Innocent Tears

by Iris Blobel

  She rubbed her eyes as if to wipe away the last remnants of her sleep. “And then?”

  “Nothing. I turned the lights off and left.”

  “Okay. Could she be scared?”

  Emma noticed his voice was becoming impatient. “How on earth would I know? She’s not talking. Only sobbing for her mum.”

  “Have you tried giving her a hug?”

  He hesitated. “Nope. Tried dolls, tried calm music, hot milk, movie–”

  “Try a hug!” She leaned her head into her hand.

  “Okay, will do, but I’m not good at… you know, hugs.”

  “Well, you must’ve at least done it once, otherwise–” Emma rolled her eyes not wanting to go there. “Never mind. Sorry!”

  She heard him saying some soothing words to Nadine on the other side of the line.

  “Put her on the phone. I’ll talk to her. And Flynn?”

  “Yes?”

  “With all due respect, try and put yourself in her shoes. Within three months she’s lost her mother and been carted off to a man she doesn’t know, who doesn’t know how to hug. How would you feel? Of course she’s upset!”

  Dial tone! She threw herself back onto the bed with a curse.

  Emma turned around and looked at the clock again. She moved her hands through her hair and with one quick movement, stood up and walked to the bathroom. She hadn’t switched the light on, so when she bumped into Jack, she shrieked.

  Jack turned the light on and rubbed his face. “Fair dinkum, Em. It’s almost two o’clock in the morning. Keep the voice down.”

  “Jack? You’ve given me a fright.”

  He looked at her. “Who on earth did you expect at this time of the night?”

  “Not you.”

  His mouth twitched into a little smirk. “Expecting someone?”

  Emma rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. Shuffling past him she tried to ignore the fact that he just wore his boxers, and his flat stomach, as well as the six-pack, which was setting off all sorts of butterflies in her tummy. She went to the bathroom and almost shrieked again when Jack was still standing there as she came out.

  He casually leaned against the wall. “Who was on the phone?”

  “What?” she asked perplexed, still holding her hand on her heart.

  “Who called?”

  “Oh. That was Mr. McCormack. The little girl must be missing her mum quite a bit tonight, and he needs help to settle her.”

  “And he rings in the middle of the night.”

  Emma sighed. “I know. To top it off, he just hung up on me. He’s just a jerk.”

  Jack grinned mischievously.

  She dropped her arms next to her side. It seemed he was enjoying her predicament. “Thanks, Jack! I appreciate your concern and help.” The sarcasm spilt from her lips.

  He looked at her. She was very much aware of his gaze, and moved her hand through her hair. Her curly hair, which appeared even more out of control at that moment. He moved his hand towards her and tucked it into her shirt, slightly pulling her closer.

  “Sunshine, I’ve got to tell you, you look even more irresistible in the middle of the night.”

  Emma placed her hands on his chest. “Jack?”

  “Hmm?”

  “What are you doing?” she asked with her voice hardly able to make it as a whisper.

  “I thought that was obvious. Comforting you.”

  His lips touched her just beneath her ear and her legs turning into jelly beneath her.

  “Jack?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You said you don’t like the whole rebound issue.”

  Emma bit her lip when his hands moved up her back along her spine, and pulling her even closer. His lips touched hers.

  She moved back and touched his lips with her fingers. “Jack.”

  He raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

  “The rebound thingy?”

  “Done and over with,” he whispered.

  Emma tried to put more distance between them. “I’m not a one-night-stand girl, Jack.”

  He held back a laugh. “Is that what you think I’m interested in?”

  She could feel the heat in her cheeks, yet it had nothing to do with his kiss. Emma didn’t mean to insult Jack, but at the same time she had no intentions of getting hurt. Shivers went down her spine as his hands moved up her arms, along the shoulders, and up her throat with his thumbs caressing her cheeks. His lips found hers again and her knees were about to give way as she put her arms around his neck.

