Chasing Rainbows

                “What do you mean Jacob is there? At your parents?” Isobel hissed down the phone. “Really?”

Emma groaned, “I only wish this was a dream Iz, I came here, and he was having tea with them! There’s no way I can meet you later. I’ll call you in the morning, tell you what’s happening. Have a good evening!”

Isobel sighed, worried more than ever about her friend, “I will. Make sure you do call though, ok?”

Hanging up, Emma slumped back into the dining chair and closed her eyes, wishing someone would lift her out of her living hell. Her mother’s ridiculous smelling salts still lingered in her nostrils, and she couldn’t get the image of Jacob’s smiling face as she came around from what she could only make out was a faint. He had that smarmy, overconfident look on his face, she’d wanted to retaliate, scream abuse at him, but either side of his head her focus was starting to make out the concerned faces of her parents.

God her parents! What the hell was Jacob doing?

                “Are you okay darling?” He asked running his fingers across her forehead, “you are always making everyone worry.” He then turned and raised his eyebrows at her parents in a gesture of conspiracy, and it made Emma’s blood boil. Pushing him away she brought herself up to standing, staggered slightly, then realised she’d literally fallen out of the frying pan and into the fire. Her parents’ expression had moved from concern to disappointment, and she hated that.

                “Mum.”

Her mother nodded, “why didn’t you tell us?”

Emma gulped; she had no idea what Jacob had told them so she had no idea how to respond to that. As she floundered, Jacob’s hand slid around hers and he pulled her beside him, “Mrs...” he paused then half chuckled, “Mavis, Dennis, please...I told you she never wanted to keep it from you, but it all happened so quickly, didn’t it?”

Emma felt as though she was disappearing underwater, drowning, slowly and painfully. She looked up at him wanting to scratch at his face, but he’d created a pretence to her parents that she has to go along with.

Jacob smiled, “I told them you were nervous, you felt foolish rushing things, but really it’s what we both want. Marriage, isn’t it?”

Her smile was plastered on, but she scowled at him with her eyes. At that moment she hated him more than anything.

Jacob continued, “I told them how we met, that you repeatedly swept me off my feet, that I couldn’t imagine life without you!” He beamed at her parents, then down at her, “It may seem sudden, but...” He squeezed her hand and Emma fought the desire to pull her hand away.

Her mother was gushing over Jacob, she’d not seen her mother so pliable in years, but then the objective part of her had to admit that Jacob all suited and booted was a formidable sight, and a million miles from the man who collected breakfast on a pushbike. She yelped internally at her materialistic response, but she couldn’t help it.  

                “So he’s still there?” Isobel was speaking in hushed tones.

                “Oh yes!” Emma groaned, “they love him, he loves them...they want us to stay the night! Us!”

A peal of laughter came down the phone and it only compounded Emma’s sadness at the situation, “thanks friend!”

                “Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh, but he’s winning me over with his persistence. You bringing him to the wedding?”

                “NO!” she snapped.

Isobel sighed, “but if he’s still around, and your parents are coming...”

Emma couldn’t hide in the bathroom any longer, she could hear the constant chatter and occasional laughter coming from downstairs, and cringed, what was he doing? And why was he making her life hell all over again?

When she came back downstairs, she realised everyone was in the lounge, so she made for the kitchen. As she took some orange juice from the fridge, she felt a presence behind her, and turning she came face to face with Jacob.

                “You’re father and I are off to the pub, apparently he wants to buy me a few of your yeasty beers! Who am I to complain?”

                “That’s all you’ve got to say?” She hissed at him, “he who evades the topic of his own family yet thrusts himself into the middle of mine! You bastard!” She raised her hand to punch him, hit him, thump him, but instead she squeezed her hand into a fist and sighed, violence helped no one. Exasperated she spun away from him, but he reached for her and pulled her close.

                “Whatever you might wish, whatever you might think, we ARE married, and there’s no quick way out of it. So get over your spoilt child attitude, and accept that this is real! Ok?” As he heard her father approaching he pulled his lips from her ear, and smiled. “If you don’t mind darling, then I’d love to join your father.”

                “She won’t mind, will you Em?” With a clap on the back, her father led the man who called himself her husband out of the room and left for the local pub.

