The Late Zone

At age 12, Emma dreamt of a boyfriend who would give always give her a bear hug like her always does.

At age 16, she envisioned a boyfriend who would give a hug like a football player does.

Now at age 30, Emma only wishes for a boyfriend who will be her friend and will give the occasional friendly embrace. She still longs for a man who would fall in love with her but it seems time is not on her side. She's getting older by the minute and not one guy is taking notice of her.

In a spark of desperation, she goes online and searches for a website that provides a dating service. In about a week, she goes out with Paul. Emma thinks Paul is great. They share a lot of interests. They both like reading, playing tennis and watching old movies. They went out on dates a couple times more and each time Emma enjoys the experience. She now thinks she's ready to go to the next step but her friends think she's moving too fast. They haven't even known each other for a month yet. Emma's friends want her to get to know more about Paul.

But Emma thinks she knows enough about Paul. Besides, it would be too boring if she knew all about a person. She reasons out to her friends that the trick to having a lasting relationship is getting to know the other person a little more each day. Her friends couldn't do anything. They hug her and remind Emma that they will always be there for her if anything happens. Emma told them not to worry about her.

Emma finds herself in a boutique one day looking at wedding gowns. She can feel it coming: her own wedding day. She can just see herself and Paul looking at wedding gowns together. She was about to get out of the boutique when she sees a couple across the street. It's Paul with a pregnant lady. At first, Emma thought it could just be his sister or a friend. But then, Paul kissed the woman and gave her an intimate embrace.

Emma rushed home. She tried calling Paul to ask for an explanation but Paul never answered her calls and not once gave her a callback. Emma now realized that the only man she could ever get the warmest embrace from could be daddy.