She was a ticking time bomb. At some point, an alarm would sound and her lies would burst out into the world. It rubbed her the wrong way that her child could be thought of as a lie, but Emmie could only deny reality for so long. An omission of the truth was still a lie of sorts.
It wasn't just Emmie who was dwelling on this subject as of late. Trisha reminded her of it on a slow day at work, when a particularly torrential downpour seemed to be keeping most of Iola's customers away. Delton was out sick and so Trisha manned the skillet while Emmie kept up with the few orders coming through.
"I can't believe you're not showing already, Emmie. It's just a matter of time, you know. You're three months along!"
Emmie didn't need to be told that. Gestational dates leapt out of her brain nearly every morning; twelve weeks, six days. Thirteen weeks. And today, thirteen weeks, three days. It was true that Emmie's belly had yet to move much beyond the gentle curve it had held prior to her pregnancy, though she had noticed other subtle shifts in her body. Her backside, in particular, seemed to have filled out. She'd almost fallen off the bed the other day when Ryker, who was in the perfect position to observe this part of her anatomy, had mentioned something about it being even more luscious than he remembered.
"So, have you told Sam yet?"
"Hmm?" Emmie was shaken out of what was an alarming but not entirely unpleasant memory. "Oh... Sam. No, I haven't mentioned it."
"Mentioned it? Emmie!" Trisha hit her playfully on the shoulder. "You have to! Poor guy, the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be."
"I know."
"And better that you tell him now rather than wait until he undresses you one day and discovers it because you grew a baby bump overnight."
"I don't think that's how it works."
"Actually, it's exactly how it works, and it's exactly what's going to happen unless you grow a pair and tell him."
Emmie sighed. "I'm aware that I'll have to say something if our relationship continues, but... I don't really think it's going to go anywhere."
Trisha didn't seem convinced. "You keep telling yourself that, Hun. But if it seems at any point that it is going somewhere besides Splitsville, just woman-up and tell him. If he's a halfway decent guy, he'll take it well."
"Take it well? 'Hey, we've been involved for a month and it sort of slipped my mind until now, but guess what? I'm pregnant. Don't worry, though, it's not yours.'" Emmie shook her head. "Honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to see me again."
"Well, I would blame him. I bet he'll be more understanding than you think."
"Just... don't go looking for china patterns for us, okay?"
"China? My, aren't we presumptuous! No, Emmie, I've already got your wedding all planned, and it's going to feature Iola's specialty burgers served with a side of fries in our fancy plastic red baskets. We'll cut the buns in the shape of hearts. Oh, and instead of you two sharing the first piece of cake, you'll take a first sip from a chocolate milkshake. The guests can sit in the booths and we'll toss onion rings at you instead of rice as you walk down the aisle on your way to a life of wedded bliss."
"You've thought about this way too much."
Trisha deposited two club sandwiches onto plates and slid them across the counter for Emmie to take. "You have to envision the world you want to create for yourself. And my world has me catering your wedding. Deal with it."
Taking the plates, Emmie did her best to scowl at her friend without bursting into belly laughs.
"You'll thank me when he proposes!" Trisha called after her as she headed out onto the floor.
Almost dropping the sandwiches, Emmie ran right into Ryker, who had evidently been on his way into the kitchen. "When who proposes?"
Emmie's eyes grew wide. He'd heard that, dammit! "No one, obviously. Just Trisha being catty. You look like you've been through a typhoon." His hair was slicked back, water dripping from it onto his slate grey Gore-Tex jacket. Shivering, he slid out of it and tossed it onto a nearby chair.
"Have you seen it out there?" He gestured to the outside world. Trees swayed like cornstalks as wind and rain battered against them while streams of water gushed out of the storm grates in the street just beyond the parking lot.
Emmie winced. "I wish I didn't have to go out in that soon. Hold on a second." She delivered the sandwiches to a waiting couple, then followed Ryker to a booth in the corner.
"It should calm down."
"What should?"
"The weather. By the time you're off of work, the wind should have at least died down."
"Yeah, but I'm leaving early today. I have a doctor's appointment."
He slid into the booth. "Is everything okay?"
"Sure! Sure. It's a regular appointment. You know, just a check-up."
