The Reunion: Emma's Vacation (The Starting Over Series) Read online

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Afterword

  Reunion: Emma's Vacation

  By: Angelina Rose

  Connect With Angelina!

  http://AngelinaRoseRomance.com/

  Chapter 1

  Emma Donovan was nervous. She hadn’t seen her graduating class at nursing school in fifteen years, and this reunion would be the first time that she compared notes with her three best friends from college.

  The women were all at different stages of their lives when they graduated, but they kept in touch in those first few years as nurses. Each had their own unique personality, but somehow they got along. They even shared an apartment for a few years, and they spent a lot of time together going on girls’ weekends to the mountains or shopping trips to the local mall. Of course, those fun times were few and far between when as they were working odd hours and putting in a lot of time at the hospital during training.

  Emma remembered those times fondly, although they all spent most of their time exhausted from studying and working. Emma had become a neonatal nurse, and her work meant long hours, sometimes overnight.

  A tall blond with striking blue eyes, Emma had little trouble landing the hospital’s most handsome surgeon. Married for twelve, often troubled years, she had recently gotten divorced and became a single mom to her eight year old son, Samuel.

  As she slid into her black cocktail dress and strappy heels, she wondered what had become of her three best college buddies. She sat down at her dressing table and applied her lipstick while thinking about the women who had been there through thick and thin during those nursing school years.

  There was Ashley Tate, who would probably be about forty years old now. She was the firecracker of the group with her long auburn hair and aqua blue eyes. She had the figure that every woman dreamed of, and if she could buy scrubs that would form fit her voluptuous body, she did it. She made them all laugh, and the men adored her. Of course, she stomped on their egos any chance she got.

  At the opposite end of that spectrum was Claire Miller. She would be around forty three years old now. Claire was infatuated with Hollywood. She had dreamed of becoming a movie star one day, but it just never happened. She had been raised in a rough environment as a kid, so she never spoke up for herself much. She let men run over her at times, but Ashley was always there to lecture her about it. With her jet black hair, porcelain skin and dark copper colored eyes, men flocked to her like moths to a flame.

  Finally, there was Shelby Ashwood. She had those “girl next door” good looks with her shoulder length dirty blond hair, green eyes and perfect smile. She could go days without wearing makeup, and no one would notice because she was still so beautiful. Shelby had been dating the same guy since early high school, and he was her main focus aside from nursing school. She would often miss the girl trips they took because her boyfriend, Chad, would want her to stay home and hang out with him. It infuriated Ashley, who was the group’s self-imposed leader most of the time.

  Emma looked at the clock and realized that her cab would be there soon. The babysitter, Angie Hastings, had just arrived to take care of Samuel for the evening.

  “Thanks for coming on such short notice, Angie,” Emma said as she ran into the kitchen to grab her evening bag.

  “Oh, no problem, Emma. I always love watching Samuel. But, I thought you had decided not to go to this reunion,” she said.

  “Well, I changed my mind when I got an email from an old friend of mine. I really didn’t want to go and talk about my recent failure in life, but I can’t hide from it any longer.”

  Emma knew that her close friends would want a full update on her life since those fun-loving college days, and she didn’t want to explain it all. She didn’t want to tell them that she married the top doctor at her hospital, and then he cheated on her with a woman he met in a bar. She didn’t want to tell them that Samuel hadn’t seen his Dad in months because he was too busy with his new twenty-two year old girlfriend. And, she didn’t want to tell them that she was thinking of leaving the nursing field altogether.

  She imagined that they all had perfect marriages with perfect husbands and perfect kids. White picket fences danced in her head as she thought about what they probably had at this stage of life, and how she no longer had it.

  She didn’t want to think about how her ex-husband had a grandiose house and a perfectly tanned and toned girlfriend to share his bed with now. Here she was struggling to keep up with Samuel’s activities and her job. There was no time or inclination to date again.

  Facing her fears of looking like a fool, Emma kissed Samuel goodbye and headed downstairs. Her cab was waiting, and it was time to face the music.

  Chapter 2

  The reunion was being held at a ritzy hotel in Atlanta; she had remained in Atlanta after college. The other women had remained for awhile too, but she had lost contact with them so she really didn’t know where they ended up.

  When Ashley made contact on Facebook a few months back, Emma was glad to hear from her. She kept her personal life at arm’s length and just played along like things were fine. Emma was busy as a neonatal nurse at the children’s hospital anyway, and she worked long hours. This allowed her to push people away from her because she was tired and overworked.

