by E. Walsh
“It’s nice meeting you.” Emily was nervous. She pulled her hair away from her face and tried to straighten her posture. She knew that it probably didn’t matter much what she looked like-after all, he was looking for someone out of “convenience.” Yet she still had the urge to make herself appear as attractive as possible.
She had worn one of her long, denim skirts with a cream colored sweater. Dylan walked forward, turning around on occasion to make sure that Emily was still right behind him. He had a long stride, and Emily noticed that he wore brown leather cowboy boots. “Sorry if I seem to be in a rush. I just don’t like crowds too much.” Dylan gave Emily a half-hearted smile and then continued forging ahead.
When they reached the parking lot, Dylan hoisted Emily’s suitcase into a large, red pick-up truck. So far, he seemed to match the description pretty accurately. He looked professional, clean, and confident. Getting to his home would be the real test, Emily assumed. To her, it was both exciting and anxiety-producing. She didn’t know what to expect, and she had no real gauge with which to measure her expectations, either.
“I live about a half hour away, over in Lubbock.” Dylan smiled and then turned on the radio. Emily was already aware of many differences between her home town and Texas. For one, the highways were larger and wider. The people were definitely more fashion conscious, and there seemed to be an aura of country-living that emanated from those she saw in the street.
When they pulled into Dylan’s driveway, Emily’s jaw dropped. She did a double-take and then looked at Dylan. She didn’t know what to say, but she was floored by what she saw. “Well, this is my humble abode. I’ll help you with the suitcase and then show you to the front door.” Dylan hopped out of the truck and then opened up the trunk. Emily sat in the passenger seat, not sure if he was joking or not.
His home was a dilapidated single wide trailer, surrounded on either side with a faded picket fence that was busted in several places. Two dogs on long, rusty chains barked and growled from their doghouses and a single rooster strutted alongside the driveway. Emily tried to imagine what the inside would look like. “You ready to come in?” Dylan stood in front of her with a smile on his face. Emily gulped and then stepped out of the truck.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She whispered under her breath and then followed him up the crumbling porch steps. When they reached the front door, Dylan took a deep breath and then turned the knob. The door flung open, and Emily’s eyes widened. Two young girls were cutting each other’s hair in the middle of the room, and a woman with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth was watching television. Emily froze in her tracks and then looked at Dylan. What had she gotten herself into?
* * *
Chapter 5
There was nothing she could do right now except watch the two girls as they both held scissors at each other’s heads. “I’m cutting yours just like the girl in the superhero’s movie!” One of them yelled out loud. Emily didn’t know what to say, but she wanted to know why Dylan wasn’t having much of a reaction to the entire scenario. Instead, he looked at the woman who was sitting on the couch and then stepped over a pile of laundry that was piled on the floor. Emily still waited in the doorway.
“They ate some pita pockets around seven and then watched a movie.” The woman flicked ashes from her cigarette into an ashtray. “Hey, you two, put them scissors down.” She got up slowly and Emily saw that she was wearing a tank top and skin tight jeans. “I guess kids will be kids.” She laughed and then snatched the scissors out of the two girls’ hands. Dylan shrugged and then wandered into the dining room.
“Come with me, Emily.” He gestured for her to come inside and she walked slowly toward the children who were now jumping off the chairs and onto the couch.
“Hello, there.” Emily knelt down and smiled at the young girl with the brown hair, and the girl stuck out her tongue. Emily backed away as Dylan waited patiently for her to follow him into the kitchen. A foul stench emanated from the sink and when he flicked on the flights she saw that there was a mountain high pile of dishes leaning off to the side. Emily didn’t think it could get much worse, but when he opened up the back door, the screen fell off the window.
“As you might be able to tell, it’s not the most organized house in Texas.” Dylan let out a chuckle and then peeked around the corner, just in time to catch one of the girls throwing a pile of crayons at the woman in the tank top. Emily was floored. How could he just let these children run wild? She still didn’t know how to react, and she was truly baffled by the woman’s lack of disciplining.
