Thank you!
Chapter 9
4 Years Ago
Elsie and Charlie Carson stepped inside from the cold, immediately shrugging out of their coats and hanging them up by the door. Then they walked toward the kitchen for their morning teas.
It had been a nice morning walk along the beach. Just a few months ago, they had moved from Yorkshire to Skegness, a nice seaside town. It had always been their dream to retire by the sea. They had retired over a year ago, but when their granddaughter, Emmy, went missing they pushed back their retirement.
For a while, they decided to cancel their plans and remain in Yorkshire. Their daughter was struggling and it just didn't seem important anymore. But then it seemed as though they needed to allow their daughter and son-in-law some space. Emmy wasn't returning. Life would have to move on, whether they wanted it to or not.
With Christmas steadily approaching in a few weeks, they had been asking Anna and John to come and visit. They thought the sea air would do them both some good. Their relationship was obviously strained and Elsie couldn't blame them. They had lost their hearts. She worried about them constantly, but John seemed to be doing everything he could to keep her daughter from falling into the abyss.
Almost daily, she received a text from Anna. It was a basic text, but it let her know that everything was going alright.
Her phone began to ring back in her room and her ears perked up. She made her way down the hallway and picked her phone up off the bedside table. Her brows furrowed when she saw that Mary Crawley was calling. Feeling dread, her heart skipped a beat.
"Hello?"
On the other end of the line, Mary was frantic. As she spoke, Elsie's hand came and clutched over her heart, her eyes filling with tears.
"Charlie!" Elsie called for her husband, her head shaking. "Charlie!"
She could hear him rushing toward their room at her panicky voice.
"We…we'll be there right away. Th…thank you for calling me." Then Elsie hung up the phone.
"Elsie?" Charlie worriedly asked, standing in the doorway of their bedroom. "What's wrong?"
"It's Anna. Pack your bags. We have to go back to Yorkshire right away."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
Now
Charlie Carson organized the books on the shelf. It was a soothing activity for him. It gave him a purpose. A little while after moving back to Yorkshire and in with Anna, he and Elsie began to volunteer at the local library. They had done the same in Skegness. They would read books to young children, do crafts and activities, and then help with putting up books.
Neither he nor Elsie knew how to not do anything. They had worked their entire lives. He had been forced into an early retirement when he began to show signs of Parkinson's disease. Charlie had never been one to want to retire. He had enjoyed his job at the Abbey. He had been in charge and planned on staying in charge for a few more years. But his body had different plans.
Elsie retired a few months later and she told him it was time. They were past retirement age and they had so many dreams. Skegness had been one of them. But Charlie had thought they still had years before that. Yet, when they finally made the move, he had loved it. It was such a wonderful location for the two of them. They had fallen in love at a beach. It made sense that they would find their happiness back there.
But when they had received that frantic call from Lady Mary, they knew they would have to move back for a little while. At the time, they didn't know they would stay for four years. They still had their home in Skegness, but had only gone back to visit a time or two of the past few years. Many times, they had tried to convince Anna to move there with them. She wouldn't leave her home. So they stayed. They loved her and were worried about her. As parents, they would have sacrificed everything if they could make her better.
Now Emmy was back. He didn't know what that meant. With Emmy returning, so had John. Charlie had mixed feelings when it came to John Bates. He was Emmy's father and so he had every right to be back in his home with Emmy, but at the same time, John had left Anna when she was at her very lowest.
Sighing, Charlie placed the next book on the shelf. He glanced across the way to see that Elsie was reading books to the toddler class and his lips curled up into a smile. She was so wonderful with little children. After they lost Emmy, some of her spark had left her, but now he could see it had returned.
"Grandpapa!" A voice broke him from his thoughts. He jerked his head to the side to see Emmy standing at the end of the bookshelves. Anna and John were standing behind her. Emmy rushed to Charlie's side and nearly jumped into his lap. He tumbled slightly on the stool where he was sitting, but balanced himself with his hand against the shelves. Then he was able to pull Emmy up into his lap. She had a bright smile on her face, as she glanced up at Charlie.
"Emmy," he warmly said in response. "I didn't expect to see you here."
He looked over to John and Anna. Anna was rubbing her hands anxiously together, watching this all unfold. He knew this was all difficult for her, Emmy connecting quickly with other people, but not her. Because of that, he tried to tread carefully. His daughter was fragile. He had seen it with his own eyes and the last thing he wanted was for her to fall down that dark path again.
