Phantom Scars (4 page)

Chapter 7 – Kindred Spirits

I went outside with Clayton and closed the door behind me. I was ready to ream him a new one.

"What the heck?" he asked.

"Will you shut up!" I growled.

"I don't see what I did wrong."

"Can't you see she's just a baby? I'm not messing with her, Clay," I snapped.

His brow furrowed, confused. "I don't get it. You're married, but you’re not…"

I rolled my eyes. "Clayton, I'm trying to help her. I'm not sleeping with her."

"Help her what?" he asked like the big dumb oaf he was.

"Clayton, go home, and maybe momma will explain it to you later."

He frowned at me. "Fine, you guys aren't being all that nice, anyway. I'm going to go get me some candy and watch a game," he said and stomped away.

I walked back into my apartment, hanging my head. "I'm so sorry, Emma, I should’ve explained to him before I let him meet you."

She nodded alright and then looked between my momma and me. “Do you mind coming with us?" she asked nervously.

"No, sure, not a problem, let me just grab my keys."

"Devin, I think we should take my car. Besides the fact that all three of us can't fit on your motorcycle, you have nowhere to stow anything."

"Oh yeah," I smiled sheepishly.

I was going to need to look into getting a car at some point, now that I had someone besides myself to look after.

We followed my momma down the steps and into
The
Magnolia,
our family restaurant, which she ran. She walked into the kitchen where Eli was working and explained she would be gone this morning, but she would be back for the lunch rush. She failed to notice how Emma hid behind me. Eli's eyes narrowed at her, mistaking her fear and hiding for finding his appearance appalling. Eli had a huge burn scar down the left side of his face, neck and body and preferred to work in the back, away from people.

My momma finally noticed and cleared her throat, getting Eli's attention. "Mr. Grover, I’d like you to meet my new daughter-in-law, Ms. Emma. She’s very shy, especially around gentlemen, so please don't feel offended if she doesn't speak to you."

Eli looked at her again, a little softer this time, and I pulled Emma tighter into my arms. "Can you wave hi?" I whispered, and she pulled up her little hand and waved at him, giving him a hopeful smile.

His returning smile was wide and relieved.

My momma clapped her hands, causing Emma to jump. "Now that that's settled, let's go shopping."

We pulled up to a little store that had women's underclothes hanging in the window. "I'll just wait here," I said, and my momma didn't seem bothered, but Emma didn't leave the car.

My momma came to her side. "Emma, dear, we can't get you clothes if you don't come in and see what fits."

Emma blushed hard.

"You want me to go in?" I gulped, really not feeling comfortable with it.

She nodded yes, and I knew there was no way of getting around it. I got out, opening her door, and took her hand. She leaned into my arm, and I led her inside, where I quickly closed my eyes and stood stock still. I did
not
want to bump into anything and look like a pervert. I listened to my momma talk to a woman, and I felt Emma being pulled from my grip, which I was fine with, once I peeked and saw she was going with my momma toward the dressing rooms.

I heard giggling and other women moving around me, and then finally, I felt a hand take mine. I looked down and saw it was Emma and sighed in relief. "You ready to go?" I asked.

She nodded yes.

"I have her sizes, Devin. You two can step outside," my momma said, and I turned and started quickly out of the store, but in my rush, I failed to notice a mannequin by the door and ended up knocking it over, landing on top of it.

I heard gasping and laughing. One of the sales ladies came over and grabbed the mannequin, as Emma helped me up.

"I'm so sorry," I said sincerely, hoping she knew I truly did not have a thing for lingerie-clad mannequins.

She looked over at Emma and winked. "He's a cute one."

Emma squeezed my hand a little tighter and smiled up at me, before she pulled me toward the door, giggling lightly.

After my momma was done at that store, we went to her house. It still looked the same as it had when I was a little kid. There were still pictures all around the house of my dad with me and my mom, and more of my stepdad and us, smiling as he played with Clayton and me. My parents had married really young, and they were only eighteen when I was born.  My birth father had died still very young, killed by a drunk driver on the way home from work one night, when I was just a tiny baby. I had just turned two, when momma married my stepdad. About a year later, my brother was born. Since my stepdad was the only dad I ever remembered, I took his name to honor and thank him. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with cancer and had died shortly thereafter. I could tell my momma still missed him.

My momma was a strong, beautiful woman of only forty-two, and people were naturally drawn to her. She was very successful with her restaurant, because she knew how to read people. Many of the townspeople came just for a chance to sit and talk with her. She was one of the most understanding, loving people I had ever known, and she was exactly what Emma needed to help her work through whatever had happened to her.

"Devin, why don't you have a seat, and I'll pull out some clothes for her to change into." I nodded my head, and my momma handed Emma an armful of clothes. Emma's eyes filled with tears.

"Are you alright, hon?" my momma asked her, and Emma nodded yes.

