Chasing Rainbows

Emma rubbed her hand over her growing stomach and smiled. It had been a wonderful trip home, her parents were finally proud of her, she’d been shown off to all and sundry. Isobel was tanned, relaxed and happy after her honeymoon, Emma had even had chance to catch up with Evie, Isobel’s twin. Amongst all that she had spent time shopping - for this growing baby, but also for Jacob. Everywhere she looked she saw things that she knew he would like. A shirt, a mug and a whole host in between.

No as soon as she’d boarded this plane back to the States she’d felt content, happy, ready to return to her husband. The trip had been everything, and she was looking forward to seeing Jacob, for as much as she had argued with him, resented him in the past, she had missed him, and she was going to tell him that as soon as she saw him. But she hadn’t got hold of him before flying, she’d tried to call him, but there was no answer. She wasn’t due back until the following week, but she’d decided the previous day that she wanted to be back with him, in their home.

Emma got a cab easily outside the airport, but there were traffic hold ups and tailbacks everywhere. She was stressed, but there wasn’t much she could do, so she settled back into the seat and relaxed. San Francisco still held her awe, so she was more than happy to watch the world go by.

The house was in darkness and she was suddenly disappointed that she hadn’t called Jacob; she wanted to see him so badly.

Jetlag and a baby zapping her energy meant that after a shower Emma could barely keep her eyes open. It was a cold night, colder than she imagined, or maybe that was her fatigue, either way she had no idea how to work the heating in that house, so she made for the very appetising bed upstairs.

Jacob was drunk...again. He had spent SO many nights at Walter’s bar that he barely knew what day it was, he was trying to function on his own, and he was finding that harder than he imagined. He’d signed the contract with the Japanese the week before, and had received his first of many payments, this one being an eight figure number. It hadn’t really sunk in; or rather he hadn’t been sober enough to let it sink in. Suddenly he had nothing to do, nothing to plan for, his life’s work was achieved, bought and sold for obscene amounts of money. And he didn’t have any idea if Emma would come back, and he missed her more than anything.

Bouncing through the front door he rued his grandmother’s old fashioned ways, two doors into the house, with two locks on each made for a difficult entry when drunk.

He wasn’t observant, he was far too drunk for that, but he did notice the spare room door being open, he’d shut that door since Emma had left, for a moment he had a lucid moment. Stepping to the door, he looked inside and his heart surged. There lying on the bed was Emma, hair sprawled out across the pillow, face pale in the chink of light coming in from the hallway. She’d come back. That was all he could think as he walked into the room.

Without undressing, he moved to the bed and lowered himself in beside her, as he lifted the duvet to slide under beside her he caught sight of her stomach, when she left she’d barely appeared pregnant, now, she was huge, round and beautiful with his baby. Another jolt hit his heart and he couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face.

Emma’s eyes opened sleepily and she smiled at him, then patted the pillow beside her. He slumped down and allowed her to take his hand, and lay it over her stomach. It was hard, unyielding and so different to what he expected. And then he felt it, a kick, or maybe an elbow...all he knew was that it was something, this was more than a large stomach, this was the first contact with his baby.

Reaching out he held Emma in his arms, and that was how they both fell asleep.

                “So where are you going today?”

Emma was sat across the kitchen table as Jacob came into the room looking decidedly hunky in a suit.

                “Got to sign some papers with Andy, shouldn’t be there all day, I’ll let you know if I’m going to be any later. Ok?” He’d put off finishing things, but with her back in his home, he was finally ready.

He opened the fridge door and pulled out the carton of orange juice, drinking straight from it. He laughed when he saw her eyebrow lift, “disgusting Jacob!”

                “Maybe,” he came around the table then bent to kiss her head, “speak to you later.”

Laundry, that was all she intended to do that day. But she was fighting a burgeoning load in front of her and jetlag. By midmorning she was fast asleep on the sofa and the ringing of the telephone woke her. Instinctively, and half asleep she reached for the handset and answered, presuming it was Jacob.

                “Hello?”

The lengthy pause that greeted her helped her wake up somewhat, “Hello?” she asked again.

                “Who is this?”

The voice was harsh, unwelcoming.

Emma took a deep breath, “this is Emma.”

                “Emma? Who the hell is Emma? And where’s Jacob?”

She took a deep breath and tried to contain her anger, “he is out, at work, and I’m his wife.”

Jacob opened the front door and instantly knew something was wrong. There was no sound, no TV, no radio, no music...and no chatter. Feeling sick he stormed down the hallway.

                “Emma? Emma? Where are you?”

She was pacing a short path in front of the fireplace, biting on her nails and looking anxious. That did nothing to help ease his anxiety.

                “What’s wrong Em?”

She dropped the gnawed finger from her mouth, “I’m SO sorry.”

                “What’s happened?” he took her hands in his, “you’re freezing.”

Emma looked up and met his eyes, “the phone rang...I was asleep. He was rude...I was sleepy AND angry...”