"She wanted to see you," John stated, stepping forward. "She asked about you first thing."
"Ah."
"I played with Butler outside. He is very tired. He was taking a nap when we left," Emmy went on to explain.
"We were going to go shopping," Anna then spoke, forcing a smile on her face. "But Emmy wanted to see you and Mum first."
"Well, it's a nice surprise," he sincerely told his granddaughter. Words could not express how wonderful it was to have her back in their lives. There were still so many unanswered questions, but she was here. "Why don't you go and say hello to your gran. She's reading to the toddlers."
Emmy nodded, jumping off his lap. She made her way over to where Elsie was reading the book and sat down with them.
Charlie returned his attention to his daughter and John. He gave them a small smile.
"Shopping you say?"
"She needs new clothes and I thought I'd let her pick out some toys," Anna explained to him, but her eyes were on Emmy.
"Right, that sounds very nice," Charlie said.
Anna tightly nodded and then walked over toward where her mother and Emmy were. He watched as Anna stood to let Elsie finish her story and frowned. Then his eyes moved over to John, who was still standing next to him.
"I know you don't like me very much," John began, throwing Charlie off-guard.
"I don't," Charlie honestly answered, eyeing him. "But we can only focus on Emmy now." He had a lot he'd like to say to John. None of them nice things, most of them about picking up the pieces of what he left behind. But he had promised Elsie he would remain civil for Emmy and Anna's sakes.
"Right."
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
They walked along the girls' section at the department store. Emmy would pause at a top, twist her lips, and then walk away. After nearly twenty minutes walking around, Emmy hadn't chosen one item of clothing.
"Do you not like anything here?" Anna questioned, trying to keep the anxiousness out of her voice. "We could try somewhere else."
Emmy just shrugged.
"You need some clothes."
"Why? I have plenty," Emmy simply answered.
"You only have a few shirts and two pairs of pants. Your trainers are getting too small," Anna explained.
"I don't need a lot of clothes," Emmy stated. Anna sighed. She glanced over at John who offered her a half smile.
"So you don't like anything?" Anna questioned. Emmy twisted her lips again, glancing at a pink shirt with a unicorn on it.
"That shirt's okay," she told Anna. Anna lifted it and smiled.
"Alright! What else?"
Emmy made a face.
"You're supposed to be less obvious," she whispered.
"Excuse me?" Anna asked, confused. Emmy glanced around them and narrowed her eyes.
"You can't just hold it. Hide it in your bag! Quick!"
Anna felt her chest tighten and she turned back to John, whose face had darkened. Blinking back the tears that had immediately filled her eyes, Anna just shook her head and gave Emmy a tight smile.
"No, Emmy, we are going to pay for these clothes. Stealing is not alright," she tried to say calmly. Emmy frowned.
"But…"
"Is that how you got things with….with Maggie?" Anna asked her daughter. Emmy's face grew sheepish and she nodded her head. She looked like she was about to cry. John stepped closer toward her and placed his hand lovingly on Emmy's shoulder.
"It's alright, sweetheart. Don't get upset," he stated. Anna and his eyes met, they both looked disheartened. What else had their daughter been taught?
"With us, we are going to do things differently," Anna began, finding it hard to find the right words. This was something they would need to discuss with the therapist. "Your dad and I are going to buy the things that you want. And if there are other things you would like, we can put them in this cart."
"I can really have whatever I want?" Emmy questioned, not believing them. Anna chuckled.
"Within reason."
Emmy's face brightened some then. She walked over to another shirt and pointed to it.
"Can I have this one?"
"Of course!"
After that, Emmy became more excited in the store. She chose two pairs of trainers and several shirts and pants. Then she chose two different jackets. When they went over to the toy store, she chose three new toy sets: a doll and some items to play with the doll. All in all, they had a good day.
Anna found that she relaxed some as they walked around the different stores. Things seemed almost normal. Emmy smiled at her. She chatted with both her and John about her favorite things (purple was still her favorite color). It had been a brightness within everything.
They headed back to the house and Emmy asked if she could take Butler outside to play in the backyard. Anna told her of course and she went to take Emmy's things upstairs, while John took her out back.
Anna hummed to herself on the way back upstairs. She entered Emmy's room and began to organize her new things. She would need to wash the clothes, but the trainers could be placed in her closet.
As she stood and turned, she paused, her lips falling from their smile. There, right by Emmy's bed, sat the photo of Maggie. She wanted to grab it and throw it into one of the bags, throwing it away in the rubbish bin. Her heart stammered in her chest. Tears welled in her eyes, reality hitting her back in the face.
