Flirt (Chasing Hope Book 1)

by Lavinia Leigh

  “No buts, Daddy! Don’t you love me? If you loved me, you’d give me a golden ticket.” Her little lip protruded as she said this, and she exaggeratedly batted her eyes to the audience. They, in turn, started to giggle. Millie had full command of the stage, like she was born there.

  Emmeline couldn’t help it; her eyes welled up and the tears slid down her cheeks. Even Callum was getting a little emotional sitting there. Pernella looked like she knew it all along.

  They ended the scene in a song, which Millie shouted all the way through. Singing wasn’t her strong suit, but Verruca shouted more than anything else during the songs, which worked out to her favour. Her role was just to throw a temper tantrum while the father character did musical acrobats to make her calm down.

  The intermission hit, and everyone was dismissed for ten minutes. Emmeline went into the lobby, where they were selling Wonka bars and slushies along with chips and other sweets. She picked out some licorice whips to share, and water bottles for everyone, then quickly made her way back to her seat.

  The curtains opened again, and Verruca Salt’s character disappeared soon after with a bunch of children dressed like squirrels carrying her away as she screamed her head off. The major part of her role was finished. And she absolutely killed it. The rest of the play went off without any major hiccups. The kid playing Mike Teavee lost his line once, but caught himself quickly, so Emmeline doubted that anyone would really have noticed.

  As the cast came out for their bows, people stood, clapping wildly. Millie was at centre stage, beaming. Everything she had set out to do, she had done.

  When the clapping died down and the curtain finally closed, Emmeline ran backstage, with Callum hot on her heels. Pernella was only a little bit behind them in the motorized wheelchair she used on days like this.

  Millie was talking to the kid playing Violet Beauregarde when Emmeline snatched her up and swung her around. Millie fell into a fit of laughter. Callum slowed them down as he put his great big arms around both of them and squeezed tightly.

  “My star! You’re truly a star!” he said.

  “Callum, you always say that,” Millie said, still in her mother’s arms.

  “But tonight, you proved me right!”

  “My, my, what a beautiful family we have here,” Pernella said as she finally caught up.

  Emmeline willed Pernella to be quiet, but Callum’s smile grew even wider.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  The play ended as a rousing success after its two-week run. Each time it got a little better, as everyone settled into their parts and remembered all their words and staging. It was sad to see it end, and it was hard for Emmeline to watch her daughter say goodbye to everyone from the theater. It wasn’t like it would be forever. Emmeline made a special promise to bring Millie to see the next play the group put on. It made the farewell a little easier. Callum brought Millie a pamphlet with all the plays that were going on during the year in her new town, and Ginny had dug up some additional theatre groups in the surrounding areas and mailed them to Millie to look through, explaining that it was important to learn the craft from many people, not just one, if she was going to be truly successful. Millie accepted this all quietly, which was unsettling for Emmeline.

  The last day at Pernella’s was a madhouse. Ginny’s parents had taken over the final arrangements and were putting the house on the market officially the next day. Pernella had already picked out everything she wanted and had it brought to her new place. She then told her family to pick out what was important to them. Emmeline was welcome to go through and take anything else she wanted, and whatever was left over after that would go to auction. Pernella frankly didn’t care where her stuff was going. It was stuff. For Emmeline, it meant that in her first place, officially on her own, she wasn’t starting from scratch. It was helpful.

  Callum came up that morning, closing his shop to help her move. Emmeline thanked him a million times, and even tried to convince him not to come, offering to hire someone. He scoffed at her, saying something about how he wasn’t going to let some idiot movers scratch up the antique furniture from Pernella’s house, forcing him to refinish it. He offered it as an excuse, but Emmeline knew there was no way he’d let her do it on her own. It also helped her a lot and saved on her pocketbook as she ventured into the unstable world of a small business.

  Together they loaded the last of the stuff onto the trailer Callum regularly used for his business, then filled the back of Callum’s pickup and her little car with whatever could fit, and that was that.

