Protector - Laurel Dewey [66]
“Wait! Wait! I’m not ready for question number two!” Jane said sarcastically.
“You’re not playing fair!”
“Okay!” Jane once again shoved her playing piece to the first square. “Give me another damn question!”
Emily discarded the first question and pulled another card. “ ‘When were you the happiest recently?’ And be serious. ”
Jane sat back, pondering the question. “Well, let’s see.” Her thoughts drifted off into the distance for a second. “Happy . . .” Jane tried her best to connect happy with anything in her life. “I don’t know,” she replied, temporarily lost in the moment.
“Can’t you think of something?”
“Apparently not,” Jane said, surprisingly annoyed at the sudden revelation. “Give me the deck.”
Emily discarded the last card and handed the deck to Jane. Her eyes traced the top of the table. “You wanna know when I was the happiest most recently?”
“When?” Jane said, shuffling the deck.
“When I saw you walk in that little room at the police station where you work. The room with the funny mirror and green walls.” Jane stopped shuffling the cards and paid attention to Emily, who turned and met Jane eye-to-eye. “I asked to talk to you ’cause I knew . . .” Emily hesitated.
“You knew what?”
Emily stared at Jane. “I knew . . .” Again, she hesitated, not sure she wanted to reveal her true feelings. “I knew you were . . . special. But I didn’t know if you’d say ‘yes.’ So, when you walked in that little room, I was so happy.” Emily smiled at the memory.
They sat in silence for several minutes.
“What do you say we put this game back in the trunk and get you out of here?” Jane’s tone was subdued.
“Can’t I stay here with you?” Jane was at a loss for words. “I don’t want to go back to the foster house. They don’t talk to me and they watch stupid TV shows,” Emily said in earnest. “I want to stay with you. Please?”
“You don’t have pajamas or a toothbrush—”
“Yes, I do. They’re upstairs.” Emily walked around the coffee table and placed her hand on Jane’s shoulder. “Please let me stay with you. I promise I’ll be good.” Emily smiled softly.
Jane sized up Emily and let out a deep breath. “Alright,” she said, giving in.
Emily threw her arms around Jane’s neck, hugging her tightly. “Thank you!”
The gesture caught Jane off guard. She haltingly patted Emily on the back. “Okay, alright, that’s good. Why don’t you go change into your pajamas.”
Emily walked across to the staircase. Jane pulled out another cigarette and lit up, her eyes resting once again on the liquor cabinet. “Jane?” Jane abruptly turned to Emily. The child was staring at the floor where the carpeting was cut away—the same spot where her parents met their death.
“What is it?” Jane asked.
“There used to be a big piece of carpet there.”
“Uh-huh,” was all Jane could manage.
Emily stared at the floor, her face expressionless. “Is that where they died?”
Jane realized she was holding her breath and let it out slowly. “Yes.”
“You know what?”
“What?” Jane asked, expecting the worst.
“My mommy never liked that carpet.” Emily turned to Jane, her face still devoid of emotion. “Would you please go upstairs with me?”
Jane stuck the cigarette in the corner of her mouth and stood up. “Sure.” As she approached Emily, the child held out her hand. Jane grasped it and proceeded up the stairs. They stopped at the top of the stairs on the landing in front of Emily’s bedroom. The door was shut.
“Let’s get some light here,” Jane said, flicking on the switch and illuminating the landing.
Emily stared at her bedroom door, not moving an inch. “I need to go to the bathroom,” Emily said, her eyes pinned on the door. Jane led her several feet to the left and opened the bathroom door that sat adjacent to Emily’s bedroom. She flipped on the light and released the child’s hand.
Emily quickly grabbed Jane’s hand. “Could you come in with me, please?”
“I’ll wait out here. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Emily surveyed the bathroom from where she stood. “Please?”
The thought of ‘This is not in my job description’ flashed across Jane’s mind for a millisecond. “Okay.”
They