Luna In Denial

4

Emersyn started walking. She shivered as she felt the chill in the air. Back in Georgia, it was still warm; but not here. It was only October, but apparently it got cold early in Wisconsin. She looked around cautiously, taking everything in. Even though she had gotten away, she couldn’t shake the fear that surrounded her. She kept waiting for her step-brother to pop out somewhere and grab her.

It was around ten in the morning. She hadn’t had a shower in three days, hadn’t changed her clothes in just as long, and she was starving. She knew she needed to rectify that soon. She passed a few restaurants and the aromas wafting from them were enough to make her subconsciously move in their direction. She caught herself and refocused.

With less than ten dollars left, she needed to figure out a way to make money quickly before she spent any more. She walked along, enjoying the sights. A sign in one of the windows caught her attention. Help Wanted. She looked up and saw it was a coffee shop. She checked to see that it was open; then pushed open the door and walked inside.

A bell jingled on the door on her way in. The smell of coffee hit her hard, and her stomach rumbled. She pushed aside thoughts of her stomach and moved towards the counter.

“Hi, welcome to Sip and Drip, I’ll be with you in a moment,” a woman wiping a small table down near the back of the store called out. When she finished, she threw the towel over her shoulder and went behind the serving counter. “Now then, what can I get for you this morning?” she asked kindly.

“Oh, um, I..” Emersyn looked behind her at the window. “I saw the sign in the window...” she said as her voice trailed off.

“Oh, yes, the help wanted sign. Are you here to apply, dear?” the kind woman asked. Emersyn nodded. “Well, that just made my day. Why don’t we sit and chat for a minute before anybody else comes in?” She came around the corner and motioned to a table. Emersyn pulled out a chair and sat down across from her, painfully aware of her state of upkeep.

“All right,” the woman said. She put a piece of paper and a pen down in front of her and folded her hands. “Tell me about yourself,” she said with a smile.

Emersyn looked at her in surprise. She wasn’t sure what the lady was going to ask her, but it wasn’t that. Her mind scrambled for a moment trying to come up with what was safe to say. “Um, I’m eighteen.” She paused for a moment. “I’m looking for a job to support myself.” She faltered after that, not knowing what else to say.

The woman smiled graciously at her. “What’s your name, dear?”

“Em-Emma,” she said quickly, correcting herself. It was the first thing that came to mind. She didn’t want to use her own name. She needed to do everything she could to stay off people’s radar, so if Alec or his friends ever came looking for her, nobody would think of her. The woman wrote her name down on the form and paused, waiting. “Harris,” Emma blurted out. She cringed inwardly. She should have thought this through ahead of time. She’d had long enough on her trip here. At least Harris was a little better than Smith. Now she just had to remember it. Emma Harris.

“My name is Helen,” the woman said, putting out her hand to Emersyn. Emersyn shook it. “I’m the owner of this coffee shop. Why do you want to work here?” Helen asked kindly.

Emersyn sat taller in her chair. “I love coffee, and I love early mornings. I’m a hard worker and know how to follow directions.”

Helen smiled at her. “Well, if you love coffee and early mornings, you’re hired.”

Emersyn stared at her. “Really?”

Helen laughed. “Emma, do you know how hard it is to get young people to be at the shop at five am every morning?”

Emersyn smiled, feeling herself relaxing a little. That is, until Helen continued.

“I just need a few things from you like your social security, address, contacts for reference, and a few other things.” She slid the paperwork in front of Emersyn and stood up.

Emersyn panicked. She stared at the form in front of her. Emma Harris. She stared at the name. It was now her name. From now on, she was Emma, not Emersyn. It was time to start thinking that way. Now she just had to figure out how to land this job without giving out any of her personal information. She took a deep breath and stood up.

“Uh, Helen?” she called.

Helen turned away from cleaning the counter holding several coffee machines. “Yes, dear.”

“I-I can’t fill this out. I really want this job, but I just can’t. If you can’t hire me because of that, I totally understand,” Emma said in a soft voice.

Helen eyed her. Emma saw the wisdom in her gaze. She felt herself getting assessed and knew Helen saw more than Emma wanted her to see. “Are you in trouble, Emma?” Helen asked not unkindly. Emma paused. She wasn’t sure how to answer that.

“I haven’t done anything illegal,” Emma said quietly. Emma didn’t count the money she had stolen. It was a down payment of all the money she was owed from her father’s passing that she had never seen a penny of.

Helen stared at her a moment longer. “Okay,” she said. Emma wasn’t sure what that meant. Helen didn’t leave her wondering. “Be here tomorrow at five. We open at five thirty and close at five. My daughter comes in at two each day, so you can finish at two. You will get a one-hour break when it’s not busy. I can’t afford to pay you much. It’s just minimum wage,” Helen apologized.

Emma found her voice and recovered from her surprise. “That’s perfect. Thank you so much.” The door opened and a couple came inside.

“Welcome to Sip and Drip,” Helen called out cheerily. Turning to Emma, she said, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at five sharp.”

Emma nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She turned away with a smile and made her way to the front door. Stepping back out into the chill, she crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. A feeling of lightness came over her. I got a job, she thought to herself and smiled. It felt good, really good. Now she just needed to find a place to sleep, some clothes, and some food... and maybe a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, a pillow... Emma sighed. She pushed away those overwhelming thoughts before they became debilitating. She just had to deal with one problem at a time. She wondered for a moment if she should go back inside and ask Helen if she knew of a homeless shelter nearby, but she didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize her new position. She wasn’t sure if Helen would want to employ her if she knew she was homeless. No, she would just have to figure it out on her own.

She walked down the street a little way, admiring the shops. Her steps started to slow, weariness dragging her down. She was starting to feel every minute of the last three days of traveling. She needed to find a place to crash. Becoming desperate, she approached two ladies who were walking towards her on the sidewalk. “Uh, excuse me,” Emma said quietly. Her face grew warm as she asked, “Do you know if there is a homeless shelter somewhere nearby?” she rushed through her question.

Thankfully, the ladies didn’t turn away in disgust. “I’m sure there is, sweetie, but I just don’t know,” the one lady said as she looked apologetically at Emma and then at her friend. Her friend shook her head. Emma thanked them both and moved away from them. She walked a little further, trying to figure out what to do when she spied a library. She breathed out a breath of thanks and walked that way. Somebody there would surely point her in the right direction.

Ten minutes later, Emma exited the library with a sense of hope. She looked down at the flier in her hand. Housing for women and children. Showers, meals, and clothing provided. She looked up to make sure she was heading in the right direction before stopping to look down again. We understand that all of us come on hard times. Hope House exists to be a soft place to land until you can get your feet under you again. All services are free. Emma looked up from the paper. She only hoped this place was as good as it sounded. She'd never been to a homeless shelter before. She had no idea what to expect.

Twenty minutes later, she stood in front of a large brick building. She saw the sign—Hope House. Suddenly, she was terrified. She wasn’t sure if she could go in there. Then she remembered she had a job to be at tomorrow morning at five am. She knew Helen was taking a chance on hiring her. She wasn’t going to let her down. Come on, Emersy—Emma, she corrected herself. You can do this. Pushing her shoulders back and standing tall, she made her way to the front door. Her smile faded when she tried the door and found it was locked. Fighting tears, she pulled back out the flier and scanned. On the back, there was a number to call. She dropped her shoulders in frustration. She had no phone. She had no idea what she was supposed to do now.