Chapter 29 Playdate
At exactly 3:15 p.m., Emma stood outside the school waiting to pick Zoe up. Earlier, she had visited the nearest restaurant in search of a job. She felt the need to have some space from Ezra. Although some people recognized her, she had altered her name and appearance to ensure they wouldn’t identify her as the person they thought she was. After her interview, the restaurant manager promised to reach out to her.
Even though this wasn't her true passion, she was taking this step to avoid trouble. She decided that it would be wise to create some temporary distance from Ezra, especially since he wouldn’t be pursuing any legal action regarding the incident that happened three years ago.
Emma entered the school and saw Zoe exited her classroom. “Hey hon,” she called out, waving. Zoe dashed over and wrapped her arms around Emma's neck. After releasing the little girl, Emma smiled and said, “I have missed you.”
“I have missed you too.”
“How was your day? Did you have fun? Did you make friends?”
Zoe nodded enthusiastically. “I had fun, and I also want you to meet someone.” She spun around and pointed to a girl standing near the wall. “Emma, this is my friend, Belle.”
Emma looked at the girl Zoe introduced. “Hi, Belle. Where is your mommy?”
“Her mommy isn’t here yet. Can she come home with us?”
Emma looked at Zoe. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please.” Zoe pleaded with big, hopeful eyes.
"Zoe, that's really not a good idea. If a stranger takes you home without my permission, I'm not going to be happy about it." She took Zoe's hand. "We can't take her because I don't know her mom. Got it? I hope you see where I'm coming from."
"Emma. Belle will be sad if I leave her all by herself and go with you. I can't do that." Zoe shook her head, locking eyes with Belle. She turned away from Emma and dashed towards the little girl. "I won't go without you." Emma understood the feeling of making her first friend, and she didn’t want Zoe to miss out on that. She was too valuable to be hurt.
"It's okay. I'll be fine, Zoe." Bella said softly. Her voice was quiet, revealing her shyness. It was clear why Zoe chose to be her friend. This way, neither of them had to stress about the other wanting to go out and have fun while they were stuck in a room together. Emma heard the little girl gasped.
"Mommy!" she rushed into a woman's embrace.
When Emma turned, her gaze met Susan's.
"Miss Facer?"
"Mrs. Mayberry." Emma got up from her bent position.
"You know Bella's mom?"
Emma nodded slowly in response to Zoe's question. "I do."
"I had no idea you had a child, and she goes to the same school as my daughter." Susan remarked.
"She's my new friend, mummy," Bella chimed in.
"Now that your mommy is here, Zoe and I will leave." Emma smiled at Bella, and Susan stopped her before she could walk away.
"Miss Facer. Please wait." Emma stopped and turned. "I have so much I want to say to you. Do you have some time to spare? How about we both go to the nearby cafe to talk?"
"I don’t—"
"Emma. Please." Zoella held her hand, dragging it gently. "I want to play with Belle some more."
Emma looked at Susan. "Alright. Sure. Why not?"
"Your child refers to you as Emma. That is so much comfort." While walking next to Emma, Susan said. The children walked in front of them, already holding hands with one another.
"Why not? She is my best friend. She feels more at ease talking to me whenever she wants because I made her call me that. The word 'mummy' just draws so many lines of separation between us. I want her to be free with me when she becomes a teenager." Emma lied. She couldn't tell Susan she had adopted Zoella. What if she proceeded to blab that at work and Ezra heard it? Without a doubt, he wouldn’t forgive her and he would send her to jail for attempting to dope him.
"Oh. I get it now."
They went outside and made their way to the closest coffee shop Emma was familiar with. Once they were inside, Susan offered to buy the children cakes and they sat on the couch. Emma thanked her for also paying for the coffee she bought. The two of them had taken a different seat while the kids ate their cakes at a different table.
Susan gazed at her. "I heard you were sick. You don’t look sick."
"I just had a fever. That was all. I am getting better."
"So does that mean you’ll be at work tomorrow? What I’m trying to say is that there are ads to handle as the favorite designer of the Queen's company, and believe me, Mr. Queen really hates losing money." She took a sip of her coffee and set it down gently. "By the way, congratulations!"
"Thank you.” Emma smiled. “And about coming back to the office, I’ll definitely return when I feel well enough. Right now, I’m just so stressed from having to sew clothes the day before the event. I really need this break, and I’m glad Mr. Queen understood that when he stopped by my house this morning."
Susan gasped. "Mr. Queen visited?" When Emma nodded, Susan gasped again. "That’s wild. Mr. Queen never visits anyone. That must mean he really cares about you. From what I know, he’s always been adding and subtracting things for your benefit."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked, intrigued. Her brows furrowed.
"Favorite designer of Queen's Company?" Susan scoffed. "That’s never happened before until now."
"Maybe he decided to make some changes. He wasn’t even there when the results were announced, and his mother had called it."
"And how do you know all this? We all knew you weren’t there to collect your award." Susan covered her mouth with both hands. "Were you with Mr. Queen that night? Nobody saw him leave, so you must have been with him."
Emma swallowed hard. She couldn’t let Susan suspect anything. "Ooouuu." Emma scoffed, swatting at an imaginary fly in front of her. "Of course not. I heard it from people around my neighborhood. How could you even think that? I wish!" She rolled her eyes. "Besides, Mr. Queen wouldn’t go out with someone like me. He has standards. I’m sure of it.”
"Don’t you dare sell yourself short, Miss Facer. You’re a stunning girl, and any guy would be lucky to have you in their life. Ezra Queen is no exception." Susan winked while taking another sip of her coffee. She gently placed her hand on Emma’s and gave it a soft pat as she set her mug back on the table. "I also want to say sorry for what happened with the dress that day. I shouldn’t have doubted you when you told me to trust you. I’m really sorry, Miss Facer."
"It’s all good. I didn’t hold it against you. But I do wonder sometimes. Did they ever find out who did it?"
"Yes. It was a level three who was envious. Mr. Queen took care of it quickly. He sent her packing."
"I guess everyone at the company hates me now."
"Just go to work and focus on being the top designer, then head home. Worrying about people disliking you won’t make you any more money." Susan glanced over at the kids. They were playing together. "I’ve never seen Bella play with someone like this."
"Same here. Zoe seems like a completely different person. But it looks like they’re done eating now." Emma picked up her phone to check the time. "It’s almost five. I need to get her home."
"Me too." Susan got up. "Since the kids are enjoying their time together, how about we arrange a playdate for them?"
"Really? Zoella would love that. Is Saturday good? Since we don’t have work anyway?"
"I’d love that. It should definitely be at my place. Bella has this painting thing going on. They could paint together, you know?"
Emma gasped. "You’re reading my mind. Zoe loves to paint. Honestly, for a girl her age, she paints so beautifully. I think she’s going to be really talented when she grows up." Emma walked over to the kids. "It’s time to go."
"But why?" Zoella asked.
"We need to prepare you for school tomorrow. Let’s go." Emma took Zoe's hand and lifted her off the couch. "You both will have a blast on Saturday. Mrs. Mayberry and I have arranged a playdate for you girls then!"
"Seriously?" Zoella exclaimed.
“Is that true, mummy?” Bella asked with teary eyes, surprised.
“Yes, baby,” Susan said, cupping Bella’s face in her palms.
"I love you, Emma." Zoe immediately wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist, hugging her tightly.
“Are you that happy?” Emma chuckled.
Zoe looked up at her. "Yes! I’m so happy to spend more time with Belle."
“Aww, sweetheart.” She pulled Zoe in once more.