"Thank you for everything," she said softly, and my momma hugged her tightly.

"Go on now, sugar, go get dressed," she said, handing Emma one of the bags from the underclothes store.

Emma came out wearing a nice blue shirt and a pair of jeans. I had to admit, it was obvious she was wearing a bra now, and she was a lot better endowed than I’d first thought.

I hadn't realized I was staring, until my momma kicked me and said, "Her face is a little higher, sugar, I raised you better than that."

Emma and I both blushed at that. My momma walked over, hugging her again. "See, you're beautiful, sweetheart. You got my boy all speechless," my momma giggled.

She and Emma spent the next hour going through my momma's stuff. Why women needed so much, I would never know. Momma also went through her jewelry box, vanity and bathroom, loading Emma down with cosmetics, girl stuff and toiletries, for which I was grateful. My bathroom stuff consisted of a toothbrush and paste, a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and an electric razor. Other than that, I had no idea what to buy for her, and Emma seemed way too shy to have me go with her to help buy that stuff.

They came out chatting quietly, carrying a whole mess of bags. Emma was practically glowing from all the attention my momma was showering on her, and it looked beautiful on her.

"How about we pack this stuff up in the car, and you can take it all home with you? Whatever doesn't fit you can donate. I haven't fit into these tiny clothes since before Devin was born," my momma said pinching my cheek, making me blush again. I gave my momma a hug.

I didn't know what either of us would do without her.

Chapter 8 – Swans and Butterflies

We all headed back to the restaurant, and I helped Emma carry her things up to our place. I realized once we got inside that I didn't have anywhere to put her clothes, especially since she had washed and put away all of mine. If she'd left them all over the floor and dirty, I was sure I could have moved my stuff around enough to give her a drawer or two, but as it was, my dresser looked like it was going to burst.

She didn't seem worried, though. She just set the bags of clothes on her bed and then waved for me to follow her. We walked into the bedroom with all the junk in it, and it looked like she'd cleaned it up and cleared off some shelves. "Can I use this for my clothes?" she asked pointing to a bookcase.

I shrugged. "Sure, let me get it for you." I moved it fairly easily, since it wasn't too heavy, and set it against the wall by the bedroom door. That was really the only place where there was any room, with the two beds, my dresser and then the door to the bathroom. I could see why they hadn't added a closet to this room.

She started unpacking her clothes and set them on the shelves, but she stopped when she came to the bag of underclothes.

"Hey, why don't you use the dresser, and I'll use the shelves? I mean, you've already seen my shorts, and you know there ain't nothing special about them like, um, ladies underwear."

We both blushed, and before she could answer, I grabbed one of my drawers, dumped it on my bed, and went to grab the next. She put her hand on my arm and carefully pulled out the drawer. She took the folded stacks of laundry and put them on the shelf. I realized she was trying to preserve all the hard work she'd put into folding my clothes, and I felt like a jerk.

Once all the clothes were put away, she went to the kitchen and started pulling out stuff to make sandwiches. I stepped into the kitchen and started pulling out more stuff to go with them. She smiled, as I did my best to rearrange the chips into a flower for her. "That's what you get when you marry a guy who grew up in a restaurant. Just wait until we get some fruit, I'll make you flowers and birds."

"Really?" she asked softly, and I wondered if she would ever talk in a normal voice.

"Yeah, my momma used to cater a lot of parties, and so she taught us boys how to make flowers and animals, but if you ask Clayton, he'll deny ever being able to do it," I said smirking.

She pulled out an apple I didn't know we had and handed it to me. "Can you make me something?"

I nodded and grabbed a paring knife, getting to work on the apple. I made a quick little butterfly for her, and she smiled. "I can do fancier, but I'm kind of hungry," I said and took a few chips off my plate, shoving them into my mouth.

"You eat a lot more now," she said, as we ate quietly at the table. I looked up at her, surprised she was talking to me.

"I guess I know my momma will be expecting me to, so I just do. I don't want to disappoint her."

She nodded her head, but I didn't think she fully understood my momma's need to feed people. There was a reason she ran a restaurant.

I heard the heavy thumping of boots and knew my brother would be bursting through my door any moment. "It's just Clayton," I reassured her as I got up.

He rapped on the door, making the whole damn wall shake, and my poor little Emma jumped. "He isn't mad. He just doesn't know his own strength."

I opened the door, stepping outside, and Clayton frowned. "What do you need, Clay?"

He pulled out a bag from the candy shop under his apartment. "I brought some candy for your wife. I felt bad for scaring her."

"It might also help if you don't stomp up here and bang on the door like you're trying to knock down the wall. You're a bear of a man, Clay. You're going to scare her."

"Why isn't she scared of you?"

"She was. It took quite a while for her to get used to me."

"Can I see her, please? I promise I'll be good and keep my mouth shut."