  With a deep sigh Emma slowly removed her hands from Jack and stepped back. Slowly shaking her head she said in a weak whisper, “I can’t do this.”

  Something flickered in his expression. Hurt? Disappointment?

  “Why?” he murmured.

  She drew in her lips as tears burned behind her eyelids. “It’s just–“ She hesitated. “It’s been a few crazy days. The whole thing with Nadine… it’s… it’s getting to me more than it should be.” And with more frustration in her voice she finished, “Not to mention the jerk of a dad who can’t hug his own daughter.”

  He reached for her hand and pulled her into an embrace. “Not the kind of comfort I had in mind, but come on, you can snuggle up to me. They say that helps sometimes.”

  Emma chuckled as she wiped a tear away. “They?”

  “Mum,” he whispered nearly incomprehensively. “But don’t tell anybody.”

  “No moves?”

  “Oh, I have moves, honey.”

  She slapped him against his chest.

  “I’ll behave. Scouts’ honour.” And he placed his arm around her shoulder and let her into his bedroom.

  * * *

  * * *

  The next morning, when Emma woke, she looked around and oriented herself. She was in Jack’s bed. She tried to find an alarm clock, but to no avail. The warm body next to her stirred. It had been obvious to her that it took all of his strength not to keep his hands still on the small of her back, but she appreciated the comfort of snuggling up in his arms.

  “Good morning, Sunshine,” he whispered in her ear.

  She caressed his fingers with hers for a while before she turned and looked at him. He leaned closer and kissed her forehead.

  “I think I could get used to waking up like this.”

  Emma blushed. “You’re lying,” she whispered.

  He nuzzled his face into her neck. An intense shock wave travelled through her body; even more, though, when his hands moved up her body, causing her skin to prickle.

  “You have to stop, Jack, please.”

  “That scouts’ honour, right?”

  “As well as your offer to snuggle up only.” She placed her hands on his cheeks and turned him to look at her. ”As a friend,” she emphasised.

  He gently kissed her. “I can fix–” But he wasn’t able to finish his sentence, when they heard the doorbell.

  “Expecting anybody?”

  Emma shook her head and quietly cursed the person interrupting her day off sleep-in. And the person was persistent. The bell rang again.

  “For crying out loud, I’m coming.” Jack’s voice held a tone of frustration and annoyance. A smile spread across her face as she watched him.

  She heard Jack open the door and muffled voices, before his steps echoed through the hall back to the room.

  “It’s your little friend and her daddy.”

  Emma instinctively pulled up the sheet and she leaned onto her arm. “What?”

  Jack shrugged casually.

  “Tell me you’re kidding.”

  He shook his head as he kneeled onto the bed where he pulled her closer to himself. “You’d better go and get this sorted. I’ll be out in a tick and prepare breakfast.”

  She looked at him and took his face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

  “Emma?”

  Emma pulled back and looked towards the door.

  “Naddie, sweetheart.”

  Nadine ignored J
ack and ran towards Emma, and threw herself into her arms as she started sobbing.

  “Hey honey. You all right?” Emma cradled her in her arms and softly caressed the back of her head. “Shhhh. It’ll be fine.”

  “I… I miss… I want my mum,” Nadine said in between hiccups.

  Emma looked to Jack who stood up and was looking for a shirt. “I’ll check whether I can offer your dad some coffee.”

  * * *

  * * *

  “Thanks, mate.” Flynn sipped his coffee. “I’m really sorry I’m intruding like this so early in the morning.”

  Jack placed the eggs next to the frying pan. “You’re right. Care for some breakfast?” He pointed to the eggs and ham.

  Flynn looked towards the hallway where two shadows were slowly coming to the kitchen. “Not sure.”

  “Good morning,” Emma said with a soft voice as she tucked her hair behind her ears.

  Flynn nodded.

  “Eggs?” Jack asked flatly.

  “Yes, please.” She turned to Nadine. “Would you like to have breakfast with us?”