"But you don't have a car. Let me give you a ride to the doctor's office, at least. With all that wool you wear, you're going to smell like a wet sheep before you reach the corner."
Emmie's limbs went stiff. She couldn't exactly have Ryker dropping her off at the obstetrician's. Kind of a dead giveaway. "Um, thanks for that. It's okay, though. Really. I've got this."
"But I--"
"Well, hello there, brother. I see you've battled Moon Beach's biggest storm of the year to grace us with your presence."
"My appetite is bigger than this storm." He winked at Emmie, who turned away before Trisha could see how red her cheeks were about to get.
"Uh-huh. Well, with Emmie leaving early and with basically no customers except for Grace and Ed," she waved to the older couple sitting in a nearby booth, "I'm closing up early today. It's amazing that we still have power, but I'm not counting on that holding. So, what do you want?"
Ryker gave her his order and she retreated into the kitchen while Emmie attended to Grace and Ed. Since Trisha wanted to shut down the diner early, she began her closing duties while Ryker waited for his food. As she scrubbed out the coffee-maker, the familiar earthy aroma of sandalwood overtook the smell of burnt grounds. She turned to find Ryker a foot away restocking the napkins. "What the hell, Ryker?"
"I thought since you were ignoring me, I'd come over so you could ignore me to my face."
"You are so full of yourself. I'm not ignoring you, I'm working."
"No, no... you're ignoring me. I can tell."
"That's because..." She glanced around the restaurant and then lowered her voice. "That's because you winked suggestively at me, right in front of Trisha. She's going to know something's up."
"First of all, I wink suggestively at a lot of women. Who's full of themselves now?"
"Still you. And could you use your inside voice please?"
"Secondly," he said in his shout across the playground voice, "Trisha doesn't know anything. One little wink is hardly enough of a tell for her."
"Why do I think that's not the first time you've underestimated her."
"And it probably won't be the last either. But seriously, I think we're safe." His phone buzzed, prompting him to stop stuffing napkin dispensers long enough to look at the text. "Damn, that's Dan. Looks like I'm needed back at the office. I'll just take my lunch to go." He ducked his head into the kitchen to let his sister know there'd been a change of plans then headed towards his table. "Are you sure I can't give you a ride?"
Emmie shook her head. "You need to get going anyways."
He peered outside at the storm, and then glanced back at her, a surprising level of confliction set into his expression. "It's so nasty out, though. You shouldn't be walking all over town in this."
"Don't worry, I won't. I'll ask Trisha to give me a ride."
"Promise?"
Trisha chose that moment to come out of the kitchen, to-go box in hand. She handed it to her brother. "I'm on it. Our Emmie will be escorted to and from the doctor's office. Happy now?"
Ryker gave her one of his congenial smiles, followed by a kiss on the cheek. With a brief good-bye to Emmie, he jogged out the door, hood up to ward off the rain.
"Oh. My. God..." Trisha crossed her hands in front of her chest and glared at Emmie who stood there awkwardly biting her lip.
"Please don't be mad at me, Trisha!"
Trisha narrowed her eyes. "I don't know if I'm mad or amused or... No, I know what I am. I am totally grossed out! My brother is your 'yes man!'"
A/N: Conversations between Trisha and Emmie mixed in with banter between Emmie and Ryker mark some of my favorite moments in this book. They are all hilarious in their own ways. So... now the cat's out of the bag: Trisha knows Emmie has continued to see Ryker. Do you think Trisha's advice will change now that she knows it's her brother Emmie is involved with?
Thank you for supporting THE ENTANGLEMENT CLAUSE! Your votes are doing a lot of good for Emmie and Company. Today they are helping out Trisha, whose face was frozen in a look of horror at the chapter's closing.
Yeah, kind of like that. Votes will supply her with a bottle of wine, a bubble bath, and a steady supply of adorable puppy and kitten videos.
This update is dedicated to my funny and talented Wattpad friend, tamoja who recently secured herself a top 10 position in the TNT Horror Contest with her story DARLA! Yay!!! Tammy is one of the most lovely people on Wattpad. I suggest you check out DARLA as well as all of of the other gems on her profile!