Frozen Love

She wasn't expecting to hear anything back. She wasn't expecting a different country to want someone from the United States to work for them. And yet here she was, staring down at a letter from Volterra, Italy, the biggest grin on her face. Emery Wren Hatch is a newly graduated college student, and she had been applying to places anywhere from outside her own state to outside the country.

She had her passport and she had money in her savings account in order to be able to move. The only problem she would have is moving any of her things. Emery lived in a small, one bedroom apartment an hour away from the city where she had went to college. The only living parent she had was her father, and the only time she ever heard from him was if he was putting more money into her account.

Emery wasn't too sure what her father does. She has never know. her mother never once told her about the family business that Paul, her father, owned. She had one other sister, whom passed away when she was seven years old. She had an underlying heart disease that doctors never caught, and it ended up catching up to her one day while playing soccer with a few of her friends in elementary school. A few months later, her mother died of a heart attack. Emery, only fourteen years old, did everything she could to always make her father proud.

He was not an abusive man. He gave Emery everything she ever wanted or needed, he just wasn't there like a father should be. He left her alone for a few days every month, leaving money for her to get the things she wanted, and always making sure that the fridge and pantries were filled with things that a teenager could easily make. And he usually had a family friends check up on her. And when he was home, he still wasn't a father. He was always on the phone or computer, waving her off with a small smile whenever she came up to show him awards she won or the tests she aced. She was a star student, anything to gain her father's attention.

By the time she was in college, Emery stopped trying to talk to her father. She still did everything she could to impress him, making the Dean's list every semester, but instead of just calling her to tell her that he was proud, he would throw more money into her bank account as a form of his praise. He didn't even come to her graduation. But this, this letter that she was holding right now could be her escape away. She loves her father more than anything, but if he wasn't going to try with her, then Emery wasn't going to try with him, and leaving the States was probably the best idea she could have.

Emery looked down at her phone that was resting on the coffee table. She snatched it up and dialed the number that was on the letter. She wasn't entirely sure what time it was over there, and for all she knew she was waking someone up or might just have to leave a voicemail.

"Hello?" A soft, musical voice said after lifting the phone. "This is Heidi, how may I help you?"

"Hello, Heidi. I hope I'm not calling at bad time, but I had just gotten your letter of acceptance to the secretary position in Volterra. This is Emery" Emery said, rolling her eyes at her own damn voice. She was already given the position. Why did she sound so nervous?

But Heidi didn't seem too bothered by Emery sounding so nervous. In fact, she let out a soft laugh. "There is no need to sound so nervous, dear. You've already been accepted into the position. We aren't going to change our minds." Heidi quieted, and Emery could hear the sound of papers rustling. "How soon can you come to Italy?"

"I can be there as early as next week. I have to pack up the belongings that I can bring with me." Which Emery wouldn't be much. It would be everything she could fit into a suitcase, and after she gets an apartment there, she'll have to go out shopping.

"Is there anyway you can be here two days from now?" Heidi asked. "No need to worry about a ticket nor do you have to worry about a place to live. All of that is being covered." Emery blinked, but before she could have a chance to really reply, Heidi continued. "I understand it is very short notice, and it wouldn't have been a problem to wait for you next week, but we are heavily being slammed with tourist groups, and I am only one person trying to handle paper work and bringing guests through the tours, so I would really appreciate it if you can get in sooner."

Emery thought she would have more time to at least explain to her friends what she was doing and where she was going, but it looks like she was going to need to throw a small party with all her close friends just to be able to see them all one last time.

"I can be there."