Lost & Found

The tale of a reluctant girl

"Do not—whatever you do, do not bring up his wife, please. He's told me on more than one occasion that he's not ready to talk about it," Emma told her mother as they were preparing for their dinner with Aiden.

"Has he told you what happened?" Her mom asked curiously.

"No. I just know her name," Emma said quietly.

"Oh?" She said, looking at Emma expectantly.

"Scarlett – her name is... uh, was Scarlett," Emma told her mother.

"What a beautiful name," her mom said, sending her a sympathetic look.

"She was beautiful," Emma told her and regretted it as soon as it slipped out of her mouth. She felt like she was gossiping and she hated herself for it.

"He showed you pictures?"

"I-I... no. When I was at his apartment... he has pictures. Of both his wife and daughter," Emma said sheepishly.

"He has a daughter? Oh, Emma," she cooed, placing her hands over her heart like it was breaking.

"Yes. Haven. She's three," Emma told her as she pulled out plates from the cupboard so she could set the table.

"Oh. Poor baby," her mother sighed.

"I don't feel right talking about them," Emma said quietly as she pulled the silverware drawer open.

"Okay," her mother told her.

Emma walked into the dining room and began setting the table.

"Have you told him about Patrick?" Her mother asked as she came up behind her carrying four wine glasses in her hands before placing them carefully at each place setting.

"He knows I had a husband who died in a car accident," Emma explained as her chest tightened with anxiety.

A moment later, she felt her mother's hand on her arm from behind her.

"I'm so sorry you two are going through this, honey. I know how hard it is to lose a spouse," she said and Emma's anger spiked as she twisted out of her mother's grasp.

"Yeah, but you had daddy for twenty-six years before you lost him," she snapped.

"I know, sweetie. I know," her mother said calmly.

"I only had a handful of years... Lucy didn't even—" Emma choked out, her tears causing the words to get stifled.

"I know, baby. I know. I'm so sorry," her mother said, pulling her into her arms, holding her tightly as she cried.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know losing daddy was hard too. I'm sorry," Emma apologized when she finally felt composed enough to pull back from her mother's embrace.

It wasn't fair of her to compare the deaths of their husbands because no matter how many years they got with them, the fact that they were no longer there with them was devastating.

"I know, sweetheart. I know," her mother cooed, looking at her empathetically.

"I... uh, I need to go... freshen up. Aiden's going to be here soon and I don't need to look like a blubbering mess," Emma said, excusing herself from the room.

She took the stairs up two-by-two and went directly for the bathroom. She already knew her makeup was a mess from crying, and it was confirmed when she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Jesus," she grumbled as she swiped her fingers below her eyes to rid herself of the teary black makeup.

A moment later, she had to take a deep breath and compose herself because she thought about it all again – Aiden and Scarlett; her and Patrick; their sweet little girls growing up with only half of their parents. It was too much. Why couldn't she control her emotions, tonight of all nights? The night Aiden would be coming to dinner. It frustrated her.