Protecting Emma

by ML Michaels

  "It's good to see you again, sweetie." she said, rubbing her backside.

  The woman smiled. "It's good to see you too, mom."

  Once they separated, the man stepped forward and the woman hugged him as well. "Was the train ride okay?"

  "Yeah, it was fine. But I'm kind of tired now."

  "Well, let's get you back to the house and you can rest for a while. I'm making baked chicken and sweet potatoes tonight for dinner."

  The three left the station together and got into a dark blue SUV, driving off. Silence kept a thin blanket over them for the entire car ride. Maya kept her hand over her stomach the entire time, rubbing it gently. Her mother kept glancing back at her but never said a word. When the car came to a stop in front of a red and black, two-story home, the three exited the car and went inside. Maya went into her bedroom and a wave of nostalgia washed over her as she looked around at the room. It was fairly large, the walls were a creamy white and her bed was made with soft blue sheets and her dark blue blanket. She sat down on the side of the bed, looking down at her hands. She was feeling antsy and fidgety so she lay down on her back, staring up at her ceiling.

  "Calm down, Mi." she told herself, taking in a deep breath. "This is for the best. This is for your baby."

  Her ex-husband was probably furious. But she couldn't risk being with him anymore. For her sake, for her baby's sake, she needed to leave him. Maya couldn't help but wonder what her ex-husband would have done if he'd found out she was pregnant. She was only a few weeks long, so it wasn't obvious. But her mother had seemed to tell almost immediately because she questioned Maya as soon as they got home.

  "Sweetie, is everything alright? Is there something you want to tell me?"

  Her mother had a certain familiar look on her face that told Maya she knew something and wanted all of the details. So, she told her mother and father about being pregnant, about her ex-husband's abusiveness when he drank, and about her coming back to raise the baby without fear of her ex harming the child.

  Her parents had never truly been fond of the man she'd run off with and married. They personally liked her high school boyfriend better but things didn't work out between them, so there had been no use trying to fix what couldn't be repaired.

  Maya wondered how her high school sweetheart was doing. She hadn't seen him in a very long time, so she had no idea what had happened to him while she was away. She hoped he was doing well. Turning onto her side, she rested her head on her arm and let her thoughts run away.

  "Maya!" Her mother called her from the bottom of the stairs. "Would you mind running to the store for me? I need a few things!"

  Maya tore herself away from her thoughts and got up from her bed to leave her room.

  "Okay, mom! I'll be down in a second," she called down to her mother as she headed down the stairs.

  ***

  In another part of the town, a young man, along with some rough-looking kids were inside of an auto shop. They were working on a car that had been used in one of the more recent NASCAR races. It was in pretty bad shape and the owner had asked for it to be restored.

  "Hey Mr. Michaels," one of the scruffy-looking kids asked, looking at the man who was currently working under the hood of the car. "Can you tell us another story about when you were a racer?"

  The man, whose name was Aidan, laughed and put down his tools.

  "Don't you kids ever get tired of hearing about that stuff?"

  "As if!" another kid chimed in. "It's not every day you actually meet a NASCAR racer!"

  All of the kids nodded their heads in agreement. Aidan smiled at them thinking that even some of the most wayward kids could be rehabilitated when someone paid attention to them. It had been really difficult when he'd first started out mentoring troubled kids. They were rowdy, uncooperative, and never wanted to listen. But he knew that if he got them to focus on something that captured their interest, he'd be able to get through to them. That particular "thing" had been right there in his auto shop.

  Once the kids had found out about his job as a former racer for NASCAR, they wouldn't stop talking about it. So, he used that to reach out to them and get them to open up. Working on the cars while they talked was one of the ways he helped them. It took time, of course, but he was a pretty patient man.

  "Well, how about we finish working on the car and when we get together on Thursday, I'll tell you all about one of my favorite races. How's that sound?"

  The kids all cheered with excitement, and they all went back to working on the car. From around one in the afternoon to 4 or 5 on Tuesdays and Fridays, they worked in the auto shop. Aidan's parents owned the shop and had since he was a little boy. He felt that being in the shop with his father for most of his younger years, watching him repairs cars and make them drive smoothly for the people in the town, was a catalyst that encouraged him to become a race car driver. But the thrill of racing and living out of suitcases died down after a few years. Now he was content sponsoring current race car drivers, repairing damaged NASCAR race cars and building new race cars from scratch.

  Over time, his parent's shop had grown into a huge auto repair warehouse with three big auto shops in the area. Aidan had chosen to work at the one here in his hometown to be close to the young kids he was mentoring. They had been helping him out at the shop since school had let out for the summer, and over the past few weeks, he'd noticed a big change in their attitudes.

  Finally, it was time for the kids to head home though some of them were reluctant to leave and wanted to keep working on the car. But Aidan urged them to go home, and they didn't protest any further. They waved goodbye to Aidan and took off, chatting eagerly with one another as they walked away. He made his way back into the shop and went through a door that led into the adjoining building, his parents' house. His parents were sitting at the table talking when he came inside.

  "Oh Aidan, there you are. Good work today! Have the kids already gone?" his mother asked with a smile.