Taking in a deep breath, she walked the new clothes into the laundry to wash. Placing them into the washer, the tears came.
-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-
"Come on, Emmy!" John called across the yard. "It's time for dinner."
Emmy yelled for Butler to follow her and the three of them stepped inside for dinner. John was met by Charlie, who just pursed his lips together and gave him a frown. John sighed, but he reminded himself that he was okay with being the bad guy in his father-in-law's eyes. It was a small price to pay.
"Grandpapa!" Emmy excitedly stated. "What are we having for dinner?"
"I'm not sure, ask your gran. She made dinner." Emmy smiled and rushed into the kitchen. John could hear her asking Elsie all about what was for that night's supper. He grinned. Emmy was starting to adjust pretty well for just two days. But then he worried that this was some sort of honeymoon period, his lips fell.
"Where's Anna?" John asked Charlie.
"I don't know."
John took in a deep breath. She had been missing for over an hour. He knew that she had Emmy's clothes to wash, but that shouldn't have taken so long. He made his way toward the laundry and saw it was empty, but that the dryer was running. So he turned and headed upstairs. The master bedroom was closed. He knocked on the door.
For a few seconds he waited, hoping for a response. There was none. He tried again. Still no response. Deciding he shouldn't overwhelm his soon to be ex, John turned and headed back downstairs.
The table was already set and Emmy and her grandparents were already sitting, waiting for John and Anna to join them.
"Where's Anna?"
"I don't know," he honestly answered. He had thought their day had gone well, but it seemed maybe he was wrong.
But before he could say anything else, he heard Anna coming down the stairs. He turned to see that her hair was wet, showing that she had been in the shower. However, he could see the telltale signs that she had been crying. Her cheeks were puffy and her eyes rimmed red.
"Sorry," Anna quickly apologized, coming over to take her seat.
Dinner was relatively quiet, every so often Charlie would say something to which Emmy would happily respond, but otherwise they sat in silence. John wondered when things had shifted, but it was a very noticeable shift in the adults. Thankfully, it seemed Emmy was unaware.
"Emmy," Anna then brightly broke through the silence, appearing to stun the adults. "Would you like me to read you a story tonight? We got all of those books from the library earlier?"
Emmy kept her eyes on her food and shook her head. "No, thanks."
Anna visibly deflated. John wanted to take her hand and remind her that they had made steps forward today and that it wouldn't be an overnight process. But Emmy's eyes came back up and moved to Charlie's.
"Will you read to me, Grandpapa? Please!"
Charlie turned awkwardly in her chair, his eyes glancing briefly at his daughter. Anna quirked her lips up slightly.
"Yes," she answered for him. "I'm…I'm sure he'd love that. You know what, I forgot that I have to run and get something from the store," Anna said, pushing back her chair.
"I'm sure it could wait for tomorrow, love," Elsie tried. Anna shook her head.
"It can't. Emmy, be good for your dad and grandparents. I'll be back soon."
Then she escaped. All three adults watched the door where she left and then looked to one another, their faces defeated.
"Why don't I clean up and your grandparents can get you ready for bed and read you a book," John offered, standing. He started to grab the plates.
"Alright!" Emmy exclaimed.
Both Charlie and Elsie met John's eyes and he gave them a nod. The three of them walked upstairs, Bulter whining because he wasn't allowed to go up them.
Once they were up the stairs, John stepped outside. He pulled out his phone, not sure, exactly, what he was going to do. He had no idea where Anna had gone. His ears perked up when he heard crying. Slowly, he walked around to the side of the house where Anna was standing, watching the stars.
"Anna," he quietly began. Anna jumped. Standing up straight and wiping her cheeks.
"I'm a disaster," she murmured.
"You're not," he attempted to soothe.
"I was actually happy and then I saw that damn picture next to Emmy's bed," she confessed to John. "I don't…." Her words faded. John twisted his lips; he also wasn't a fan of that picture.
"Anna, we had a good day. Focus on that, you…" His words were cut off by his phone ringing. He glanced down and saw it was Casey. Anna seemed to see that she was calling, too.
"Go on, answer it. I'll be alright."
He felt pulled between the two of them. His eyes went between the phone and Anna, she just pushed herself away from the side of the house and began to walk away. John sighed and then answered the phone.
"Hello?"
To be continued...
Ah, Casey...phone call at the least likely time. More soon!
