Page 103 of No Such Thing as Serendipity

Did she expect me to get up in front of everyone? By the twinkle in her eye, I believed she did. I balked, but something stopped me.

Besides, how bad could it be, anyway? Typical Emma, she’d do some sappy thank you for the time we’d spent together.

I tried to block out the eyes on us as Emma led me up the stairs onto the stage. Despite my trepidation, after Robyn wrapped me in a hug, it all became worth it.

Once we broke our embrace, Robyn squeezed my arm and said, “You’ve got this. Just allow yourself to be vulnerable.”

I smiled at her. “In other words, surrender my control.”

“You said it, I didn’t.”

During my exchange with Robyn, I nearly forgot I was standing on a stage in front of at least a hundred people. I was used to speaking in front of crowds in my job, but I had no frame of reference for standing on stage not saying anything.

Next, Robyn embraced Emma, and I swear I heard Robyn tell Emma to be gentle with me, but I couldn’t be sure.

Robyn faced the crowd. “We have our final participants of the day. As you can probably tell, they’re sisters. Not twins.”

The women in the audience who knew us laughed, having heard us say it many times.

“I’m going to step aside and let them take it from here.” Robyn winked at us before she backpedaled to the wing of the stage.

Emma faced me and took my hands in hers. She gazed into my eyes for some time until it became uncomfortable. She released one of my hands, touched my head, and vigorously shook her head before she placed her hand over my heart and nodded with gusto.

I took it to mean I was supposed to listen with my heart, not my head, so I gave her a quick nod of agreement. She smiled before she turned and walked across the stage away from me.

What the hell was she doing?

She stopped, turned back to me, and then took a deep breath.

Was she going to do aDirty Dancingmove and run toward me, expecting me to catch her? I held back my smile, thinking of the disastrous consequences of such a move.

Focus.I needed to pay attention, so I locked my gaze on Emma.

In front of my eyes, she transformed. She stood up taller and thrust out her chest. She held her head high and leaned back. There was something familiar in her posture, but I couldn’t place it.

Next, she began walking toward me with a confident stride, almost a strut. My mind scrambled, and my heart rate increased. Surely, I was misinterpreting what she was doing.

I stared as she approached and stopped about five yards from me. She reached out her hand and twisted her wrist as if opening a door before she stepped inside. After she turned and shut the imaginary door, she cupped her hand next to her mouth, leaned her head back, and pretended to yell.

My blood ran cold. She couldn’t be doing this.

Then she reached toward her head and removed an invisible baseball cap.

She was doing it. My legs quivered and my breath caught.

Our eyes met, and I understood she knew I’d recognized her gestures.

Auntie Bess.It couldn’t have been clearer if she wore a neon sign, but why was she bringing her up here?

Emma moved toward me, this time walking with her familiar gait, telling me I was interacting with her, not Auntie Bess.

She narrowed her eyes, and a deep trench appeared on her forehead. Then she pointed at me and back at herself, though she stood up taller and thrust out her chest.

This was weird, but I knew she’d become Auntie Bess again.

Emma motioned her hand between the two of us, well, between me and Auntie Bess. Then she smiled, pointed at me, and danced around the stage. She put her head back and mimicked a laugh and threw her hands over her head, shaking her fingers, doing jazz hands.

I bet everyone in the audience could feel the euphoria. I couldn’t help but smile at her antics.