THE DECISION

"Emma."

Emma was startled out of her thoughts by someone knocking on the door to her room.

"Yes?"

Julia poked her head into the room, "There's a call for you on the landline."

"Landline?" Emma asked surprised. Then she remembered that her mobile had been switched off for the last three hours. "I'll just come. Is it my mother?"

"No. It's some Marianne Jordan from Bridge and Co."

"Oh! I'm coming."

Emma got up and rushed down to where the phone was in the living room.

Marianne Jordan was Mr Bridge's personal assistant.

When Emma had gone to the Chicago office, they had asked for a alternative number they could contact on if she wasn't available.

Since she had already come to Millbrooke and she was staying at the Carter house she had called Alec and asked for the landline number.

She had give that number to them. So it didn't come as a surprise that they were calling her on this number.

She went to the living room and picked up the phone.

"Hello!" She said into the speaker.

""Hello. Am I talking to Miss Emmaline Burns?"

"Yes this is she. May I know who this is?"

"Hello, Miss Burns. I'm Marianne Jordan. We met recently at Bridge and Co. Chicago." The sweet woman replied.

"Oh yes. Hello, Miss Jordan. It's good to hear from you." Emma said. She propped her hip on the arm of the sofa.

"You too Ma'am. Mr Bridge wanted to talk to you about some important business. I couldn't reach you on your mobile."

"Yes my mobile is out of order at the minute. Do you know what Mr Bridge wants to talk about?"

"No Ma'am. But you can ask him yourself. If you wait a second I'll just transfer the call to his office."

Emma was surprised to hear from Mr Bridge. They had met just a few days back.

He was a fun man in his 50's with brown hair and a small bald patch.

"Hello!" Mr Bridge's jolly voice came on after Emma waited for a few seconds.

"Hello Mr Bridge." Emma said.

"Miss Burns, I was hoping to talk to you. I have a great opportunity for you. Great opportunity." He sounded really excited and happy, which was not very different for him, but it made Emma curious.

"Opportunity, Sir?"

"Yes. You remember you met Mrs Dimatto?" He asked.

Mrs Agnes Dimatto was an old lady who was at a very high rank in the company. The only person who worked over her was Mr Bridge himself. She had around 30 people reporting to her directly, from Bridge and Co. from all around the world

"Ofcourse sir. I remember her." This was getting more and more interesting.

"Well she is planning to retire. We will soon be losing a very valued and hard working employee."

"That's unfortunate sir. Mrs Dimatto was the best in her job." Emma said.

"Yes she was. But her retirement means that we have a job opening here at the Chicago office and I want to offer it to you."

For a second Mr Bridge's words didn't register in Emma's head.

She replied after a few minutes, "What?"

"I know you're surprised, Miss Burns. But it's a golden opportunity for you and I don't think you should miss it."

"But sir it's a very high post. I'm... I'm not that..."

"Experienced? Good? Deserving? Which one take your pick. I think you are all those. You are the best at what you do and I think you will be he best for this job too."

"That's... That's... I'm...." She kept stuttering, she didn't know what to say.

It really was a great opportunity for her. It was a respected job and it meant a promotion for her, by a huge leap.

"I'm honoured that you thought I'm capable sir." She said atlast when her hysterics had subsided.

"Yes but Miss Burns, taking this job would mean that you have to move to Chicago from London. Will you be comfortable doing that?"

Emma had spent her whole life in London. She had never lived in any other city. Let alone country and continent.

But taking the job in Chicago would mean staying away from her parents for a few days. The Burns wouldn't definitely intimidate across the Atlantic.

"Yes sir. I'll take the job." She said immediately without any hesitation.

"Miss Burns, the job will be open for sometime. You can take some time to think over it before you come to a decision." Mr Bridge said, he sounded surprised at her haste to give him a reply.

Emma grinned, "I'm sure, sir. It's not a hard decision to make."

"That's great. That's really good. When is the soonest that you can come to the office? We have a lot to talk about and discuss."

"Tomorrow?"

"That's great. See you tomorrow then, Miss Burns. You're going to be a big shot pretty soon."

Emma kept the phone and couldn't help but grin like a psychotic person.

This was not only a very big leap for her career, it would help her settle her personal life, too.

She had to talk to Alec soon.

She was atlast going to do things she loved to do and wanted to do in her life.

......................

To occupy his mind and to keep himself from cursing at his life the whole day, Alec had worked his ass of at the construction site. Working along with all the workers.

After all the hard work he would feel his muscles cramping up as he sat on the front porch.

"Hi!"

Alec was snapped out of his thought by Emma who walked onto porch with two glasses of wine in her hand.

"Hello!" He said.

"Can I sit?"

"Sure." He moved a little so that Emma could sit next to him.

She handed him one of the glasses in her hand.

"Thanks."

They took sips of the wine in silence.

"I got a job offer." Emma said, breaking the silence.

Alec raised an eyebrow, "Job offer?"

"Mr Bridge called this afternoon." She explained about the promotion.

"That's great, Emma! It will be a great opportunity for you."

"I know. But I would have to live in Chicago...."

