"Amelia"

Chapter 6: Smile Again...

Amelia walked towards the front door. The house itself was small, but just large enough to contain a family. The door was a creamy white, while the rest of the house was painted a lighter blue. It reminded her of the cold tiles of her bedroom floor, but the feeling was different. Amelia felt happy knocking on the door, stepping onto the porch; she didn't feel scared at all. Inside, she could hear the delightful squeal of a toddler and the quick feet of someone walking to the door. Amelia stepped back and smiled as Emmy opened the door.

"Hey, Amelia. How are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm doing aright, just trying to wear Ezra down for a nap." Emmy explained,  reaching up her left hand and brushing strands of golden hair behind her ear.

"That sounds fun, actually. Well, I just came to drop off your clothes." Amelia said, looking down at the drawstring bag in her hand.

"Do you want to come in?" Emmy asked, peeling Amelia's eyes from her bag.

"What?" Amelia replied slightly confused. Did she hear that right?

"Do you want to come in? Do you want to stay here for a little while and maybe help me with Ezra. You know, if you aren't busy." Emmy said again, this time a little less sure of herself.

"Sure." Amelia beamed, trying not to sound so excited.

Emmy stepped out of the doorway and allowed Amelia through.

The house may have seemed small upon first glance, but the space was more than enough. A glance right and Amelia saw a wall with half a dozen photographs of family and fun times. Following the wall along, she noticed a brightly lit hallway. She quickly assumed that this was where the bedrooms were. Looking right, she saw a small, creamy white kitchen with a very out of place black fridge. Not so out of place were the things scattered on its door. Alphabet magnets holding up scribbles and family photos chaotically covered nearly all of the door. Unlike in her house, Amelia found that this type of chaos wasn't alarming, but more calming.

She followed Emmy into the kitchen and saw that the back end of the house was more enchanting than the first half. It led into a big living room with white carpet and a huge sliding glass door. A television was hung above an, assumingly, faux fireplace. Ezra sat between the television and a shaded grey couch, playing with a set of blocks. When he saw Emmy and Amelia, he stood and ran over to them. His smile stretched across his face, and then some. Amelia silently wondered how children could always seem so happy.

Emmy picked him up and walked him down the hallway. Amelia followed and admired the pictures lining the walls. She also admired the thin window at the end of the hall that lighten this hallway. It would have been so dark if someone hadn't thought of adding that bit of light.

Emmy turned into the second door on the right and Amelia followed still. She quickly assumed that it was Ezra's room. Their was a crib, but the bars were lowered and he could easily get out. The room was a pastel green with pasty white trim. The hardwood flooring was cherry in color, and covered with toddler toys. Little ones that sang and danced were thrown haphazardly into a wooden chest, but another set of blocks was scattered across the green shag rug and the rest of the flooring. A small shelf contained a dozen childhood books and just out of Ezra's reach, ultrasound pictures and a little piggy bank.

Amelia turned and saw Emmy rocking a sleepy Ezra. When Emmy saw her looking, she lifted her lips to form a quick smile before returning to Ezra. Amelia sat down on a random stool and watched as Emmy slowly set Ezra down. She reached over to the shelf and turned on the familiar sounds of raindrops and lullabies, before leading Amelia out of the room and back into the living room.