EMMA DAMIAN 32

D A M I A N

Without a doubt, there was something special about Batangas. A couple of weeks on the beaches, mostly buzzed, with the sun on my face. It'd been unusually warm for January, enough to tempt me to spend the winter there, away from Manila's slate gray sky. Man, a man may have a fantastic life in Batangas.

I fantasized of collecting my belongings, giving my house to my mother, and moving to the ocean for good. I could sell my clinic to Carlos, open a small private practice near the beach, close enough to smell the salt on the breeze when the windows were open, and spend my days getting paid to serve wealthy retirees and people with bad knees.

That much was certain: the concept was appealing. But there was one problem: I couldn't get my mind off her.

Women were usually an important component of every trip. You eat some good local food, visit some local attractions, and meet a local female. That would have been the plan when I was younger. In Batangas, women were throwing themselves at me, but they might as well not have existed.

Emma was the only one I was interested in. But she'd made it very plain that she was done with me.

But I wasn't put off. When the jet landed in Metro Manila, I felt a strength I'd never felt before. I wanted to give it one more shot, to see if I could persuade her to give me another chance.

I'd sent Carlos an email the day before I'd returned, planning a supper with him and Zea. But as soon as I started on my cell phone service again in Metro Manila, my phone lit up with a text from him.

We'll have dinner another night. Visit Emma.

That removed whatever doubts I had about what I wanted to do and what I needed to do.

I drove to her house, stopping in Binondo to buy a dozen roses from a local florist. Sure, I risked seeming like an idiot if I was rejected with a bouquet of flowers in my hands, but a little embarrassment was a little price to pay for the chance to be with her again.

Pulling up to her apartment was enough to make my stomach clench, to bring back all the stress that my trip had washed away. There weren't many things that worried me, but knowing I was only a hundred feet away from the lady I loved more than anything else got me very near.

I was prepared. I knew what I had to do whether the news was good or bad.

I walked out of my car, roses in hand, into the biting cold air, the collar of the coat I hadn't worn in weeks pushed up around my neck. Carlos's text had given me hope, but I realized there was a high chance I'd be heading back to my car in ten minutes, flowers in my hand and rejection burning my heart.

There is only one way to find out.

I took a big breath, stepped up to her door, and knocked.

What if she dismisses me? What if she peeked through the peephole, saw it was me, and didn't even respond this time?

But as I lifted my hand to knock again, the latch clicked inside and the door opened.

Emma was not the woman on the other side.

"Hey, Doc," she said, smiling.

It took me a moment to realize she was Emma's helper.

"Hannah," I responded, remembering her name. "Nice to see you."

"Same to you," she said, her gaze falling to the roses in my hand. "Are those for me?" ”

"Well, that depends on whether you're going to tell Emma I'm here to see her," I joked as I lifted one of the roses by the stem.

She chuckled as she reached for the rose. "We considered and accepted your bribe." "Please come in."

She stepped aside and motioned for me to enter, dragging the rose under her nose as she sniffed it.

Hannah closed the door behind me as I entered the living room. The room was cluttered with binders, papers, pencils, and other office supplies, and two silver MacBooks were open on the table in front of the window.

Emma wasn't in the room, but knowing she had only recently arrived was a huge relief. Not to add that I was almost certain I'd never be permitted back into her place.

"Let me get those in water," Hannah said, taking the flowers from my grasp and carrying them to the kitchen.

“Someone’s on the ball,” I said.

“That’s what being a good assistant’s all about. Though, after our little New Year’s event, I’m starting to think I might be in for a promotion.”

“How did that go?” I asked, genuinely curious.

She turned on her heels, a big smile on her face. “Like a freaking dream. You’re now looking at Second Chance’s official event coordinators.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, excitement welling up in me.

“Serious. They were so happy with our work that they put us on a contract. Whatever events they throw, big or small, we’re handling them.”

“That’s fucking awesome.”

“Glad you think so. What you’re looking at here all spread around is Emma and I trying to get the events scheduled for the rest of the winter.”

“I’m sure you guys are going to kick ass.

