Chapter 12

Autumn

Emmett’s mouth fell open when he saw Penelope, and his eyes even got a little misty. “Come in, ladies. Who have we here?”

“This is my daughter, Penelope.”

“Are you really Emmett, and did you know my mom when she was a little girl?”

“Yes, that’s really me, and you look so much like her that it makes me want to be young again as I can grow up with her all over again.”

Penelope giggled and turned to me. “You were right, Mama. He’s just as handsome as Daddy.”

My cheeks burned and probably turned a dark shade of red like always. “He certainly is. Why don’t you show him what you made him?”

I let go of her hand, and she walked over and climbed up on the side of his bed with him. “I made this picture, and Mama let me stop and get you a balloon.” The smiley face mylar balloon said “Get well soon,” and Emmett looked at it with a wide smile.

“This is the nicest thing anyone’s given me in a long time; I appreciate you thinking of me.” He opened the card, and his eyes lit up. “You drew this?”

Penelope nodded and gave a shy smile, though she usually wasn’t shy at all.

“You’re so talented, Penelope. Your mother couldn’t draw a straight line, and her frogs looked like flowers.”

Penelope put a hand to her mouth and tried to hide her giggle from me. I had always made my frogs the same way, and he’d picked on me about it more than once throughout our childhood. “Don’t encourage her, Emmett. I’ll make you show her how well you draw cars and trucks.”

Penelope turned and looked over at me as I took the chair beside the bed. “Does he know how to draw them good?”

“If you think two flat tires are good, then they were lovely.” He couldn’t draw a circle to save his life.

“Very funny.” He was so enamored with her that he couldn’t stop staring, and now and then, he’d look over at me as if to compare the two of us. “I can’t get over how much she looks like you. And it makes me realize how much I’ve missed you.”

Penelope kept looking at his bandage, and she finally asked him what happened. “My mom said you were hurt in the war.”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, I was. I was shot, but I’m getting all better. Your visit has made me smile for the first time today.”

“I’m glad. I want you to be happy. Mama’s happy finally, too.” She lifted her little head and then pulled the balloon string to make the balloon shorter. “Can we tie this to your bed?”

“I’m not sure the nurses would want it there, sweetie,” I said.

He got a devilish grin. “They’ll let me know if they don’t like it and I’ll have them move it, but for now, let’s tie it on.” He patted the railing, but Pen turned and looked at me as if to ask if it was okay.

“Go ahead. If he wants it there, then he’s the patient. Anything to make him happy.” I had always liked spoiling him as much as he’d liked spoiling me. She tied the string onto the railing and then turned her attention immediately back to him.

“Emmett, do you like to play cards?” Penelope hopped down from the bed and then went to dig the cards we brought from my purse.

“She’s in love with Go Fish,” I explained.

He gave a little chuckle, and I knew what he was thinking. The game had really meant a lot to us. “Oh? Did you teach her how to play? Because if so, I think I can take her.”

“You were always better at that stuff than me. Your luck is better.” I had never won any of the games we played, maybe once or twice, but he mostly did.

He grinned. “Let’s play. You deal. We’ll see how far the apple falls from the tree.”

I got up as he opened the cards and put the table on the other side of the bed so they could use it for the deck and Pen climbed up to sit beside him on the opposite side.

“I love apples. We have a whole bunch at home, and Mama said that we were going to bake a pie soon.”

I had hoped to keep the pie a secret because I had wanted to make it for him when he got out of the hospital, mostly because I wanted a reason to invite him over.

Emmett turned his eyes to me. “Apple pie is one of my favorites.”

“Mine too,” Pen said. “We had it at school one time, and Mama has made it for me since. We asked my teacher for the recipe.”

Emmett was all smiles for her. “Then I bet it’s a very special recipe. Do you like school?”

“Yes. I was the leader last week, and I got to stand in front of the line the whole day, and I got to take the attendance slip down to the front office. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher, too.”

“What do you want to teach?” Emmett placed his card on the table beside his bed.

“Art and reading. Those are my two very favorite classes.” Penelope swung her feet off the side of the bed, and she and Emmett kept talking like they were the ones who were old friends and not me and him. I found myself staring at him, and my heart longed for the days he gave me that much attention.

I couldn’t help myself from smiling that the two hit it off so well, and I wished not only for that much attention but attention of a different type. I wanted him to want me as much as I wanted him, and in the same way.

They sat playing the game, and Pen gave him a run for his money, winning two games for every one he did. I even played a game or two with them but ended up losing every single time.

“Well, it seems your record is intact,” Emmett said. “You know, I’d sure like to stretch my legs, but these people here tend to flip out if you walk around the hospital alone. Would you two ladies like to walk with me?” He put away the cards.