Sighing he stroked a lock of hair from her forehead, “who was it?”

                “Your father...”

Jacob couldn’t hide a groan, Brian Coren was a force to be reckoned with, and he’d left her alone to deal with him.

                “Was he awful?”

She bit her lip then met his gaze, “I told him I was your wife!”

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

Jacob held her as she sobbed into his chest, he was getting used to her hormonal surges, and this bout of emotion gave him time to think, to plan.

                “They want us to visit them, on the weekend,” Emma finally managed.

He had no intention of that happening, he wasn’t about to feed her to the wolves that were his parents. Shaking his head he wiped at her tears, “so not happening Emma, I promise.”

                “They’ll come here...if we don’t go to them.”

A few hours later and he’d managed to speak reasonably calmly to his mother, she was marginally easier to speak to than his father and all she could do was switch between her usual mixture of emotions, shock, surprise and maybe anger at the grandchild...and wife that she knew nothing about it. Eventually he agreed to go there; at least if things were as awful as usual they could just leave. Drive away.

                “You’ve never mentioned your parents. Not since Vegas.”

They’d been driving for forty minutes and his white knuckles hadn’t eased up at all on the steering wheel.

                “Not a lot to mention, they don’t really appreciate the nuances that are their son. You’ll see that within ten minutes of us arriving, I can assure you.”

                “Why?” When he shrugged she wouldn’t let it go, “you know EVERYTHING there is to know about me, yet you...I know nothing about you.”

He sighed, “I’m a disappointment, they expected my expensive college education to lead to me being a lawyer, or I don’t know, business man like my father. They view every aspect of my life with chagrin, and I’ve got used to that.”

                “You needed money in Vegas...the game?” She guessed they’d discussed it when they were in the casino, but it was so long ago now that it was all a vague memory to Emma.

Hitting the accelerator it was several long and painful moments until he answered.

                “When my grandmother passed away a few years ago...I lived in the house, she said I could still live there when she went, stipulated in her will. But six months ago my father slapped back rent on me; it came to several hundred thousand. I had to win the poker; it was the only way to keep him off my back.”

Emma was stunned, stunned into silence, she was unable to comment, so instead she watched the mountain scenery appear around them as they made their way into the California hills.

                “This isn’t a house, it’s...I don’t know what it is!”

When Jacob sighed, she looked across at him, he had a look of grim determination, so she reached across and placed a hand over one of his. “They can’t hurt us, they can’t hurt the baby, you know that?”

He stopped the car where they were, at the end of the driveway, the mansion ahead of them in the distance, then turned towards her, “no, they can’t hurt us...but they’ll see through this, us.”

Emma leaned towards him and placed her lips gently on his, “I’ll be the perfect doting bride, you’ll see.”

He was still, not responding to the pressure of her lips, so she flicked her tongue over his bottom lip, then worried at it with her teeth. He groaned, finally giving in he kissed her back, just for a moment. But when he pulled away his breath was racing.

                “Why are you doing this Emma?”

She smiled, “because you are my husband, and this is your baby.” She took his hand and laid it over her stomach. “And that’s more important than cheap swipes from your parents. We’re a united front, ok?”

Suddenly to Emma it was more important that they appeared together, that they appeared happy. The thought of people knowing that this was all a sham, that they weren’t really in love, well it all seemed too personal, and people were so judgemental.

He drove down to the courtyard and parked next to an ornate fountain, the bowl of which looked rather phallic. A strange combination, but she didn’t have time to dwell on that. Jacob had circled the car and opened the door and helped her out, taking her hand just as the doors to the house swung open and Mr and Mrs Impressive stood there waiting.

                “You grew up here?”

Emma collapsed onto the huge bed in the room they’d been shown to. They’d been in the house for less than five minutes and already she was struggling to imagine a young Jacob living there. It was hostile, unfriendly and almost too immaculate to envisage as a home for children.

                “I did, now you know why I spent all my time at my grandma’s in San Fran.”

She turned to look at him, “shit Jacob, I moan about my family...”

He laughed, dropping onto the bed beside her, “I have dealt with the past Emma, I swear.”

Giving him a smile she reached up and cupped his cheek, “I’m glad, it’s just...” She sighed, “having this baby just makes me feel so protective.”

                “Of me?” He was genuinely stunned, “Emma?”

She laughed, “YOU are the only paternal influence this baby will have. If I could make everything perfect then I would. Ok?”

Jacob took a very deep breath; all he could think about was how wonderful it would be if this was real, if they were both in love, if this baby was the ultimate plan for both of them. Instead he saw this woman who tugged at every one of his heart strings, who he wanted to wrap in cotton wool and take her away from everything.

Smiling, a weak response he nodded, “me too.”

Taking his hand she smiled up at him, “united front, ok?”

Standing again, he pulled her to her feet, closed his arms around her, “definitely. And you take NO shit from them, ok?”

As they left the bedroom Jacob swung an arm around her shoulders, “come on Mrs and Baby Coren, we can do this!”