  There was a wee smile and she nodded. A stabbing dull pain slashed through him as he watched his girl smile. Flynn sighed inwardly as he scrubbed a hand over his day old stubble – it seemed he needed to work on giving hugs.

  14

  Looking out his office window, Flynn barely noticed when Joyce came in.

  “Flynn?”

  He turned his head towards her and did his best to give her a smile. “Good morning.”

  With a few small steps she came closer into his office and just stopped before his desk. “How are you?”

  Nodding, he looked at her. “I’m getting there,” he said quietly.

  “Will you be in for a while?”

  A trace of amusement caught at the corner of his mouth. “Hard to believe, but my little girl’s already made a good friend who has taken her to the movies this morning.”

  Her gentle steps moving towards him were hushed and her touch on his shoulders soft. “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  Managing no more than a hoarse whisper, he nodded and said, “Yes it is.”

  The phone rang on Joyce’s desk. “Are you in?”

  Flynn shook his head. “If you can, I’d rather not. I’ll try and catch up as much as I can and sort through the documents I can take home.” He looked at her. “Thanks, Joyce. You’re doing a marvellous job here.”

  Then he turned towards the windows again and found himself looking at the sky thinking of Sarah as the rainbow fairy. Shaking his head in amusement, his lips curved into a smile. A rainbow fairy! Sarah had always been full of surprises and never afraid to do the things she wanted to do. She had loved the bright colours of her clothes, as much as she loved to sit in the park to look at the flowers while he tried to figure out their homework. There had not been a song on the radio she hadn’t wanted to dance to, and not a book on her overflowing bookshelf that she hadn’t read. Flynn had teased her for reading all the romance books and telling him the storylines – in much more detail than he actually wanted. Their love life was great for their young age and inexperience. Saz knew what she wanted and showed him. He choked back a laugh as he looked up into the sky again. Yes, he could very well imagine her up there somewhere as a fairy. Especially the rainbow fairy.

  He sighed and turned towards his desk as he tried to concentrate on his work. Never in the last few years had it been so hard for him to settle his thoughts on the documents in front of him. His job was all he ever wanted. It came easy to him, but that day his thoughts were all over the place. Nadine. Sarah. Emma. Emma? What on earth?

  Okay, yes he liked Emma. He actually liked her a lot, and when he had seen her that morning in her casual T-shirt and track pants, with her hair all messy, and no makeup–

  Good grief! He couldn’t believe he was getting so side-tracked, and not only that, but with thoughts of Emma! Flynn had met a few women over the last few years. Some of them nice. Some of them not so nice. Pretty, and not so pretty. Intelligent and plain dumb. But there was something about Emma – something he couldn’t pinpoint, but he liked her.

  With a deep sigh, he picked up the phone and dialled his parents’ number.

  “Dad. It’s Flynn here. How are you going?”

  “Flynn. Mum was about to ring you and let you know about the flight details. She organised everything with the travel agent yesterday.”

  Lightheaded with relief, Flynn massaged his temples with his fingers. “Don’t want to be rude Dad, but I’ve got stacks of work here. Could you put Mum on the phone?”

  “Where are you?”

  “At work.”

  Flynn was able to hear his surprise. “Where’s your little girl?”

  “She’s gone to the movies with a friend. The girl Teresa asked to look after Nadine at the hotel.”

  Carl took a deep breath. “It sounds like things are working out already.”

  Flynn closed his eyes and pressed his fingers even deeper into his temples. He had to cope with a daughter. A woman who might cause him some trouble with his heart was the last thing he needed on the list.

  “Here’s your mother. I look forward to seeing you, Son.”

  “Cheers, Dad.”

  The conversation with his mother was more or less a blueprint of that with his father. His mother asked about his whereabouts, then Nadine, and finally gave him the flight details.

  “I’ll be there to pick you up Mum. Have a safe trip.”

  Her voice grew thick with emotion. “Everything will be fine, Flynn.”

  He knew she couldn’t see him, but he nodded.