“Well, gimme a call next time you need me, okay, Dylan?” The woman called out from the front door and then stood with her hands on her hips, apparently waiting for him to pay her. She chewed on a piece of gum and then watched as the girl with the red hair threw a pillow across the room. It hit the lamp and knocked the shade over. Emily gasped as the shade then hit a glass of water which broke and fell all over the floor.
“Dylan.” Emily couldn’t restrain herself any longer. “One of these children is going to hurt, and possibly badly, if you don’t do something about their behavior.” Emily couldn’t believe that the words came out of her mouth, but they did and there was no taking them back. He looked at her with an expression of relief.
“I know, Emily. That’s why you’re here.” He walked toward her and then patted her on the shoulder. It was the first gesture that he’d made toward her that really caught her attention. His hand was large and strong, but she felt a certain comfort from it, as well. The woman in the tank top remained by the door. She cracked her gum and then Dylan snapped out of his daze. “Yes. Of course!” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to the woman. She stuffed it down her bra and then winked at Dylan and left.
“Well I’m not sure I can…” Emily’s voice trailed off as she tried to speak. Just then the girl with the brown hair took a pile of books and started ripping the pages out of one of them. Emily’s eyes widened.
“Stop!” She grabbed the book from the girl and then held it tightly against her chest. Growing up she had always been taught to respect books and her parents had always showed her an appreciation toward them with their elaborate library. Emily was appalled at the children’s behavior, and watching one them attempt to destroy a book put her over the edge. “Go upstairs to your room!” Emily snapped again and then shooed the young girl away.
“You know, I realize that I didn’t even introduce you to Anna and Eisley.” Dylan shook his head and then attempted to pull one of the dishes out from the pile in the sink. The entire tower toppled over and a loud crashing sound ensued. Emily covered her ears and then tried to think of what she should do. There were so many levels of dysfunction to what she saw around her that she didn’t know where to start.
“It’s fine. I think I just a few minutes to…” Emily’s voice tapered off just as a loud boom came from upstairs. “I just need to adjust.” She looked at Dylan and then rushed out of the kitchen to see what had happened upstairs. “Is everything okay?” She yelled from the foot of the stairs and then craned her neck to see if she could see anything. The girls let out a roar of laughter.
“Anna and Eisley. If you get into your pajamas I’ll let you sit up and watch a movie with our new family member, Miss Emily.” Dylan called out from downstairs and the girls gushed with excitement.
“I want to watch The Muppets!” The one with the red hair yelled with excitement.
“No! I want to watch The Roughkins!” The one with the brown hair and freckles piped up. Emily could see that this was going to be much more than she had bargained for, but what could she do now? Here she was, in the middle of a broken down ranch in Texas, with nowhere else to go, and with someone counting on her to save his life from falling apart.
“I’ll tell you what.” Emily called out loud and then took a deep breath. “First, we’ll put the movies down on the floor and then we’ll draw cards for it. Whoever gets the highest
card gets to pick what movie we watch.” It was the first idea to come off the top of her head, and while it wasn’t the best strategy, she knew it was better than watching them duke it out over preferences.
Both of the girls stood silently and then looked at Emily. The one with the red hair smiled and started jumping up and down. “I want to sit next to Miss Emily for the movie!” She smiled and then looked at her cousin with a glimmer in her eye. Dylan smiled and then approached Emily with a sigh.
“Please don’t run away.” He whispered in her ear and then looked at the two girls who were now patiently waiting to pull the cards and see who would be declared the winner. Emily didn’t know if she’d survive this experience, but she didn’t see that she had much of a choice right now to get out of it. Then again, she hadn’t even unpacked her suitcase yet. Maybe she could slip away in the middle of the night, she thought.
The girls stared at Emily and for once, the room was completely silent. “We’re ready to pick the cards, Miss Emily.” The one with the red hair smiled and then Emily handed them each a card from the deck she’d seen lying on the floor earlier. Dylan folded his arms and then watched while the first child, Eisley, pulled a Queen of Hearts. He watched in suspense as the second child, Anna, pulled a 3 of Clubs.
