Another Life (emison)

Chapter Eleven

Noel brushed a piece of imaginary lint off his designer jacket – his own design, of course – and trained his eyes on the entrance of Estella's school. It was his day to pick his favorite adopted niece and he had a day of exploration planned. For someone as young as Estella, she had an amazing eye for what she liked when it came to clothes. The majority of her wardrobe was a result of many an afternoon excursion with Noel.

Noel pulled his jacket around him tightly as a chilly breeze swept across the street.

"Noel?"

He spun around at the familiar voice and pasted a smile on his face.

"Oh my God, Emily! How are you?"

"Um, I'm doing great," Emily said, frowning as she took in Noel's surroundings. She leaned forward and engulfed him in a hug. Noel reciprocated as little as he could without being so obviously rude. "How are you?"

"Fantastic," Noel replied. "Um, so you're back?"

Emily nodded and took a sip from her takeaway coffee. "Yeah, I'm back at my old studio. I've been back for a couple of months now, actually. Um, what have you been up to?"

Noel glanced behind him frantically. The last thing he needed was for Estella to come bounding up while he was talking to her mother's ex. "I'm a fashion designer. My label is doing really well."

"That's awesome," Emily said with a genuine smile. "I always knew you would do great things."

Noel couldn't stop the smile that crossed his face. It was just Emily. There was a reason everyone loved her.

Wait. Focus. She broke Alison's heart. You're supposed to be mad at her. She doesn't seem very upset though. And she hasn't even asked about Alison. Maybe she's a lot colder than we gave her credit for.

"So what are you doing at an elementary school?' Emily asked and her eyes widened. "Ohmigod, do you have a kid?"

"Uh, no," Noel said determinedly. "I'm waiting for, uh, for a friend's kid. They had to work so..."

"Ah, that's so awesome. You'd be like the best uncle ever."

Noel fought the smile this time and glanced at the school entrance. Thankfully there was still no sign of mini-Alison.

"Um, Noel, have you-"

Emily's question was cut off by her phone and breathed a sigh of relief, having a strong suspicion where Emily's question was leading.

"Hello? Hi, Jerry. Yeah, I know. Yes. I know." Emily sighed in frustration and waved a hasty goodbye to Noel as she took off down the road past the entrance to the school. Noel's eyes widened as he saw Estella descend the steps quickly and dodge Emily as she chatted on her phone.

That could not possibly have been any closer, Noel thought with relief.

"Hi, Noel!" Estella said with a big smile as she hugged his waist. "Are we going shopping?"

Noel smiled. "Definitely. I think you are in dire need of a new winter coat."

"Yes!" Estella cheered, clapping her hands.

Noel took her hand and walked in the opposite direction that Emily had disappeared in. If Estella had appeared five seconds earlier, no amount of bullshitting could have masked which friend this little girl belonged to.

-

Alison poured her third glass of wine and sighed. It had been a hellish week. She'd endured her first parent-teacher meetings and to say that these private school parents were intense would be the understatement of the century. Every single one wanted Alison to "personally make sure" that their little star did the best in her class.