  He nodded. "Yea, they're gone. I should get back to my place now, too."

  "Aw, come on son. Stay a while!" his father protested.

  "Sorry dad. You know I would, but I have a meeting in the morning with one of my newest clients. He's pretty feisty for a driver, and I'd rather not make him wait, so I need to get some sleep."

  His mother giggled.

  "Our little man is so prominent, isn't he darling?"

  "Yeah, takes after his old man. A chip off the old block. Well, just make sure you come back tomorrow night then, or I'll go to your apartment and drag ya back here!"

  Aidan chuckled, shaking his head.

  "Sure dad. Bye, you guys."

  ***

  Aiden left the house and climbed into his car, a 2004 black Ford. His stomach suddenly growled, and he realized that he didn't have much food left in his apartment. He hadn't gone shopping in a while.

  "Well, a quick stop at the store to grab some things won't take too much time," he thought, putting the car in drive and taking off down the street.

  In the local supermarket with a list in her left hand and a basket in her right, Maya walked through the aisles, searching for the items her mother had written down. A cartoon of eggs, flour, butter, a loaf of bread, seasoning salt and pepper. Maya would buy what her mother needed but decided to but some snacks for herself as well. After all, she was eating for two now. As she strolled down the spices aisle, looking for the pepper and seasoning salt, she noticed a mother pushing a cart with a little child in it. Standing next to her with an arm around the woman's shoulders was a muscular man who was making faces at the child and making them giggle and laugh. Maya smiled sadly and looked away from the happy scene, moving to the next aisle to grab the bread.

  "I bet that's nice..." she said softly. "I bet he's sweet to her, loves his child, takes care of them. Must be really nice..."

  She sighed and reached her hand out to pick up one of the loaves, dropping it in her basket. Checking the list, she had grabbed everything he mother ne
eded and some things for herself. When she turned to go to the checkout aisle, her head high up in thought clouds, she ran straight into someone coming from the opposite direction. She stumbled backward, the basket falling from her hands and clattering to the ground.

  "Ouch..." She shook her head, slightly disorientated.

  "Oh hey, I'm really sorry about that." the person apologized, holding out their hand.

  "No no, it's okay. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

  Maya took it, looked up and froze in place. Aidan, the guy she had dated for two years in high school, was standing there looking just as shocked as she was, probably even more so. They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Maya broke the silence, clearing her throat louder than she should have and pushing her hair back behind her ears.

  "H-Hi, Aidan." she said quietly.

  "Maya, hey. It's been...been quite a while. I-I didn't know you were back in town."

  "Yeah, I, uh, I just got back this afternoon."

  "That's…That's great. Really great." Aidan stood there looking at her, awkwardly.

  "Yeah." She looked down at her basket and picked it up quickly, clearing her throat again. "How, uh, how've you been, Aidan?"

  "Great, really great. You?"

  "Wonderful. Everything's wonderful."

  "That's good." He scratched his head, nervously.

  "Yeah." The awkward silence that hung in the air was almost suffocating. "Well, I have to, uh, I have to go."

  "Oh, oh yeah, okay." Aidan nodded. "Um, since you're back in town, do you wanna hang out sometime? I mean, we don't have to, I just thought I'd ask."

  Maya smiled at him. "Yeah, that sounds nice. I'd like that."

  Aidan smiled back at her. "Great. Maybe tomorrow we can grab some coffee and catch up."

  "Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow then."

  "Bye."

  They walked away from each other, both with wide smiles on their faces. While the accidental meeting was awkward, neither of them could deny that they were happy to see each other.

  ***

  A few towns away, someone else wasn't happy. An angry man stood in his bathroom, holding something in his hand and trembling with rage. He looked down at a pregnancy test that he had found in the trash. It read positive.

  "Why?" He gripped the pregnancy test tightly. "Why didn't she tell me? She's carrying my baby and just left without telling me?! Dammit!"

  The man threw the test away and stormed out of the room. He went into his bedroom, sat down at his desk and logged onto his computer. His fingers rapidly typed his ex-wife's name up in the search box.

  "I have to find her..." He said, determination in his eyes as pages flashed across the screen. "I need to find her. My wife… She's carrying my child… I need to find her and bring her back home to me!"

  ***

  Around 11 a.m. the next day, Maya and Aidan met up at a small cafe. Aidan arrived first and took a seat in a booth by the window. He was wearing a black jacket with a white T-shirt underneath, blue jeans and dark blue sneakers. Maya showed up a few minutes later. She was wearing a long sleeved red shirt with wavy black pants and black wedges. Looking around the cafe, she saw where Aidan was sitting and walked over to him. "Hey, Aidan." she said as she took a seat on the other side of the table.

  "Oh! Hey Maya." he said with a smile. "You look really nice today."

  "Thank you. You look great too."

  "Thanks."

  A waiter with sandy brown hair and black glasses came over to them, a notepad ready in his hands. "Hello there. Are you two ready to order?"

  "Yes, I'll have black coffee with two scoops of sugar," Aidan told him.

  "And I'd like a mocha frappe please," Maya said.

