”
The voice boomed through the club, scaring Emily half to death with its ferocity. It nearly had her jumping from her chair in response. The club—well, at least those in the vicinity of the table—went deathly silent in response. The little girl beside her gasped, pulled her hand away from Emily’s face, and tears welled up in the poor little thing’s big, brown eyes. The girl’s bottom lip started to quiver, then she began to cry, but before she could react, Mandy had her arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulders, hugging the little girl to her side.
“There, there, Elaina. Don’t cry. Daddy didn’t mean to shout so loud. But you know, it’s not polite to be a nosy parker.”
“I d-d-didn’t m-mean to make Da-a-d-d-y-y angwy…” Mandy and JT’s daughter sobbed. Emily watched a torrent of fat tears roll down Elaina’s sad little face as her mother tried to console her. All the kids around her were now crying, their mothers and fathers doing their best to quiet their offspring. Emily wasn’t sure whether JT’s booming voice had started off the waterworks or if Elaina’s tears were infectious. “I j-j-just wanted to ask the pretty lady what happened to her face…and if it hurt…”
Emily’s heart broke for Elaina. The girl was so upset that her father had shouted at her, yet those three little words were the most monumental, most world-changing words Emily had ever heard. Elaina had called her ‘the pretty lady’—the slip of a girl had not cared about her scars, but had seen her as pretty. All the fears of children thinking her a monster were swept away. If this little girl could see past the ugliness, then it was high time she did too.
“Oh, Elaina—is that your name, darling? Stop crying, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sure your daddy didn’t mean to shout so loud. I’ll tell you a secret…your daddy was so loud I nearly fell off my chair.”
Those big brown eyes turned sheepishly towards her. The hesitant smile on the young girl’s face melted Emily’s heart even more.
“My daddy is vewy loud.”
“Yes, Elaina, your daddy is very loud, but I’m sure he didn’t mean to make you and every other child in the room cry,” Mandy said pointedly, as she sent what could only be described as a death stare towards her husband. “Isn’t that right, Daddy ?”
Emily looked on as an apologetic-looking JT tried to make peace with his wife and daughter. The room had come back to life. Conversations had resumed now the drama had passed, but Emily wanted to answer Elaina’s question, wanted to show the sweet little girl that no harm had been done and she was not in any trouble.
“Elaina, do you still want to know about my face?” She was overjoyed when Elaina moved to stand in front of her, her eyes again like saucers. The solemn look she was giving Emily was so adorable, it was hard for Emily not to just sweep the girl into her arms and squeeze her to within an inch of her life.
“Well, a few years ago I got trapped in a bushfire. A tree fell on me and burned my skin.”
“Oooh…” Elaina’s mouth gaped open. Then Emily watched, transfixed, as the information registered in the young girl’s brain, and saw the flickering in her eyes. Emily waited to hear what the first question would be—people always wanted to know more about the gory details surrounding the fire and her scars—so was taken aback when the words were nothing like she’d imagined them to be.
“I burned my finger once, touched a really hot plate. It really hurt. I cried and cried…and my little brother Jay, he told me I was a sooky lah-lah. You must have cried a lot.”
“Yes, I did cry a lot, Elaina, and for too long. But I’m okay now. How about you, is your finger better?”
Such innocence shone from Elaina’s brown eyes—no fear or revulsion apparent, just concern. Children seemed to be becoming a great source of learning for Emily. After Gareth’s description of the children in the
The voice boomed through the club, scaring Emily half to death with its ferocity. It nearly had her jumping from her chair in response. The club—well, at least those in the vicinity of the table—went deathly silent in response. The little girl beside her gasped, pulled her hand away from Emily’s face, and tears welled up in the poor little thing’s big, brown eyes. The girl’s bottom lip started to quiver, then she began to cry, but before she could react, Mandy had her arm wrapped around the girl’s shoulders, hugging the little girl to her side.
“There, there, Elaina. Don’t cry. Daddy didn’t mean to shout so loud. But you know, it’s not polite to be a nosy parker.”
“I d-d-didn’t m-mean to make Da-a-d-d-y-y angwy…” Mandy and JT’s daughter sobbed. Emily watched a torrent of fat tears roll down Elaina’s sad little face as her mother tried to console her. All the kids around her were now crying, their mothers and fathers doing their best to quiet their offspring. Emily wasn’t sure whether JT’s booming voice had started off the waterworks or if Elaina’s tears were infectious. “I j-j-just wanted to ask the pretty lady what happened to her face…and if it hurt…”
Emily’s heart broke for Elaina. The girl was so upset that her father had shouted at her, yet those three little words were the most monumental, most world-changing words Emily had ever heard. Elaina had called her ‘the pretty lady’—the slip of a girl had not cared about her scars, but had seen her as pretty. All the fears of children thinking her a monster were swept away. If this little girl could see past the ugliness, then it was high time she did too.
“Oh, Elaina—is that your name, darling? Stop crying, honey. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sure your daddy didn’t mean to shout so loud. I’ll tell you a secret…your daddy was so loud I nearly fell off my chair.”
Those big brown eyes turned sheepishly towards her. The hesitant smile on the young girl’s face melted Emily’s heart even more.
“My daddy is vewy loud.”
“Yes, Elaina, your daddy is very loud, but I’m sure he didn’t mean to make you and every other child in the room cry,” Mandy said pointedly, as she sent what could only be described as a death stare towards her husband. “Isn’t that right, Daddy ?”
Emily looked on as an apologetic-looking JT tried to make peace with his wife and daughter. The room had come back to life. Conversations had resumed now the drama had passed, but Emily wanted to answer Elaina’s question, wanted to show the sweet little girl that no harm had been done and she was not in any trouble.
“Elaina, do you still want to know about my face?” She was overjoyed when Elaina moved to stand in front of her, her eyes again like saucers. The solemn look she was giving Emily was so adorable, it was hard for Emily not to just sweep the girl into her arms and squeeze her to within an inch of her life.
“Well, a few years ago I got trapped in a bushfire. A tree fell on me and burned my skin.”
“Oooh…” Elaina’s mouth gaped open. Then Emily watched, transfixed, as the information registered in the young girl’s brain, and saw the flickering in her eyes. Emily waited to hear what the first question would be—people always wanted to know more about the gory details surrounding the fire and her scars—so was taken aback when the words were nothing like she’d imagined them to be.
“I burned my finger once, touched a really hot plate. It really hurt. I cried and cried…and my little brother Jay, he told me I was a sooky lah-lah. You must have cried a lot.”
“Yes, I did cry a lot, Elaina, and for too long. But I’m okay now. How about you, is your finger better?”
Such innocence shone from Elaina’s brown eyes—no fear or revulsion apparent, just concern. Children seemed to be becoming a great source of learning for Emily. After Gareth’s description of the children in the
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