Page 72 of Emma
“Well, you do, and I think the future looks promising.”
Emma closed her eyes and smiled. If someone on the outside believed it looked promising, maybe Emma should cling to thatwhenever things felt as though they were moving at a snail’s pace. She had no reason to rush any of this, and as she’d told Nia, she would only engage in the things Freya was comfortable with. “Thanks. I guess I have a call to make then. I just hope Carmen will at least consider meeting with me.”
“I think she may just surprise you.”
When they ended the call, Emma sat in the quiet of the office and absorbed Nia’s words. Her confidence in all of this, too. She could almost hear Vanessa’s voice in her head, echoing the same reassurance.
Don’t let the heartbreak stop you from seeing what’s in front of you.
And so, she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
She was someone’s big sister, and Emma was ready for anything that came.
The car parkwas almost empty as Emma sat in the driver’s seat with the engine off, her bag tossed into the passenger footwell. She’d been sitting there for twenty minutes now, her phone in her hand, turning it over and over like it might just give her the courage she needed if she kept touching it for long enough.
The call to Nia had left her with more clarity, but clarity didn’t make this next step any easier. Carmen had managed to be civil since they’d met—just about—but Emma knew civility didn’t always mean comfort. And this conversation was going to demand both.
Her thumb hovered over Carmen’s contact number. She’d thought about leaving it until tomorrow. Then she thought about Freya’s email again, about the questions she’d asked and the truths she deserved, and tomorrow felt like a cop-out. Shewanted to get this over and done with now so she could finally respond to Freya’s email.
Before she could change her mind, Emma hit the call button and pressed the phone to her ear.
It rang twice.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Carmen. It’s Emma.” She cleared her throat. “Emma Hughes, or as Freya knows me…Bradley.”
There was a small pause, but it wasn’t anything she didn’t expect. “Hi. Is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything’s fine.” Emma adjusted her grip on the phone, watching the wind ruffle the bare branches beyond the bonnet of her car. “I just wanted to see if you would be open to meeting for a coffee sometime soon. Nothing formal. Just you and me, somewhere neutral.”
There was another pause, and Emma felt her shoulders tighten ever so slightly.
“Can I…ask what for?” Carmen said carefully.
“To talk about Freya, about what she’s asked me in her email, and…about where we go from here. I think it would help to find some common ground, so that whatever happens, Freya feels like we’re all on the same page.” She let out a slow breath. “I’m not expecting anything overnight. I know this is all new for her. I just think that it would be helpful for us to be able to talk without it feeling like a stand-off.”
When Carmen spoke again, there was a hint of something softer in her tone. “Alright. I think that’s a good idea.”
Emma frowned, not expecting that response or for it to be so easy to come by. “Really?”
“Yes. How is tomorrow for you?”
Oh. That soon.Even though Emma hoped it would be sooner rather than later, she hadn’t expected tomorrow. “I can meet atthe coffee shop on the high street straight from work. Given the traffic lately, how does four sound to you?”
“That’s no problem for me. Ben is out at football trials with Freya tomorrow straight from school anyway.”
A potential footballer. Emma could only smile. “That’s great that she’s keeping her options open with sport. She’s a natural when it comes to netball.”
“So she keeps telling me.” Carmen laughed. “She mentioned this morning that she’d replied to your email, but you hadn’t wrote back yet.”
“Yeah, I um…I kinda wanted to meet with you before I replied. The email was pretty heavy, and I’m not sure how much you want me to give her in my response.”
“Be honest with her. I know what the email says, and I believe she wants answers. If you’re able to provide them, I think it’ll put her mind at rest.”
Emma could do that. If she had to be entirely honest with Freya, she would. She never wanted her sister to think she’d hated her. That couldn’t be further from the truth. “Then I’ll drop her a quick line this evening explaining that I’ll write back in full within the next couple of days. I don’t want to rush my response to her, so I hope she’ll understand that.”
“She’ll understand. I’ll speak to her when I’m home from work and explain the situation. I’m now beginning to realise that this is just as difficult for you as it is for her.”