The door opened behind us, and there stood Emma, looking at the pair of us. Clayton waved like an idiot. "Hey, Ms. Emma, I brought you some candy. Faye thought you'd like them. She owns the candy shop, so she’d know candy." He held the bag out to her, but she jumped back a little. I took it from him and put my arm around her, leading her inside, and left the door open for Clayton to follow. I set the bag on the table and stepped over by Clayton. Emma looked up at us nervously, but she then peeked into the bag and smiled. She pulled out a chocolate and popped it into her mouth.

Clayton seemed to sigh in relief, when he saw she liked them. He bumped me with his elbow, knocking me sideways a little.

"Thank you for thinking of her, Clayton. Now, if you're done…"

He cut me off. "You made her a butterfly, why didn't you make her a swan?"

Emma looked at the two of us.

"I was hungry, and it was simple and pretty, like Emma."

Emma blushed a little at my words. She then surprised us both, when she tossed an apple to Clayton, pushed the knife to the end of the counter, and then she stepped back, sitting at the table and waiting expectantly.

"It looks like she wants you to make her a swan."

Clayton looked at her and then the knife. He gingerly picked it up. "I always rocked the swan way better than Devin."

"You did not. My swans were always way better."

I heard Emma giggle, as she got up and got another apple and knife, setting them down and waiting again.

"Fine, we'll see who makes the best swan," I challenged.

We were going at it full speed, when Emma suddenly stood up startled and then smiled. I turned to see my momma had come in. "What are you boys doing?"

"Hold on a minute," Clayton said with his tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration. He finished up his swan and held it out toward our momma. "I think momma should be the judge, because your wife would be biased."

Emma actually giggled.

"So, Momma, who did better?"

"Well, Devin mastered the graceful swan a little better this time, Clayton." I smiled triumphantly and did a little victory dance, causing Emma to giggle more. I loved hearing that sound.

"Okay, boys, would you mind helping out downstairs for a while? I left Eli all morning, and he needs a break."

"Alright, Momma," we answered, getting ready to go down and work. I realized my momma hadn't followed us, and when she did finally descend the stairs, it was with Emma on her arm.

"She's decided to join me in the kitchen," my momma said proudly. She patted Emma's hand. "I always wanted a daughter, but I had to make do with these two."

"Hey!" Clayton and I complained together, and my momma just winked at us.

"You know I love you two," she said.

When we made our way into the kitchen, my momma was talking to Eli, and Emma was washing dishes. I sat back, watching her work. She looked content, and it made me smile.

"Just wait until we get watermelons in. You ain't seen nothing until you've seen what I can do with a watermelon," Clayton bragged to Emma, and she just looked amused.

"Devin, have you been showing off your carving skills to your wife?" Eli asked.

We heard a clattering of something being dropped. We all looked to the doorway to see that Ms. Vivien, our dairy girl, had dropped her clipboard. She had been trying to get her plastic claws into me for quite a while now, so I wasn't the least bit sorry she overheard I had a wife. I stepped over next to Emma.

"Vivien, you're early. Clayton will help you unload, while Devin helps his wife with the dishes," momma ordered, and Vivien stood stock-still, glaring at my little Emma. I stepped in front of Emma, blocking Vivien's view of her, as I felt little Emma shrinking back. I wrapped my arms around her and held her for a moment.

"You're fine, Little One. I'm right here," I whispered in her ear, and she turned into me, getting me sopping wet, but I didn't care. I held her close, while Clayton and Vivien brought in our order.

When they were finished, Vivien stood in the kitchen, just staring at us again. She finally cleared her throat and said, "Congratulation, Devin," like she was choking on the words, and then she hurried out the door. Clayton busted up, laughing loudly, causing my little Emma to jump.

My momma shushed him and smiled over at Emma. She came over and brushed the hair back from her face. "Are you sure you're okay to work, sugar?"

Emma nodded and loosened her grip on me.

"Alright, we're all right here. You know we’d never let anything happen to you."

She seemed to frown for a moment but nodded yes, appeasing my momma, who quickly went back to cooking.

Instead of words of encouragement, Clayton decided to make a bad joke. “You can get all the milk you want from Vivien without ever having to buy the cow. That’s why Devin’s never been interested in marrying her.”

I kicked Clayton in the knee and was smacked in the arm with a spatula in reprimand by my momma. She did not tolerate horseplay in the kitchen. We had learned the hard way about that one, too. There were some places you just didn't want crawfish on your body.

Emma and I finished with the dishes quickly, and I had to say, she probably would have gotten them done a lot faster if I wasn't helping. I think I slowed her down.

"You're really good at this," I said, and she looked up at me and smiled widely.  I couldn’t help but smile back, happy to see her fitting in so well with my family.  I just hoped I could keep her smiling, despite whatever it was that had happened to her.