Chapter Four

Sid hadn't seen Emily in over a week. He'd been busy. He'd been cranky. He'd been drunk mostly. He didn't want to fall for Emily. Just the thought of the girl was driving him insane. Ever since that night at the river when he didn't kiss her. When he let his and fall away and just held her close.

He knew he was out of luck. Yes, he would gladly drown in her...but it occured to him that she would have the power to hurt him, and he had been hurt enough. In fact, he didn't think he could handle any more hurting. The past year had torn him to shreds. He wasn't even worth loving. There was no good in him. Or maybe that was the booze talking. He wasn't sure. It took a lot for Sid to get drunk, and this week required a lot.

There was a knock on his door and he hoped it wasn't her, but prayed that it was. So when he opened the door and it was the Father he was both devastated and relieved.

"Hello Father." Sid slurred.

"Sid," Father Brown began "How are you?"

Sid sat on the bed and The Father followed him inside.

"Me? I'm right as rain."

"I haven't seen you around. Is everything okay?" Father Brown asked.

Sid sighed, "Why do you have to know me so well Father?"

"Because I have known you since you were a child, and I love you like a son."

Sid gave him a pathetic look.

"It's Emily." he laid back on his bed.

"Ah yes. I deduced as much." Father Brown said.

"Did you now?"

Father Brown stared at him. "What happened between you two?"

Sid scoffed, "Nothing!" then he sighed, "And everything..." He sat up and propped his elbows on his knees. "We're friends, Father. That's all."

"But?" Father Brown encouraged him to continue.

"But..." Sid couldn't put into words how he felt.

"Sid, there's no reason you shouldn't be happy. Emily is a nice girl, and she needs a friend. She seems to have taken a shine to you as well as far as I can see. She's been asking about you at the prespretary."

Sid perked up. "She has?"

Father Brown nodded. "Come on, let's get you some coffee."

Sid obliged, and together they walked back to the prespretary. Thankfully, Mrs. McCarthy was nowhere to be seen. Sid didn't want her to see him like this, stumbling drunk with a week's worth of scruff on his face. After the coffee Father Brown gave him an aspirin for his headache and put him to work catching up on odd jobs. He worked until dusk then had dinner with Mrs. M and the Father.

When he arrived at home he saw Emily's bike still leaning against his caravan with its flat tire. At their last meeting he walked her home in the early morning hours and promised to fix her tire and return her bike. Something he needed to get done. So, he lit his lantern and got to work patching her tire.

Her old bike had seen better days, and Sid decided it was time for a make over. It was past midnight when he finally finished. He stepped back to admire his work in the lantern light before turning in for the night.

The next morning Sid was even more pleased with his work. He hopped on the bike and rode it to Emily's house, hoping she would be home. He wheeled up the drive and noticed her house was even more impressive in the light of day. He parked the bike behind a bush and went to the steps and knocked. The door was answered by an older gentleman.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Emily." Sid said.

The man looked him over disapprovingly before shutting the door. A few moments later the door swang open.

"Sid!" Emily said.

"I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes." he said.

"What?" she chuckled.

He stood behind her and put his hands over her eyes. He lead her towards the bush.

"Okay, open!" He removed his hands from her eyes.

Emily stared at the bike in amazement.

"Sidney!"

She went to the bike and touched the new red paint. Her fingertips grazed the polished wheels and handlebars. Sid watched her intently as she studied every detail.

"Well, hop on!" he told her.

She climbed on the bike and rode circles around him. Seeing the huge smile on her face made everything worth it. It made Sid feel warm inside. He wanted to feel like that forever. Emily parked the bike and threw herself into Sid's arms.

"Thank you! You didn't have to do this."

Sid slid his arms around her waist. "I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to. For you. You deserve something nice, and that bike was an eye sore." he teased.

Emily looked up at him. He couldn't resist those green eyes. Little did he know that she was feeling the same way.

"I could kiss you I think, Sidney Carter." Emily admitted.

"Well what are you waiting for?"

Emily stood on her toes and slowly inched her face closer to his. Her heart was thudding loudly against her chest and she was nervous as could be. Sid was impatient and closed the distance between them with a quick peck on her lips. Emily giggled and pulled his head down to her and captured his lips.

He tasted like coffee and tabacco and nothing she'd ever experienced before. She'd only shared kisses with one other boy before, and it was nothing like this. Sid pulled her closer and held her tight. She played with the hair at the nape of his neck as she pulled away.

"Well, I didn't expect that from a reverend's daughter." he teased as he wiped his mouth.

"Shut up." she punched him playfully and he caught her hand and pulled her back against his chest.

She rested her head there and breathed him in. "What are your plans for today?" she asked.

"I have some jobs I have to get done for the Father." he answered.

"Can we see each other tonight?" she asked timidly.

Sid looked down at her and was more scared than if he'd been looking down the barrel of a gun as he answered, "Absolutely."

Emily was on cloud nine all day. She couldn't believe Sid went out of his way to do something for her. She felt cherished in a way that she hadn't for a very long time. She kept glancing out the window at her bike. She couldn't wait until Sid was done working for the day.

Sid was humming to himself all day, some song he didn't even know. It didn't go unnoticed by Father Brown, or Mrs. McCarthy. He was packing up his tools when Mrs. McCarthy breezed past him and into the kitchen.

"What has gotten into that young man? First he disappears for a week and now he's humming." Mrs. M commented.

Father Brown only shrugged. He wouldn't give away Sid's secret. Sid came in right behind her.

"I'm all done for the day, Father." he said.

"All right. Thank you, Sid. I'll see you tomorrow." Father Brown said.

"Goodnight Father. Night Mrs. M." Sid called as he headed out.

He was excited about seeing Emily. He was hoping to be finished sooner. He had to stop by his caravan and change his clothes. He checked his watch. Almost 9:00 PM. It would be dark soon. He better hurry.

When he cut into the field he saw a light near his caravan. The sun was almost completely set, but he could see her golden-blonde hair. A huge smile spread its way across his face and he picked up speed.

Emily was leaning against his caravan. Her hair was tied back with a black ribbon at the nape of her neck, and another black ribbon was tied into a headband. She wore a pink and black paisely dress.

"You're a vision." he called to her.

"You're not so bad yourself." she said back.

He looked down at his clothes. "Me? I'm filthy."

"Well then you better get cleaned up. I thought we could go into the Red Lion."

Sid raised his eyebrows at her. "A girl like you? In the Red Lion?"

"A girl like me? What does that mean?" Emily crossed her arms over her chest.

Sid grabbed his water jug and poured some clean water on a rag and began washing his hands and face. "I didn't mean anything by that, Em. You just...don't seem like the type of girl who would go to a place like that. Do you even drink?" he laughed.

She dropped her arms to her sides, "No."

She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear shyly.

"Maybe I don't feel so well now. I think I should just go home. We can see each other some other time."

Sid pulled the cloth away from his face. "What?"

She was already riding away on her bike.

"Emily! Wait!" he called.

It was no use. She was gone.

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