Chapter 7

“Oh my gosh, babe, is this your grandfather that you have been telling me about?” Emma asked, looking all surprised and curious. Her voice was trembling just enough to sound genuine, even though she was nervous but trying to appear calm.

Ryan was amazed by Emma’s moves. “A kiss?” He whispered and smiled to himself. He wouldn’t have thought of something like that, but it worked.

But immediately he got the acting signal and responded, “Grandpa, you didn’t tell me you were coming over today. You startled me.”

Ryan’s grandfather wasn’t paying attention to Ryan; instead, he looked at Emma, observing her closely. He knew he had for sure never seen her before.

“Who is this young lady?” He asked interestedly.

“Oh, this is Emma, my girlfriend.” Ryan replied with a smile on his face. 

“But Ryan, you never told me you had a girlfriend.” Ryan's face lightened up; this was the moment for him to play smart in order for his grandfather to believe him. There was no way he was going to fuck up. 

“Grandpa I was going to tell you, but this all happened pretty recently, and I was just looking for the perfect moment to introduce her to you, that's all.” Ryan responded with pride in his tone.

Ryan’s grandfather wasn’t satisfied just yet; he got more curious to know the young lady more. “So, Miss…” Ryan’s grandfather was trying to talk to Emma, as he didn’t get her name the first time. Emma seized the opportunity to introduce herself. “Lawson, Emma Lawson, but you can just call me Emma.”

Grandpa Miller smiled at how confident she responded, but he persisted in asking more questions. He was curious about this whole new information about Ryan, his grandson, having a girlfriend. 

“Alright Emma, how long have you known my grandson? Where did you guys meet? When did you two start dating?” He giggled with some peace of excitement in his tone. “Tell me more; I want to know everything.”

Emma’s pulse pounded in her ears as Grandpa Miller’s eyes bore into her. Each question felt like a crack in their fragile story. She couldn’t look at Ryan—if she did, she knew she’d break. Instead, she squared her shoulders and forced a smile.

“Ahh, Grandpa, can you please take it easy with all this question? Don't scare away my girlfriend; she was a little hard to get,” Ryan interrupted, noticing the pressure his grandfather was putting on Emma. There was no way she was prepared for this; they haven't even discussed the right answers to say to expected questions. They both thought they had enough time to prepare before the upcoming birthday event for Saturday.

“Oh, Ryan, you’ve never introduced a woman to me before, so I’d like to know more about this young lady. Surely you can understand that. Right sweetheart”

Grandpa Miller countered with a warm smile, facing Emma and while expecting her to respond. 

Emma was silent for a while; her thoughts were mixed with panic and calculations: ‘Ooh, fuck, fuck. I wasn’t prepared for this at all; I was not supposed to meet him just yet till Saturday. What should I tell him now? If his grandfather sees through our little act, I could kiss the money goodbye then.’

Observing how tense Emma was, Ryan interrupted again, “It's only been a couple of months; we've actually met before though. We met back in college, in our economics class.” 

Emma’s heart was still racing with tension but became calm immediately Ryan responded. But a thought creeped back into her mind: ‘I need to act bold; I can't keep allowing Ryan to speak for me. The more Ryan’s grandfather stays back, the more dangerous it gets.’

Ryan continued, “We just reconnected recently, and it's been going so well since then.”

Grandpa Miller could sense some dominating attitude from Ryan. He was just trying to get to know the young lady a little more. Despite this, he persisted with more questions.

“Oh! Wow, so you went to Yale with Ryan? It's impressive. I happen to know all the deans at Yale. Who was your dean, Emma?”

Ryan hijacked the conversation again. “Grandpa…” But this time before he could further speak up for Emma, his grandfather interrupted, “Ryan, are you going to let your girlfriend speak for herself? I've taught you better than to interrupt a lady.” 

The room fell silent, with all three locked in an uncomfortable gaze. 

Emma, who has been quietly strategizing, remained mute. She knew if they mess things up this time by failing to convince Grandpa Miller of their relationship, they would miss the opportunity forever, and it would be to her own disadvantage.

“The truth is,” she started, her voice trembling slightly, “I don’t know who the dean is because I didn’t go to Yale.” Emma finally spoke softly.

Her response made Ryan and his grandfather's faces lit up in shock. Ryan whispered to himself, ‘What is she doing? I hope she knows what she is actually doing.’

“Ryan, what’s the meaning of this?” Grandpa Miller asked with curiosity.

“I'm sorry, "she continued, her voice steady despite the butterflies in her stomach. “Ryan just probably wants to impress you because he thought that you might not like me. Because I am just a normal girl from a normal working-class family with no pedigree, no family fortune. I just love and care about Ryan deeply.”

Grandpa Miller laughed at Emma’s words; he couldn't help it. “Ryan, how could you think that? Have I ever cared about any of that? All I have ever wanted was for you to be happy.”

They all giggled as the atmosphere was becoming welcoming. Ryan turned to Emma and smiled. ‘How could she be this smart? His grandfather was buying it all,’ he thought.

Emma let out a breath of relief from the outcome of the conversation so far. She continued, ”I actually met Ryan at a club; maybe you’ve heard of it before; Crave and Chill?” 

Grandpa Miller’s face lit up with excitement. “Ooh, James club!” 

“Yes, yes.” Emma replied; she smiled, relieved that her story was going well; it was beginning to sound convincing that Ryan's grandfather was believing every single bit. He seemed excited as well. She has to keep up this pace with the story. Though the old man isn’t as complicated as she had assumed.

“Audre and Kelvin invited me.” She continued.

“Are those two still together?” I thought they broke up. Grandpa Miller said.

“Gosh no, those two are getting married for sure,” Ryan immediately chips in, wanting to fit in the conversation, not to be left out.

They all laughed at Ryan’s joke. He could see it in his grandfather's eyes that he was pleased. Initially it wasn’t going as planned, but then Emma came through. She’s a smart girl after all.

“Great, my grandson is in a serious relationship. A decent one at that. He has never introduced me to a girl directly before. I’ve got to get a bottle of wine so we can celebrate. Shall we?” 

Emma and Ryan nodded in agreement, both wearing broad smiles on their faces. Immediately, Grandpa Miller stood up to go get the bottle of wine. Emma whispered to Ryan, “The best lies are often half the truths.” They both giggled

But before Grandpa Miller could reach the kitchen door, he stopped, stretching his body as he called onto Emma, “Oh, my bones are aching. Emma, could you be a sweetheart and go get me the bottle of wine? Surely you know where to find it.”

“Of course I'll get it,” Emma responded, her voice trembling as she stood up, heading straight to the kitchen. Under her breath, she whispers to herself, ‘‘No, no, no. Where the fuck is the wine? How would I know? I just got here.” 

Emma frantically opened cabinet after cabinet, her mind racing. ‘Wine, wine…where would he keep it?’ Her hands trembled as she realized the truth—there was no time. Ryan’s grandfather would expect her to know where things were. Panic clawed at her chest. Her eyes landed on the knife. It was insane, but what choice did she have?

Immediately, she picked it up, and made a small incision in her palm.

The sight of the blood dripping from the cut made her stomach grumble as she let out a loud scream, “Help, Ryan, help. 

Ryan was chatting with his grandfather when he heard the loud scream coming from the kitchen. He rushed to check, his heart racing. 

“Emma, what happened?” he asked.

“Blood,” Emma responded. Grandpa Miller rushed down the kitchen as well, following Ryan. “Is everything ok?” he asked.

“I can't stand the sight of blood,” Emma responded, her voice trembling as she leaned on Ryan’s hands and fainted.

Phase 1 completed: The Introduction