Holding On

Fourty-Two

The next day, Eva called and told Emma to come over to her house. Having a mini celebration after a victory before the main one at the fashion house was a tendency that'd honed over the past years, but there was something about the way her best friend had spoken that had nervousness knocking at the edge of her consciousness.

Normally, Eva would be all like "come let's party girl!" But today, it was a somewhat stern "come over to my house, Emma" that had Emma wondering.

George had left for his office though it was a Sunday, telling Maggie (and not her) that he had a lot of work to do. But Emma knew the reason behind the unusual decision; that he didn't want to cause himself anymore pain by spending it with her and their daughter like he usually did.

When she got to Eva's along with Amy, the foreign 'welcome' look her best friend cast her was enough to substantiate Emma's uneasiness, and she couldn't find the accustomed bottle of champagne that would normally be resting on the glass centrepiece in the living room. Why then did Eva call if not for celebration?

"Amy dear, why don't you play with the dolls on the couch over there?" Eva said, pointing.

Amy turned to go without a word, and without what would usually be a barely contained excitement. Suddenly it occured to Emma that perhaps her daughter wasn't as naive as she and George had perceived, that the little girl sensed the awkwardness by which she and George executed their pretenses, that she knew that things weren't normal between her parents.

She watched Amy until a stern "sit down!" brought her out her thoughts. She looked at Eva, who seemed quite upset and wanted to protest, but filled with the need to ease the building anxious curiosity, she obeyed. Eva sat beside her, and for what seemed like eternity, she didn't say anything. She only stared at Emma in a way that made Emma want to run out of the room.

"Eva..." She begun, already drowning in the angst.

"What's going on, Emma?"

Emma snorted in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I don't know, you tell me." There was something knowing about the way Eva said it that made Emma recall the past days, the looks that Eva threw her while they worked. It was obvious the other woman had chosen to wait for after the fashion show to satisfy her curiosity as to what was causing Emma's frequent distractions.

She realized that she needed to finally divulge everything to Eva about what was going on with her and Zain. She needed all the support and strength her friend could offer.

Eva spoke before she could. "George was here."

Emma wondered why she wasn't surprised about that. Perhaps she'd always known that even though George liked things to be resolved only between them, he saw the potential of a third party offering more help than they could anticipate. "oh."

"What the hell are you doing to him, Emma. He said you've changed, and that he barely recognizes you now. You disregard his feelings, and he feels like you're hiding something from him. He didn't say much, but I thought to get the details from you. What's happening Emma? The two of you were so happy."

"It's Zain, Eva."

"What the fuck has Zain got to do with this?" Eva demanded, confusion swimming in the pools of her amber eyes. "I thought you cut him out of your life after he said he still wanted you back."

With a visceral fear of her friend's judgement, Emma narrated how Zain had turned a deaf ear to her pleas and refused to back off, the effect it'd had on her marriage, and how yesterday, Zain made her realize she was still in love with him.

After doing her part of the listening, Eva covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. "What are you saying, Emma? How's that even possible?" She looked horrified. "So you never loved George."