An Old Fashioned Kind of Love

Emma squealed, squirming under the much larger, older boy, her hands pinned above her head, a disgusted look on her face. The dark haired boy was dangling a muddy worm over her face. He had a bad habit of it. Before it had beetles and snakes, and once, his own saliva.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Stop whining or I really will spit on you,” he said threateningly, a wicked grin flitting across his lips.

“You better not you-you smelly pig,” she huffed, stuttering words coming from her five year old mouth. Jack McGilligan was smelly, like all boys were, but he didn’t really look like a pig. He had dark red hair that her mother called ‘auburn’ and eyes that were the same color as Emma’s favorite Sunday dress, the color of the pond behind her house. Really, really very blue. Whenever Emma professed to her mother how much she hated him, she would just laugh and say “One day you’ll change your mind. That little McGilligan boy is gonna break a lot of hearts.” Emma didn’t know what that meant, but she was positive she wouldn’t be changing her mind. Ever.

Jack snorted, imitating a pig as he slowly lowered the worm towards her mouth. “I’m not the one getting ready to eat a worm, now am I, Mercer?” he smirked, the bug wiggling in his fingers. It was alive. He was trying to make her eat a live worm. Emma screamed.

Jack was jerked back with a sudden yelp, giving Emma a chance to escape. She rolled onto her stomach and pushed herself up. Her older sister, Lizzy, had come to her rescue, and was now staring down the boy.

“Why don’t you pick on someone you’re own size, Gilly,” she taunted, hands on her hips. Jack and Lizzy were roughly the same age, but Lizzy was much meaner, in Emma’s opinion. Jack was taller by a fingers length, but Lizzy still manage to stare him down, giving off that imposing air that their mother did whenever she argued with their father.

Jack’s mouth split into a wide grin. “Would that be yourself, Mercer?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. “I don’t think you’re quite tall, but maybe wide enough.” Lizzy had just started what their mother had called ‘becoming a woman’ the previous summer, and had put on a lot of weight, particularly in the hips and bust, and had become the butt end of a lot of jokes between the boys in town.

Lizzy shoved him roughly, snarling. “Shut your mouth, snot-breath.” He’d only staggered back half a step and continued to grin at her. “She’s four years younger than you, let her be.” They both stood their ground.

“Gotta prepare her for the scary world though, it’s my duty as her elder.” He swooped down suddenly, and kissed her on the cheek, dropping the worm down the front of her dress at the same time before running towards the edge of the property. “See you Em,” he said, ruffling her hair as he passed, then jumped over the fence. Moments later he was gone.
Lizzy scowled, extracting the worm from her top, throwing it with a disgusted look. Fuming, she turning to Emma, who was shaking her hair back to place.

“You look a mess,” she said, her tone softening so she sounded like a mother already. Emma looked down at her dress, a moan escaping her lips when she saw the mess on her front. Lizzy sighed.

“Come into the house, we’ll get you cleaned up. I’ll wash your dress tonight.” Emma nodded sadly and slipped her hand into her sisters before walking with her back towards the house.