Emma's Secret: A Novel

what if—”
    “Stop! You didn’t lose her. It’s not your fault. They have to be around here somewhere, Meg. Think. What were they doing the last you saw them?” He turned her so that she faced him and tilted her head up until she looked him in the eyes. The moment she did, she felt the heavy brick that rested against her heart lift and her breathing began to return to normal. His calm look reassured her. Nothing in his eyes showed that he blamed her for this. Nothing.
    “They were building a sand castle.” She pointed to the display at their feet.
    She noted the way Peter took in the discarded shovels and the lack of buckets. She stared at the water’s edge, desperate to see them. It was as if they’d vanished.
    Except for the voice calling her name.
    “Mom. Mom!”
    Megan’s heart stopped at the sound of Hannah’s voice. She was walking toward her with Emma and another small girl in tow. Behind them was an adult, hopefully the other little girl’s mother.
    “Do you know who the girls are with?” Peter reached for her hand and squeezed. She held tight and didn’t let go. She wanted to run toward Hannah and Emma and scoop them into her arms, but she couldn’t. The look on Emma’s face shocked Megan. She wore her brightest smile, and her eyes glowed with happiness. She swung hands with the little girl beside her as they skipped together in the sand.
    “I have no idea.” Megan shook her head. She’d never seen that little girl before. Nor the woman who now stood in front of her.
    “I’m so sorry! I heard you calling for Emma, and I realized the girls never told you where they were.” The woman, wearing a bright-red bikini with her hair in a ponytail, stood there, an apologetic look on her face as she wrung her hands together. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “I can only image what you must have felt when you realized the girls weren’t there anymore.”
    Megan squatted down and looked Emma in the eye, mesmerized by the glow. She’d only seen that look once since she’d come home—the day they retrieved her from the farm, when Emma first saw her standing there, waiting for her.
    “Why did you leave without saying anything?” Megan asked Hannah, who lowered her chin until it almost touched her chest.
    “Oh, that’s our fault,” the woman interrupted. “Marie noticed Emmie and started screaming her name. The girls ran toward each other and—”
    “Emma. Her name is Emma.” Megan, her voice tense, corrected the woman. A chill passed through her body and settled deep in her heart.
    “I’m sorry?”
    Megan stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. “Her name is Emma. You called her Emmie.”
    The woman shook her head before her eyes widened and she covered her mouth in shock. “I’m so sorry. I never thought. We knew her as Emmie.”
    Megan’s cold heart thawed.
    “How do you know our daughter?” Peter’s voice was controlled, but Megan caught the hesitation. They both knew their lives were about to be changed in a way she wasn’t sure they could handle. This was the first time they’d come in contact with anyone who knew Emma while she’d been living with the other couple.
    The woman gazed down at the girls. “Jack is our neighbor. Before”—she lowered her voice—“Dottie got sick, Em…Emma would come over and have playdates with Marie and the other children.”
    Megan’s brow furrowed. “Other children?”
    The woman nodded her head. “Yes. I run a home day care. I’m sorry; I’m Sherri, and this is my daughter Marie. She and Emma were…are friends.”
    This surprised Megan. Friends. She thought Emma had been isolated, alone with the woman, with only Daisy as her playmate. But she had friends. Other kids she could play with, interact with. Have a life with. Why didn’t Emma ever mention Marie or the other kids?
    She turned her attention to Emma, who faced the little girl. Marie. The girl’s attention was focused keenly on Emma’s face, watching her mouth while she spoke. Megan noticed that Emma spoke slower to her, more precisely, and she touched her a lot. They held hands, touched arms, fingered each other’s hair.
    “Marie is partially deaf. But it never seemed to faze Emma. They were friends right away.” Sherri moved to stand behind her daughter and placed her hand on her head. When Marie glanced up, Sherri told her to say hi. Marie only smiled shyly.
    “This is my friend, Mommy.” Emma gave Marie a hug while she introduced them.
    Peter