Later that evening at the Walker residence.
Emma was shattered. She shuffled up to the front door and yawned from her physical and mental exertion. She fumbled with the door knob and lingered in the entrance hall as she stretched her arms up to ease the tension in her back.
“I’m home.” Emma shouted sleepily. She trudged sleepily with another yawn towards the stairs. Deloris had kept her supplied with energy bars and fruit, so she felt that skipping a meal tonight and just going straight to bed was the best option. She’d be better prepared tomorrow for sure. Joanna skidded out of the kitchen wearing her favourite dinner date outfit. A cream turtleneck, her best jeans and ankle boots. A brown belt slung around her hips and her hair was tamed into silky curtains. Very nice, even with the peppering of silvery white here and there. Must be date night. Emma grimaced, not wanting to deal with Ben with how little energy, and therefore patience, she had at the moment.
“Emma! It’s half seven! Where have you been?!” Her mother accosted her at the base of the stairs and cut off her escape route.
“I’m going to hit the hay Ma. I’m beat.” Emma tried to go around her, but her mother’s feathers were already ruffled to the max.
“I told you first thing this morning to be home by 7 for dinner. Where have you been all day?”
“Ma please I’m really not in the m-”
“To the dinner table young lady. You can tell us what you’ve been up to over dinner. You’ve missed the appetisers, but you’re just in time for the roast. Come on missy.” Joanna shepherded her, beer in each hand, back towards the dining room. Emma groaned, but didn’t have the energy to fight her mother, so she begrudgingly sulked and acquiesced.
A bolt of energy went right up her spine as she saw who the dinner guest was.
“Good evening Emma.” Caleb pushed his chair out and stood to greet her like a real gentleman. He looked suave in a sleek grey suit and his raven hair swept back into a hair tie. Freshly shaven, dark silver cufflinks and a dark grey tie made him look very smart. He filled the suit well, with his godly physique and confident presence. His grin spoke to his charm and sense of humour, as did the glint in his icy blue eyes. “So glad you made it.” He pulled out the chair next to him, and waited patiently for her to take a seat.
Emma blinked, noted Ben sat at the other side of Caleb at the head of the table, the other head chair had her mother’s apron strewn over the back, and Beth sat opposite Caleb. There was a space for another chair beside her sister, but it had conveniently been misplaced…
Ben, Beth and Joanna all looked to Emma on tender hooks to see how she would react. Caleb seemed to be the only one oblivious to the potential explosion of fire Emma could release when pushed. Joanna tried to distract from the stationary and horrified elephant in the room, by putting the beers in front of both men.
“Hund Beer? My favourite, and locally sourced.” Caleb thanked Joanna with a gigawatt smile. “Thank you.” Caleb then turned his attention back to the wide eyed woman who had yet to snap out of her stupefied state. “You alright there darlin’?”
That snapped her out of it.
Emma scowled, then blinked, and thanked her exhausted brain for coming up with a scenario that would allow her to appease her mother and not unleash her rage upon this crook. She still suspected he was some sort of cult leader or kingpin, or at the very least a crooked politician. None of the above options struck her as someone to piss off half cocked after a long day at work. Caleb started to frown, until Emma walked with purpose towards the offered chair.
“I’m quite alright Mr Johnson. How are you?” She asked with a fake sweet smile and took hold of the back of the chair.
“Well I’m just dandy thank-” Emma lifted the chair and walked it around the table. “…you…” She placed it next to Beth, took her seat, reached over and transferred her place setting without breaking a sweat.
“Good to hear. What about you Beth?”
“What?!” Her sister squeaked at suddenly being addressed. Emma dropped an arm across her shoulder and grinned at her. “I’m fine I guess?”
“Good. Ma?” Emma smirked at her mother, even though Joanna was scowling something fierce at her. Not my problem I won’t make nice with the crook. I’m being polite. I’m just not sitting next to the creep. “Did you and Ben get the bakery all set up alright?”
“…” Joanna’s fists were by her sides, and she kept darting her eyes with a question at Ben and Caleb. “Yes honey. Mostly. Just need to finish up tomorrow…”
“I thought you said everything would be up and running today?”
“Well I was meant to be, but something came up we had to deal with.” Ben tried to weigh in diplomatically, then ruined the façade by glugging at his beer for support.
“Nothing that we couldn’t handle, of course.” Caleb returned to his seat and reclined comfortably, despite Emma’s masked hostility.
Why are they all being so weird? Emma noted how uncomfortable Beth suddenly became next to her. She felt the way Beth tensed under her arm and regarded her curiously. Her sister senses started to tingle and she turned in her chair to narrow her hazel eyes on her. Beth’s face drained, making her freckles stand out even more, and she averted her doe eyes to her plate.
Target acquired, scanning, analysing, shitstorm detected.
“…Beth?”
“Yes?” Her voice was just a little too high and her smile too big as she tried to fool Emma into thinking she wasn’t affected by her sudden scrutiny.
“…” Emma did one final sweet of the room and noted how Joanna bolted the moment she caught her eyeline. Back to the kitchen, her safe haven, probably to use dinner to stall. Ben palmed his beer and looked to Caleb for support. “Beth?” She said more firmly just as Caleb opened his snake mouth, to tell another lie no doubt. “What happened to you today?”
“I went to get a new camera with Jason.” Beth shrugged Emma’s arm off her and nodded over at Caleb. “Thanks for getting him to replace my broken one. It should be here next week. Same model as my old one so all my attachments will work with it.” Beth darted her eyes over to Emma and paled further at the lack of evidence she found there of her sister believe a word of her story.
“Beth’s just a little nervous of telling you that Jason took her out on his Harley Davidson to Portland to buy the camera.” Caleb offered with a chuckle. Beth balked, unsure why he was the one throwing her under the bus. Not when he specifically asked her not to tell Emma too much about what happened that day.
“He what?!” Emma characteristically hit the roof and rounded on Beth. “What the hell were you thinking?! Did you even wear protective clothing?”
“I-erm-a helmet and jacket?! He lent them to m-”
“Ma!” Emma barked out towards the doorway, and Joanna had the bad luck of returning in that moment. “Did you seriously let Beth get on the back of a motorbike with a strange boy, out of town to Portland?!?” Jo gave Caleb a look, and with a strong nod from him, she nodded to Emma.
“Yes we did.” Joanna cleared her throat and put a large platter with a roast beef joint, surrounded by vegetables, in the middle of the table. “She’s 18 years old and I trust her.” It didn’t escape either daughter that her rehashing of the same line from this morning did not sound anywhere near as confident.
“What the hell Ma?! What if he’d ragged her around again? All the way out in Portland with no way back or anyone to look out for her?” Emma challenged, and you could have heard a penny drop. Beth lifted her doe eyes to find Caleb staring at her intently. She held her elbows under the table and realised what he was trying to pressure her into doing. Emma was exactly right. That’s exactly what happened…
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