Page 21 of A New Chapter

“See, Mommy. This is Miss Emma, the lady who reads me stories,” Gracie said sweetly.

Alicia gave Emma the once-over and granted her a cool partial smile. “Nice to see you again, Emma.”

“You too,” Emma managed, and she looked to Zack to fill in the blanks.

“Gracie wanted her mom to see where she comes for story time,” he explained with an unreadable expression on his face.

Emma got the impression that he wasn’t thrilled with his ex-wife’s presence, but he was forced to tolerate it for the sake of their daughter.

“Will you be staying?” Emma asked, adopting a neutral tone.

“Yes, I think so,” Alicia replied.

“Well, then, all of you can take a seat, and I’ll begin in a few minutes.”

The three of them walked away, and Emma slipped behind the counter where Kelly had stood and watched the entire interaction.

“Well, that was awkward,” Kelly said.

Emma took a few sips from her water bottle and shrugged her shoulders. “That’s an understatement. I wish Zack would have given me a heads-up that she would be here.”

“Maybe he didn’t know until the last minute.”

Emma glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to get back there. Wish me luck.”

As she walked to the back of the store, she squared her shoulders and took a couple of deep breaths. Why should I be nervous about her being here? Zack and I aren’t together, so it’s no big deal. She was determined to ignore Alicia’s presence and concentrate on the kids, which turned out to be easier said than done. Whenever Emma glanced up from reading The VeryHungry Caterpillar, she noticed that Alicia was studying her intently. While the kids looked at each other or at the illustrations in the story and the other parents looked discreetly down at their phones, Alicia’s eyes stayed focused directly on the storyteller.

Emma felt a surge of relief when the story was finally over and she could move away from Alicia’s penetrating gaze. Emma was bent over the craft table when she overhead Alicia tell Gracie that they had to leave.

“But, Mom, I want to do the craft,” Gracie complained.

“Why don’t we ask Miss Emma if you can take the craft with you?” Zack suggested in an attempt to keep the peace.

“That’s a good idea,” Alicia said.

Alicia and Gracie drifted off to look at books while Zack approached Emma. “Can Gracie take the craft to go?” Zack asked and rolled his eyes.

Emma’s discomfort slipped away when she saw that Zack was obviously more distressed than she was. “Sure,” she said and handed him the craft items.

“I’m going to walk them out. Be right back,” he called over his shoulder.

Alicia and Gracie had wandered to the front of the store, but Gracie turned and ran back to Emma. She skidded to a stop and said, “Bye, Miss Emma. Thanks for the story.”

“You’re very welcome,” Emma replied and smiled as Gracie raced back to her parents. Alicia gave Emma a brief wave and then they all filed out.

Zack returned five minutes later and looked apologetic.

“Well, that was interesting,” Emma said quietly. The store was still busy, and she didn’t want customers to overhear their conversation.

“Tell me about it. When Gracie and I pulled up, Alicia was waiting in the parking lot. I had no idea that she would show up early.”

“I’m sure that Gracie wanted her here. It’s really no big deal,” Emma said, although she still felt a little shaken from the encounter.

“There might have been more to it than that. Gracie’s been talking about you quite a bit, and I think Alicia wanted to check you out.”

“Why? She already met me at Phil’s wedding.”

“I know, but that was a long time ago. Listen, I don’t know what her motivations were, but I’m sorry if she made you uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine, Zack. She was perfectly… polite.”

“Yeah, about as polite as a mother bear protecting her cub.”

Emma smiled up at him. “She’ll ease off as soon as she realizes that I’m not a threat.”

“You’re probably right,” Zack said, but he didn’t look convinced.