everything."
"I'd like that. More than you know."
"Oh, I think I know."
"You're sure you're not going to be disappointed? I mean, I know how much you were hoping…"
Emma quickly interrupted him with another kiss.
"Um," he began again after the kiss ended, "I forget… What was I talking about?"
"About how you were going to tell me all about your dream-come-true."
"You mean my other dream-come-true," he corrected her.
"What?"
"You…you're the first dream that came true."
"JT…"
"Okay, I hope that didn't sound too much like a hokey line from one of those horrible movies you like to drag me to over at the mall."
"Don't worry, JT. It wasn't too heavy on the sap. Your image is safe."
"Good. Wouldn't want you to think I'd been possessed by a corny cliché connoisseur."
"CCC Syndrome? Never! Say, we still have some time if you want to grab some lunch."
"Have you eaten?"
"Some fruit salad."
"Then we most definitely need to head over to the caf."
"I was talking about you getting something to eat, not me."
"But you need more than just some fruit. I'll get me a sandwich and we can split a plate of french fries."
"Great. Clogged artery, here I come."
"But I promise you'll enjoy the journey."
"JT, you're not going to make eating a bunch of greasy fries sound romantic."
"You doubt the effectiveness of my charms, Emma?"
She looked at him standing in front of her with his mischievous grin and she couldn't help but smile.
"Doubt? Never, JT. Never."