“Okay, girls! Eisley is the winner this round so she gets to pick. Go ahead and put on those pajamas then bring down your movie.” Emily felt a sort of calm descend on the house and she watched as Eisley fled the room to get into her pajamas. Anna, looking forlorn, trailed behind Eisley and then turned around and looked at Emily.
“I’m sad that I didn’t win.” She sighed and Emily gave her a pat on the head.
“Don’t be sad. You’ll have a chance next time.” She smiled and Anna went off to put on her pajamas, as well. With both of the children out of the room for a few minutes, Dylan had a brief moment to give her the rundown of their situation.
“So, Anna is the one with red hair. She’s eight. Eisley has the brown hair, and she’s seven. They are both my nieces, and it’s a long story, but they’ve been living with me for the last five years. They lost their parents to a tornado, of all things.” Dylan shook his head and then frowned. “I was married around the same time, but found out that my wife of ten years had been cheating on me with our neighbor. Together, we we’re doing all right raising the girls as our own, but as soon as the marriage fell apart, pardon the expression, the shit hit the fan.” Dylan sighed and shook his head.
Emily didn’t know what to say. She looked at her suitcase, still sitting by the front door. Then she looked up just in time to see Eisley running down the steps, her long hair flowing behind her. “Hey, girls. Before we get this movie going, I think we have a few things to do round here.” Dylan spotted the broken glass from earlier, the toppled lamp shade, and the pile of books. He knew that it would be too overwhelming to ask them to clean all of it, and so he said nothing.
“I think that your… uncle?” Emily paused, not sure if they referred to him as a dad or an uncle, or maybe something else. Dylan nodded and Emily continued. “I think that your Uncle Dylan wants you to help clean up some of the books first.” Emily smiled and then diverted them to the pile they had tried to destroy earlier. Then she stepped toward the broken glass and got to work cleaning it up.
By the time the room had been restored to some semblance of order, it was almost nine o’clock. Emily was wiped out. In fact, as soon as they had popped in The Muppets, she fell asleep on the chair that Dylan had told her to sit in. The next thing she knew, Dylan was tapping her on the shoulder, telling her to get up and go to bed. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.” He had already put the girls to bed and had Emily’s suitcase in his hands.
“I’m sorry. I fell asleep.” Emily was slightly embarrassed. Dylan led her up the stairs and down a long carpeted hallway. Both of the girls were sound asleep in their bedrooms. Emily watched as Dylan opened a door and then flicked the light switch. A small twin bed sat in the center of the room, and a tiny dresser was situated to the left.
Emily wasn’t disappointed in how small the room was, but she did feel surprised when she reflected on the ad she’d originally responded to. She thought about saying something right then and there, but bit her tongue and smiled, instead. She didn’t want to come across as ungrateful but she wanted to understand why Dylan placed an ad that insinuated he was a well-off business man when this was clearly not the case. Maybe the truth would come out later, she told herself as she looked around the room.
“Make yourself at home. The bathroom is at the end of the hall, and there’s a linen closet in the hall if you need a towel. We’ll talk more tomorrow.” Dylan smiled and then turned around to leave. Emily watched as he made it about a quarter of the way down the hall. Then he wheeled around and came back to her room. “And by the way-I’m glad that you’re here. I think you’ll make a great wife.” He winked and then left.
Emily sat down on the edge of the bed, unsure of what to do. She wanted to get settled in and un-pack, but she was so tired that all she could think about was going to sleep. She unzipped her suitcase and pulled out a pair of black cotton pajamas. Then she took off her skirt and her sweater, folded them neatly, and set them both on the floor beside the bed. She turned off the lights and then pulled back the covers. She could hear a dog barking outside and wondered if it was Dylan’s. Then she laid her head on the pillow, closed her eyes for a moment, and drifted right to sleep.
