You Complete Me [Jemily]

Not Today, Satan

I dropped Emily's hand and called out, "Henry?!"

She joined in, "Hen? Henry!"

I started to hyperventilate, "E-Emily, wh-where is he?!"

"I-I-I don't know, JJ... Keep calling him!"

"Henry?! Henryyyyy?!"

A woman tapped my shoulder, "Are you looking for your son?"

"Y-Yes, his name is Henry."

"What does he look like? Maybe I can tell an employee?"

"He has long blonde hair, he's four years old, h-he's 3 and a half feet tall." She nodded and jogged away.

I heard Emily still yelling, "Henry! Henry, where are you?!" She ran over to me and asked, "Okay think about where he would go. Is there anything else around here that he really liked?"

"I-I can't... I can't th-think, I..."

"JJ, look at me." I let tears fall down my cheeks and looked up at her. Her eyes were strangely calm and they helped me get grounded a little more. She held my shoulders and said, "Think. Where would your son go?"

"H-He likes the Dream Machine, the bubble room... Um, he-he goes in the sandbox s-sometimes." At this point I was starting to get inconsolable.

Emily exhaled and assured me, "We'll find him, Jayje, we'll find him." She grabbed my hand as we walked from exhibit to exhibit, still shouting for Henry. My vision was blurred and discolored, and I felt like fainting was inevitable. Emily sighed and asked again, "Is there anywhere else he liked to go?"

I cried, "I-I don't know, Emily! How am I s-supposed t--" I glanced up and saw a huge billboard on the museum ceiling that advertised an "Art + Tech" exhibit sponsored by Nickelodeon. It was centered around Paw Patrol and I had an instinctive feeling in my gut. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to where the sign was pointing and panted heavily as my eyes scanned the entire area for Henry. They finally landed on the corner of the room and I saw him crouched down, looking through a bin of building blocks with his back to me. I sprinted over to him and sobbed as I scooped him up.

He squealed as I squeezed him, "Ah! L-Let go!" I turned him around and kept my hands glued to his shoulders. He smiled, "Oh it's you, Mommy!"

I laughed through excessive streams of tears, "And it's you, Henry. Thank god." I picked him up again and hugged him tightly, keeping him close to my chest. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and turned around to see Emily.

He mumbled against my shoulder, "Was going on?" I just kept crying and crying. Henry picked his head up and showed me something, "Look, Mommy, it's Chase! I builded him with da Legos!"

I sniffled, "That's great, buddy, it looks awesome."

"Why you crying?"

"Because I couldn't find you."

"Oh. Here I am!"

Emily brushed his hair back, "Buddy, you gotta tell us if you wanna go to another part of the museum. If you just leave then we don't know where to look for you. Understand?"

He nodded, "Yes... Was Mommy scared?"

Emily answered, "We both were. We thought we lost you." Henry wrapped his arms around my neck and hugged me reassuringly. I could tell he felt bad; he hated to see us upset with him. I set him back down on the ground and let him keep playing. Emily snaked her arm around my waist and handed me a tissue, "Deep breaths."

I dabbed my makeup and sighed, "I can't believe what just happened. I really thought...."

"I know. Me too."

"You did? But you were so calm?"

"Because I didn't want you to freak out more knowing that I was freaking out too. I figured I had to be strong for your sake."

"Thank you. That helped."

"Thank yourself, you're the one who found him."

I chuckled, "I saw that giant Paw Patrol sign and I knew Henry must have too." Just then, I felt Henry tug on my shirt.

He looked up at me and asked, "Can we go to the sandbox?"

"Of course, little man." He held his hand out and I took it as he lead the way to where he wanted to go next. We only stayed at the museum for another 30 minutes or so before sticking to the plan and walking to The National Mall. The Washington Monument was stop number one, then the WW2 Memorial, followed finally by the Lincoln Memorial.

"He's kinda scary." Henry observed as we stood in front of Lincoln's chair.

Emily laughed, "He's pretty big, isn't he?" Henry nodded nervously. "It's okay, he was a good guy." Henry stepped a little closer to the statue and looked up at it curiously.

I told him, "Maybe you can have a statue like that if you're president someday, right?"

Henry turned around and put his hand up dismissively, "Seems like a lot of wowk." Emily and I simultaneously bust out laughing. We followed him as he stepped out of the memorial and bounced down the steps, one by one.

When we reached the bottom I asked, "Wanna walk around for a little more, buddy? Or head home?" At this point we had already been out for close to 3 hours. Emily panted as she stepped off the last step, flinging a shopping bag over her shoulder that was full of toys from the museum. I giggled and asked her, "You okay, baby?"

"Yeah I'm good, I'm good."

"You're sure? Your arm doesn't hurt?"

"No, not yet anyway."

Henry bounced over to her and made his puppy dog eyes before begging, "Can you carry me, Momma?"

Emily shrugged, "Now it'll start to hurt."

"Give me the bag, Em." She handed it off to me before bending down and lifting Henry up. I brushed his tangled hair back and once again questioned, "Where to?"

He leaned his head against Emily's shoulder and sighed, "I'm tired."

I nodded, "Okay, bub, let's head home."

We walked in silence for about a minute before Emily suggested, "How bout some ice cream first?"

All of Henry's energy came rushing back, "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"

I murmured in a warning tone, "Emilyyyy."

She innocently looked at me and questioned, "What?"

"It's almost dinner time! Ice cream will ruin our appetites. Plus I'm trying to watch my weight."

She scrunched her brows and looked me up and down, "You are?" I nodded. She beamed up at me and lovingly complimented, "You look beautiful to me."

"Nice try, soldier."

Henry started to beg, "Pwease, Mommy? Pweeease!"

Emily joined him, "Yeah pleassee, Mommy?"

I blushed and relented, "Fine." She and Henry high-fived in victory. I playfully rolled my eyes and took Emily's hand as we walked passed the Reflecting Pool. I added, "But you're paying."

"Yes, dear."