Mended

Chapter 3

Ben

“So, when is she arriving?” I grunted at Mack, helping carry a dresser up the stairs.

“In two days,” he said with a strained voice. “I want everything ready when she gets here.”

We finally made it to the room and placed the dresser against the right wall. I looked around and saw how well the room was put together. For two men, we did a great job. A plush black couch laid on the opposite side of the dresser. A queen-sized bed laid in the center against a wall with a private bathroom in the left corner. The closet was in the right corner and a flat screen television hanged on the wall in front of the bed. The room is simple, but I felt proud of myself for setting up a bedroom.

“I hope she likes it,” Mack blurted, looking around the room. “If I still know my niece, she likes simple things. Nothing flashy or fancy.”

He kept silent after that. We stood in the room quietly looking around. The bed has yet to be made, no doubt Sheila will make it. She makes my bed as well. I don’t know why Maggie isn’t like her parents. I wonder if Chloé is like them or if she’s like Maggie. I’ve never met Chloé before, actually now that I think about it, I didn’t know she existed.

It’s like she sprang to life out of thin air. I wonder what she looks like. I haven’t seen any photos of her anywhere or in Maggie’s room. Don’t cousins do that? Have photos of family members in their room? I know my cousin Renée does that. I guess every family is different.

“I hope this works,” Mack said. I turned to face him. His body went rigid with a worried expression. “This isn’t Chloé. She’s never been a troublemaker. She’s so sweet and caring and laughing, always laughing. She was easy to get along with, so laid back and chilled. Easy to talk to and she always had a smile for you. Even when you had a bad day, her smile would brighten the whole room and you can feel the warmth of her smile. I don’t understand what happened to her."

He seemed so sad and his body trembled. His eyes glistened until he blinked repeatedly trying to fight back tears. He took a deep breath and faced me.

“You love her a lot, don’t you?” I asked.

“Like a daughter. I think the reason we got along so well was for our love of sports.” That caught my attention. She like sports? Huh, maybe I will like her. “She’ll probably like you a lot,” he said with a hint of excitement.

“Why?”

“Because Chloé loves baseball. She played softball and she was good. The best I’d say.”

“What position?” I asked, intrigued.

“Shortstop.” That’s my position. The way Mack talks about Chloé, makes her seem like a goddess. Was she really that good?

“How good is she?” I asked.

“How many trophies do you have?”

“About 30,” I replied slowly.

“She has tripled that.”

I choked on air and coughed. She has how many?! More than me? Holy crap. I need to up my game.

“A lot are mostly player of the year, good sportsmanship, best batter, and others. There was this one game where Chloé’s team needed one more out to win. The batter came up to the plate and Chloé got in her stance, she was ready. The pitcher pitched the ball and the batter hit it hard. It whirled towards her direction and I thought the ball would have zoomed past her, but the ball disappeared. I looked at Chloé and she had her gloved hand out and her body leaned to the right. Everyone looked at her, even the batter. Chloé straightened and tossed the ball in the air. Everyone was quiet until the ump yelled ‘out.’ We cheered wildly because that game was the championship. She was a sophomore.”

“Wow. Does she still play?” He averted his eyes and combed his hand through his hair. His eyes became sad and his bottom lip trembled.

“She quit after that. Then she started getting into fights, sneaking out of the house, and getting arrested. Who knows what else she does. I’m hoping that when she comes, I can remind her of the old days and she’ll come back to us.”

After a moment of silence, he left, leaving me in the empty room. Then Sheila came in still wearing her chef’s uniform. Her soft brown hair was up in a bun and her big brown doe eyes sparkled. She’s a sweet woman and the one who immediately agreed to let me live here.

“The room looks great. You and Mack did a great job. I hope Chloé likes it,” she said with a smile.

“What does she look like?” I blurted without thinking.

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve never met or seen her. I’ll be right back.” She left me alone again, alone with my thoughts. Questions started to fill my mind. What does she look like? Is she fair? What color are her eyes? Her hair? Does her smile really brighten you up? Or was that bull crap?

Sheila came back in holding a photo and said, “This picture was taken about six months ago. It’s her and her parents.”

She handed me the picture and I was taken back. She’s gorgeous. I felt like I was punched in the gut and air escaped me. Her brown locks went past her shoulders. Her tan skin shined from the light of the photo. Her lips were full and her smile, wow! Mack wasn’t kidding. Her smile was bright and I felt my insides getting warm. I could feel her brightness dimming the darkness in me from my parent’s divorce.

Her black dress showed her luscious curves and her body was fit. She looked about 5’1, but who cares? And her brown eyes held me in a daze, but they held something else in them. Her eyes looked sad. Looking closer, everything about her looked sad, but she still looked beautiful.

I can’t wait for her arrival now; I have to know her. I want to know everything about her. For some reason, I want to make her happy. To make her eyes brighten just like her smile. My heart beats faster just looking at her. These couple of days better hurry because I don’t think I can wait.