  As she walked into the hotel lobby, she started to recognize some faces. There was Abby Davenhoe, the prettiest girl in their class, with her thick, long blond hair and tiny little waist. She hadn’t changed at all, and Emma wondered if she had been having Botox or plastic surgery.

  Then there was Debra Oliver, a funny African American woman who was a lot older than they were when she started nursing school. She was standing in the middle of a group of her classmates, and they were cackling about one of her funny stories. Some things never changed.

  Emma made her way into the ballroom, which was dimly lit. She could see round tables everywhere with thick white tablecloths and beautiful flowers. Some of her professors were standing around talking, and she waved at a few of them.

  “Emma!” She heard a familiar voice. It was Claire. As she turned around, Claire hugged her tight.

  “Hi, Claire. It is so nice to see you!” Emma said with a smile. “Are Ashley and Shelby here yet?”

  “I haven’t seen them yet, but I know they are coming. I’ve grabbed a table for us over here…” Claire said as she tugged on Emma’s arm and led her to the back corner of the room. “I figured it would be quiet back here so we can all catch up,” Claire said over the loud jazz music coming from the band.

  Catch up. Emma didn’t want to catch up. She almost considered running out of the reunion to avoid “catching up”. Why couldn’t they just talk about the present and what was happening now. Why did they have to dig through the ugliness of her recent past?

  “So, where are you living now, Emma?” Claire asked.

  “Only about fifteen minutes from here. I work at the children’s hospital downtown.”

  “Wow, that’s great. I know that was always your big dream. Working as a neonatal nurse?” she asked

  “Yes. I’ve been doing that for about thirteen years now,” Emma said. She was happy that Claire was only asking her surface questions so far. Maybe it would stay that way.

  “Girls!” Ashley’s voice boomed from behind. Emma knew she was no longer safe from questioning with Ashley there. She would dig her sordid past out like an experienced archaeologist.

/>   “Hi, Ash!” Claire said shooting up out of her chair and hugging her. Right behind Ashley was Shelby who had just arrived too.

  The women sat down at the table and looked at each other. For just a moment, it felt like each of them was studying the other.

  “Wow. I cannot believe the four of us are back together. Fifteen years later. Who would have thought?” Shelby said with a laugh. Her girl-next-door good looks were still in tact.

  “It is so nice to see all of you,” Emma said raising her coffee cup as if she were toasting them. Seeing their faces, their smiles, she started to feel more at ease. After all, these were the same women she studied with, did rounds at the hospital with and confided in for four years.

  “Well, let’s get to it already!” Ashley said.

  “Get to what?” Emma asked taking a sip of her coffee.

  “We each need to fill in the details of what has happened in the last fifteen years,” Ashley said. As she looked around the table, she noticed that the other three women had a “deer in the headlights” look on their face. “Do you guys want me to go first?” she asked. They all nodded.

  Ashley leaned forward so that the other women could hear, and she began to unravel the last fifteen years of her life.

  "Okay, I will start then. After college, I got a job as a labor and delivery nurse in Houston, Texas. I met a man named Dave who was a corporate law attorney. He actually came into the hospital to visit his sister who had just had a baby. Anyway, Dave and I got married only six months after meeting. It was a nice life with lots of luxuries, but also lots of problems..."

  "What do you mean by problems?" Claire asked.

  "Well, after being married for eight years, I found out that Dave was living a double life. It was all over the news in Houston. He had a totally separate family that included a wife and three kids."

  "Oh, my God! I remember that story. Did you guys have any children?" Emma asked.

  "No. We had infertility issues, so thankfully I did not make any kids with him... I was kind of embarrassed to come here and face you guys. I mean, here I am at forty years old with no husband and no kids. I feel like I don't have a lot to show for our fifteen years apart..."

  "Oh, Ash, don't feel that way. I have a story of my own..." Claire said patting her hand.

  "Do tell..." Ashley said with a wicked grin.

  "Alright. Confession time around the table, I guess," Claire said with a laugh. Then her face went solemn as she began her own story. "After college, I got a job in North Carolina as a nurse in a pediatrician's office. You know how I have always loved working with kids," she said.

  "Yes, you always did love that," Emma said with a smile.

  "Well, I met a man named Cameron Callahan..."

  "The actor? You mean the one who has been in the media a lot in the last few years?" Shelby asked with her mouth dropping open. Cameron Callahan was famous... more like infamous... for his wild, alcohol-fueled lifestyle.

  "The very same one. We were married for eleven years..."

  "How did we not know that?" Emma asked looking around the table.

  "Because I kept it hidden as much as possible. I didn't want to be in that kind of spotlight, and I didn't want our daughter, Aven, to be in the spotlight either. I learned quickly that being famous was not what it's cracked up to be..."