  “There’s no turning back now, kiddo,” Emmeline said as she shut the driver’s side door. She looked back at Millie, who smiled politely from the cramped back seat.

  It took almost two full hours, including the pee break, before they saw the Port Hope sign. Emmeline was all of a sudden scared out of her mind. Fear like electrical volts zipped through her body in waves as her chest tightened. Returning home. Returning to a different life—two different lives, if she was being honest. One as a teenager, carefree and fun, and one with Nicholas. It seemed like one too many lives for one town, and here she was starting her third as a business owner and single mom. She just hoped that Port Hope would welcome them back with open arms.

  Ginny was waiting for them outside of the building on Walton Street. How that girl knew Emmeline would be arriving at that exact moment was beyond her, but there she was, with coffee for her and a hot chocolate with extra milk for Millie.

  “Are you ladies ready for this?” Ginny asked as Emmeline got out of the car, still forcing herself into calm, consistent breaths. She stood up straight and relaxed her shoulders. I can do this, I can do this, she repeated in her mind like the Little Engine that Could puffing up the hill.

  Callum pulled in just behind them on the street, and chuckled as he pointed to the no parking signs on the meters.

  “Was that your doing?” Ginny asked, nodding in approval.

  “I may get a little crap for it, but I think it might be worth it.”

  “You guys are hilarious,” Emmeline said, gazing up at her building. It was nice to see her grandmother’s legacy, and she wanted to do her proud. She had been a businesswoman, strong and confident, listening to her own judgment. She had made something out of herself and her family, even though, according to the traditions of the time, she was supposed to be at home making dinner. Emmeline never heard what her grandfather thought about it all. He had been a quiet, steady man who didn’t often voice his opinions. Mostly what people said was that he was a little thin.

  “What was this place when your grandmother had it?” Ginny asked, pulling one of the boxes out of the car and following Emmeline to the door.

  “Probably just a store. She made most of her money in real estate, buying up properties and renting them out. I really wish I knew more about her. When I was younger, it was annoying being the namesake. People kept talking to me like they knew something about me because I was her granddaughter, so I distanced myself. I swore I’d never name my kid that, and yet I am so glad I did.”

  Callum came up behind Emmeline, his arms full of boxes. “What did you pack in here, rocks?”

  “Yes! Lots, and just for you to carry too!” Emmeline smiled. She quickly opened up the door and stood inside so they could put down the boxes. She looked back to the car. Millie was pulling stuff out too and putting it on the sidewalk. It was going to be okay.

  “Welcome home!” Ginny said with a grand flourish. Then she reached over and hugged Emmeline. “And Millie, I promise you, you’re going to love it here.”

  Millie joined them inside, squinting, “I thought you said it would be pink!”

  “It will be, eventually. We’ve got lots of work to do before we open. It’s all going to take a little time, Angel Face,” Emmeline explained.

  Callum poked Millie’s side and said, “Down the street is the theater. I’ll introduce you to the manager very soon.”

  “How far?”

  “Like a two
minute walk. You might even be able to walk there on your own.”

  “Mom, would you ever let me walk there on my own?”

  “Maybe. We’ll talk about it later.”

  Millie nodded, and Emmeline grinned. “Did you know it’s customary to carry someone over the threshold? When we first moved into the train, your dad carried you over, although you were a baby then.”

  Millie looked confused. “Why were we in a train?”

  “She doesn’t know?” Ginny asked.

  “I guess I never told her all the details. In the end, it just seemed like home, not something different.” She turned to Millie and said, “Angel Face, we lived in a train—it was actually a train museum—for the first eight months of your life. The three of us, before your dad died.”

  “I was a hobo baby?” she asked, blinking rapidly.

  “Well, not exactly. More like a boxcar baby. We didn’t have to sneak in, we had permission to stay there.”

  “So weird. I hope this place is better than that.”

