Hello Little Girl

Chapter 3

God, Liverpool was a dreary city. Especially when it was raining, which was pretty much all the time.

Wendy tugged on Scott’s hand, trying to get him to move along and stop ogling at the sweets in the bakery window. She was already feeling a little low because of the weather, and her brother pining for something he couldn’t have wasn’t helping. Baked goods that weren’t bread were something that was a luxury in their household.

Still, Scott refused to move, keeping his nose pressed resolutely to the glass.

“Come on Scott.” Wendy grumbled, trying to pull him away without making a scene on the busy sidewalk. He wouldn’t have it. The cupcake stand was too pretty, frosted perfectly with colors that seemed too sharp to be real. He didn’t understand why Wendy was getting so worked up; it didn’t hurt to just look…

“Scott let’s go!” Wendy raised her voice at the little boy, and he knew he was pushing her a too far. She rarely ever spoke sharply to him, much less shouted. He hesitated.

“I just want to look at it.”

She sighed. “I know…”

It wasn’t that Wendy really minded him admiring the treats, but every time he stopped to look at them, she felt guilt clinch in her stomach because she couldn’t get it for him. She was embarrassed that something as little as a batch of biscuits was too much for him to ask for.

Their Mother worked hard as a nurse at the hospital. But really, it never seemed to be enough. Wendy pitched in as much as she could, but there weren’t a lot of job opportunities for young girls like her.

Scott had his face pressed up against the glass, practically kissing it. He was staring so hard at a cake, Wendy was nervous he was going to start drooling.

“We need to get home.” She said in a warning tone. Scott had never resisted her this much before; guilt began to crawl in her stomach.

“But Wendy…”

“No!” She said loudly, sounding harsher than she intended to. Scott winced a little and turned to look at her, nervous about the anger in her voice. Wendy saw that she scared him, and just wanting to get out of there she grabbed his wrist hastily and tried to tug him away. Wendy flushed a little red when she noticed people starting to stare.

“Let’s just go, OK?” She said, giving one last soft tug on his arm. With a strangled whine, Scott wrenched out of her grip, stumbling backwards and tripping over his own feet. Unable to regain his balance, he fell, landing hard on his bum on the cold concrete of the sidewalk.

Wendy stood stunned, not knowing how to react. That was very unlike him. Scott never defied her. She stared at him with her mouth slightly open, wanting to say something but not sure what.

Scott ducked his head and brought his hand up to wipe tears away from his eyes, revealing the scraped palms of both of his hands. Wendy’s heart sank.

“Scott…” She whispered, moving to him with her arms outstretched. He reached up to her, and she cautiously lifted him off the pavement. Immediately, Scott wrapped his small arms around her neck and buried his damp cheeks into her shoulder.

Wendy found herself not giving a damn about anyone looking. “I’m sorry buddy.” She said quietly, patting his back. He sniffed in reply.

“Wendy?”

Before she even looked around, she knew who it was. That deep, nearly nasally tone was unmistakable. Still holding Scott tightly against her, she turned around to see John standing there, a ciggie in his hand and a guitar strap across his chest. With horror, Wendy realized there were tears in her eyes. Hoping John didn’t notice, she hastily wiped them away, passing the motion off as rubbing her nose.