Emily and Me (Part 10)

I was miserable. The flight home was bumpy and long. I was sandwiched between two overweight  businessmen.  The guy in the window seat just ate and ate the whole flight. How could someone eat so many crunchy shacks? I was waiting for the flight attendant to bring a wheelbarrow full of cookies and potato chips up the isle and dump it in his lap. The guy on the other side wanted to talk my ear off. He was hoping to make a new friend. I was not. I just needed to think. I had to plan. The worst part of it was that I had to say goodbye to Emily and Natalie. I left my heart in Germany, and all I wanted was to be back there with them. But if I was going to do this, I had to fly back home and tie up all my affairs.  I made this commitment and was determined to follow though. I had to make all the arrangements to move to Germany to start our life together.

After what seemed like a life time, the plane landed in Boston. I stood in line to get my luggage for what seemed like hours. What a confusing mess. People looked like vultures waiting to grab their luggage. Half the people grabbed the wrong bags. I just waited in the back until finally I saw my bags coming. I stepped ahead of one of the overweight businessmen and grabbed my bags. He wanted to say something but I just gave him a look. I was in no mood to play games. I was on a mission.  I was miserable without my family.

As soon as I got home, I called Emily. “Hi baby, I’m home. How’s Natalie?”, I asked. “She is still sad that you left, I am too baby,” she quipped. “I know, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Emily quickly said goodbye and hung up the phone. I couldn’t help but notice that there was something different about her tone. “Not to worry,” I reasoned and went to bed. Sleep doesn’t come easy on a long flight like that. I slept for almost a whole day.

I woke up and it was 8:00 PM. I couldn’t believe I slept that long. I looked in the refrigerator and there wasn’t anything in there that I wanted to see. I should have thought about that before I left. I left too much food behind. It was pretty gross. I couldn’t make a similar mistake while I’m in the process of shutting down my life in the U.S. I had to get everything right. I got out my computer and started making lists. I couldn’t take everything with me, so I had to get rid of all of the furniture and appliances. This was going to be bigger than I thought. “What the hell do I do with all this stuff?” I thought.  I was determined, so I just dove into the pile and started working.

I woke up the next morning and headed to work. My boss was going to be upset to see me go. I was his best income producer and I always made him look good at the end of the month. He was a great boss and I was going to miss working with him. “Hi Larry”, I said with a smile. “How was the trip? I was sure missing my best sales rep.” “It was great Larry, we have to talk about something concerning my trip.” I said looking down. “Come on man, what is it?” I looked him in the eye and said, “I went to Germany to find love and I found it. I met a beautiful girl and her daughter. I’m leaving to go and live with them in a few weeks. I know it’s short notice, but I’m leaving as soon as I can.” Larry sat back in his chair and starred at me. “I’m happy for you. I really am. Have you thought about finding a job?”, he said seriously. “To be honest things are moving so fast, I haven’t had time to start looking. I have some money in the bank I should be good for a while,” looking down again. Larry smiled and said, “I may have something for you. We are are opening a new office in Germany in a few months. We have been preparing for almost a year. We don’t have anyone set to run it yet. We prefer someone who is home grown. You have been with us a long time and I think you would be perfect for the job.” I took a step back and had to sit down. I couldn’t believe it. Even this? Is it possible for every single dream to come true. “I’ll do it Larry. I want it. I’ll do a good job for you.” Larry shook my hand. “I know you will.  You are my best man. We will work out the details later. You better go. You have a lot of things to do.”

I couldn’t wait to call Emily. She is not going to believe this. I danced out of the building and ran to me car. She was going to be so happy. I raced into the house and called her right away. Emily answered the phone and I yelled “Baby, I have a job in Germany!  Larry is opening a new office and I’m going to run it.” Emily seemed distant to me. I thought she would be more excited. “That’s good baby. I hope you like it,” she said in a low tone. “Baby, what’s wrong?” I exclaimed. “I’m fine baby. I just need to sleep.” She said goodbye and hung up the phone. I was getting nervous now. She just didn’t seem right.

It was a month before I finally got all my loose  ends tied up. I ended up giving away most of my stuff. My neighbors loved me now. All I had to do now was book a one way flight back to Germany. Our new life was about to begin. Just as I was getting on line to book my flight my phone rang, it was Emily. “I have to tell you something.” she hesitated. “I’m sorry. I just can’t,” she sounded like she had been crying. “Emily what’s wrong? Is Natalie alright?” She sounded terrible. “I can’t do it baby. I can’t marry you. Please stay home and don’t come back here.” She was crying. “What happened baby? Did I do something wrong?” I said in a panic. “No, it’s not your fault. You know my heart was broken once before. I can’t do this. I can’t take the chance. I have to think about Natalie now. She is my life. Please leave me alone and try to understand.” I knew what she wast thinking. Her heart was broken and she lost her trust.  Her scar was deeper than I thought.  I knew my heart and my love for her and Natalie. I had to convince her that I would never leave her and Natalie. “I’m not that guy Emily. I’m committed to you and Natalie. I’m not leaving. I don’t have any hidden fiancee here. I love you both. I have plans for us. This is real. I know how we met. Twitter is a scary place but I love you. This is real. I want to give you and Natalie a good life. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” My words fell on deaf ears. Emily wouldn’t hear a word I was saying. There was nothing I could do to change her mind. I was stunned, what more could I say? I pleaded with her more, but she just started crying and hung up the phone. I staggered to my only chair and slumped down. My life was over. I just sat there broken. The pain was unbearable. My heart was torn into pieces, I started asking myself all the questions. The hardest one was “why”. I sat there all night staring out the window. I cried until my tears where all gone. Then I fell asleep.