[Meet Your Match 01.0] Prejudice Meets Pride

by Rachael Anderson

  “Yes,” said Emma. “I went to a really nice art gallery opening in Denver, featuring a bunch of local artists. It was wonderful.”

  The papers stopped shuffling, and Janice’s eyes seemed to zero in on her like they would a target. “Did you go alone?”

  Emma wasn’t sure how to answer. “No. I, uh… got invited to go.” That didn’t sound like she was trying to hide something, did it? Emma rushed on to say, “Are you into art at all?”

  “No. Which is why I turned down the tickets when the sales rep offered them to me.”

  “Oh.” Emma’s gaze shifted to the papers. Stupid her. She should have known the tickets had been some sort of business perk. Why had she opened her big mouth and jabbered about the art gallery anyway?

  “Kevin said he was going to pass them off to someone who’d be interested. I didn’t realize he meant you.”

  Pass them off? Is that what he’d intended to do? The way Janice watched her made Emma suddenly feel like she was under a magnifying glass, and Janice didn’t like what she saw. She turned her palms up and tried to sound flippant. “Well, I am an artist.”

  “Which leads me to wonder what you’re doing here.” The comment didn’t sound accusing or cruel, merely curious, but her words still made Emma squirm. “Wouldn’t you rather be doing something you love?”

  “Of course, but what I want to do isn’t an option right now, so I took the next best thing that came along.”

  “Working in a dental office is the next best thing?” said Janice. “Or is it a certain someone that makes it the next best thing?”

  Emma’s fingers clenched around the armrests of her chair. Is that what Janice thought of her? That she was some sort of opportunist intent on snagging the rich dentist? Is that what everyone thought? If so, they were wrong. Dead wrong. Emma’s shoulders stiffened as she met Janice’s gaze with a hard stare. “I accepted this job because Kevin said he needed an extra set of hands and because I needed the money. That’s the only reason.”

  “He might need an extra set of hands, but I don’t,” Janice muttered under her breath.

  A chill swept through Emma. At the back of her mind, she’d always feared this job had been “created” for her, but hearing it voiced aloud made it real. And painful.

  But she wasn’t about to give Janice the satisfaction of seeing how much her comments had hurt. Emma stood, trying to keep her back straight, her gaze unflinching. “Like I said before, I’m all caught up with the patient files. Is there something else you’d like me to do?”

  Janice pushed the stack of papers in her hand toward Emma. “I need these filed.”

  “Sure, I’ll get right on that.” She scooped them up, spun on her heel, and left the office behind, trembling all the way to the filing cabinet. Janice had no right to treat her that way. Emma hadn’t asked Kevin to invent a job for her. She hadn’t asked for anything—at least not at first—and yet Janice had made her feel like this entire humiliating scene was all her fault. When it wasn’t her fault at all. It was Kevin’s.

  Emma jerked the drawer open and started shoving pages into the files, taking her anger out on something that didn’t feel or couldn’t lash back. She shoved until her eyes began to sting with unshed tears. She wasn’t being fair. Neither Kevin nor Janice deserved her anger—not really. Emma was the one to blame. This wasn’t where she belonged, and she should never have accepted this job. The air was too stale, the walls too drab, and the work too uncreative. Emma wanted more. She needed more.

  But where would she find it?

  Raised voices sounded, and Emma became aware of a commotion happening in one of the exam rooms. The cries of a hysterical child and a woman speaking rapid Spanish echoed down the short hallway, getting louder and louder. Typically, Kevin didn’t get flustered, but as he tried to communicate with both mother and daughter in incredibly broken Spanish, his voice began to escalate as well.

  Without a second thought, Emma dropped the stack of papers on top of the filing cabinet, wiped her eyes, and walked into the exam room, not caring that she wasn’t supposed to be there.

  “Hola! Cuál es la problema?” she asked, molding her lips into what she hoped appeared to be a bright smile.

  The girl stopped crying and gaped at Emma in surprise, while the mother appeared relieved. “Habla español?”

  “Sí.”

