Scott

It was a lovely spring day when Charity Hunter’s mother asked her to watch her cousin John for the afternoon. Not only was it a chance for Charity to see her younger cousin, it was a great excuse to get herself outside.

The sun was shining down from a cloudless, cerulean sky and birds were cheerfully singing their seasonal melodies when little John arrived at the Hunter household. As the two cousins stepped out, the scent of blossoms filled the warm, vernal air. This is a perfect day to go to the park, Charity decided as she took John by the hand and headed toward the local playground.

Just a teenager herself, the red-haired girl felt close to her cousin despite a ten year age gap.

“Where are we going?” John asked now as they strolled down the sidewalk, a gentle breeze kissing their young faces.

“I thought you might enjoy the playground for awhile. Then we can get lunch somewhere.”

“Yippee!” obviously, the seven-year-old was delighted with this idea.

As they walked the tree-lined streets and started down the gravel footpath to the little park, Charity asked John about his best friend, Scott. “Have you seen him lately?” she asked her little cousin conversationally.

“Sure! I saw him yesterday. He gave me this haircut!” John smiled his adorable grin with the missing front teeth and turned toward Charity, offering her a close-up view of Scott’s handiwork.

“Oh my!” not wanting to hurt little Johnny’s feelings, Charity quickly searched for the right words for the awful haircut, “That sure is different.”

Johnny beamed as if he’d been given the world’s greatest compliment. “I know.” As the slides and swings came into view, John ran off to play and Charity found a bench to sit on. From this vantage point, she could watch him and simultaneously soak up a little sun. She took out her cellphone and put it into camera mode. Charity was sure Aunt Katie would enjoy seeing some pictures of her son playing, so she started snapping away.

Just as little Johnny reached the top of the slide, he smiled and waved. His foot caught on something and he went crashing to the ground, making a loud thump as he landed.

Charity was quick on her feet and helped the boy up within seconds. He hadn’t lost consciousness, but he’d scraped himself badly and there was sure to be a giant bruise on his left hip in a few hours’ time. As Charity lifted Johnny’s shirt to inspect the damage, she noticed many other bruises on the child. “Where did you get all these?” she demanded, pointing to the discolorations.

John shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess probably from Scott’s trampoline.”

“Doesn’t his mom watch you?”

“No, she lets us play alone. We can do whatever we want at Scott’s house. It’s so much fun!”

“I’ll bet,” Charity muttered, making a mental note to discuss this newly acquired knowledge with her aunt. Since Charity’s uncle was away for months at a time for his job, it was imperative for Katie to be informed about everything, her mother had told her. “I’ll tell you what,” said Charity now. “When you’re with me, you must be more careful. I will not let you do whatever you want.”

“All right, Char-Char,” her cousin’s nickname for Charity never failed to melt her heart. He truly adored her and she, him.

“Look, here comes the ice cream truck! Want to get an ice cream, Johnny?”

His jumping up and down excitedly answered that question quickly enough. And Charity was relieved that he hadn’t seemed to have been affected by the fall. But as John was pointing to several selections of treats, Charity noticed some scratches on the boy’s arm. Something that appeared to be a burn mark also displayed itself as his short sleeve rose up towards his little shoulder.

“Where’d those cuts come from?” Charity demanded, as she unwrapped an ice cream sandwich for her cousin.

John looked at her sadly, but said nothing.

“Johnny!” she exclaimed, “I want to know.”

The little boy was obviously trying to decide something as he twitched his mouth and made squinting faces. Finally, he said, “I don’t remember, Char-Char. Maybe at Scott’s?”

“At Scott’s house?”

“Yeah, probably.” Little Johnny looked away quickly. Charity was almost certain he was withholding something, but she’d already decided that her upcoming conversation with Aunt Katie would be much more detailed given this new information.

“Okay, Johnny. Let’s head home.”

“But you promised lunch! I wanna get cheeseburgers!” he shook his blond head and Charity could see tears forming in his coffee-colored eyes.

“Of course we can go to lunch. Let’s go now and we can talk on the way, alright?”

“Okay.” Johnny’s little voice sounded so sweet, which somehow made Charity feel sad.

“Now usually,” Charity was telling her young companion now, “the man would be walking on the outside, nearest the street.” She was repeating what her own father had taught her back when she was Johnny’s age. It made her feel very grown up to be in the parent position now. She continued, “But since you’re just a little man, I’m walking on the outside.”

“I’m not little!”

“Right, you’re not. But I meant that you won’t have to do that till you’re grown, like me. You get to have all the perks!” She smiled because she knew he’d like that.

“Whats a perk?”

“It means benefits. Umm, it means that since you’re a child, you get to have the better part of the deal than grown-ups do.”

Sure enough, Johnny really liked that. “I don’t ever want to be a grown-up, Charity. I don’t like grown-ups. Except for you.”