  “We’re really looking forward to meeting our granddaughter. If she’s anything like Saz–” She stopped mid-sentence.

  “Love you, Mum.” He didn’t use these words lightly, not even to her. He knew it meant a great deal to her.

  His mother’s voice almost broke. “I love you, too, Flynn.”

  * * *

  * * *

  Nadine was still giddy when they left the movies. She was jumping and hopping along, singing along the few words she remembered from the movies.

  Emma loved the little girl’s big smile and happiness. “I feel like a cup of tea. What about you?”

  Nadine wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Eww.”

  Emma laughed. “I guess you’d like to have an ice cream.”

  The girl’s face lit up. “Can I?”

  “Our secret,” Emma whispered as she placed her finger over her lips.

  They took the next tram to travel a few stops down the streets where they hopped off. Emma’s favourite café was just around the corner. They ordered the tea for Emma and ice cream for Nadine. There was a wonderful twinkle in Nadine’s eyes as she enjoyed the taste of vanilla and chocolate topped with hundreds and thousands. Emma’s mouth curled into a smile as she watched her little friend. She had only known Nadine for such a short time, but the girl had already made herself comfortable in her heart.

  “Nadine? Would you tell me a bit about your mum?” she asked carefully.

  With surprise in her eyes, Nadine looked up at her, and Emma quickly added, “You don’t have to, but I’d love to get to know her a bit.”

  With her eyes focussed into the air the girl started. “She was the best mum ever. I miss her really, really a lot.”

  “Nadine?”

  The girl looked back at Emma.

  “You know, my Mum died a few years back.” She drew in her lips and searched for the right words. “It’s like losing your best friend. Your very best friend. The one you love and they love you back no matter what you do. Mum used to say At the moment I don’t like you, but I will always love you. She was always there for me. When I was upset she would drop everything and hug me tight. She’d mend my clothes so I’d have my favourite pants to wear the next day.” Emma paused. “My mum knew all my secrets. We shared many of those”

  Nadine nodded and pondered on what had been said. “I miss my mum singing
me to sleep,” she added quietly.

  Emma tilted her head slightly to the side as she eyed the girl carefully for a moment. “My mum’s name was Rose. She died in a car accident with my dad when another driver didn’t obey the rules and drove into their car.”

  “What does obey mean?” Nadine asked, and Emma wondered whether she was ignoring the fact that her parents were dead or the young mind had focused on something unknown.

  With a slightly fragile voice she replied, “Let me see. It means the other person didn’t listen to what he was supposed to do. Would that make sense?”

  Nadine nodded. “Are you angry with him now?”

  Whoops, her explanation had become trickier than intended. “I was at the start, but now I know you can’t be angry all the time, it makes you tired. Now I’m really happy that I had wonderful parents, and I have wonderful memories of both.”

  Spooning up another big scoop of ice cream, Nadine said with a dreamy voice, “Just like my mum. She was great. We liked baking together. Mum made the best cakes. And we went for lots of walks. We didn’t go to the movies much. Mum said we didn’t have enough money.”

  “She sounds wonderful.” Emma took Nadine’s hand. “Sweetheart, I’m sure your dad will be just as wonderful, but he’s probably a bit scared.”

  That brought on a giggle. “That’s what he said the other day.”

  Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise. “He did?”

  She nodded.

  Emma touched Nadine’s nose with her finger. “You need to give him a bit of a chance. Your mum loved him, and I reckon there must be a reason why. Do you understand what I mean?”

  “He doesn’t want me. Just like Grandma.”

  “That’s not true. He’s just a bit overwhelmed with the new situation.”

  “What’s overwhelmed?”

  Emma took a deep breath. “I suppose there’s a lot of new things he has to take in. Your dad loved your mum and he’s probably feeling just as sad as you. And he’s probably a bit sad that he didn’t know you before this week.”

  The little girl removed her hand from underneath her friend’s and looked over to a couple with a baby. “If he loved Mum, why didn’t he stay with us?”