“Can we, Mama?” Pen hopped down from the bed and moved the table away.

I looked to Emmett who was giving me a pleading look, and I couldn’t refuse, not that I would have. “Well, how could I say no to the two of you?”

“Guess where I went this morning?” Emmett got up out of bed and straightened his socks before putting on his slipper.

“Where?” Pen asked with a big grin as she handed him his other slipper.

“I went down and saw the little babies. They have a nursery full of them, and they’re all really cute. One was mad, though, but they swaddled him up and held him close.”

“I want to go see the babies!” Pen jumped up and down and tugged on my hand.

“And there is a huge fish tank down there too where they have about thirty fish in one tank.”

“Thirty is a lot. Are they all goldfish?”

“No, some of them are angelfish, and some were neon. I saw a few that looked like zebras and one lemon yellow one, too.”

I patted Pen’s shoulder to calm her down. “I bet those are pretty.”

Emmett seemed happy to be getting out of the room. “Yes, and they had coral in there, too. You’ll like it.” He waved his hand in front. “Ladies first.” He walked out into the hallway, and Pen took both of our hands and walked between us. I didn’t miss the fact that every single nurse at the station stared as we passed. I hoped that he hadn’t given them too hard a time.

Even when Pen dropped my hand, she still held on to Emmett’s, and the two were fast friends just like he and I had been. But then, it was only natural as she practically had known him from my stories her entire life. I was sure it was just like putting a face with a name or meeting a long lost relative the way she fell in so comfortably with him. In a way, he was.

We walked to the elevator, and Emmett and Pen made a game out of that, too. Then when we went to the nursery, a nurse came over to the window.

“Which baby are you here to see?”

“Oh, we’re just looking at all of them, ma’am,” Emmett said.

“You have a beautiful family, sir. Maybe the next time you come in, you two will have a new little one.” She smiled brightly and went back over to tend the babies as Emmett turned his eyes to me.

“She thought we were married. But I have to agree with her; you two are the prettiest picture I’ve seen in a long time.”

Pen giggled. “You are old enough to be my dad.” She gave another giggle and then went back to looking at the babies, who were all so beautiful. It made me wonder what a child of mine and his might look like. I looked down at Pen who was so much like me that she could pass for Emmett’s as well with the blond hair.

“Let us know if you get tired, Emmett. I know you’re bound to be tired.” It had been an eventful day for him for sure.

“Nah, I’m so bored here. If you two hadn’t shown up, I might have lost my mind.”

“Well, I’m glad that we could be of service.” I felt something touch my hand, and at first, I thought it was Pen, but then a moment later, his large hand engulfed mine, and he held it tight.

“It means so much, Autumn.”

“What else can we look at?” Pen asked. I don’t want to go back to the room just yet.”

He dropped my hand and knelt down to her level. “We’ll go down and see the gift shop. That should be fun. They have toys and candy, too.” Emmett waggled his brows at her, and before I could object to the candy, he gave me a warm smile, and I remembered the trip to the candy store we’d taken so many years before.

“Just a little candy,” I called to them, but they were already heading off in a hurry to the elevator like two partners in crime off on a robbing spree.

Once we got down to the gift shop, Pen’s eyes got big for a stuffed animal. “Oh my gosh, Emmett, look! It looks like a real kitten!” I wouldn’t let her have a real kitten because of her allergies.

“It does. It’s a calico. Did you know that three-colored calicos are almost always girls?” He had told me the same thing when we were kids.

“I love it. Can I get one, Mama? I have my money with me.” She bounced up and down and looked at the price, which would have cleaned her out, and I’d have had to pay the tax.

I was about to tell her that maybe she should wait, but Emmett spoke up. “I’ll buy it for her if you don’t mind. I’d like to thank her for the pretty picture and balloon she gave me.”

“Emmett, that’s too much. It’s thirty-dollars.” I didn’t want him to spend his money on us, and I had made Pen save her money so she’d learn the value of a dollar.

“Please, Autumn. I don’t have a pretty little girl to spoil, and you can’t just bring her here, all looking like you used to and expect me not to want to spoil her a little.” He gave me a sweet look and then I couldn’t deny him that honor.

“Fine, but only if you promise to come and have some of that apple pie when you get out of here and let me cook you a special dinner.” I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Would you like that, Penelope?” he asked.

“Yes!” She tugged his hand, and he held his chest a little and then followed her in.

Ten minutes later, we were on our way back to his room with Mrs. Kitty Whiskers, which is what the two decided to name her.

We left him with a promise to come back and see him, and I told him I was going to hold him to the deal we’d made over the pie. He held me a little longer when we gave our hug goodbye, and I stopped short of kissing him because I just didn’t want to be hurt again. Even though I’d been married at the time, he’d already abandoned me once.