Emily reached toward Girl’s head and Girl threw her head up to lick Emily’s hand and Emily jumped.
“That’s enough, Girl,” I said, scolding her. She lay down at Emily’s feet and whined. I looked at Emily, “Would you like something to eat?”
She shook her head.
“Something to drink? Want some milk or juice?”
She shook her head again. “My mom doesn’t let me drink a lot at night because I wet the bed.”
I had noticed in previous visits with Emily at the Delphys’ house that she would often talk about her mother in the present tense.
“Let me hang up your coat, then, and I can show you where you’ll sleep.” I helped take off her coat and she followed me to the hall closet. I hung up my coat and turned to her. “Are you sure you’re not hungry?”
She shook her head.
“Okay, let’s head upstairs.” Girl led the way and I walked into the spare bedroom. Emily stood in the doorway. I set her suitcase on the floor and sat on the bed. “It’s okay, Emily. You can come in.”
She came into the room and stood in front of me. I helped take off her clothes.
“Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
She shook her head.
“If you need to go during the night it’s right there,” I said, pointing into the hallway. “Are you ready to go to sleep?”
She nodded and I pulled the blankets down so she could crawl into bed. Girl jumped on top of the comforter.
“Girl, get down,” I scolded. I didn’t like dog hair on the bed.
“It’s okay. She can sleep here,” Emily said, putting her hand on the dog. Girl gave me a smug look and I knew I was defeated. I pulled the covers up around Emily’s neck and over her teddy bear. She moved the blankets from the bear’s face.
“He can’t breathe like that,” she said.
I smiled. “What’s his name?” I said, tucking the blankets under the bear’s chin.
“Ernie.”
“Oh, Ernie’s a good, solid name for a teddy bear. How long have you had him?”
“Ever since I was a little girl.”
“Well, I can tell he’s a faithful friend. Just like Girl.”
She nodded.
“Would you like me to leave the hallway light on so you can see if you need to get up?”
She nodded.
I moved the hair off her forehead and squeezed her hand. I turned the bedroom light off and closed the door halfway. “I’m in the next room if you need me,” I said, peeking around the door.
She lifted her head off the pillow. “Could you leave the door open big?”
I opened the door all the way and moved toward my room.
“Could you come sit here?”
I stood inside the door of her room.
She pointed to the chair beside the bed. “Could you sit right there till I fall asleep?”
I tucked the blankets around her again and sat down.
She patted the side of the bed. “Could you sit here instead?”
I sat on the edge of the bed and held her hand.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. “Could you lay down on the bed?” she asked with her eyes closed.
I paused for a moment; I was fully dressed. I didn’t even like to take a nap in my clothes because of the terrible creases it made.
She looked up at me; I was taking too long to make such a simple decision. There was nothing I could do. Emily was afraid. I took off my shoes and lay down next to her, resting my hand on her arm.
“I’ll stay here all night if you want me to,” I said. I looked at her and she nodded as a small tear fell down her cheek. I didn’t say anything. There was nothing I could say that would bring Emily’s mother back or provide any understanding of what had happened. I wiped the tear away and prayed that God would provide a home full of love for this beautiful little girl, and after her breathing grew heavy, I fell asleep.
Nathan Andrews stuck his head out of the attic opening. “Lights,” he said, reading the side of the box. His wife, Meghan, stepped onto the ladder and climbed up to get closer to the box. “Don’t climb up here,” Nathan scolded.
“I can’t reach it,” Meghan said.
Nathan’s body filled the attic entrance. “Then I’ll climb down.” He held the box on his shoulder as he stepped down the ladder toward Meghan then handed it to her. “Careful, it’s heavy,” he warned.
Meghan reached for the box and rolled her eyes. “This might weigh five pounds,” she said, placing it on the garage floor. She put her hand on top of her swollen belly.
“What’s the matter? Are you tired?” Nathan asked, climbing the ladder.
“I’m just standing here waiting for you,” Meghan said.