Broken

Chapter eight

Elliott 

Its Thanksgiving and this year Macy and I are joining Jessie and her family for the holidays. Jessie is making me sit out of helping with anything. She's afraid I'll overdo it after nearly taking a bullet in my heart. She said the bullet was two inches shy of my being dead.

I was lounging in our big chair when Nana came out and took pity on me. She asked me to drive her to the store and told me Jessie could take it up with her. She ended up directing me to a jewelry store and I was left confused. "Nana, what are we doing here? I thought you needed something to go with dinner," I ask confused. 

"We're here to pick something out for you to give Jessie," she says with a smile, giving me a wink.

We look around for a few minutes before I found the perfect gift. It was a necklace with a pendant of a mother caressing her pregnant stomach. I show Nana and she smiles. "She's going to love it," she says with a smile as we take it to the clerk.

"I have one more stop before we go home and I'll need your help," I say with a smile as we get back in the car. My phone starts ringing Jessie's ringtone and I answer it. "Hi babe, what's up?"

"Where are you," she asks in a choked whisper. "You and Nana left without a word."

"Nana asked for a ride to the store. I'm sorry for worrying you," I say softly and hear her let out a calming breath. "We have one small stop and we'll be home. I love you."

"I love you too," she chokes quietly, ending the call.

Moments later we pull into a flower shop I'm well known at and the owner, Marcia, smiles as she sees me. "Need more roses for your pregnant lady," she asks in her Spanish accent. 

"Yes ma'am, but I was wondering if you could add something special with it," I say with a smile and look at Nana. "Nana, this is where I need your help. I thought maybe a stuffed animal or something to go with it?"

She smiles and takes a look around the shop. She comes back with a mother penguin snuggling her baby. I instantly thought of her and Macy. I spot a monkey for Macy and Marcia gives me the usual discount. "Elliott is the only one who gets a discount. She saved my store a few years ago," she says to Nana. "A couple of young gangsters were destroying everything and trying to break into my safe. One of them had a gun to my head, but she took all three of them on her own."

"I'm glad you made it out okay then," Nana says in sympathy. 

"If Elliott didn't come by when she did, I wouldn't be here," she chokes quietly and gives me a hug before wrapping up everything. 

"She's quite a hero, she saved my granddaughter a few months ago," Nana chokes with a smile.

We bid our goodbyes and head back home. Jessie greets me at the door and I hand her her gift bag with the stuffed penguins and flowers and the necklace. She looks at me with surprise as tears fill her eyes. I kiss her cheek and bring her to sit in the living room with the others. Macy runs up to me and I kneel in front of her while Jessie opens the small box from her gift bag.

I produce the monkey from behind my back and Macy takes it in her arms. "Thank you Daddy," she exclaims with joy.

"You're welcome princess," I say with a smile and kiss her forehead. I look over at Jessie, sitting between her parents as she lifts the pendant from the box. "You're a loving mother Jessie. You took Macy in as your own and these babies are just an addition. I haven't forgotten what you requested earlier, in time I will fulfill it."

Tears roll down her cheeks and I kneel between her legs to give her a kiss as she sat on the couch. The doorbell rings and I go answer the door. I open the door to a social worker with a young girl. "Elliott Adams," she asks while signing.