“I’m Marcus.”
“I know.”
“You were warned?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry.”
Lily stared.
Marcus pointed behind himself.
“I can stay here.”
“Okay.”
He leaned against doorframe.
Silence.
Emily smiled nervously.
Marcus ignored her.
He looked only at Lily.
Ellen knew what he was doing.
Not making her mother the translator.
Not talking around the child.
Lily finally asked:
“Where’s your scar?”
Marcus raised one eyebrow.
“That fast?”
“You came because of scar.”
“Fair.”
He removed his black vest.
Underneath was the pale-pink hoodie.
Lily blinked.
Emily covered a smile.
Marcus looked down at himself.
“I’ve been told this is fashionable.”
Lily’s mouth moved.
Almost.
“You look weird.”
“Good.”
He pulled the hoodie on fully, careful around his beard.
Then he turned his head.
The right side of his short gray hair revealed the old surgical line curving from above his ear toward the crown.
Pale now.
Uneven.
Visible.
Lily stared.
Marcus did not move closer.
“Used to be darker.”
She leaned slightly.
“Did you have staples?”
“Thirty-eight.”
“I have forty-three.”
Marcus looked offended.
“You win.”
A tiny sound escaped Lily.
Not quite laugh.
Almost.
Marcus continued:
“Mine came out years ago.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Some pinched.”
“Some didn’t.”
“Did you cry?”
Marcus considered lying.
Then:
“Yeah.”
Lily looked surprised.
“You’re huge.”
“Still have nerves.”
“Did you scream?”
“One time.”
Emily’s eyebrows rose.
Marcus added:
“Then I claimed I was coughing.”
Lily smiled.
First real smile since the dressing came off.
Ellen looked away for a moment because sometimes witnessing relief hurt too.
Lily touched her hood.
“Did people stare at you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they could see scar.”
“Did you hate them?”
“Some.”
“Did you hide?”
“Yes.”
Lily looked intensely.
“For how long?”
“Months.”
The room became quiet.
Emily had expected a lesson about confidence.
Marcus gave confession instead.
Lily asked:
“What did you wear?”
“Hats.”
“Beanies.”
“Bandanas.”
“This hoodie.”
“That one?”
“Older version.”
Lily looked at her own pink sleeves.
“Why did you stop?”
Marcus’s face changed.
“My daughter got annoying.”
“How old?”