“That’s what I’m thinking, too.” She poured some water from the sink into a nearby glass vase, dropping the flowers in and spreading them open when they were arranged.

“Whoa,” I said, admiring her work. “Those look great.”

She smiled broadly, pleased with her work. “In another life I was an assistant manager at a flower shop in Laguna.”

Hannah set the flowers in the center of the worktable, stepping back and admiring them.

“So,” I said. “As nice as it is to see you…”

“Be patient,” Hannah said, one of her eyes squinted as she regarded the flowers, stepping up to them again and making another adjustment. “She’s in the other room. Give her a few minutes. She’s…got some important stuff to say.”

Hannah turned to step out of the room. As she did, she spotted something on the coffee table.

A book.

“Shit!” Before I had a chance to read the title, she lunged and grabbed it, pressing it to her chest and turning away from me. “You didn’t see that!”

“See what?”

Hannah grinned over her shoulder. “Exactly.”

Next, she went down to the end of the hall and knocked, opening the door and sticking her head inside the room.

I was all kinds of nervous, but the fun, Christmas-Eve-as-a-kid sort of nervous. I didn’t want to count my chickens, but I had a good feeling about the conversation ahead.

After Hannah had said whatever she had to Emma, she came back down the hallway, the book no longer in her hands. She grabbed her coat and her hat, putting them on before taking her purse from the table next to the front door.

“See you around, Doc.”

I laughed. “Bye Hannah.”

Hannah winked as she opened the door and left.

I was alone.

But not for long.

The bedroom door opened and there she was.

Emma was dressed in jeans and a comfy-looking Fair Isle sweater and flurry slippers.

And she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen in my life.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

She stepped toward me, and right away I was able to tell that there was something different about her. But I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

Emma entered the living room and I stepped toward her. We stopped in front of one another, neither of us saying a word for a full minute.

“You haven’t kicked me out. That’s a good sign.”

The right corner of her lip curled ever-so slightly.

“Don’t push your luck.”

She stepped over to the kitchen and poured two mugs of hot water, dropping a tea bag into each.

“Since when do you drink tea?”

“Since…” She turned, steaming mugs in hand. “Sit down.”

Emma came over and handed me one of the mugs and we sat at her small table.

“Nice flowers.” She sipped her tea as she regarded them.

“Least I could do.”

She smiled.

“I love you.”

The words blurted out of my mouth.

Emma froze, the red mug right in front of her mouth. Her eyebrows rose. To say that she was surprised would’ve been the biggest understatement imaginable

“You what?”

“I love you. I love you like I’ve never loved any woman in my life. Hell, I’ve never loved any woman other than you. You were the start of my love, and almost twenty damn years later I still love you. And doing what I did to you back then…it was the worst mistake of my life.”

She nodded, glancing down into her tea.

“I know why you did it. Zea told me everything. She told me about how you married Marian to protect me, how she tricked you into thinking she was pregnant with your baby.”

“I should’ve told you. But I couldn’t back then, and when we met again, I stupidly assumed too much time had passed, that the damage had been done and forgotten.” Anger boiled inside of me at the stupid kid I’d been before. “I know what I did to you hurt, but it hurt me like hell, too. And all I want is the chance to make it up to you. But it’s your call, Emma. You’ve told me to fuck off, and I understand completely. You tell me to leave again, and I’ll do it. And I’ll stay away for good this time.”

I paused, trying to get a handle on the wild rush of emotions coursing through me.

“But if you give me another chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you.”

She said nothing, regarding me with big, expectant eyes. It was almost as if she had something she wanted to say but didn’t know quite how to put into words. My heart thudded, my nerves working overtime as I waited for a reply.

Slowly, Emma set down her mug of tea. I did the same.

Then she got up and opened her arms, pulling me into a hug.

It was a hug that quickly became something more.

I pulled back, and so did she. We gazed into one another’s eyes, tears pooling in her bottom lids before streaking down her cheeks.

She was so damn beautiful that it almost hurt to look at her.

“I love you, too.”

They were the words I’d been waiting to hear since I first saw her again after all those years.

I took her face into my hands and kissed her.