Emily's Seams

Angus was waiting outside the white room for me. He held his hat in his hands and kept his eyes downcast. “You...didn’t find nothing yet, did ya?”

My throat tightened a little at the back. “Not yet, Angus. Can you give me anything more?”

He looked down at his feet for a minute before shaking his head. “It’s alright. Maybe next time.”

None of them were ever hungry but they gobbled down the donuts I had brought anyways. And they were laughing. They joked about things they had read about or seen in the various magazines and papers I had brought them. They made light-hearted fun of one another.

“Oh look at the time,” I said, pointing to my useless watch. The only measure of time I had was the disappearance of the food I brought. About half gone, it had been close to three hours.

Francine got up and walked me to the wall.

“You’re a real sweetie, Emily.” She wrapped her meaty arms around me and pulled me in. It was like hugging the friendliest marshmallow ever. “Now you take care of yourself.” A few tears had gathered in the corners of her eyes.

I nodded. “Come on now, Francine. I’ll be back and you’ll see for yourself that I’m doing alright.”

She nodded and brushed away her tears. “Yep. Go on, now. Don’t need you getting raped and murdered just because we kept you past dark.”

Dolly came up to me next. She was blubbering. “You be good, little Em. I’ll miss you like you can’t even believe!” Her babyish tone had lost its annoying ring. She sounded almost angelic now.

“What’s with you guys?” I asked. No one answered my question.

Doug was there with an extended hand. “Good luck, Emily.”

I took it. “Buy low, sell high, right Doug?”

He laughed. “Forget that crap. Either learn the ins and outs of the market or pay someone who has. And RRSPs are always a good idea.”

I looked at the three of them. “So is someone going to fill me in? Are you all heading to Disneyland or something?”

Francine shook her head. “You looking stuff up about us made us all really think about how quick it can be over and done with. With whatever stretch of life you’ve got left, we just want you to make the most of it.”

Dolly nodded enthusiastically. “And remember that Las Vegas is never what it seems to be.” She was being dead serious.

I fought hard against a burst of laughter and Francine’s twitching mouth was no help. It was Angus’s firm hand on my shoulder that kept me from insulting that adorable, but ridiculously, naive showgirl.

“Come on now, Em. It’s getting late.”

He came out of the room with me. As the wall curled up behind us, I looked back in and waved to the other three residents of the white room.

“So, did you draw the short straw? Your job to tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“I wish I had something to tell. They’ve changed, Em. It’s like something is just waiting to give.” He sighed and suddenly he looked very tired. “I don’t know, Em. Something is changing though. All I do know is that my gut is saying maybe you shouldn’t come back here.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Those three, there’s something changing about them. I...” he stopped himself. “I would stop wasting your precious time down here is all.”

“But I still haven’t found out about you yet. I’m trying, really!”

He nodded. “I know. You go on now, Em. Get back to the living, no need to be coming here so much.”

I was being dismissed and I had no idea why.