  "So, where is Cameron now?" Emma asked.

  "We divorced last year. He wasn't just a party guy. He was an abusive alcoholic. He called me names and pushed me around a lot. I finally had enough, you know?" she said holding back tears.

  "Oh, Claire, I am so sorry to hear about the abuse. But, I am glad you got out of there," Ashley said touching her hand.

  "Okay, your turn, Shelby. Four women, two divorces so far. What's your story?" Claire asked wiping away a stray tear.

  "Well, I guess I will join the divorced ladies club," she said smiling half heartedly.

  "What? I always figured that you married your high school sweetheart, Kenny?" Ashley said.

  "I did. And we are now divorced," Shelby said.

  "I cannot believe that. What on Earth happened?" Ashley asked.

  "We got married almost as soon as I graduated from college. We opted to have a small wedding with just the family at Kenny's uncle’s farm. Yes, we actually had goats at our wedding," she laughed.

  "Too funny...." Claire said giggling.

  "Anyway, things were good for a long time. We had two kids who are ten and twelve now. When I turned thirty seven, I knew things were over. We divorced last year. We just wanted different things. I want to travel and see the world. Kenny will never leave that South Georgia farm. After being together for twenty two years and married for fourteen of those years, it had just run its course."

  "The end of an era..." Ashley said shaking her head.

  "He's a good man. We're still friendly, but the romance and the passion that we had as teenagers is gone. He was my friend, but I wanted a lover... a passion."

  All of the women nodded in agreement. They had all wanted a romance, a passion, something amazing. Didn’t every woman want that?

  As the women looked around the table, it became apparent that it was Emma’s turn to tell the tale of her own marriage.

  Chapter 3

  As the women looked at her, Emma knew that she had to take her turn at telling them all that had happened in her life. The fact that the other three were now divorced was also comforting in a weird sort of way.

  “I guess it’s my turn. I’ve been dreading this moment for days…” Emma said.

  “Why?” Ashley asked.

  “Because I have been feeling a lot like a failure. I’m divorced too.”

  “Do you think we’re failures, Emma?” Claire asked.

  “Of course not!”

  “Then why would you be any more of a failure than we are?” Claire asked.

  Emma thought for a moment and then threw the ladies a sly smile.

  “You always had a way of cutting right to the chase, Claire,” she said with a grin as she smacked Claire’s hand on the table.

  “So, tell us your story of heartache and failure, Emma,” Ashley said throwing her head back dramatically as she pretended to faint.

  “Okay… After college, I married Henry Carlton.”

  The women gasped with shock. Henry Carlton was a world renowned surgeon, and he was known for being a lifelong bachelor that no woman could ever catch. The women had all worked with him at some point or another during their training at the hospital.

  “Seriously? Henry Carlton? THE Henry Carlton?” Ashley asked with excitement.

  “Yes, THE Henry Carlton. We were married for twelve years. We have an eight year old son, Samuel. Of course, Henry hasn’t seen Sam in months.”

  “He hasn’t?” Shelby asked.

  “No. He is too busy screwing the woman that he cheated on me with. Tiffani… with an I. She is twenty two years old.”

  “Yuck… What an ass!” Ashley shouted. She was never good at holding in her emotions. “How old is he?”

  “He is fifty years old,” Emma said shaking her head at the thought of her ex-husband romping around with a twenty-two year old woman.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Em…” Claire said patting her on the hand. “Sometimes, men really suck.”

  The women all laughed, but the heartache of failed relationships was washing over the table and tainting their night of fun.

  “Is anyone here dating yet?” Ashley asked looking around.

  “Well, I went on a date about two months back. I forgot how many people are walking around with baggage from old relationships these days,” Shelby said.

  “I went out with a guy a few weeks ago. Turns out, he was still living with his mother. Yikes…” Ashley said rolling her eyes.

  “Sadly, it’s the thing I want most in the world…” Emma said without thinking.

  “What do you want?” Ashley asked looking at her.

  Emma fidgeted around in her seat, n
ervous to open herself up to their questions and possible judgment.

  “What, Em?” Shelby prodded.

  “I want a man. A real man who loves me and my son. Who wants to carry part of this heavy load we call life. I want a true love, a soul mate.”

  “You always had a way with words,” Claire said smiling.

  “It hurts my heart to think that I might spend the rest of my life alone. What if I never find the right man for me?” Emma asked searching each woman’s eyes for answers.

  “Don’t be silly, Emma. You are stunningly gorgeous. You will find someone,” Shelby said.