It's over.

        Emily tried to tell herself that time and time again, but in truth it was far from over. If she had anything to say about it, Emily wasn't just going to let Lisa have him. So what if she was 20 and beautiful? And so what if right now she was down in Orlando alone with Emily's boyfriend in a recording studio?
        She sighed. There you thinking about it again, she told herself.
        Ever since Emily's miscarriage four months ago, Chris had become more distant than usual. After two years together, Emily thought that the two of them could get through this together. But since Emily had been released from the hospital, Chris had changed to a totally different person. And Emily had gone from most important person in his life, to just someone at the bottom of his priority list.
        The past two weeks Chris had been in the recording studio with Lisa Orbes, a new upcoming artist. Chris had been taking on extra work to get his mind off the miscarriage, and he had started producing new and upcoming artists for his new record label.
        Emily trusted Chris, but she wasn't sure anymore how he felt about her. Since they hadn't really talked in almost two months, she wasn't so sure he even loved her anymore. It wasn't like Chris not to talk to her. He used to say that he couldn't go one day without hearing her voice. He also used to say that nothing would ever come between them.
        Ha, she thought bitterly. That sure changed in a flash, didn't it?
        She did wonder what he was doing at this very moment. Why couldn't they just talk things out and make everything okay? Tired of the distance between them, Emily picked up the phone and dialed Chris' cell phone.
        A few seconds passed, then she heard his answering machine. Damn. Emily hung up without leaving a message. She looked down at her dog, Samson, who was looking up at her with sad eyes.
        Emily wiped the tears from her eyes. “Why can’t he talk to me? He used to be able to talk to me about anything. Now it’s like there’s this big gap between us that’s never going to go away.”

        Chris wasn't even aware that he was being watched. He was really getting into this producing thing. And with his cell phone shut off, he could fully concentrate on the task at hand. If only he knew the dreamy eyed looks Lisa had been giving him all day.
         “You sure the last track was okay?” Lisa pulled up a chair next to Chris, trying to get as close to him as possible. She leaned her elbows on the table. “I thought it sounded okay, but I thought maybe it sounded a little off.”
        Chris didn’t look up from his task at hand. “It was good. No worries. You did good.”
        Lisa frowned. What did it take to get this guy’s attention? Though she had only known Chris a few weeks, she had fallen for him instantly. And she knew he had a girlfriend, but Lisa didn’t care. She wanted Chris for herself. And this time alone with him the last few days had proved to have been helpful. He wasn’t mentioning his girlfriend at all, and he looked like he was enjoying himself.
        “Hey, what do you say we go grab a bite to eat when we’re done? We’ve been here all day, and I think we both deserve a breather,” Lisa said.
        Once again Chris didn’t look up. “I gotta get back home tonight.” That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Thankfully, Lisa managed to hide her disappointment.
        “Oh.” What else was there to say? Pulling her long blond hair back into a ponytail, Lisa learned closer to Chris and could smell his cologne. “Well, maybe just a quick drink?”
        “Sorry. Can’t. Gotta get back. We’re getting ready for rehearsals. And if I want to be up in time…” He looked back at Lisa. “You understand. Maybe some other time.”
        Lisa smiled. At least he didn’t say no, she thought. “Sure. I’m going to hold you to that.” She gave him a flirtatious smile, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was too absorbed in his own world.

        Emily hung up the phone for the sixth time in the last hour. She still couldn't get a hold of Chris. She was having a weird feeling about this. What if he was cheating on her? Maybe that's why he'd been so distant. Maybe after the miscarriage he had fallen out of love with her? Maybe she just wasn't pretty enough anymore. She sure didn't feel beautiful anymore. Maybe Chris had only stayed with her this long out of obligation.
        Well, she thought. Next time I see him I'm going to ask him straight out. And if he doesn't give me a straight answer....
        Emily's thought were interrupted when the front door opened. Chris was the only one that had a key, and she remembered locking the doors cause it was almost midnight. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. She looked at him, taking his presence in. After not seeing him for two months, and not even hearing his voice, a rush of anticipation ran through her. Maybe the time apart had made him realize what he'd been doing. Maybe he realized how much he loved and needed her.
        Yeah, right, Emily concluded, when Chris just walked right past her and walked upstairs with his suitcase in one hand, a coffee mug in the other.
        Defeated, Emily leaned against the wall as the tears started to fall. Okay, so maybe the time apart had made things worse. It was getting ridicolous, and she wasn't going to stick around and let him treat her like this. She took one look at the painting across the room, the one that Emily had painted for Chris of his favorite landscape, Emily knew what she had to do. And she wasn't going to waste any time.

