Yet the very thought of losing Emma, as she had lost Gregory, was too much for her to swallow. There was no way she would allow that to happen, not if she could help it. Maybe a big party is just what she needs to turn things around, Jane thought, clinging to the last shreds of her rapidly fading hope. Perhaps if Emma realized all the trouble she went through to plan a great party and all the
money she had to spend, then she would love her again as she had when she was a little girl. Perhaps then the Emma she once knew would return.
In her mind, Jane envisioned an extravagant sweet sixteen party, Emma smiling blissfully, turning to hug her and thank her for the best gift ever. It was enough to convince Jane that she had to try. She would spend every spare dollar that she had to make sure it was the best sweet sixteen party she could plan. Emma will be back, Jane thought, I just have to be a little more patient.
Now, with Emma standing before her calling her “Jane” once more and criticizing her weight yet again, Jane’s patience was wearing thin. She placed the dish of cookies on the nearby countertop. Emma had returned from school in an unusually horrid mood, even for her. Jane had learned through careful prying that a boy Emma liked had asked out another girl. Jane was only offering a little comfort food. God knows, comfort food had always helped Jane cope better through the years and tears.
“How many times do I have to ask you not to call me Jane? I’m your mother, you know,” Jane said sadly.
“Unfortunately,” Emma responded disrespectfully, as she rolled her eyes and sighed heavily for dramatic effect.
“You know there are plenty of other boys. You’re so young, you don’t need to rush things,” Jane advised.
“What the hell? Who said anything about a boy? Why don’t you mind your freaking business and let me get on with my life.”
“Uh, I just figured…well, whatever you’re upset about, you’d feel better if you talk about it...I’m a good listener....” Jane offered.
“That’s what for my friends are for,” Emma said, still copping an attitude.
“Do you even remember when I used to be your friend?” Jane asked, smiling as she thought of those much happier, long-gone days.
“Whatever, I have things to do,” Emma said dryly and walked past Jane to go upstairs.
“Are you hungry? Can I get you a snack?” Jane called to her.
“Again with the food? Can’t you think of anything else? I’m not hungry and I don’t eat just for the hell of it—are you trying to turn me into a fat pig too?” Emma turned to give Jane another dirty look
before continuing upstairs.
Just a couple more months, Jane thought. After the party, Emma won’t be so cruel anymore. She’ll know how much I love her and remember how much she loves me too. We’ll be friends again. She reached over to grab a cookie—her one true friend, for now.
~2~
The next few weeks flew by as Jane carefully planned every detail of Emma’s party. She had still not told Emma about it and wanted to keep it a surprise for another couple of weeks until the invitations had to be mailed out. All too often Emma whined to Jane about how deprived she was, how bad of a mother Jane was and how much she hated her life. Jane had come close to telling her about the party a couple of times—she hated to see Emma so miserable, yet she knew how elated Emma would be to find out about her party. It was worth the silence.
The party was planned for a Friday evening, one day after Emma’s actual birthday. Jane was very fortunate that there was a cancellation which allowed her to reserve a room in one of the fanciest catering halls in the area. It was so expensive that she had to borrow funds against her pension. She planned the party for sixty people, ordered more flowers than she had had at her own wedding, hired a band, a photographer, a videographer and the loveliest cake she could find. She spared no expense to ensure that everything would be perfect for Emma.
There was a big, silly grin on her face every time she thought about how surprised and happy Emma would be when she found out about it in a couple of weeks. She imagined Emma throwing her arms around her in a warm, loving embrace. The two would laugh like kids as they talked about the party plans. Afterwards, they would go shopping together for their dresses. The thrill of it all would reunite them at last and Emma would be forever grateful.
It seemed like a good plan, but what Jane didn’t count on—what she had no way of knowing—was that Emma had contacted her father weeks before, after finding out that her mother had no intention of throwing her the big birthday bash she felt she deserved. Although she had not spoken to Gregory at all in nearly two years, she felt desperate enough to call her father and cry about how unfair her mother was. She figured she could guilt him into paying for a
good party—even if it wasn’t quite as fancy as she would like it to be. Anything was better than what her mother had planned—which, to Emma’s knowledge, was nothing. She was excited to find that he still worked at the same office.
Gregory was shocked to hear from Emma. He barely recognized her voice. Although he thought of her often, he just assumed Jane had polluted her mind with horrible tales about him. He figured Emma hated him and didn’t want anything to do with him. Now, out of the blue, Emma was calling him at his office.
“Emma, is that really you?” he asked, choked up on his emotions.
“It’s me, Dad,” Emma said, softly.
“I can’t believe it! I waited so long for you to call me,” Gregory said.
“I was waiting for you to call me. You just disappeared. I don’t even know where you live,” Emma said, struggling not to sound as bitter as she truly felt.
“I thought you hated me. I figured your mom probably said a bunch of horrible things about me,” Gregory said, looking for some sympathy.
“No, she never said anything about you at all. Why did you leave us?”
“It’s complicated,” Gregory said, not wanting to tell her about Sue if Jane hadn’t done so. “But I want you to know that I love you very much. I never stopped loving you for a second. I’ve missed you, Emma.”