  “The train wasn’t so bad. But yes, I think this will be lots better. Well, kiddo, let’s go. Maybe we’ll carry on the tradition.” Emmeline picked Millie up and threw her over her shoulder while she squirmed and protested. “Stay still,” Emmeline said through her laughter. “I’ll drop you if you don’t!”

  Inside the door, she plopped her down, and Millie checked to see if anyone was watching, looking slightly embarrassed.

  “You’re not saying anything,” Ginny said. “Are you happy, sad, about to run away screaming?”

  Millie shrugged her shoulders.

  Emmeline quickly lost herself imagining where she would put the counter and till, where the tables would rest, and how her sign would look. Her line of credit was burning a hole in her pocket, and she wanted to get going right now. She had mentally decorated this place a hundred times. She had visualized a line of people stretching all the way down the street, begging her for her brownies or fresh-baked cookies. But right now, it was just them, and a long line of furniture to move inside. It was only four o’clock, and she was already more tired than she had any right to be.

  “Earth to Emmeline,” Ginny said, not getting an answer. “Millie? How about you? What do you think?”

  “It’s fine,” she said, shrugging her shoulders again.

  “Fine, ha!” Callum said, lugging in some chairs out of his trailer. “It’ll be better than fine. I’ve seen those plans of your mom’s.”

  “Emmeline?” Ginny asked again.

  “She’s dreaming, can you see it?” Millie answered for her. “We’ve totally lost her. You might as well show me the rest of the place. She might be a while before she comes up for air.”

  Ginny laughed.

  “I’m here. I just can’t believe this is finally happening, that’s all. Let’s go upstairs and see the rest of the place.”

  The two of them raced up the stairs at the back and showed Millie around, while Callum, focused on the task at hand, continued to unload boxes.

  “So which room do you want?” Emmeline asked.

  “Give me a minute. This is an important decision.” They left Millie to her room debate and went back downstairs to join Callum.

  “Hey!” said a man walking their way. “Looks like you might need some help.”

  Emmeline looked up. She recognized the voice. “Dad?”

  He grinned. “I heard that today was the day the prodigal daughter returned. I thought perhaps you wouldn’t mind a welcome wagon.”

  “Only if you actually brought a wagon with you,” Emmeline answered. He was there. She couldn’t explain at that moment how much it meant to her.

  “No wagon, but perhaps an extra pair of hands might help just as well.”

  “Yes. Thank you, Dad.”

  He came a little closer and wrapped his arms around Emmeline. She squeezed back tightly and then asked, “Is Mom coming?”

  “Later, she’ll come later.”

  That was good enough.

  They all pitched in with the rest of her stuff, attempting to get the boxes in the right rooms. It was a whirlwind of boxes, shouts asking where to put what, couch cushions sitting on recycling bags of clothes, and a pizza delivery guy somewhere in between. It was going as well as it could possibly go. Until she came out and saw two big tickets on the windshields of the cars, and the no parking signs missing.

  “Ugh,” Emmeline said, pulling the ticket off of her windshield. “Welcome home.”

  She smiled and went back to unpacking.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  They worked late into the evening getting the stuff out of the cars and trailer, haphazardly putting things in rooms. They threw their mattresses down on the floor, dug out some blankets, and then ordered their second pizza from the shop down the street at nine p.m. There weren’t a lot of options for easy take-out food within walking distance in the small downtown core, and they weren’t exactly in any shape for a proper sit-down restaurant. Tomorrow was going to require a trip to the grocery store, thought Emmeline.

  She said goodbye to her dad and Ginny, who after helping all afternoon, both looked like they needed a bath and a bed. Emmeline didn’t imagine she looked any better, but couldn’t help but notice how good Callum still looked. His fair hair was a messy and dirt showed under his fingernails, but it added to his charm.