Slumping forward, Emma rested her forearms on the work surface, her head hung, hidden by the curtain of her hair. She wanted to cry, this was all spiralling out of control, she hated him, and as if he wasn’t happy ruining her life, he’d now dragged her parents into the whole mess, they’d waited years for her to get married, and their excitement this evening only proved that this was going to break their heart when the truth came out, when it all ended. She’d hoped to keep this away from her parents, protect them from her indiscretions, but instead her dirty laundry had been dragged directly into their lounge.

                “I wish you’d told us.” Her mother’s voice distracted her, and Emma looked up slowly. “You’re not one to be rash, never jumped into things, that’s why it’s so out of character!” Just as Emma opened her mouth to justify her actions, her mother spoke and stunned her, beyond belief, “that’s why we both knew instantly this was special! He’s perfect! I can’t wait to tell your Aunt Sheila, she’ll be so...jealous!” Her mother giggled before pulling her daughter into her arms for a hug.

How could she tell them it was false?

                “It was all so quick...”

Mavis White smiled, “that’s often the best way, I mean you’re not some sixteen year old rushing into things are you?”

And there it was again, the ‘on the scrap heap’ comments, bloody hell she wasn’t thirty yet!

As they prepared dinner, Emma answered her mother’s question about her husband in a very vague fashion, as truth be known she knew so little about him. But her mother was satisfied and had a veritable feast of lasagne, salad, roasted baby potatoes and garlic bread all piping hot when the two men came in through the door smiling.

                “He beat Bob Holland at pool!” Dennis beamed as he clapped his new son-on-law on the back, “that man was unbeaten in years! He’ll not know how to face me next week!” He laughed, “great!” Then reaching over he gave his daughter a kiss, almost a thank you for bringing this wonder into their life. All fake, all false, and she was unable to do anything about it.

Jacob’s tie was loose, and his suit jacket removed a while ago, and all too soon, the two men were studying her father’s collection of vinyl albums.

Her mother deliberately sat the two next to each other, and Emma was stilted with the proximity to the man, and when her mother started discussing wedding celebrations, family parties, their chance to celebrate this event, Jacob was the first to respond.

                “Mrs Wh...” he saw her mother’s look of chastisement, “sorry Mavis, you have to realise that the next few months are very hectic for us. Em has her first big part, we have to try and work out how we’re going to spend time in both places. We can speak to you about this later in the year; maybe do something once she’s stopped filming?”

Mavis clapped her hands excitedly, “that gives me PLENTY of time to plan this! Since Emma was born I’ve planned this moment!”

Emma took a slug of her wine; this night was just getting worse!

It was a warm evening, and after dinner Jacob disappeared to change, he’d looked a little uncomfortable in his suit. She was sat alone in the patio in the still hot evening, when he emerged from the house with a bottle of wine and two glasses; he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, the Jacob Coren she was more familiar with. He sat beside her and poured two glasses of wine, then handed her one.

                “Still hate me?”

She drank a sip of the red wine, grateful that it wasn’t too heavy, then turned to him, “you make it seem as though I’m being petty, and I’m not. It’ll break their hearts when this ends, and you could have saved them that.”

It was his turn to drink, and he stared off into the distance for a few moments, when he turned back she was unable to read his expression, “you are the only one saying this is temporary!”

                “We are strangers Jacob, this has not got Happily Ever After written all over it!”

He broke into a smile, but not a happy, friendly smile, “Strangers? We’re not that. I know a lot about you! I know where you live, I’ve met your parents, and I know that you love seafood, and take your steaks rare, I know you look amazing in the colour blue and that your breasts fit perfectly into my hands...” She felt her body betray her at the low husky words he was uttering, there was no contact between them, physically anyway, but her whole body throbbed at the thoughts his words were conjuring. “And I know that you bite you thumb when you’re nervous, and that you moan when you come, and it’s a beautiful sound!”

She slapped at his arm, but he captured her fingers, “and you? You know that I ride a very rare, vintage BMX bike around town; I live in my deceased grandmother’s house. I like a Mojito, but not more than beer, and I have a tattoo on my chest of an eagle, that makes me hard when you lick it! What else do we need to know?”

                “We’re turning in youngsters!” Mavis giggled from the back door. “Emma I’ve sorted out your bedroom for you both, see you in the morning.”

Emma gasped, her parents wanted her to share a room with Jacob. As she made to protest that they’d be happy in separate rooms, Jacob laughed, “thanks Mavis! That’s perfect. See you in the morning.”

As her mother disappeared, she looked up at the smiling Jacob and wondered how the hell she’d survive the night.