“Me too, Dad,” Emma said, starting to feel a little of the sadness she had experienced years before and had managed to deeply suppress.
“You have a birthday coming up soon, don’t you?” Gregory asked, instantly regretting that he had mentioned it since he had neglected to send her a birthday card or gift the year before.
“I’m going to be sixteen, it’s a big milestone in my life,” Emma replied proudly.
“So what are your big birthday plans? Maybe I could come to your party.”
“There isn’t going to be a party. My mother doesn’t think it’s important enough,” Emma said despondently.
“Are you kidding me?” Gregory asked, shocked by the news. Jane had always been so attentive to Emma’s every needs. He was
surprised she hadn’t gone overboard planning a way-too expensive shindig.
“I was wondering....” Emma said slowly, hoping Gregory would interrupt and offer to throw her a huge birthday bash.
“Yes?” Gregory asked, suspecting that Emma was about to ask him for money.
“Well...it’s just that...I think I...well...is there any way that maybe you could help out, maybe, so that I could have a party?” Emma asked softly in a nervous, child-like voice.
Gregory wondered for a moment whether Jane had put her up to calling. Yet, he hadn’t done a single thing for her in nearly two years. It was certainly the least that he could do, and he was genuinely happy to hear from her again after all that time.
“Of course, Em, you’re my daughter. I’m here for you. Just tell me what you need,” Gregory said.
“Really?” Emma asked excitedly.
“Really. Of course, I’m not a good party planner, I’ll just send a check to your mother and you guys can—”
“Uh, Dad?” Emma interrupted. “Is it possible that I can just make the arrangements and you could pay the party place directly?”
“I suppose, but why?�
�� Gregory asked.
“I don’t want her to waste the money on ice-cream and junk food. She’s way out of control with her feeding frenzies. She’s almost the size of a bus now,” Emma said, half-jokingly.
Gregory laughed. He remembered that Jane had put on a lot of weight before he left home but he couldn’t imagine how big she had gotten since then.
“Okay, sweetheart, whatever you want, you go on and make the plans. I’ll give you my credit card information. Just promise me you won’t bankrupt me,” Gregory said, hoping that Emma would be reasonable.
“You’re the best, Dad, thank you so much!” Emma said, feeling ecstatic.
“There is one condition,” Gregory said and Emma held her breath, fearing the worst. “Actually, two conditions. You have to invite me and you have to promise that you’ll stay a part of my life again.”
Emma smiled. That was more than acceptable to her. Maybe she could even go and live with her dad.
“That sounds good to me, Dad,” she said with a smile as she gave him her cell phone number.
Immediately after hanging up with her father, Emma began making plans for her sweet sixteen ball. She reserved a catering hall in the next town over—not nearly as fancy as the one Jane had reserved, but suitable for a grand sweet sixteen celebration. She hired a photographer, ordered fancy invitations, a huge cake and some flowers. She had gone to an exclusive boutique and ordered a custom dress. It cost $525.00 and compared to some of the other expenses, it was a bargain. Her dad wouldn’t mind, she reasoned. Besides, you only turn sixteen once. She had just booked a popular deejay for $850.00 when her father called her cell phone.
“Hi Daddy,” Emma answered cheerfully.
“Emma, we need to talk. The credit card company just called me. Do you realize you’ve spent nearly ten thousand dollars in the past week?” Gregory said angrily.
“But you said—”
“I said I would help pay for your sweet sixteen party, not pay for your wedding,” he said bitterly.
“I’m sorry, Dad, I guess I didn’t do the math...I just got so excited. Do you want me to cancel everything?” Emma said sadly, hoping her father would say ‘no.’
“No, of course not, but that’s it, Em. Your mother will have to pay for anything you haven’t already purchased, though I can’t imagine what’s left.”
“Thanks, Dad. It’ll be my birthday present for the next ten years,” Emma said gratefully.
“Well, I do have to make up for your last birthday, not to mention Christmas,” Gregory said more calmly.
“I love you Dad, thanks so much!” Emma said, as she started writing addresses on her invitation envelopes.
“I love you too, oh, and don’t forget, shred my credit card info,” Gregory insisted.
Before hanging up, Emma gave Gregory the information for her party. She figured it would be one less invitation she’d have to send out.
“You’ll be there, won’t you, Dad?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Gregory replied, then said he had to go. Emma smiled as she ended the call. She
turned her attention back to the stack of beautiful, expensive invitations.
Two and a half weeks before the party, Jane figured it would be a good time to tell Emma about her party. Emma hadn’t complained at all about not having a party. Jane figured she had given up hope, though she didn’t seem upset about it at all. In fact, strangely enough, Emma seemed to be in a much better mood lately than she had been in several months. She rarely spoke with Jane, even during the times they ate dinner together, but she didn’t stomp around slamming doors either, which was always a plus.
