Page 137 of Engulfing Emma

Chapter Thirty-six

Emma

“I can’t believe we’ve already sold half of everything, Grandma,” Evelyn says, reaching under the table to get more bags of cookies. “Carter is going to get an awesome leg.”

“And it’s only been an hour,” Mom says. “There’s two more hours to go. If we’re lucky, we’ll sell out.”

I look in the fanny pack I’ve been using to collect money. Looks like there’s over five hundred bucks in there. It’s amazing what people will pay for things when they know all the proceeds are being donated to a good cause.

The event organizer called me earlier this week and went over what prices I should charge for my baked goods. I thought she was crazy. But she told me to trust her. She does these charity functions all the time. And she was right.

I couldn’t be happier for Carter.

I check out booths selling crafts and specialty foods; they seem to be doing well too. There are also several carnival games across the lawn and a silent auction for some higher-priced items.

“Why don’t you and Evie play some of the games,” Mom says. “The initial rush is over. I can handle it myself for a while.”

I don’t want to. If I walk around, I’m more likely to run into Brett. I’ve done everything I can to avoid doing that over the past week. I’ve stopped going to the corner market. I make sure I’m not walking to work the same time he’s getting off a shift. I don’t look at his townhouse.

Complete and total avoidance. That’s what’s become of my life. But tonight is the night I take the first step toward a new me. I let Becca’s husband set me up with one of his friends. Dan Daughtry is the guy’s name. He teaches at a school in Manhattan. And he’s exactly the kind of man I should be dating.

I won’t tell Evelyn, however. She’s been giving me the cold shoulder since I broke things off with Brett.

“Oh, yes, please?” Evelyn asks, suddenly okay with speaking to me. “I saw some fun things I really want to do.”

“Okay,” I say reluctantly and hand my mother the fanny pack. “We’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

“Take all the time you need. I’ll be fine here.”

Evelyn claps her hands. “I know right where I want to go.” She pulls me across the lawn to the dunking booth.

I look at her sideways. “Wouldn’t you rather do the ring toss or something?”

“I want to dothis.”

“Evelyn, I’ve never seen you throw a ball in your life. You do realize you have to hit a fairly small target.”

“Come on. It’s only five dollars for three tries,” she says. “It’s for Carter’s leg. We’ll do the ring toss next.”

I dig in my pocket and hand her the money. There are a lot of people standing in line. This seems to be the most popular game. When we get closer and I read the sign, I see why:DUNK A FIREFIGHTER

I don’t want to look, but I force myself to. When I see who’s sitting on the platform above the water, I know exactly why Evelyn was so eager to come over here. “Did you know Brett was going to be doing this?”

She shrugs.

“You’re still talking to him, aren’t you?”

“Mom, he’s my friend.”

“Evelyn, he’s thirty years old. You’re twelve. It’s not right.”

She puts her hands on her hips and gives me a stern look. “You want to talk about what’snot right?How about two people who are crazy about each other but can’t be together because one of them is being ridiculously stupid about it?”

“I’m not going over this again,” I say, trying to pull her out of line.

“Mom, I’m doing this. You’ll have to throw me over your shoulder and carry me out of here. But I’m pretty sure you don’t want to cause a scene.”

I huff my displeasure. “We’ll talk about this later.”

---