Still Choosing You
Book 1 Chapter 4 — Scene 4: WORK EMERGENCY
By Friday afternoon, Emma was looking forward to the weekend.
Not because anything special was planned.
Just because Daniel had promised he would be free on Saturday evening.
A simple dinner outside.
Nothing expensive.
Nothing complicated.
Just the two of them.
The plan had been made three days earlier while clearing the dishes.
"Saturday?" Emma had asked.
Daniel had nodded.
"Saturday should be okay."
Should.
At the time, the word hadn't seemed important.
Now it sat quietly in the back of her mind.
Saturday arrived without problems.
The morning passed normally.
Laundry.
Groceries.
Household chores.
The ordinary things that filled most weekends.
Daniel remained home for most of the day.
For the first time all week, he looked more relaxed.
Not completely.
But better.
His laptop stayed closed.
His phone remained mostly untouched.
By late afternoon, Emma began getting ready.
Nothing elaborate.
Just enough effort to feel like they were going somewhere together.
She changed clothes.
Fixed her hair.
Checked the time.
Six fifteen.
Dinner was planned for seven.
Daniel was in the living room.
His phone rested beside him on the sofa.
The television played quietly.
Everything felt normal.
Then the phone vibrated.
Once.
Then again.
Daniel glanced at the screen.
The relaxation disappeared immediately.
Emma noticed it before he even touched the phone.
He picked it up.
Read the message.
Then another.
His expression tightened.
Not dramatically.
Just enough.
The way someone looked when work suddenly followed them home.
"What happened?" Emma asked.
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
His attention remained on the screen.
A few seconds later, he exhaled.
"Something came up."
Emma already knew what that meant.
Not the details.
Only the outcome.
Daniel opened another message.
Then another.
The conversation seemed to grow while he read it.
"Work?"
He nodded.
"There's an issue with one of the reports."
The answer sounded tired.
Not annoyed.
Not angry.
Tired.
As though he had expected this eventually.
Emma sat down slowly.
The room felt different now.
The evening had shifted.
The dinner reservation still existed.
The restaurant still existed.
The plan still existed.
Only the possibility of reaching it seemed to be disappearing.
Daniel stood up.
"I need to check something."
His voice carried apology before the actual apology arrived.
He walked toward the study corner.
Opened the laptop.
The familiar startup sound filled the apartment.
Emma watched from the sofa.
Neither spoke for several moments.
The screen illuminated Daniel's face.
Emails appeared.
Messages appeared.
Spreadsheets appeared.
The evening they had planned quietly moved further away.
After several minutes, Daniel finally looked up.
"I'm sorry."
Emma managed a small smile.
"It's okay."
The words came easily.
Almost automatically.
Daniel looked relieved.
Only slightly.
Not because the problem was solved.
Because she wasn't upset.
"I'll try to finish this quickly."
Emma nodded.
"Okay."
Daniel returned his attention to the screen.
The conversation ended there.
Not because either person wanted it to.
Because there was nothing else to say.
Emma looked at the clock.
Six forty-two.
They should have been leaving soon.
Instead, Daniel was reading emails.
Replying.
Checking documents.
Cross-referencing reports.
The laptop remained open.
The restaurant reservation remained unused.
Outside the apartment window, Saturday evening continued without them.
Families walked toward dinner.
Couples crossed the street below.
Cars filled the roads.
The city moved into the weekend.
Inside the apartment, Daniel worked.
Again.
Emma leaned back against the sofa.
The television continued playing.
Neither of them watched it.
The weekend plan had not ended with an argument.
It had not ended with disappointment spoken aloud.
It simply disappeared beneath another work problem.
Quietly.
The same way most things seemed to disappear lately.
Across the room, Daniel stared at the laptop screen.
Emma stared at the television.
And somewhere between them, another evening slipped away.
Scene-by-scene release. Continue only when the next scene is ready.