Chapter 2 - He Didn't Stand Up
He didn't stand up.
That was the first thing I noticed. Most grown-ups asked a question and then stood back up when I didn't answer right. He stayed crouched. His knees were bent and his hands rested near them, and his silver watch caught the sun coming through the oak tree. I could see the tattoo on his hand move a little when he breathed.
Lily's hand was still on his shoulder. She was behind him, leaning forward, and I could see her pink bow and her pink dress. I kept my teddy bear tight against my chest. I held him with both arms the same way I had all day.
Marcus looked at me and didn't look away. His voice was quiet.
"How long have you been waiting here, Emma?" he asked.
I didn't know if I should answer. Aunt Karen had told me to wait here until the sun came up and not to talk to strangers. But the sun had come up a long time ago. It was going down now and the light was all gold and warm on the grass.
"Since the sun came up," I said. My voice shook a little. "This morning."
"Have you had anything to eat? Anything to drink?" he asked.
I shook my head. I hadn't. My bear's ear was pressed against my cheek. I squeezed him tighter.
He glanced back over his shoulder toward the black SUV. The bodyguard was still there by the truck, standing with his hands together in front of him. Marcus lifted two fingers just a little and then made a small circle with his hand. I didn't understand what it meant, but the bodyguard nodded once and pulled his phone from his suit pocket.
"We're going to stay right here with you, okay?" Marcus said to me. He didn't touch me. He just kept his eyes on mine. "My friend is calling the county sheriff's office. Just so someone can help check on your aunt. You haven't done anything wrong."
Lily crouched a little beside him then. Her dress brushed the grass.
"You can sit on the bench if your legs hurt," she whispered to me. "Do you want to?"
I didn't move. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to sit. Aunt Karen said to wait by the tree. I looked down at my shoes. They were dusty.
The bodyguard walked closer but not too close. He spoke low to Marcus. "Non-emergency line. They said a deputy is two minutes out. Coming from the Lincoln substation."
Marcus nodded. "Thank you, James."
The sky got darker while we waited. The sun slipped lower and the light through the oak tree got thinner and more orange. Cars went by on the road beyond the park. I could hear crickets starting somewhere near the bench.
A county sheriff's cruiser pulled into the parking lot by the SUV, gravel popping under its tires. The lights weren't on, just the headlights. A deputy got out. He was older, with short gray hair and a brown uniform and a radio on his shoulder that crackled quietly. He walked over slow, hands visible, and he took his sunglasses off so I could see his eyes.
"Evening, folks," he said, his voice calm. "I'm Deputy Harrell. Got a call about a little girl waiting alone?" He looked at Marcus and then at me, and he smiled a little but not too much. "You must be Emma?"
I nodded. I didn't let go of my bear.
He crouched too, like Marcus had, but a little farther away. He had a small notebook.
"Can you tell me who was supposed to be watching you today?" he asked gently.
"Aunt Karen," I said.
He wrote it down. "Aunt Karen what? Do you know her last name?"
"Karen Miller," I whispered. "She lives with me in the apartment since Mom died."
He wrote that too. His pen made a soft scratch.
"And she told you to wait here in the park?" he asked.
"She said to wait here till the sun came up. That was this morning. She left before that."
Deputy Harrell looked up at Marcus for a second, then back at me. "And you waited all day by yourself? No one brought you food or water?"
I shook my head. My throat felt dry when I swallowed.
He closed his notebook for a second and breathed out slow. "You're doing really good telling me this, Emma. You're being very brave."
Marcus was still crouched. His jaw was tight and I could see the tattoo on his neck when he turned his head toward the deputy.
"Deputy, we found her like this at golden hour. My daughter noticed her. She hasn't left the park," Marcus said. "We didn't want to move her before you got here."
Deputy Harrell nodded. He stood and spoke quietly with Marcus and the bodyguard by the side of the SUV while I stayed by the bench with Lily. Lily didn't talk much. She just stood close to me, close enough that our shoulders almost touched, and she looked at my bear.
"He's soft," she said.
I nodded.
Deputy Harrell came back and crouched again. He kept his voice low and even.
"Emma, I'm going to write this down as an abandonment report, okay? That means I'm making a record that you were left alone without care. That is not your fault."
He clicked his pen. "My office has to call child services, but because these folks found you and are willing to stay with you, and it's getting dark and cold, I'm going to log that you're being placed temporarily with Mr. Blackwell and his daughter under my supervision until a caseworker can meet us. You won't go with your aunt tonight. Is that okay?"
I held my bear tighter and looked at Marcus. He was watching me, waiting.
"Will I have to go to the station?" I asked.
"Not tonight," Deputy Harrell said. "We'll keep you right here in the parking lot where it's safe and lit, with these people, until the next person comes. You can stay with them."
Marcus nodded to me once, steady.
May you like
"We'll stay right here in the lot by the truck," he said. "Lily and James and I. No one leaves without you being safe."
The deputy wrote the last line, tore off a small card, and handed it to Marcus. The sun was almost gone now and the parking lot light by the SUV buzzed and flickered on. I stood there by the bench with my bear against my chest, and for the first time since the morning, I wasn't waiting alone.
