Rediscovering Emma

Prologue

"What are you going to do for work? For a place to live?"
"I don't know yet, Mom." Emma shields her eyes from the hot summer sun and looks at her mom. "I have the money from selling the house. It is enough to get an apartment for awhile." Emma holds back the tears as she thinks about her small, 2 bedroom house she sold last week. Though it was old and outdated, she had worked hard to make it a home for her family. Her pride and joy of the house was her kitchen. She had knocked down the wall connecting the kitchen to the small dinning room and transformed the two rooms into every bakers dream. Pale yellow walls, Double oven, Kitchen Aid, and an entire corner just for decorating her cakes. That was going on the top of her "have to have" list for her next place. A nice kitchen to continue her passion.
"....and her friends at school. You can't just uproot my granddaughter because your going through a mid life crisis!" Man, she is mad. Emma looks at her mom and smiles. She is going to miss her mom so much. Oh no, not the tears.
"Mom this is not a mid life crisis. I'm 28! Don't you have to be like 40 before you can claim any crazy ideas as a mid life crisis?"
"Don't you change the subject young lady. I am still your mom, and I will have no sass from you! Even if you are 28!"
"I'm sorry momma. This is just something I have to do. I can't be anywhere near this town when he gets married." She looks down at her feet, hoping to get her emotions under control.
"Oh, honey. I know it's hard. I hope that home wrecker of his leaves him standing at the alter looking like the asshole he is!"
"Mom!" Emma glances in the back window of her red SUV, where her 7 year old daughter is sitting with her headphones on looking at her iPod she got last Christmas. When they were still a family. Before THE SITUATION. Emma shakes her head to rid her mind of the past. "Momma, please. This is something I have to do."
"God, what am I gonna do without my baby girl here! I'm gonna miss you honey." Her mom grabs Emma in one of her famous hugs. She buries her face in her mom's orange and white striped sweater and inhales. She smells of perfume and the fried chicken she made for dinner. She smells like home. The tears are coming now, but Emma doesn't try to stop them. This woman holding her has been her rock through every up and down the roller coaster named "Emma's Life" has been.
She pulls back from her mom looking into the face that resembles hers almost identically and sees the same emotions rolling down her cheeks.
"You look dreadful with your mascara running." And with that comment from her mom, Emma rolls her eyes and opens the back door of her SUV.
"Naomi, come say goodbye to Nana."
"NO!" Naomi is bawling. "I don't want to leave! I want my Nana!"
"Naomi, honey, we talked about this. This isn't goodbye forever. Nana and aunt JJ will come visit us next month for your birthday." Her daughter jumps out of the car and runs to her grandma. They have always had such a strong bond, it almost made Emma stay in her home town. Almost.
"Now, you be good for your mommy. And call me as much as you want. I will still talk to you everyday. And who knows, your future husband might be your next door neighbor in your new town." Her mom winks at Emma while Naomi makes gagging noises. She always can make Naomi smile when she is upset.
"Gross Nana!"
"You never know."
"Come on Honey, I want to get to on the road before dark." Naomi hugs her grandma one more time. Is she really gonna turn her daughter's world upside down because she is heartbroken? She could stay and find a job. A new house close to her mom. So what if the man she has loved her whole life walked out of their house without any second thoughts? Who cares if he hasn't even called once to talk to his daughter? Just as she was getting ready to say "never mind, let's go unpack," Emma hears the distinct sound of a Harley Davidson motorcycle coming down the road, and it takes everything in her to say calmly without shrieking " Let's go!"