Chapter 2

That night I emailed her all my contact info. After helping with the move I was working on a paper for school when my phone rang.

"Matt?"

"Hi, Emily?"

"Hi! I was wondering if you were going to Sarah's on Tuesday. She's doing a potluck dinner."

"Oh! I hadn't heard, but sure, I could do that. I take it you're going."

"I am now" I could her the grin in her voice. "I wasn't sure before but it could be fun."

"Cool. I'll see you there."

"Yeah. Um ... ok ... well see you Tuesday." She sounded a little put out, but I was working on a paper that I really needed to finish, and I'd already sacrificed a lot going back to school. It had to remain my top priority until I was out. I was too close to fail this time.

"Thanks for calling Emily. I'm sorry, I just really busy with school at the moment. Maybe we can talk at Sarah's." I suggested.

"Sure, yeah. Of course. Sorry if I bothered you. I'll see you then." And then she hung up before I could respond.

I tried to get my focus back on the paper, but the relative merits of district zoning versus land-use zoning failed to capture my attention. I sat back and thought about Emily.

She was beautiful and sweet, and had a playfulness that I really appreciated. I thought over what she'd said at dinner and tried to puzzle out what she was trying to do. I don't normally like being 'tested' but I guess that was one way she could relax a little and let us get closer than we would have on a first date, and blind date at that. Yep, I decided, if she wanted to test me, I'd play the game. It seemed like it might be worth it in the end.

I'd double checked with Sarah to make sure it was ok to come to the potluck. She replied "Oh of course! You know there's likely to be somebody who'd be very happy to see you there."

"Let me guess? Emily? You know she's the one who invited me?"

"Hahahah ... I didn't. That's very forward for her. No worries, I was going to invite you anyway, I just hadn't gotten around to it. I guess she wanted to make sure I didn't forget. She's got it bad, Matt." Then her voice turned serious "Hey, what are your intentions? You'll be good to her right? If it's not going to work, tell her soon ok?"

"Jesus Sarah! It's only been one date. But of course I'll be good to her. Who do you think I am?" I huffed, feeling a little insulted.

"Well, apparently, one date with you is all it takes. And I know you're a good guy. But Emily is more fragile than she seems ok? You're her first real interest since her divorce, and I don't think her ex treated her very well."

"Like how not well? We didn't talk about it much on our date, I could tell she didn't really want to get into it."

"No abuse, that I know of. But he completely ignored her. Turns out he was cheating on her for a long time with a teenaged girl he works with. That's apparently who he's shacked up with now. She just turned 18 about 6 months ago. I take it he's a bit of a creep. Anyway, I think he hurt her bad, and she's not really good at standing up for herself you know? Frankly I'm really surprised she called and invited you. That took balls, but I bet she's freaking out thinking she's pushed you too hard."

"Well I'll do my best to reassure her next time we talk."

"Do that. Anyway, I'll see you on Tuesday.

Later I noticed that Emily was signed into IM, so I pinged her

"hey!"

"Hi! Are you taking a break from homework?"

"I am. It's been pretty brutal that last week or two.We're getting ready for midterms, so I'm just buried."

"I bet."

I waited for more, but nothing. I wondered Sarah was right, and Emily was feeling bad about being so forward before.

"Thank for inviting me to Sarah's. It'll be great to get out for a night, and of course it'll be nice to see you again."

"Oh good! I was worried. I didn't mean to interrupt the other night. But I was hoping to see you again too."

"So what are you doing right now?"

"Painting. I just made up some new canvases, so I'm just doing prep work. Also I need to clean my studio. It's a disaster."

"Yeah? My kitchen is the same. I won't even talk about my shop."

"Your shop?"

"My garage. I have a motorcycle and a bunch of tools. I used to be a carpenter before I went back to school. So I have a lot of stuff just piled in the garage. One of these days, once I graduate, I'm going to tackle it. At this point it's too much for me to keep up with the dishes."

"Oh. I've never been on a motorcycle."

"Would you like to? I've got a spare helmet, and gloves. I'm very safe."

"Maybe. It's a little scary to think about." Then a moment later "Yes. Yes I would. Even if it's scary."

"Face your fears kind of thing?"

"Exactly. I used to be a lot more timid. I realized after my divorce that I was missing way too much in life. So when anything scares me a little, I see that as something I should try, at least once."

"Wow, that's actually really cool. How's it working out?"

"Mixed. Mostly good ... Some parts are very good."

"Let me know how it goes. I think it's a cool experiment."

I arrived at Sarah's a little late, and she ushered me through the house where 5 or 6 others sat drinking wine or helping out in the kitchen by putting together a couple of dishes at the last minute. I set my dish down on the kitchen table, which was already laden with enough food for a large Thanksgiving.