Page 31 of Searching for Beautiful
“Brynn. ” For some reason, I whisper.
“Well, Brynn. It’s nice to meet you. We don’t know each other, but you ever want to talk, I owe you a secret. As long as it can’t hurt you, I’ll repay you that secret, okay, mija?”
There’s something so comforting about her. The way it feels to slide into my favorite slippers or curl up on the couch with hot chocolate on a rainy day. There’s no judgment in her eyes, or even too much curiosity. Just genuine kindness.
“Okay. ” I nod.
“Okay,” she confirms before stepping down from the chair and walking back over to the porch. “I’m holding you to that. We all need friends. I might be old, but I make a pretty good one. I see you at the center. You sit with Emery but you still look alone. It won’t do you any good if you don’t talk. We can go together sometime, if you want. ”
She waits as though she wants me to reply, but I don’t.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go brush my teeth and wash my hands before my partner or that boy of mine wakes up. ” With another wink, Brenda is gone.
…
Emery falls into the seat beside me and lets out a deep breath. “My feet are swollen and they’re killing me. ”
I frown. “Is that normal? I mean…is everything okay?”
“Yeah, they said I’m fine. They’re keeping an eye on everything. I’m not supposed to be on my feet a whole lot, though. ”
“Oh. ” There’s so much about pregnancy I didn’t know. My feet might have swelled and they could have told me to stay off them. It’s a small thing, but something I probably should have known.
Emery grabs another chair and sets it in front of her before putting her feet up on it. Then, she leans back. “You’ve never told my why you come here. Are they forcing you or something?”
“Pretty much. They gave me an option of the school counselor, but I chose this. ”
She lets out a small laugh. “Ohhhh-kay. You’re like a thousand-piece puzzle or something. Tough to figure out and a total mystery when I’m staring at the pieces. ”
And she’s not? Before I can say so, she continues. “It’s not that bad. Max used to give me shit about coming, but I kind of like it. Gives me something to do, ya know? Now that we’re splits, it helps even more. ”
My eyes dart to her stomach again. Max must be her ex. Did he treat her the same way Jason did me?
“You’re not very smooth. I’ll tell you all the details—you don’t have to ask. Sixteen, Max dumped me, parents kicked me out, and I’m giving my baby up for adoption. I think that about covers it. ”
She cocks a brow at me and I’m sure my mouth is hanging open. It’s crazy to me that she can be so nonchalant about such a big deal. Dad may not be able to look me in the eyes, but I know he never would have kicked me out. Even if I didn’t lose the baby, he would have helped me.
“I’m sorry. ”
“Eh. What can you do? That’s life, right?”
How do you do it? I want to ask her. She’s friendly and talkative and looks happy when everything in her life is so screwed up. I want to be able to hold it together like that. I want to be strong, but I don’t know how. Just when I think I migh
t open my mouth and ask her, Valerie comes into the room. “There you are, Emery. Are you ready to talk?”
Emery sighs, but somehow I can tell it’s more because she doesn’t feel like getting up than because she’s afraid to talk. “Sure thing. ” She pushes to her feet and gives me a small wave before walking away. As she does, I notice a piece of paper falling to the floor.
“You dropped something,” I call to her.
“Oh, it’s just a doodle. You can have it. ”
When she’s gone I open the piece of paper. It’s incredible. Way more than a doodle. It’s a drawing of a tree in perfect detail. It looks like an old one with knobs and holes in it.
Emery is an artist.
“I used to make pottery,” I say. No one’s close enough to me to hear.
Chapter Twenty