Within half an hour Emma was in hell. She wished that she knew more about her husband, that she knew what all the derogatory comments meant, but they weren’t long term lovers, they were short term friends who had never dealt with each other’s pasts.

The four adults were sat at the huge dinner table, and they were being served dinner, not helping themselves, but being actually fed. It was ludicrous that a meal between parents and a son should be so ridiculously formal. She had no idea what caused the undercurrent at the table, but there was something serious that she had no clue about. And it was breaking Jacob in half, she could tell. His eyes were fixed on the table, his knuckles white around the cutlery he held. The food was impeccable, as was the service, but Emma was starting to get annoyed.

Jacob’s mother was immaculate; it was like being in a real life living episode of The Housewives of Orange County. She was talking about her country club, people they knew, measuring successes against their own. Emma was feeling more and more sick as they evening progressed, and Jacob was becoming more and more reclusive.

                “So what do you do Emma?” they’d been there for two hours and this was the first direct question from Marion, Jacob’s mother.

                “She’s an actress!” He answered for her, his eyes glaring at his mother, daring her to pass comment.

Emma smiled at that, “it’s ok Jacob,” smiling at the older two she added, “I’ve just completed a miniseries, looks like being a success...”

His mother’s eyes could not be any more like dinner plates than they already were. “TV...”

Emma laughed, “oh yes, but then it’s not like a job really, turning up every day and schmoozing with Theo Samuel.”

She dropped the fame name in, knowing that people like these would respond to that. And she was right.

                “Really? Wow!” Marion fluttered her eyelashes, “I hear he’s amazing.”

Jacob huffed and drained his wine glass, “oh he’s that alright.”

Emma put a hand over Jacob’s and hated how he flinched at that contact, “he’s not half the man that you are darling.”

When his father laughed Emma’s head snapped up, “what is your problem?”

The older man wasn’t used to confrontation, that much was obvious, “excuse me?”

She laughed, “what is the issue with your son? We’ve turned up here, married, having a baby, and neither of you has asked ANYTHING about it. This,” she rubbed her stomach affectionately, “is your grandchild, and it seems that no one cares about it. I’ve heard all about Peter from the golf club and his kids who are lawyers, and Sarah and Maria who have got children in Harvard. What about us?”

Jacob turned to her, “Emma, leave it.”

She shook her head, “no way. This man,” she turned to his parents, “is the nicest man I’ve ever met. Genuine, funny, caring...” she laughed when she realised this wasn’t her making things up, it was the truth. “And it seems to me you don’t appreciate him. I don’t know why.”

No one said a word and Jacob for a moment looked like he’d either punch a wall or burst into tears. Suddenly she was mother hen and she was defending her family devoutly.

                “Am I not worthy of an answer?” She glared at Brian Coren, and the look he gave her would probably reduce his business competitors to gibbering wrecks. But not her, she fronted him out, stared until he dropped his gaze back to the meal in front of him.

Shaking her head at the arrogance and ignorance of the man, she turned to her husband, “you were right, we should never have come.” Standing she turned to look at him sat beside her, “come on Jacob, let’s go.”

                “Go?” He was looking between the three faces, the mixture of emotions in confusion.

She nodded, “you don’t need this, and I certainly don’t need to be treated so rudely. We’ve got too much waiting for us back home. And I’m not staying where we’re not wanted. Ok?”

The decision was made for him, he never usually stood up to his parents, he usually endured them and their barely veiled disappointment, but seeing Emma stood there, defending him, it was a feeling he couldn’t explain.

Within moments they had fixed their bags and were piling into his car when his parents finally found them.

                “You’re really going?” His father asked.

Emma took the car keys from Jacob as he’d had a few drinks, then turned to them, “we are. I’d like to say it was fun...”

She hit the accelerator and skidded out of the driveway in a cloud of dust.

It was forty minutes into the journey before Jacob spoke.

                “Thanks for that, back there.”

She sighed, “well there was no way I could stay there, not with them like that. They don’t deserve you, they don’t deserve us.”

He laughed, “you maybe.”

                “Why do you do that?” When he looked at her questioningly she laughed, “you have NEVER put yourself down since I’ve met you, you’re one of the most confident men I’ve ever met, you’ve thrown yourself into my life, not taken no for an answer, and lord knows I said NO. That’s the man I know, then we go there tonight, and you let them talk down at you, all those dropped hints and derogatory comments. I mean why have you let them beat you like that?”

He swiped a hand over his eyes, “because I don’t care.”

Glancing to him she shook her head, “you do care, they’re your parents, I get that. But you’ve got us now; you don’t have to put up with that. Don’t let them get to you, ok?”

He punched the dashboard in anger, “I don’t want them in our life.”

                “Why are they so angry?”

Jacob sighed, “I haven’t got the glittering Ivy League career that they wanted.”

                “And an actress wife doesn’t help.”

He dropped his eyes to the floor, “you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”