Emily Ever After by Anne Dayton

Author:Anne Dayton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780767921534
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2005-06-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 12

home again, home again

The train ride to Westlake, Connecticut, only takes a little over an hour, but it transports us to a whole different world. We watch the grime and cramped spaces of the city slowly give way to suburbs with tree-lined streets and, eventually, large expanses of green interrupted only by towns every few minutes. The leaves had all fallen from the trees, and the bare, claw-like branches of the naked limbs stood out sharply against the bright blue sky. It feels like we're in the middle of the country, except that every once in a while the train stops at a quaint little old-fashioned train station. They look like they were modeled after the stations I've only seen at Disneyland, though I suspect it happened the other way around.

I'm so engrossed in the scenery—it's unlike anything they have in California, that's for sure—that I forget to be nervous about meeting Bennett's family. Until, that is, the Westlake station is announced, and Bennett stands to take our bags off the overhead luggage rack. I start to panic. Seeing my face screwed up in agony, Bennett puts down the suitcase and takes my hand.

“It'll be fine,” he says, smiling at me. “They'll love you.”

I nod, put on a smile, then grimace as he turns to carry our bags to the door of the train. I follow, focusing my eyes on the back of his head to keep from feeling woozy.

The doors open, and we step out into the cold air of the train platform. My light jacket is not warm enough for this weather, but I've never owned a real coat. I intended to find one in January in all of the after-Christmas sales, but I suddenly wish I had just put it on my credit card and worried about paying for it later.

Bennett is looking up and down the platform, searching for his parents. The station is crowded the day before Thanksgiving, but Bennett spots a tall dark-haired woman at the other end of the platform and begins to walk toward her. I follow, and she steps forward to meet us.

Bennett puts down his bag to give his mother a hug, which she returns briskly and kisses the air next to the curly hair covering his ear. “It's good to see you,” she says, pulling away. She turns to me. “And you must be Emily,” she says, leaning in to give me a hug. I return the hug awkwardly, trying not to crumple her dark pantsuit. She smells like Chanel No. 5. “It's wonderful to meet you.”

“It's nice to meet you too,” I say, straightening my back to match her perfect posture. She leads us to the car, a shiny black Mercedes, and opens the trunk so Bennett can put our bags in. I blush at my Wal-Mart–issue rolling black bag next to Bennett's top-of-the-line elegant Tumi matching two-piece set. I linger and make sure Bennett takes the front seat with his mother and then climb in.

“How was your trip?” she asks, backing the car out of the narrow space.

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