  The woman started rattling off the situation in Spanish. It had been awhile since Emma had spoken the language, so she didn’t catch everything, but she heard enough to get the gist of the problem.

  Emma placed her hand on the little girl’s arm. “Habla inglés?” she asked, hoping the child would be bilingual so she wouldn’t have to translate the entire conversation to Kevin.

  The girl nodded, casting a worried look Kevin’s way as though scared he’d try to hurt her again.

  “The reason your face feels funny is because Dr. Grantham put some medicine on it to make it numb. That means it won’t hurt when he fixes the cavity.”

  “It hurt,” was all she said, holding her hand to her cheek.

  Kevin let out a sigh. “I’m so sorry, Isabella. You jerked your head when I was giving you the medicine, which is why it hurt. Normally, it doesn’t. I promise.”

  Emma nodded and leaned in closer. “Does it hurt right now, sweetie?”

  Her head shook. “It just feels funny.”

  “I know,” said Emma. “I’ve had that medicine too. But it will only feel funny for a little while, I promise. By dinnertime, it will be all better and back to normal.”

  Isabella bit her lip, still looking anxious.

  Emma searched her mind for something that might help. “What if I were to draw a picture of you while Dr. Grantham fixes your cavity? Would you like that?”

  “What kind of picture?” At least she didn’t say no. That had to be a good sign.

  Emma rested her hand on Isabella’s and gave it a slight squeeze. “You tell me. Do you want to be a princess, a cowgirl, a doctor, an astronaut, a—”

  “A princess.” She smiled, or at least tried to. The right half of her mouth wouldn’t obey.

  Emma smiled back. “Okay. Princess it is.”

  “On a unicorn?” the little girl added tentatively.

  “Well of course on a unicorn,” Emma said. “What else would a beautiful princess like you ride?” That earned her an even bigger half smile from Isabella.

  “Why don’t you rest your head right here and let Dr. Grantham fix that cavity? If it starts hurting, I want you to squeeze your mom’s hand, and she’ll tell him to stop. Okay? And by the time he’s finished, I’ll have your picture all ready for you.”

  Fear returned to her eyes, but she finally nodded and grabbed a hold of her mom’s hand in a tight grip.

  Using Spanish, Emma quickly filled the mother in before going to the reception area to grab some paper and a marker. She’d create a black line drawing so Isabella could color it in herself at home.

  Back in the exam room, Emma held the paper above the little girl’s face and said, “I’m going to sit over here and work on your drawing, okay? You’re doing awesome.”

  Isabella nodded, and less than fifteen minutes later, Kevin pushed the tool tray aside and stripped off his gloves, then patted Isabella on the shoulder. “All done. You did wonderful.” He held his hand out for a fist-bump, which Isabella returned.

  As the chair raised to a sitting position, Emma held up the line drawing of Isabella dressed in a beautiful dress, riding a unicorn. “I’m all done, too. What do you think?”

  She grabbed the picture and smiled broadly. “That’s me on a unicorn!” She held it out for her mom to see. “Mira Mamá!”

  “Sí, sí, muy hermosa!”

  The mother thanked Emma and Kevin, then left with her happy little girl. When Emma’s attention returned to Kevin, she found him watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. He rose from his chair and pulled her into a hug, right in front of one of his surprised assistants, who ducked h
er head and quickly left the room.

  “Thank you, Emma,” Kevin said quietly in her ear.

  For a moment, it was easy to get lost in his embrace and forget Janice’s earlier words, but when Janice walked by seconds later, the hard look in her eyes immediately rekindled Emma’s earlier feelings. She felt the tears begin to well up again and quickly pulled free. “No problem,” she said, before returning to the stack of filing awaiting her on the desk outside the office. She would get through this day if it was the last thing she did.

  “My ear hurts,” Kajsa complained after Emma had picked up the girls from Becky’s house.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie.” Her forehead didn’t feel warm, so Emma gave her some ibuprofen and let her rest on the couch while she read with Adelynn and started making dinner.

