Sunshine and Lilly

Chapter Three: The New Friend?

Two months after Alias' Departure

"Have you heard from him, yet?" Emma asks as she struggles to stab the carton with the paper straw.

It's another Friday, lunchtime in the school cafeteria and she asks again, the fifteenth time in the past two days, the bigillionth time since I mailed the letter, and my answer remains the same, so I simply shake my head and continue reading my book, hearing her grunt in frustration.

"I can't get this.... Agh!" She gives up on the task and turns towards with a whine and shucks the juice carton in my face.
I take it from her with a sigh after placing the bookmark and closing the book. "I don't know why they made the straws paper but they still come in a plastic wrap. Nonsense. Absolutely... agh!" She's been doing that a lot lately. The aghing.

I get the straw through but it's bent a bit, it was unavoidable, and hand it back to her before turning to see a small smile and exhale of relief when she pulls the apple juice through before she grimaces and puts the carton on her tray and pushes it forward in defeat. "The juice tastes like the paper," she explains with a huff and then makes the sound that is quickly becoming her trademark, "agh!" before resting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes.

I can tell her frustration is not just from the poorly designed juice packaging. No, this frustration is a build up of the events of the past three months. Not many things have happened but the events that did, have left us feeling the absence of Alias, and the pressure of the unknown.

First off, Emma moved in permanently with Mum and I not long after I sent my first letter - that I haven't gotten a response to yet- to Alias. It was a quick decision on my Mum and Emma's part, one night when Mum found me consoling Emma on the front steps of our house when she'd come running down the street in tears. She won't tell us what happened exactly but the red handprint on her left cheek spoke a thousand words itself. The entire situation was hastily taken over by Mama and Mr. Solada the next day. Mum won't tell me what happened when they went to confront Mr. Blaine but they assured Emma that she could stay here until Aunt Cassandra could clear her ever-changing, always packed schedule and was available to come down and check in on her daughter.

When I'd heard what Aunt Cassandra said during a speaker call with Mum, I wanted to fly all the way to Washington to knock some sense into the woman, no matter how much I try to avoid resorting to violence in a conflict, sometimes playing a good game of Wackamole with their head is effective. I wanted to do the same to Mr. Blaine but Mum wouldn't let me go over there.
It's sickening. The blatant disregard. No maternal inclination. No care.

Emma sat beside me on the couch and stared at Pilly-who has not left her side since Em moved in- in a daze, no emotion in her expression. I had especially missed Alias for his hugs that evening. "I see, well... just one sec.... I'll be right there... yes, hello Maria Lorry? Listen I can't come down now... I've got a deposition coming up and my schedule is packed this month... yes, yes, one second. Uhm... just ask Patrick about it okay? I can't handle this right now... I have to go," and that was it. The conversation was mostly her shuffling and speaking to someone in the background but the gist was that I needed to give Emma a bear hug and not let go until she felt that even though her parents couldn't be the role models and loving people she needed in her life, at least she has me and Ma.

So Mum and I held on tight to Emma while Pilly sat her head in Em's lap and she finally let her tears flow. I remembered what Alias always did when he would hug, and kissed Em's temple and the crown of her head to which she smiled and thanked me and Mum, it was the twentieth thank you and it lead to Ma telling her there was no need and then going to make a pan of lasagne. It was a fine night and has now been almost three months and I couldn't be happier. I get to live my best friend! Although, I do wish it wasn't under such circumstances.