  They had been getting closer and closer, now that she had let her guard down and had been clued in to what had been obvious to everyone but her. His words held new meaning now, and his smile gave her goosebumps. They had opened up possibilities in her mind that had been closed. Part of her still felt like she was doing something naughty by thinking about him like this. Was it okay to like your dead boyfriend’s BFF? It made her a little nervous. What would people think?

  Callum came up behind her and put his hand on her back.

  “Are you ready to go? Millie looks like she could eat a bear.”

  His touch sent these timid chills through her body. He had touched her a million times before, but these touches felt different, loaded with additional meaning. Emmeline closed her eyes and leaned into him. He squeezed in with his arm, and she placed her head onto his shoulder.

  He kissed her on the top of her head, and breathed in deeply. This felt like home—not this town, or her building. It was being around him. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought that about him. She always went to him, no matter what, when she felt like she was in over her head. He didn’t fix it for her, instead he listened. He helped where he could, but mostly he gave her the confidence that she could make it through whatever situation she found herself in.

  She turned toward Callum and looked up into his eyes. The air was thick and heavy, and Emmeline’s breath caught in her throat. His eyes softened as they connected with hers. She bit her lip. He put his other arm around her and pulled her in closely. Emmeline could feel her heart beat faster.

  “Fooooood!” shouted Millie.

  “No,” Emmeline said meekly.

  Callum’s eyes darted from Emmeline to Millie, and back to Emmeline again. He grunted and then said, “Food, here we come. Haven’t you had enough pizza today? Don’t you think we could have something different?”

  “Nope, unless you have a pancake place here. If we were back home we could have pancakes. They would even make me pancakes with chocolate chips in them.”

  “Not at this time of the day, I’m afraid,” Callum said, letting go of Emmeline.

  “Okay, Angel Face, let’s go.”

  They walked down the street, letting Millie run ahead. Callum grabbed Emmeline’s hand, lacing his fingers through hers, not saying much. Emmeline’s thoughts whirled like she was on a ride at an amusement park.

  “Come on, you guys,” Millie called, waiting at the corner to cross the street. “Why do you have to be so slow?”

  She ran back, pulled Emmeline and Callum’s hands apart, and stood in the middle. “They are going to close before you guys get there.” She took their hands
in hers and pulled them along, making Emmeline and Callum walk even slower just to tease her.

  By the time they got to the restaurant, the pizza was ready and they decided to eat there instead of going straight back to the building. Afterwards, they made a small detour in the other direction to show Millie the theater. It wasn’t as big as the one she was used to, but there was a certain charm about it. All three plastered their faces up to the doors and peeked inside, seeing a long hallway lined with posters leading to another set of doors. The billboard outside listed the current plays and what was coming up.

  “There is nothing here with kids in it,” Millie noticed.

  “Don’t worry, kiddo,” Emmeline said. “I’m sure something will come up soon.”

  “Mom, the theater is so close. Do you think that I could walk here by myself?”

  Emmeline thought for a moment. It would only be a two-minute walk. Not that far. It might be okay, but she had never let Millie go anywhere on her own before. Millie had grown up over the past few months as she turned eight. Emmeline nodded while inwardly cringing.

  “I bet your mom would let you walk here in no time. Besides, kid, you’re almost fifteen. Your mom’s gotta let go of those apron strings at some point!” Callum teased her.

  “Ha! You know I am only eight years and two months old.”

  “Really? I saw you on that stage last week. You had to be at least thirteen then.”

  “You’re crazy, Callum.”

  “Nooo,” Callum said, grinning. “It’s really great to have you here. I missed you guys.”

  “How could you miss us? You call us all the time, and you always came down to see us.”

  “It hasn’t been the same. When you were a small baby, I really got to see you. I was even there in the hospital when you were born.”

  Emmeline smiled, remembering. It had been one of the craziest times of her life.

  “Really?”

  “Yep.”

  “Mom talks about Daddy, but she doesn’t talk much about living here. Seriously, Mom, I still don’t really get why we have to live here.”