"Oh! Then what about the.... Uh.... Enga...."

"The engagement?" She smiled at the way he was stuttering, "That's what I actually wanted to talk to you about."

"Talk to me.... What do you mean?"

He was not looking at Emma.

"You love Jade. And for some unfathomable reasons she loves you too." Alec turned around to stare at her with shock written in block letters over his face. "And I've been the bitch who was coming in between both of you. Am I right?"

"Emma?"

"I know what you're going to say. There's nothing like that. I really care about you. You're not a bitch. But you don't love me Al!"

Alec didn't know what to say. He couldn't understand where Emma was going with this conversation.

He just kept looking at her face.

There was a smile on her face, which surprised him even more.

"One thing that I learned today is that if one wants to be without any regrets at the end of his or her life, it's necessary to spend it with the people who you really love."

"What are you saying Emma?" Alec asked.

"Al, this.... Relationship... Meeting your parents... The engagement... Till today it has been a game for me. An easy way to prove myself to my parents. To earn their love. That's the reason I turned a blind eye to what was happening between you and Jade. It was pretty clear. But do you think, telling Mark and Paula Burns that their daughter could not even keep a guy's attention till their wedding, would have proved anything to them?"

"It was not like that. Jade... Me.... I don't know... I'm sorry Emma."

"I should be the one saying sorry. It was a game for me. A quest. But today I realised something, children don't need to prove themselves to their parents. Parents love their kids anyways. And all the decisions I've been taking over the days, I have never made them as myself. I always thought, what would mother want me to do? What would father expect? And because of this stupid game I was going to spoil your life Alec. So I'm sorry."

"So you're saying that...."

"I'm saying that I'm taking the job. In Chicago. I'll live there, while you live here in Millbrooke with your family. Work on Wanderlust. And please go back to Jade."

Alec let his shoulders sag, dejectedly, "She doesn't love me anymore. It's not going to make any difference."

"That she does. She does love you. I don't know why... You're a fool. You jump to conclusions. You take stupid decisions. You never ever keep your stuff in the place where it belongs. You always throw the wet towel on the bed. You don't have a good fashion sense. But she loves you."

Alec smiled, "I do love you, you know?"

"I know. But you're not in love with me. I'm leaving tomorrow for Chicago. So before I leave, friends?" Emma held up her glass which was half filled with wine.

"Friends." Alec tapped his own glass to hers.

They sat together on the porch sipping from their glasses. They didn't talk.

Both of them had a lot to think about.

................

"So bye Julia!" Emma said hugging her.

Julia hugged back, "We'll be living in the same city now. We'll meet up."

Emma smiled, "Sure. And all the best for the baby. I know he or she is going to be as beautiful as her dad and as clever as her mom."

Julia and Steve both laughed at that.

Next Emma hugged Steve, "All the best to you, because you're going to be living with a very hormonal woman soon. Please refrain from murdering each other."

"It will be difficult but we'll try." Grinned Steve.

Emma smiled and she walked to Susan.

"Bye sweetie." Susan said as they hugged.

Emma had once been uncomfortable with hugging these people, but in just a few days she had become like a small part of their family.

"Thank you Susan. For doing something even my mother didn't. And thank you for making me feel like a part of your family." She said.

"You are a part of our family. I got another daughter."

Emma smiled and held out her palm, the charm bracelet was lying in it. "I wanted to give this back to you."

"Keep it. It's yours now."

"But..."

Susan interrupted her, "It's yours now Emma. I got it for you. And it will always remind you of us."

Emma hugged Susan again and then let her put the bracelet around her wrist again.

"Bye stranger." She said when it was Alec's chance.

"Bye Emma." Alec replied, "I really am going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too. Here you go." She took of the ring from her finger and placed it in his palm, closing it over the ring. "You know what to do Alec. You have to talk to Jade. Apologise to her, tell her that we broke the engagement and please, please tell her you love her."

Alec grinned, "I will, I promise."

"If you don't I'm going to come back from Chicago and kick your ass."

"You can try to." Alec replied. "Emma you sure you're going to be fine alone in Chicago?" He asked in a more serious note.

"Yes Alec. I'm not 12. I'll survive. I need some time to stay away from my parents and figure out what I want to do."

"All the best with that."

They hugged each other for a little longer.

Their relationship had had it's ups and downs but overall it had been quite special.

They were coming out from it as friends, and that was what mattered.

Emma waved goodbye to everyone standing in the front yard for the last time and then got into the back seat of the cab.

She drove away with the whole Carter family waving at her till they couldn't see the car any longer.

She turned in her seat.

She was going to really miss Millbrooke and the quirky people that lived there.

She didn't really regret all that had happened in the last few days. Except for maybe the fact that she had made some horrible mistakes.

But she had met the Carter family and had come out from all the mess with new friends. And Susan.

They passed Jade's apartment building. She knew she should have taken some time to speak to Jade also herself. Apologise to her, too.

But she knew that she wouldn't be able to tell her everything face to face.

She took out the stuff she had out in her handbag and started writing a letter to Jade.

She started writing stuff, that till yesterday she herself had not known. Or believed.

..............