She's Mine [COMPLETE]

She's Mine: Chapter 27

It was then that Eliza took the chance to survey the homely settings. It was obvious Emmy loved the home with her overt concern of a relatively new screen door attached to an elderly ranch-style home. The interior was reminiscent of a house Eliza wished she had grown up in with the warm rays of an old overhead chandelier and the smell of homemade foods antagonizing the hungry. Simple, clean, and animated by blood.

"It's quite beautiful," Eliza admitted, still glancing about with admiration. 

Emmy hid her teeth but continued to display her joy as she watched Eliza truly relax for the first time all day. If only Emmy knew that Eliza's long stare at the staircase was actually her imagining what it would be like to have been able to run up and down them as a child.

"You doing okay, baby?" Emmy softly inquired.

"Mmm hmm," Eliza peeped doe eyes returned before they glowed with comfort. 

But Eliza couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay, Emmy?"

The little woman knew she was caught and sighed, "Yes, but I'm a little sad that my son isn't going to be able to come."

"Son? Where is he?" Eliza questioned with bewilderment.

"He's at school, in a state college. Told me he couldn't make it because of exams," she said with a sad but proud smile. "Told my family to pick another weekend but... let me not get into that."

Eliza whispered an apology Emmy didn't feel was necessary. However, there was more guilt on her face due to never telling Eliza about her private life and praying that this reunion wouldn't become an overwhelming experience.

Emmy softly pinched at Lulu's cheek, "C'mon. Lets go meet my mama. She's been waiting to meet you."

Eliza was surprised to hear of her mother's anticipation. Not knowing what to expect, she reflected on not overthinking and set her sights back on the familial wonders decorating Emmy's childhood home.

The top half of the walls were a antique wallpaper, and the lower half was wood paneling. Along the dark but illustrious walls were rows and rows of family pictures. In a large and old family portrait Eliza was able to spot Emmy in an instant– her seeming to be the smallest of four kids. 

"Mama! I'm home!" Emmy suddenly belted.

A twisted face popped from the end of a doorless corridor. A peppered-haired woman, scuttered into view to put her hands on her hips against a summer dress patterned in sunflowers. 

"Girl?! You better stop that yellin' in this house and get over here," her mother immediately screamed back before slowly shuffling away in her matching house slippers. 

Emmy showed a mischievous grin to Eliza and gestured for her to take Lulu towards the kitchen. 

"Mama!" Emmy chirped as soon as they entered the large kitchen. 

Now with a closer look, Eliza saw almost all of Emmy in the woman across the room, still in a stance that Eliza had seen from Emmy practically every day. Age was good to a woman well into her seventies. She had to have been an undeniable beauty in her youth, but the stunning features were barely faded with risen cheekbones and naturally almond-shaped eyes that Emmy surely saw whenever she glanced into a mirror. 

There it was before Eliza, a mother and daughter relationship that has aged kindly with its actors. Admiring eyes watched Emmy nuzzle up to her mother whose scowl was nothing more than a weak trap to pull her child closer. 

Eliza couldn't hide a little simper, seeing a mother's hands pat and embrace the back of the woman who held Eliza the same way in times of need. Motherhood was turning away from its mysterious nature, and Lulu was given a loving glance from her mother.