Page 135 of The Snowball Effect

But… no. She needed this. She needed to voice it aloud, to another human being. Or she might very well explode.

“To set the record straight for you – Regan and I really arejust roommates,” she stressed, to make that point very clear. “There hasn’t been… romantic drama or whatever you think has been going on all summer.”

Brynn scoffed, crossing her arms. “So, what you’re all wrapped up in knots over right now is…?”

Reluctantly, Emma admitted, “Slightly romantic drama. We’ve… there’s been…” God, she regretted this already, and she reached up to rub intently at her temple. “A single kiss. And a single night of cuddling. And a – a confession of feelings.Hers,” she quickly clarified, and her stomach twisted and turned at the memory yet again.

Brynn’s eagerness was written all over her face. “Please, I am begging you to continue.”

But this was where Emma got tripped up. This was where the external facts stopped coming into play, and where Emma’s internal feelings came into play. Where all of her conflict was. Where she found herself so… tongue-tied.

She’d never been so relieved about her phone starting to ring in herlifeas she was in this moment.

Regan? She wondered, and then immediately wondered how she’d feel about that.

To her disappointed relief, though, it was Gram’s name on the screen.

“Actually, I need to answer this,” she held her phone up as evidence to get her out of this conundrum.

Brynn tossed her arms in the air. “You’re really going to leave me on this cliffhanger?”

Hesitating before she answered the call, she shook her head and forcedlogicto return. “It’s not a cliffhanger; it’s just… normal life that got a little complicated. Slightly longer story made short – we’re still just roommates.”

As her phone continued to ring, she thought of how poorly her gram had felt yesterday, and she flashed another look toward Brynn. “I’m sorry for cutting this long goodbye a little short, but I do need to answer this call. Thank you, again, for dinner, and congrats, again, on the promotion.”

Brynn stared widely at her, before chuckling disbelievingly. “You owe me a real resolution to this tale. But, thanks and you’re welcome, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Emma waved, solidifying the farewell, as soon as she answered the call, “Hey, Gram. How are you feeling?”

“I’m perfectly fine. Really, Em, I spent a little too much time in the heat – that was all. I’m back to normal today,” Gram assured her.

Emma started walking in the direction of her apartment. The restaurant Brynn had wanted to try was, luckily, far closer to Emma’s home than it was to work. Only a few blocks away, actually.

She frowned in consideration, before she hesitantly determined that her Gram’s tone sounded genuine. “Okay, good. I still think you should tell Doctor Visentine at your appointment next week, though.”

Gram loftily sighed. “Yes, I will.”

In the brief lull of conversation, Emma heard sound in the background. Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, she tried to focus… but it didn’t sound like the television. “Are you having a party over there or something?” She asked, jokingly.

Only, her gram’s voice wasn’t joking when she answered, “No, it’s not a party. Just Phoebe and Bea, the women we played bingo with.”

Emma nearly tripped over her feet in utter shock. “What?”

“When we played bingo a few weeks ago–” Gram started.

“No, I remember them,” Emma interjected. “I just don’t understand what’s going on right now. Is it… bingo night again?” She tried to guess.

“Ah, no. We’re all in my suite; I really tried to teach them how to play some games out in the common area, but… the card table makes all the difference,” Gram informed Emma, as if Emma didn’t know how seriously her gram took cards, and the significance of the table.

Thatwasn’t what surprised her, though.

“I – that’s really great, Gram.” Emma tried to contain her excitement at the prospect of her grandmother making friends, because she knew Gram would fuckinghateto feel infantilized.

“Yeah,” her gram’s terse agreement confirmed that sentiment. She cleared her throat. “We’re about to start a game of bridge, but I just needed for you to ask Regan if it was all right if I give her information out to someone here? Her cookies have been an absolute hit, and one of the women that works the front desk wanted to know if she’d be interested in baking something for her husband’s retirement party next month. I tried to get a hold of her, first, but she wasn’t answering. And you know how I don’t trust texting important information.”

Narrowing her eyes, Emma tried to think over the details of bringing her gram back to Primrose Grove yesterday. “Sure, I can pass the question on.” Unable to help herself, Emmapressed, “I just – I don’t remember packing any of Regan’s desserts with us to take home yesterday?”

In Emma’s memory, Regan’s desserts had been completely decimated by the end of the party.

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