        Chris was up bright and early the next morning. He got in the shower, letting the hot water take away some of the pain. He hadn't heard a peep out of Emily. She hadn't even come up to bed. He was slowly starting to realize that he had really screwed up this time.
        Good going, he told himself. You really screwed this up. She probably hates you now.
        After two years with her, Chris knew everything about her. He knew her moods, her actions, and how she handled things. He hadn't expected her to put up with him this long. Would she ever talk to him again? Not if you don't say something first, he told himself. She probably thinks you don't love her anymore.
        But I do! his mind screammed.
        Pulling on a pair of jeans and a white shirt, Chris rushed down the stairs, but he was too late. Much too late.

        “Emily?” Chris called once he reached the bottom of the stairs. No answer. “Emily?” He called her name out again, but still no answer.
        Maybe she went out. As hard as he tried to convince himself of that, he had a bad feeling that he was wrong.
But she couldn’t be gone. No. She wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. But the evidence spoke for itself.
        When Chris stepped into the kitchen, he noticed right off that something wasn't right. It was spotless. Emily never liked leaving anything lying around, but something about the atmosphere gave him a bad feeling. He wasn't exactly proud of himself at the moment.
        Walking back into the living room, Chris saw something he hadn't noticed before. The painting. There was a folded up piece of paper taped to it. Thinking it would give him some clue to what was going on, Chris picked it up and read the note that was inside.




                   Chris looked at the lyrics that were written down on the blank piece of paper. He was slowly starting to realize how much he had hurt Emily. For two years, she had been his rock, his strength. They had been introduced by JC just two years ago and a benefit concert. JC had known Emily from the program that she helped run that helped terminally ill children. Chris had fallen for her instantly, but it had taken Emily some convincing before she agreed to go out with him.
                    Emily was always writting down things in this little notebook she had that kept in their bedroom in the dresser. She always refused to let him read it. He guessed that she kept this one inside for a long time, since the miscarriage, when his weird behaviour began. Chris could admit now that he'd taken the miscarriage very hard. He had always wanted a family. He had known that Emily was the only person he wanted that family with. And now it looked as if she was long gone.
                    It wasn't just the lyrics that caught Chris' attention. It was the little note at the bottom that Emily left.


                    Chris,

                    I don't know if you're even going to find this. When you came in last night, I was very hurt when you walked right past me. No hello, no 'I missed you', no 'I love you' no nothing. That's probably what I miss the most, you know. Just hearing you say that you love me. You have no idea how much I've been hurting. You can't even look at me anymore. I thought maybe the two months apart would make you realize what you'd been doing. But I guess I was wrong. I just want you to know that I lost the baby, too. It wasn't just you. When I found out I was pregnant, I was so happy. After two years of being with you, now we could finally have our own baby. But that happiness got taken away from us. I used to think it was a test to see if our relationship could last. Maybe it was. But now I know how stupid I was for thinking I was still good enough for you. I'm leaving town. Please don't try to get a hold of me. I'm taking a flight back to Chicago tomorrow morning. Please, if you love me, just leave me alone. I wish you the best of the luck with your future, and I'm sure you'll find "the one" one day, as I'm sure I will. Good luck and goodbye.