  Around six o’clock, the doorbell rang. Kajsa moved to get it, but Adelynn beat her to it, flinging the door open and revealing Kevin.

  What was he doing here?

  Only then did Emma remember. Dinner. And mud pie—which she hadn’t made. How could she have forgotten? She would have sent him a text and called the whole thing off. After what happened at the office, he was the last person she wanted to sit across the table from and make polite conversation.

  Emma wiped her hands on a dishtowel as she approached Kevin, not sure what to say.

  “Am I too early?” he asked.

  “Um, no” She handed the dishtowel to Adelynn. “Will you go put that in the sink for me, sweetie?”

  Adelynn nodded, and Emma pulled Kevin outside and closed the door. “I’m so sorry, but I completely forgot about tonight,” Emma said. “When Kajsa got off the bus, she wasn’t feeling well, and my mind has just been on… other things.”

  “Is Kajsa okay?” Kevin asked.

  “I think so. She says her ear hurts, but she isn’t running a fever and our doctor’s office is closed, so I figured I’d wait until morning to take her in.”

  “I understand.” He nodded. “Rain check then?”

  Um… Rain check? On dinner and mud pie? Emma hesitated. What had sounded so fun and spontaneous yesterday now made her wonder what she was doing. She was the one who’d turned the art gallery thing into a date, who couldn’t stop kissing him, who’d invited him to the park, and who’d asked him over for dinner and mud pie. Was he thinking she was an opportunistic social climber as well?

  “Is everything okay, Emma?” Kevin asked, watching her closely.

  Unable to keep it in any longer, Emma forced the words out. “Did you offer me a job because Janice really needed an assistant or because you felt sorry for me?”

  Kevin’s eyes widened slightly before he let out a sigh and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Are you sure you want me to answer that?”

  Her heart constricted. It was true then. She hadn’t misinterpreted Janice’s muttered comment. And knowing that, she couldn’t go back tomorrow. Not now. Not after this. She just couldn’t. Not even thoughts of Adelynn or Kajsa could make her lower her pride that much. Emma would find something else to do. She had to find something else. Even if it meant taking orders or flipping burgers, at least she’d be doing a job that needed doing and earning an honest salary.

  “Consider this my notice,” she said, her words shaky.

  A hand on her arm stopped her from going back inside. “Emma, wait. Think about this for a second, will you? You need a job that works with the girls’ schedule, and I can afford to pay you. What is so wrong with that?”

  Emma yanked her arm free. “The fact that you don’t understand means you don’t know me well at all. How can you expect me to walk into your practice tomorrow, knowing I’m not needed, and still accept a paycheck? Because I can’t. Do you have any idea how demeaning it feels to know someone created a job for me out of pity? What did you do, tell Janice that you’d hired an assistant for her and she needed to find something for me to do?” Just saying the words made Emma’s stomach tie itself into knots.

  Kevin shuffled his feet, but didn’t answer her question, which gave Emma her answer. No wonder Janice had been bugged by her from the get-go. Who wouldn’t be?

  Once again, tears started to pool in her eyes—tears that Emma wanted to go away. She was so sick of crying over this, of feeling like a failure. She wanted to crumple up this day and throw it into the nearest landfill, like she did a drawing that wasn’t coming together the way it should.

  Kevin moved closer and cupped her cheek, his thumb wiping away the tears that refused to go away.

  Something snapped inside Emma, and she jerked her head away, glaring at him. “I am not a charity case, and you are not my benefactor!” she cried. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “What should I have done, Emma? Stand by while you go to work for some fast food place, earning minimum wage?”

  “At least it would have been an honest wage earned. Now I feel like I need to return all those paychecks you gave me.”

  “For crying out loud, Emma!” Kevin’s jaw clenched, and he threw up his hands. “Take the money, take the job, and get over your stupid pride.”

  Emma’s mouth fell open. Did he really expect her to take the job, the money, put up with Janice’s slights, and ignore the fact that it was all a farce? What was so wrong with having pride? It had gotten her through school without going into debt or taking money from the government. It had gotten her some independence and self-respect. And now Kevin wanted to strip it all away and turn her into someone who was okay with taking handouts from others. He really didn’t know her at all.

