Carnations for Emily

Chapter 5: You'll take me with you, right?

Jack and Emily, now eleven and ten years old, were watching the sun set one day on Jack's front porch after a long and difficult day at school.
"Fifth grade is hard" Emily groaned.
"It sure is." Jack laughed
"But don't worry, we'll get through it together.
After all we have the same class, like last school year."
Emily slightly blushed at that thought.

In the two years that they've known each other, Emily finds herself wanting Jack around as much as possible.
"There's just something about him that makes me happy." She would tell her mother.
"Aww sweetheart, sounds to me like you're in love."
Her mother said, hearing this causes Emily to fumble over her words.
"W-what? Really? N-no.
Well m-maybe I am?"
Emily's face turned red at the idea.

Coming back to the conversation with Jack, Emily's just happy that he's here.
That he took time out of his day to become her friend.
When she moved to their little town two years ago she had to leave her friends behind.
All the while not always being as brave as she'd like to be, she knew she'd struggle to make new friends, especially when the new school year would start.
Yet she got lucky and got Jack as a friend.

Jack interrupted Emily's train of thought with a question.
"Say Emily?"
"Oh! Yes?" Emily snapped back to reality.
"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"
Emily pondered over this for a moment.
She couldn't really think of any place right now.
She's just a kid, so to her the only thing she wants to do is have fun.

"I don't know really." She answered.
"I haven't thought about it."
She smiled.
Jack spoke then.
"I wanna go to New York City.
My dad goes there a lot for work or at least he travels there a lot. He says it's a beautiful city and he always comes back with pictures and gifts.
I think it'd be awesome."

Emily thought to herself:
"Why does that...
Make me sad?"
She guessed that she felt sad because she didn't like the fact that her best friend would one day leave her.

"W-why do you want to go so far away?
Wouldn't you miss your family?" Emily struggles with her words.
"Of course I would, but I think it'd be exciting.
After all, don't you think it's kinda boring here?" Jack asked her.
Emily's face turned a little red then as she placed her hands on her cheeks to hide her blush.
"Well not exactly..."
She paused.
"As long as you're here." She giggled.
This catches Jack off guard and it's his turn to blush.
"W-what are you talking about?
Don't be dumb."

The kids then sat in silence as the final embers of the sun were fading away.
Emily turned to Jack once more.
"Um, Jack?" She squeaked.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"When we're all grown up...
Graduated and everything, and you get ready to go to New York..."
She again struggled to say what she wanted to say.
"Yeah?" Jack replied.
Emily started again and tried to say her next line as confidently as she could.

"You'll take me with you, right?"

She asked him.
"Huh? You wanna go with me?" Jack said a little stunned.
Emily nodded at his question.
"I don't know..."
Jack kinda mumbled his last line.
"W-what?" Emily practically shrieked.
"You'd leave me here all alone?"
She sounded hurt.
"N-no I wouldn't!"
Jack tried to do damage control.
Emily giggled then obviously playing with him.
"Well then, promise me."
"Huh?" Jack questioned.
Emily held up her pinkie.
"Pinkie promise me, that when we're grown up, before you leave...
...You'll take me with you."
Jack thought for a moment, then put on his smile.
"Alright."
He wrapped his pinkie around hers.
"I, Jack, here by make a promise to you Emily that when I leave for New York City I'll take you with me." Jack proclaimed.
"Yay!" Emily shouted in excitement as she tackled Jack with a ferocious hug.

By the time nightfall hit the kids heard each of their parents call out to them.
It was dinner time so they had to come home. Enough play for the day.
Jack waved good bye to Emily and Emily waved back as she raced back to her home.

After Jack had finished his food and Hellen put Jill to bed, Jack went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, put on his pajamas and got ready for bed.

As Jack laid there he heard his mom, Hellen, come in and sit on the edge of his bed.
"Did you have a good day today Jack?" She asked the boy.
"I sure did!" He replied in a happy tone.
In excitement he practically yelled out "I made a promise to Emily today!"
"Oh? What kind of promise?" His mother asked.
"I promised her that I would take her with me to New York when we're grown ups." He said happily.
"My, that's quite the promise.
Haha, I know you can pull it off hun,
But for now, it's time for bed.
Good night Jackie." Hellen said as she planted a kiss upon his forehead.
"Night mom!" Jack shouted.

Later on in the night Jack awoke to someone yelling...
When he listened closer to the booming voices he realized who it was.
It was his dad...

Jack climbed out of bed and snuck his way down the hall.
As he got closer to the shouting he heard his mom yelling back, through a crying tone of voice.

"You bastard!
I never should've married you!"
Hellen screeched.
"Oh excuse me bitch, I'm sorry she treats me right!"
His dads voice bellowed out.
It was enough to make Jack flinch.

Jack didn't see his dad often.
He was almost always gone on a business trip.
But when he was home he did what he could to spend time with Jack and Jill.
Tonight something was different about him.

"I don't know why I keep trying...
I've caught you so many times before, but always feigned ignorance.
Im done trying.
I want you out you." Hellen's voice had become a serious one.
One Jack had never heard.
He had no idea why they were fighting.
They seemed to love each other so much.
"That's fine by me.
I planned to leave you anyway."
That was his dad.
As he had finished his sentence Jack heard footsteps coming his way.
In a panic Jack ran off towards his room as quietly and quickly as he could.
Climbing back into bed he noticed tears pouring from his eyes...

"Huh?
I'm crying..."
Jack's father taught him that it's okay to cry.
But not to cry in front of people.
That it was better to suffer in loneliness.
So that's what Jack did.
It's why he always acts tough when he's scared.
And when he was about to cry he'd find a place alone and let his tears fall.

As he laid back down that night he cried himself to sleep not really sure of what was happening with his family...

...

The next morning before school, Jack read a few papers he saw sitting on the table as Hellen fixed him breakfast.

They were divorce documents...

Chapter 5: End

"What's going to happen now?"
- Jack