For the Best

Emma was relieved. To tell the truth, she was more relieved than she wanted to admit. And she would not admit it to her friends after he told them he cancelled their date at the last minute.

Her friends told her it was time to get out there again, she shouldn’t be wasting away all by herself, there was still plenty of life left to live.

She wouldn’t call reading whenever she wanted to, or getting back to acrylic painting, or journaling, or catching up on her scrapbooking “wasting away.” They were all self-care techniques and she was absolutely sure they were more effective than going on a date with a guy she had barely talked to since high school.

Emma also thought it was kind of creepy that Mark called to ask her out less than six months after her husband passed away. Not that there was an official mourning period anymore; it just seemed odd. Her friends didn’t think so, though. When she told them Mark asked her, they all told her to go for it because they weren’t getting any younger.

But is 54 old? Emma thought to herself. No. At any rate, she decided to go on the date with Mark if for no other reason than to keep her friends quiet. 

After reading his text – Yes. He cancelled their date at the last minute by way of text. – she decided not to tell her friends right away. She’d wait until tomorrow when they asked how the date went. 

When tomorrow came she learned rather quickly that she wouldn’t have to tell her friends he cancelled. The reason was staring her in the face when she went to the local newspaper’s website. Mark had been arrested for money laundering and was currently in the county jail awaiting a preliminary hearing. He’d been denied bail because the district attorney argued that he had the money and means to flee the country.

Emma could sense there was something off about Mark the day he called to ask her out but she couldn’t put her finger on it. But why would she think the nerdy guy from high school would turn out to be a crook? Allegedly. 

At least she could put that very brief, almost non-existent, chapter behind her.

She went to her art studio, where she got out a small canvas and the brushes and paint she would need for her next creation. Daffodils were not only one of her favorite flowers, they were a symbol of renewal, and that sounded perfect to her.