Wanted (Amanda Lance) - By Amanda Lance Page 0,100
large walk-in closet where a thousand different garments seemed to lay. “Honestly, I’ve never even worn half of these things, but shopping is my worst weakness.” She seemed giddy as she spoke; it was hard not to be entranced by her warmth. “And really, since I’ve had Tyler, I don’t see myself wearing any of these things again. It doesn’t feel very ‘Mommy-ish’.”
I looked at Elise as she piled various items of clothing on my arm. She was slender in figure, but her red sundress revealed the fresh curves of motherhood that wouldn’t have been given away if she hadn’t mentioned it.
She shooed me towards one of the massive bathrooms with my hands overflowing.
“Now you go along now and freshen yourself up. Take all the time you want and please help yourself to anything you might need, okay?”
“That’s really generous of you, Elise, but you don’t have to—”
“I insist now, go, go!”
Before I could protest any more, she politely pushed me into the bathroom and shut the door. I took the moment to smell my hair and the skin beneath my arms. I didn’t think I smelled or anything, but maybe my perception had been altered by my time on the sea.
Like everything else, the bathroom was a grand design in granite and marble. Along with the antique tub, there was an oversized shower which practically begged to be used. Once I took a sniff of the small ivory soaps, it wasn’t hard to do as instructed and take my sweet time scrubbing every inch of me. I hadn’t realized it until then, but my knees and elbows were layered with light patches of dirt and grime—blood, mine and Charlie’s, had dried on various parts of my body. I watched the drain swallow the scalding hot water, dirt, blood, and stray hair that fell from my head.
I wrapped a large white towel around myself and reveled in its lushness. The room was overwhelmed by barrels of steam that I had to wipe from the mirror before I could see any sort of reflection of myself. Some new bruises had formed over the old, but other than that, none of it made any sense to me. I still looked about as plain as any other girl. Throughout the week I had gotten some sun, which seemed to strengthen my complexion a little. But everything else was still the same: eyes, hair, lips; and for whatever reason, Charlie seemed quite fond of it all.
From everything Elise gave me, I selected a simple navy blue dress with a beige ribbon just above the waist. Just as she said, it still had the tags on it and I was reluctant to remove them, but I enjoyed the feel of the cotton-silk too much to pass it up.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, Elise was sitting on the divan, cooing at a bundle in her arms. For a moment I watched them, fearing I might interrupt if I made my presence known. The little feet within the blanket kicked and squirmed as she tickled them with the tips of her manicured nails. The bundle within the blanket giggled at the attention and its tiny fingers reached out for Elise.
“Hi.” I walked over and sat beside her.
I felt like a useless piece of furniture, but Elise was a face of smiles. As I peeked over her shoulder, I could see the face of the little boy and instantly remembered one of Charlie’s many sketches. I smiled at the thought; it was nice to know he was just downstairs and relatively safe.
“He’s beautiful,” I told her. I could faintly see the same nose that belonged to Ben and tuffs of the crisp dark hair that belonged to Elise. “How old is he?”
“Just four months now.” Elise gazed at him with the utmost affection. “He’s growing so quickly it feels strange to me,” she admitted. “On the other hand, it’s hard to believe my world ever even existed without him.”
“I’ve seen a lot of sketches of him. But I didn’t realize…”
She laughed and hoisted Tyler so he was over her shoulder. “Yes, Ty loves posing for his Uncle Charlie.”
I smiled awkwardly, remembering how the photograph-like drawings of Tyler were so easily demolished by Wallace and what he had said when shoving me into the confession booth. Wallace’s only regret at the time was that he couldn’t have Elise and Tyler there, too.
She eyed me curiously but I pretended not to notice. Instead, I focused on the little