Without looking at me, she hurried upstairs. When she came back down, Tommy and Sarah were right behind her. They both waved goodbye as Emily led the way toward the front door. I called out my goodbye, hoping Emily might turn around, but she didn’t. She just disappeared outside without so much as a glance in my direction.
I sighed and headed toward my study. The whole reason Emily was taking the kids out today was so I could write. That was why she did everything, to help me. I’d taken her for granted, and I hadn’t appreciated everything she’d done for us.
It wasn’t right or fair. Emily, more than anyone, deserved my gratitude. She always went above and beyond what her actual job required, and for me to throw it back in her face last night was incredibly shitty. I didn’t deserve her.
As I sat behind my desk and pulled my computer to me, I sighed again and tried to concentrate. The best thing I could do for Emily now was finish my book. If I finished it, then I would finally have more time to devote to her, and maybe I could stop being such a moody asshole.
That morning flew by fast. My fingers moved across the keyboard without pause. I felt amazing as I pounded out the story I’d held inside me for so long. My fingers could barely keep up with my brain, and by the time lunchtime rolled around, my knuckles were sore and the story was almost finished.
I took a break, leaning back and stretching my arms over my head. After I grabbed a bite to eat from the kitchen, I sat back down and resumed my work. Even while I ate, my mind still spun with ideas. For the first time, I didn’t have trouble coming up with things to say. The words found me without any effort on my part. I kept writing into the afternoon. My entire body was involved as I rocked back and forth, typing faster than ever. When I reached the last sentence, I finally slowed. I typed each word carefully, making sure every single letter was perfect.
With a sigh, I typed the final period and then sat back. My mind was finally clear, and my heart was no longer racing. I felt like myself again, free from the stress and pressure I’d inflicted upon myself and everyone else around me. As I sat there, staring at the completed document on my screen, a smile spread slowly across my face.
“I did it,” I said quietly to myself, laughing and throwing my head back.
In that moment, there was only one person I wanted to tell. I grabbed my phone off the desk and dialed Emily’s number. She answered on the second ring.
“I did it!” I said before she could get a word out. “I finished it! The entire book. It’s done. I fucking did it!”
“Wow,” Emily said. “That’s amazing.” Her voice sounded like she felt anything but amazing.
I gushed over the phone for another few minutes before Emily had to go handle the kids. She said she would be home soon. I knew she was still mad at me and I needed to make things right.
Still flying high from my success, I attached my book to an email and sent it off to a publisher I knew. We’d been friends since college, and I knew he’d be interested in the book. After the email went through, the front door opened, and I flew out into the living room.
Tommy and Sarah ran up to me and hugged me tightly. They congratulated me on finishing the book and asked when they could read it. I smiled and laughed, hugging them both and spinning them each in a circle.
When my eyes found Emily, she was standing by the front door with a box in her hands.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Come see for yourself,” she said.
We all walked into the kitchen, and Emily set the box on the counters. She opened it slowly, revealing a beautiful cake with the word “Congratulations!” scrawled across the top in bright red icing. I laughed out loud and grabbed Emily around the waist, hugging her and l
ifting her off her feet.
Her answering laugh was music to my ears. I’d waited all day to hear that very sound, and when I finally set her back on her feet, she looked up at me with a genuine smile on her perfect lips.
“I couldn’t have done it without you,” I said.
“I’m proud of you,” she said back. “I really am.”
“Can we have cake now?” Sarah asked.
We all laughed, and I nodded. Emily cut us each a large slice, and we sat down to eat. The kids asked me all kinds of questions about the book, but I only had eyes for Emily. I couldn’t look away from her gorgeous face. Her eyes drew me in like magnets, and nothing anyone else said could pull me away from her.
Cake was our dinner tonight, and the kids were soon ready for bed. Emily took them up for baths, but I read them each a story and tucked them in. Now that my book was done, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
As I walked back downstairs with Emily trailing along behind me, I heard my phone ding in the kitchen. I hurried over to it and unlocked the screen. There was an email waiting for me. It was from my publisher friend so I opened it quickly, my eyes scanning the words and my heart beating frantically in my chest.
When I looked up at Emily, she was watching me with concern. I grinned and held up my phone for her to see.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I sent my book to a publisher this afternoon,” I said. “Right after I finished. That was an email from him, saying he likes it. Emily, he wants to publish it! He wants to publish my book!”
“That’s wonderful, Sean,” she said. And though she truly looked happy for me, she still wasn’t happy with me.