  The waiter nodded and walked off, leaving them alone once more. Aidan cleared his throat and glanced over at Maya who was fidgeting and looking anxious. He wasn't the only one who was nervous at that moment. She looked up and they made eye contact. Maya smiled shyly, and Aidan smiled back.

  "So, what have you been up to?" he asked her.

  Maya shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing much. I'm a fashion blogger."

  "Wow, that's amazing. You have always had a great taste for clothes." Aidan laughed.

  She smiled. "Of course. And I must have rubbed off on you because you actually look nice and not like an old time gangster like you used to."

  He pouted slightly. "I did not..."

  "I remember when we were dating in high school I always had to tell you to change your clothes and get you something cool to wear!" Maya laughed. "If I hadn't, the other kids would have made fun of you!"

  Was it really that bad?" Aidan asked, blushing slightly. "My dad always said I was wearing trendy clothes..."

  "Trendy for his time, maybe."

  The two looked at each other and laughed again. The waiter came back over and set down their drinks on the table. They thanked him and he walked off again. Maya brought her cup up to her lips and took a sip of it, enjoying its sweetness. Aidan spun around the spoon in his cup before taking a small gulp of his own drink.

  "What about you? What have you been doing all this time?"

  "Well, I was a NASCAR racer. Now I sponsor other racers and spend my spare time mentoring troubling kids." Aidan chuckled. "I'm doing pretty well for myself."

  Maya looked surprised. "Wow, you've been doing a lot. You were a NASCAR driver? That's incredible!"

  "Yeah, it was a pretty fast-paced life." Aidan smiled, suddenly feeling. "In a way, it reminded me of back when we were together."

  Maya stared at him with slight sadness in her eyes. "Aidan..."

  He looked back at her and laughed nervously. "Um, speaking of being together, what happened to that guy you left town with? You got married, right? So is he on a business trip or something?"

  "Well, actually, we aren't together anymore," she said softly.

  "Oh, I'm sorry." Aidan looked away.

  "What about you? Got a girlfriend or anything?" Maya asked, turning the conversation quickly back on the topic of him. "You were pretty popular when we were in school, despite your lame outfit choices."

  Aidan rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I-"

  Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket. He pulled it out and answered it.

  "Hello? Yeah. I thought it was at two. Really? And he won't change it to a different time? Okay fine. I'll be right there." Aidan hung up the phone and gave Maya an apologetic look. "Sorry about this, but a new client of mine wants me to meet him at my office. Our meeting was scheduled for this afternoon, but he's really impatient."

  Maya couldn't help but giggle at this serious and responsible side of him. "It's fine. But I was really having fun talking with you."

  "I know me too. If you want, we could hang out again tomorrow. I don't have any plans."

  "I don't either," Maya said, smiling.

  "Great." Aidan stood up and placed some money down on the table for his coffee. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

  "Sounds great to me." Maya's smile never left her face.

  ***

  The next day, they took a walk in the local park then went for some ice cream. Two days later, they hung out, going to the movie theaters to watch a horror movie that scared the living daylights out of both of them. After that, they began to spend more and more time together.

  When Aidan wasn't working with his clients or the children, he was with Maya, and they roamed the town together for hours on end. Maya would come home and flop on her bed exhausted but happy, and Aidan would be smiling from ear to ear when he entered his apartment. Almost three and a half weeks had passed and Maya felt that they were reliving their high school days before they had actually started dating. It was a warm nostalgic feeling that they both seemed to enjoy.

  On one warm Thursday evening, Aidan was out drinking with his friend, Derrick. They sat together at the bar drinking beer while Derrick smoked a cigarette. Aidan had always thought it was a filthy habit, but Derric
k insisted it kept him calm and refused to quit. As they sat there, talking about work, family, relationships and things like that, Derrick suddenly said something strange.

  "Aidan, you seem...different these days." he said, inhaling his cigarette.

  "Different?" Aidan took a large gulp of his beer and looked at his friend with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

  "Well, for starters, you check your phone a lot nowadays, and whenever you do, a really big smile appears on your face. You rarely hang out with me anymore, claiming that you're working late or giving some other excuse. And every time I mention having a girlfriend, you don't say anything. You just smile like an idiot."

  Aidan rolled his eyes. "So you're saying it's weird? You're the one who can't even hold onto a girl, and you're telling me about my love life?"

  "Shut up, you bastard! Of course, I can hold onto a girl! And no, I'm not saying it's weird. It's just that normally you have sort of a distant relationship with people. Whoever it is that's making you all smiley and crap must be one hell of a person."

  Derrick dropped the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray by his side then glanced over at Aidan with a grin. "It's that Leon girl you dated back in high school?'

  Aidan turned away not answering the question. Derrick laughed raucously, throwing an arm around Aidan's shoulder. "I knew it! She was the only one who could make you this excited! Damn man! I thought you got over her ages ago!"

  "I did get over her, you idiot!" Aidan frowned, hugging his glass tightly with his hands. "We're just friends, dammit. There's nothing going on between us. Besides, she just got out of a bad marriage so it would be wrong of me to do that."

  "Sure, keep telling yourself that. But I know you. You're gonna be falling for that girl just as easily as you did before."