  She glared. “You can give your money and your made-up job to someone who needs it. Because I don’t.”

  “Emma, be reasonable.” He reached for her arm, but she yanked it away.

  “Like it or not, I am who I am, and nothing you say is going to change that. So you can tell Janice to rest easy, because I won’t be showing up anymore.”

  Kevin made a guttural sound and clenched his fists. “Why do you have to be so… frustrating?”

  Emma twisted the knob and opened the door, signaling an end to the conversation. “I could say the same thing about you,” she said quietly, before walking inside and closing the door firmly behind her.

  Emma pulled the covers over the two sleeping girls, wondering how she was going to take care of them now. Kevin was right. She’d probably have to take a minimum wage job somewhere with an inflexible schedule, no benefits, and a paycheck that barely covered the utilities.

  She leaned over and kissed each soft forehead, feeling the same, scary sense of responsibility and loneliness she’d felt the day she’d left her brother’s house to drive west. Was this how all single parents felt? If so, her heart went out to them all.

  As if on cue, her phone rang with Noah’s ringtone.

  Emma quickly exited the room and answered it in the hall. “Hey, Noah," she whispered.

  “Where are my girls?” he said jovially. “Please don’t tell me they’re asleep already. I have some great news and can’t wait to tell them.”

  For a moment, Emma was tempted to wake the girls so they could talk to their daddy, but Kajsa wasn’t feeling well and Adelynn was a bear when she got woken up. She hoped Noah would understand. “I’m sorry, but Kajsa isn’t feeling well, and they both fell asleep watching a movie after dinner. I really don’t want to wake them.”

  “Oh.” The disappointment in his voice had Emma second-guessing herself. “The late hours I work really suck sometimes.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Emma mustered a perky tone. “Can you tell me the good news? I promise to keep it to myself, so you can tell the girls tomorrow.” At least one of them had something positive worth sharing, and Emma could use something positive right now.

  “I’m coming for Thanksgiving.”

  “What?” Emma pressed the phone closer to her ear, and a happy warmth seeped into her chest. “Are you serious? How?” Flying home over the holidays was expensive, and they’d bo
th agreed that he should spring for Christmas, but not Thanksgiving.

  “A friend of mine is dating a gal who works for an airline company. She said she can get me a couple of buddy passes.”

  Emma closed her eyes and dropped down on the couch. That was good news. Wonderful news. The heaviness on her shoulders seemed to lighten and happy tears filled her eyes. “That’s so great, Noah. So, so great. The girls are going to be ecstatic.” Emma was ecstatic.

  “Are you crying?”

  “Yes,” she said with a sniff, then chuckled. “I’m surprised I still can. It might be the tenth time today.”

  “Why?” His voice became concerned. “What happened?”

  Too late, Emma realized her mistake. The last thing Noah needed to hear right now was about her lousy day or the fact that she no longer had a job. But how could she explain crying ten times in one day without telling him the truth?

  “Emma?”

  “It’s just been a day, that’s all,” she said, wiping at her eyes. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you’ll be here in a few weeks.”

  “What. Happened?” he repeated, enunciating each word.

  Emma dropped her head to her hands as the worst of her distress came sailing back. She’d thought she’d already hit rock bottom for the day and was on her way up, but Noah had to go and push her back down into it.

  “I lost my job,” she finally said. Actually quit her job was more truthful, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her brother that. He wouldn’t understand any more than Kevin did. Maybe it was a guy thing.

  “How? What—”

  “They were overstaffed and didn’t need me anymore. Last one in, first one out. You know the drill.”

  “I’m so sorry, Emma.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll find another one soon. And in the meantime, I have your arrival to look forward to.” She paused. “How are you doing?” Noah never really talked about himself, but she knew he still struggled with the loss of his late wife. If only he’d open up and let out some of the pain that must be festering inside him.