All of this was moot if she insisted on keeping her distance. He’d replayed her kiss over and over again. He couldn’t decide whether it was supposed to give him hope, or if it was her way of truly saying goodbye.
She needed some space today. He knew that, but it didn’t make it easy.
After eating a hurried lunch, Marty took an all-too-short nap before his alarm awakened him in time to get back to work.
Later that afternoon, he and Bo were teaching a class when Marty looked up and saw Emma coming into the gym. She glanced at him but focused on Caleb when he walked up to her. A moment later, he motioned for her to follow him to the office.
It took all Marty had to focus on his class and not go see what was going on. To his immense disappointment, he saw her leave again twenty minutes later. She’d met his eyes and given a small wave, but he’d had no opportunity to speak with her.
As soon as class was over, Marty jogged over to Caleb, hoping to talk to him for a few minutes between classes. “Hey. Is Emma okay?”
“I told her to call you and explain it all herself.” Caleb frowned. “Long story short, she’s taking a job to work with her sister and brother-in-law. I guess one of their employees quit without notice. She was going to try and work part time at both places until I could find her replacement. I told her not to worry about it, that I had this covered.”
Marty blinked at him. “So she’s no longer working here.” He struggled to process that bit of news. “And the classes? Will she keep coming to those?”
Caleb shook his head. “Reading between the lines, I don’t think she can afford them. I tried to tell her she could keep coming anyway, that I was happy to have her, but she turned me down.”
“I would have offered to pay for them, too.” How did he go from seeing her all day every day during the week to not at all? It didn’t sit well with him. “I’ll call her and talk to her tonight. See if I can change her mind about the classes.”
“I hope you can.” Caleb clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m sorry, man. I’m going to miss her, too. But we both know the desk job isn’t set up as a career. I’m happy she found something she’ll enjoy more.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Marty truly was. He hoped this wasn’t her way of putting more space between them. Originally, he’d been afraid to reveal his financial status because he didn’t want her to be interested in him for the money. At the time, he’d never considered that it might be a hindrance for her. He raked his fingers through his hair with a sigh. “I wish she’d let someone help her instead of being stubborn about everything.”
“Hey, Marty!” Bo’s voice carried over the sound of kids chattering and yelling.
It was time for the next class which meant Marty had to pull himself together. When he looked at Caleb, he found sympathy in his friend’s eyes.
“She’ll come around. I can’t imagine God brought the two of you together only to have it all end here. I’m praying for you both. Claim Jeremiah 17:7, brother.”
It was a verse their pastor had preached on last week. “’But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.’” Marty gave a firm nod. “Yeah, I’ll do that.” He pointed to the kids. “The natives are getting restless.” He jogged toward the class, his mind still on Emma and his situation.Okay, God. Thanks for the reminder. I’m a fixer and waiting around isn’t something I’m good at. Help me to trust in You.
He’d congratulate Emma on her new job this evening when he got off work and then give her the space and time she required, even if what he really wanted to do was drive to her house and convince her of all the reasons why they were better together.
* * *
By the timehe’d finished work, Marty was more than ready to be home. Exhaustion from little sleep the night before was catching up with him. That, and he hadn’t been able to get his mind off Emma all day long.
As soon as he got home, he took a hot shower, threw leftover pizza in the microwave to warm it up, and collapsed on the couch in the media room. Instead of watching something, he took his phone out and saw he’d missed a text while in the shower.
Emma’s name made him smile. He swiped to read her message.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay and talk to you earlier.”
He smiled. That she’d reached out to him was a good thing.“I hear congratulations are in order. Sounds like a great opportunity.”
“Thanks. I didn’t expect Caleb to let me quit. I was going to work part-time for a week or two.”
“He’s a good friend like that. He understood.”Marty pictured Emma at home relaxing on the couch.“How’s your sister and the baby?”
“Great. Going home tomorrow morning.”
“Wonderful news.”He looked at his plate of pizza. He took a picture of it and sent it to her.“I think Hawaiian pizza will always remind me of you now.”
It was several minutes before he got another text from her.“LOL Ditto.”
With her new job and helping her sister, she was going to have a busy week ahead. He wouldn’t be seeing her every day like before. He needed to give her grace and not push her into trying to meet up, but he did want her to know he was thinking about her.“I’m going to miss you this week.”
“I’ll miss you, too.”
