Being Emma by Jeanne Harrell

much crying, wailing, and complaining as she did
going on all her calls. The new equipment had come in, which
pleased the office staff very much and their new weapons were in as
well. Janie was itching to head back to the gun range. However, it
wouldn’t happen tonight. She and Diane were taking Sharon, her
former attempted suicide call, out for a drink at the Naples Bar
and Restaurant. Sharon had called and Diane wanted to meet her.
They were all meeting up about seven.
    Janie finished up late, about 6:30. She
rushed home to take a quick shower and change, run a comb through
her hair and fasten another ponytail.
    She thought of archery practice last night
and how well she and Craig had gotten along. Almost like the old
days… almost… There were things left unsaid in the air – She could
feel them fluttering around her face like butterflies. She knew he
was waiting for her to take a step towards a relationship beyond
friends, but Janie also knew that any man would wait a long time
for her. Craig seemed to have the stamina… and the patience. He’s a
good man…
    Great! Look at the blooming clock… While she daydreamed about Craig, it was
now past seven. She beat it out of the apartment, into her car and
back downtown to the bar. She was looking forward to a girls’ night
out…
    “Well, look who decided to show up…” Diane
and Sharon were in a booth at the back. Janie waved at Jake, the
bartender, on her way to them. He held up a bottle of beer at her
and she nodded. She made a little detour toward the bar to pick up
the beer and went over to sit down by her friend and their new
friend.
    “I’m only a little late…”
    “Miss Punctuality, we started without you.”
Diane held up her margarita.
    “I see that.” Looking at Sharon, she said,
“So you met Diane…”
    “Indeed. We had a nice talk already.”
    “Really? About what?”
    “She wanted to hear my ghastly little story,
so we got that out of the way already. No need for you to hear it
again…” Janie looked at her seriously.
    “I’m glad things turned out like they did,
Sharon.”
    “Me, too,” added Diane.
    “Me three…” smiled Sharon.
    Janie held up her bottle to clink with their
glasses.
    “Here’s to us…”
    “Here’s to life,” said Sharon.
    “And here’s to men…” They laughed and clinked
glasses with one another.
    Janie
settled back in the booth. “Men?” Diane looked mischievous to
her. What was
she up to?
    “Okay. First things first… Janie, you’re back
to archery practice with Craig, correct?”
    “Yup.” She raised her bottle to take a
sip.
    “So what’s happened to Mike Church?” The
bottle froze in midair, not quite reaching her mouth.
    “Ah…”
    “So now you will hear, Sharon, what my friend
Janie does when she’s ready to ditch a guy.”
    “Is Mike that bad?” Sharon looked
confused.
    “No, he’s great. Mike’s a nice man.”
    “So… What’s the plan?”
    “… Um… Actually, he called me this morning.
He’s got a job in Alaska and is leaving town tomorrow afternoon.”
Diane laughed.
    “Well… That’s certainly handy. You won’t have
a mess left on your hands after all.”
    “Not nice, Diane. I told you this was
probably going to happen. Drilling any and everywhere is what the
man does. It’s his profession…”
    “Besides…” She looked a little guilty.
    “Besides what?”
    “He wants more from me than I’m willing to
give him. I told you that.”
    “Like what?” asked Sharon. Diane looked her
in the eye.
    “Like sex…”
    “Oh, I understand. Well, if you don’t want
to, you don’t want to.” Janie gave Sharon a big smile.
    “Thank you, Sharon. At least one of you is
understanding.” She took another sip of her beer. Diane looked at
her empty glass and then over at Jake. She wiggled her glass at him
and he mixed her a fresh margarita. He brought it over to their
table.
    “Anyone else need something?”
    “I’m good, Jake. Thanks.”
    “Maybe one more glass