Jane took the day off from work. She thought they could have a special pre-celebration dinner. She went to the store and bought jumbo shrimp, potatoes, fresh whole green beans and a delicious, rich-looking red velvet cake. Her plan was to tell Emma about the party when she returned home from school. Then the two of them would go shopping together for dresses. After they found the perfect dresses, they would go home and Jane would make fried jumbo shrimp, garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed green beans, all of Emma’s favorites, just the way she liked it. Maybe Emma would even help out and they would prepare the meal together the way they used to when she was twelve.
Jane was giddy with anticipation. She could hardly wait for Emma to hear the amazing news. She almost let it slip out before Emma went to school, but she didn’t want it distracting her from her class work. She kept looking at the clock. Time seemed to be moving along so slowly. Jane hadn’t been so excited since she was a child. She was truly like a kid at Christmas time, anxiously waiting for Santa to bring her special gift.
Finally, after what seemed like years, it was time for Emma to come home. Jane sat at the dining room table, waiting as patiently as possible. Every so often she would get up and go over to the front window to see if Emma was walking down the street. 3:30 came and passed, 4:00, 4:30, still no sign of Emma, no phone call, nothing.
Not that it was unusual. Emma seldom informed Jane of her plans to stay after school or go straight from school to her friend’s house. At 5:15 p.m, Jane could no longer stand it. She dialed Emma’s cell phone number and hoped that she would pick up. As expected, it rang until it went to the voicemail. Jane didn’t bother to leave a
message. Emma never returned her calls anyway, even when she said it was important.
Jane started working on dinner. Things were definitely not going according to her plans. By now, she and Emma should have had gorgeous dresses hanging in their closets as they chatted on happily about party plans. Jane tried her hardest not to be overcome by feelings of disappointment. It would still be a lovely evening once Emma came home and found out about the party. So what if things didn’t go exactly as planned. It was still going to be wonderful.
At minutes to seven, Emma finally strolled in, completely
oblivious to Jane sitting at the dining room table in front of the now-cold meal and vase full of fragrant flowers. She was talking on her cell phone and walked past Jane and up the stairs to her bedroom. Jane watched her in disbelief and sadness. She waited another twenty minutes for Emma to come downstairs, but Emma stayed in her room.
As Jane made her way to Emma’s room, the loud music drowned out Emma’s voice. She knocked on the door and waited. Nothing. She knocked again, harder this time. Still no reply. She turned the doorknob and entered the room. Her jaw dropped as she saw Emma posing in front of her full-length mirror in an exquisite peach-colored gown. Emma jumped when she saw Jane’s reflection in her mirror.
“I’ll call you back,” she said to someone over her cell phone and flung the phone onto her bed. “Can’t you knock?” she scolded Jane angrily.
Jane was speechless for a moment longer. She struggled to find words.
“I did knock, twice. How, where...where did you get that dress from?” Jane asked, staring at Emma’s gown.
“I special-ordered it,” Emma said, dismissing Jane as though she was bothering her.
“It looks expensive,” Jane said.
“What difference does it make, you didn’t have to pay for it,” Emma said sneeringly.
“Why did you buy such a fancy dress?” Jane asked, wondering if she had somehow found out about the party. If she had, wouldn’t she have been happy then, not so bitter?
“It’s really not your business,” Emma said. “Can you get out of
my room now?”
“What’s the fancy dress for?”
“For my party, can you go now?”
“You know about the party?” Jane asked, shocked and confused. It was certainly not the reaction she had expected.
“Of course I know about the party...I planned it,” Emma said.
Jane looked puzzled at first, then laughed out loud.
“Oh, Em, you didn’t have to plan a party,” she said, believing that Emma had planned a small house gathering for herself.
“Can you leave now?” Emma asked, clearly aggrav
ated by Jane’s presence.
“You don’t understand, I have a party all planned for you,” Jane explained.
“No thanks, I’ve got it covered,” Emma said, still scoffing at Jane.
“It’s not a little rinky-dink party, Em, it’s really great. It’s at La Tierre del Mar.”
For a brief moment Emma’s eyes widened and she seemed a bit excited. Jane stood smiling at her, waiting for her to ask about the details. Instead Emma’s eyes narrowed and she looked even angrier than before.
“It’s too late now,” she said indignantly.
Jane was baffled.
“What do you mean it’s too late? How can it be too late?” Jane’s frustration level was rapidly rising.
“Now you want to plan a party? What about weeks ago when I asked? I’ve taken care of it.”
“I’ve had this party planned for weeks—I paid for the biggest room in the place, a photographer, a videographer, a band, flowers, invitations, a huge cake, everything, Em, everything is planned for the 25th.”
“Well cancel your plans, I’ve already made plans of my own,”
Emma replied cruelly.
Jane could not believe her ears. She was infuriated by Emma’s nonchalant attitude toward all she had done for her.
“I can’t just cancel it—I’ve spent over thirteen thousand dollars on this party Emma and you’re going to be there with your friends and have the time of your life,” Jane shouted.
Emma was amused to hear that Jane had actually spent so much
money on a party for her but she tenaciously stood her ground. She was not the least bit concerned about how upset her mother was.
MOTHER: A Novel Page 3