When they reached McMillan’s, Charity ordered a Smiley Meal for John and a hamburger for herself. Finding a booth, she decided that this might be a good place to get Johnny to open up to her.

“So, your friend Scott,” she was saying as Johnny bit into his cheeseburger. “He’s nice to you?”

Johnny didn’t answer. He got very busy playing with the toy car that came in his Smiley Meal. But Charity persisted. “Is Scott mean to you sometimes?”

In a barely audible voice, John answered, “Sometimes he hurts me.” His gaze did not reach his older cousin’s. She reached out and touched his hand.

“It’s okay, John,” Charity could feel tears starting to form in her eyes as she struggled to steady her voice. Johnny looked up and asked why her eyes were turning yellow. That made her smile a little; Charity’s eyes were the same color brown as her little cousin’s, but whenever she cried they turned a lighter, almost golden shade. The boy was so observant. So precious. She needed to protect her little cousin at all costs.

As they sat and ate, Charity felt closer to Johnny than ever before. She had so often wished he was her little brother and now that feeling grew stronger. She felt protective of this child, almost motherly. For that reason alone, she knew she had to be careful how she talked to Johnny. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him.

For the remainder of their lunch, Charity felt it best to discuss lighter topics. “Can you show me how fast your matchbox car can go?” she smiled at John.

Her cousin’s face lit up as he cleared a space along the table’s edge and propelled the bright red car. Both laughed as it toppled onto the floor. “See?” he said now, “my car’s gonna be a race car!”

“I can see that!”

As the cousins’ day was winding down, Charity suggested that they get together more often. “Would you like that, Johnny?”

He nodded. “I’d love that Char-Char!”

She decided she’d ask her aunt for a weekly meeting.

As they were strolling up the driveway, Katie opened the door and beckoned the two kids inside and John ran upstairs. “Charity! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you! I’m sorry your mom had to bring Johnny over to your house earlier, but I’ve just been so busy!” But Charity was barely listening to her aunt’s words. She was staring at the bruises going up and down her arms.

“What happened to your arms, Aunt Katie?”

“Oh, you know how it is,” her aunt laughed nervously. “With your uncle away so often, I have the job of two parents. I rush around a lot and tend to bump into things.”

Charity noticed that Aunt Katie’s smile looked forced. “Would you say that Johnny had that same tendency?” she held her breath, unsure if she had crossed a line with this question.

But Katie only looked surprised, not offended. “Johnny isn’t clumsy at all, why do you ask?”

“Oh, well I noticed…” just then, Johnny came back into the kitchen and Charity didn’t finish her sentence.

“Want to come play in my room, Char-Char?” Charity looked at her aunt who nodded yes. She followed the boy upstairs to his room where Johnny lowered his voice conspiratorially, “Char-Char, do you want to meet Scott? You can if you promise not to be mean to him,” John was looking very earnest for his young age.

Charity did want to meet this boy. She wanted to tell the kid off, but she respected Johnny too much to go against his wishes. Besides, at seventeen, she was learning that children often aren’t completely responsible for their actions; there was almost always an adult behind them.

Inhaling purposefully and exhaling even more slowly, she steadied her nerves and permitted herself to feel for this Scott kid. “Yes, Johnny. I’d like to meet Scott and I promise not to yell or be mean. I pinky swear.” The two cousins latched their baby fingers, his tiny pink finger to her longer, tanned one with manicured nails.

Johnny took Charity’s hand and led her to his desk. Upon it was a pair of scissors, a few scattered army men and a toy plush rabbit. Picking the stuffed animal up, Johnny said, “Scott, I’d like you to meet my cousin.”

“Scott is a bunny?”

Johnny nodded. Charity wasn’t sure how to handle an imaginary friend like this. She looked over to the desk again and upon seeing the scissors again asked, “Then who really cut your hair? Did you do it yourself?”

“I already told you,” Johnny said. “Scott cut it.”

“Does Scott play with you on the trampoline too?”

“Yes! He plays with Mommy, too!”

Charity pictured the bruises on Aunt Katie’s arms. She didn’t understand what was going on under this roof, but she didn’t like where this was going.

Suspecting something might be off with her aunt, Charity asked Johnny a bold question. “If I ask my mom…and if she says yes,” she began, “Would you like to come and stay with us for a while?”

“Oh yes! Yes!” Johnny cried happily and Charity knew she’d done the right thing. Her mother would allow Johnny to stay with them until they worked out what was up with Aunt Katie. She picked up her phone and called immediately.

Johnny asked her if Scott could come too.

Charity smiled at her cousin. “Of course Scott can come along!”

She turned away for a moment to ask her mother if they could host Johnny for a little while.

Charity was so engrossed in her call that she didn’t notice that Scott was no longer on the desk. The plush bunny started walking slowly towards her, a smile spreading across his threaded mouth.