                Love Emily


                Chris had a few tears falling down his face by the time he'd finished reading the letter. He checked his watch. He wondered if he still had time to catch her.
                 There was no time to waste. He hoped into his jeep, and drove to the airport. He went past the speed limit at least ten times, but he didn't care. He needed to get to the airport before her plane left. But how the hell was he going to find her if he didn't know what flight number she was on?
                 He had come up with the perfect plan once he'd parked his jeep in the parkade. It wasn't like him to be acting so frantic, but he could lose Emily, and that wasn't something he was going to just let happen. Didn't she know that he would die without her?
                Rushing through the airport, Chris ran into lots of people asking for autographs, but he just ignored them and kept running. Why hadn't he thought to wear a disguise?
                He went around the whole airport to try and find her, but there was no trace of her. He reached the last terminal and sighed in defeat. It didn't look like she was here. She must have already left.
                He took one quick glance around before he really gave up. He had really done it this time, he thought. Way to go, Chris.
                “Flight 68 is now boarding in Terminal 12 for Chicago.” The intercom blared the message again. Chris froze. He looked up at the terminal number where he was at.
                TERMINAL 12
                Thank God, he thought. One more chance. Come on, Emily, where are you?
                Chris hung his head. This was it. She was really gone. And the sappy song that was blasting on the intercom wasn't helping him much, either.
                He stayed sitting down for a bit to gather himself, then he got up and starting walking back to the parkade. But not before he heard that voice.
                “Chris.” Emily paused, and put her bag down. “What are you doing here?” She hadn’t actually expected him to come here. She had been on her way down to the terminal, when she changed her mind. But not because of him, she told herself.
                “Emily,” he said softly. They were still standing ten feet apart, and neither were moving.
                Emily moved first, taking one step forward. She stopped and looked at him. He looked tired. And he looked like he’d been crying. Maybe there was hope.
                She waited for him to answer her question.
                He waited. He just wanted to look at her for a minute. He’d been such a jerk the last few months. How could he not notice she had been in front of him all that time? How blind had be been? “I’m so glad you haven’t left yet,” he said.
                She didn’t say anything. She wanted an answer to her question. She needed to know.
                “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
                “I…uhh…” He wanted to say he was sorry, but something inside him told him that that just wouldn’t be enough. “I’m here to take you back home.” Then he’d grovel. Then he’d get down on his knees and beg her to take him back.
                “Why?” Emily asked him. “You wouldn’t notice if I fell off the planet. So why would you care if I went back home to Chicago?”
                “I know I’ve been a jerk,” he admitted. She just stared at him. “Okay, I’ve been an asshole towards you. And I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did it.”
                “Yes you do.” Emily sighed. “You blamed me for the miscarriage. You took it out on me because I lost the baby,” she said quietly. She, too, had once blamed herself. But she knew now that there was nothing she could have done.
                “I honestly don’t know why I’ve been so distant towards you. Honestly, I don’t. All I know is that I can’t live without you. The day you walked into my life…” He paused to catch his breath. “That was it for me. I don’t want anybody else. You’re the one I want to grow old with, you’re the one…”
                “That you want a family with.” How many times had he told her that before? “But Chris, you could have talked to me. I’m hurting just as bad as you are. I lost my child, too.”
                “I know,” he said. “And I should have talked to you. But I didn’t. If I could go back, I’d change it.”
                She nodded, believing him.
                “I love you,” he said quietly, walking towards her. Once there was no more distance between them, he looked her in the eye and took her hands in his. “I’m never letting you go. Ever.”
                With him standing so close and saying those words, those words he hadn’t said for a long time, Emily could barely breathe. He could always do that to her. No matter how close they were, he could make her weak.
                “I love you too,” she said quietly. She looked up at him, and for the first time in months, she saw that spark back in his eyes. He really still did love her. She could see it. There was no need for words. They were just an added bonus. “And I want you to take me back home.”
                Chris grinned. “As you wish.” He picked up her bag and with her hand in his, they walked out of the airport. But not before giving her a kiss, a kiss that Emily had been waiting months for. A kiss, she would admit later, she would have waited forever for.

    

Lyrics for "Maybe He'll Notice Her Now" Sung by Mindy McCready