* * *
Chapter 6
When Emily woke up it was almost 10:00 a.m. She could hear the girls laughing and yelling downstairs and she wondered if they were always so loud. Before she had a chance to get out of bed, Eisley came bounding into her room and jumped on top of her bed. “Come on! Uncle Dylan made us all pancakes. Come on!” She pulled at Emily’s arm and tried to drag her out of bed. Emily gave Eisley a sheepish smile and then slowly slid out from under the covers.
“Good morning.” She smiled at Dylan when she entered the kitchen and noticed that he was already dressed. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, and his hair was still wet from his shower. He beamed when he saw Emily, and told her to have seat.
“I made my specialty this morning, just for you.” He flipped a pancake on the griddle and then pushed a plate toward her. She smiled and watched as he placed three steaming hot blueberry pancakes on her plate, then flicked off the burner and handed her some butter. “The girls love these, right?” He looked at Anna and Eisley who were all smiles as they waited for their Uncle Dylan to serve them some of his mouth-watering pancakes, too.
“Miss Emily, we know you’re going to love them.” Anan smiled and took a sip of her orange juice. Emily dug in without much hesitation and then realized that she hadn’t eaten anything since her flight. She was famished and the pancakes tasted delicious. She devoured what Dylan set in front of her, and then protested when he offered her more.
“Thank you, but this is great. I’m full.” She smiled and then had a sip of the coffee that Dylan had set in front of her. Emily thought of Leila at that moment. The two used to drink their coffee together every morning before heading off to the Lancaster Textile Company. A pang of sadness coursed through her body, and she figured it must have shown on her face because Dylan immediately asked if she was okay.
“Yes, thanks. I’m fine. I just need to use the bathroom.” Emily excused herself and walked into the dining room. Pictures of Ann and Eisley hung on the wall, and they made Emily smile. The bathroom was just to the left, so she turned on the light and stepped inside. As soon as she had the door closed, she let out a sigh and then looked at her face in the mirror. She was still tired from all of the traveling, and it showed in her face. She thought about Leila, and about how she would tell Emily to just slice some cucumber for her swollen, puffy eyes.
“I miss you, Leila.” Emily looked up, as if Leila were watching over her from inside the bathroom. Then she unzipped her pants and sat down on the toilet. It was a relief
to get away for a few minutes. She wasn’t used to all of the attention, and she certainly wasn’t used to being around two middle-school aged girls first thing in the morning. After she had gone to the bathroom, she splashed some water on her face and then walked back into the kitchen.
“I’ve still got some pancakes if you’ve got room.” Dylan was now sitting at the table sipping a coffee. Eisley and Anna had gotten up and were both running around outside in their pajamas. Emily sat down. She wasn’t one for beating around the bush, so she came out and asked the first question that popped into her head.
“So who was the woman that was here the other night? The one who was sitting in front of the television while the girls cut each other’s hair.” Emily couldn’t disguise the disapproval in her voice. Dylan shook his head and chuckled.
“That was Mary-Jo. She’s the babysitter, if you could call her that.” Dylan took a sip of his coffee and studied Emily’s face. “You know, you remind me of someone. I think she’s one of those Victoria’s Secret models.” He nodded his head and then smiled. “There’s one who has this real pretty face, kind of like yours, and long, slender legs.” Dylan raised his eyebrows and Emily realized that he was hitting on her in an odd sort of way. She blushed and then she sipped her coffee.
“You know, I gave you that room at the end of the hall so that you could acclimate for a few days, Emily. But, you do understand that you agreed to be my wife, right?” Dylan gave Emily a wry grin and then put his hands on his hips. Emily nodded her head in agreement.
“Of course. I responded to your ad with the honest intention of fulfilling that role.” Emily nodded her head but even as the words came out, her voice wavered with doubt. She and Leila had discussed at length some of the challenges that might result from agreeing to a marriage of “convenience,” as Dylan phrased it. Emily had balked at the idea of sleeping in the same bed with someone that she didn’t even know, with having sex with a man who she might not be attracted to, and who she might not ever fall in love with.
