“I need another $10,000 to open the way I want.” He complained like a spoiled child.
“So? Write a check and leave.” Lisa’s snide suggestion was met with a blank stare from Stefan.
“It’s not that simple. If Charlotte would have managed her finances better, I wouldn’t be in this jam.”
He observed Lisa who seemed as uninterested as Charlotte regarding his business dilemma. She was starting to bore him. Other than sex, she had little else to offer.
“Maybe I could round up the cash,” she said.
Stefan’s eyes and mouth transformed instantaneously. Then again, she always was full of surprises.
“Yeah?” He licked the edge of his mouth – a silent code begging her to continue.
“My uncle may be interested.” She shrugged offhandedly.
Ah, two can play this game he thought.
“It would be a relief. We could finally be together.” He offered the promise with the allure equivalent to a bag of AB Negative dangling in front of her.
Lisa pushed herself away from the desk and coiled her arms around Stefan’s neck. Her firm grip pulled his face close to hers.
“I’m getting impatient.” Her voice growled low.
“Me, too.” Stefan tried to kiss her but she resisted. He knew his placating ways with her were over. Such a pity, he thought. He detested conflict although it appeared that it may be necessary with Charlotte in the very near future.
“Hey Stefan, can you come see if this wall plug is in the right location?” Tony asked while standing at the doorway.
“Be right back,” Stefan said as he kissed Lisa’s forehead, silently thanking Tony for the interruption. Saved by the contractor!
“I’ll be here,” Lisa said pleasantly as he left. “But not for long.”
With Stefan gone, she shut the office door and slid her hand inside the pockets of his jacket hanging on the door. Satisfied with her find, she jingled Stefan’s keychain and slipped off his house key. “Waiting’s over.”
While waiting at Celine’s, Charlotte had tucked inside a corner booth with a good view of the door. As the doorbell chimed with each entry, she’d raise her head in search of Celine’s signal to indicate whether the customers who had arrived may be the ones Stefan knew.
She had drifted off again with her head resting against the vinyl-padded backing when two boisterous couples entered. Regaining her focus, she observed one of the couples – a handsome, young man with thin, bleached hair and his companion, an attractive older woman. About the same time, she saw Celine walking towards her nodding her head.
Her heart quickened. She scrutinized the couple closer, in particular the louder one who appeared to be doing most of the talking.
“What time is it?” Charlotte asked Celine.
“About two-thirty. Listen and see if you think these are the folks,” Celine offered as she turned towards the foursome. “Be right over.”
The blonde-haired man cowered at Celine’s words until the mature woman nudged him to speak.
“No problem. Send over Jada.” He spoke boldly and clearly.
Icy shivers chipped at Charlotte’s heart. She acknowledged the voice as the same distinct Southern accent she’d heard that night.
“Why don’t you go over there?” Charlotte asked.
But Celine had no cause. “People of the night are afraid of people of the light. I see right through them,” Celine told her. “You convinced?”
Charlotte rose and gave Celine a hug. “Thank you Celine. I’m going to save my marriage.”
Before Celine could close her open mouth and respond, Jada sided next to her as Charlotte left.
“That girl refuses to see the light.” Celine muttered her discouragement aloud.
Jada scanned the café with confusion. “What light?”
* ~ *
Chapter Twenty-Five: Shedding a Little Light
By the time Charlotte arrived back home, threads of light lined the horizon. She had purposely driven slower as she wanted to avoid Stefan until she found out whether her new plan would work.
She quickly showered and grabbed a bite to eat to absorb the acidity of all the coffee. She didn’t want to appear too jittery when she met the loan officer at the new bank that had been courting her for years.
During her drive, Charlotte thought that if the money and club issues were put to rest, she and Stefan could focus on their marriage. While her existing bank had declined a loan increase, she wondered whether transitioning her business account to the new bank may yield her more favorable results.
Her instinct was correct. Eager to gain a new business customer and extend a smaller loan that met the club’s needs to open, Charlotte hurried through the process in less than two hours – exhausted from the Charleston hiatus.
As she pushed through the bank doors, the late morning sun was in full force causing her to shield her eyes and almost collide with the person standing in front of her.
Perry. She was taken aback and so was he.
“Charlotte, I didn’t know you banked here,” he said.
“I don’t. I mean I do now,” she stumbled with her answer. “How are you?”
“Good. How about you? How are Stefan and the baby?”
Suddenly Charlotte felt gloomy. The good feeling of the new loan was washed away with the reality that Stefan was still Stefan. The vampire husband.
As she looked into Perry’s eyes, she was reminded of his integrity. He was of the light. The thought made Charlotte feel guilty for the comparison. She was bound by her choice: ‘til death do us part.
“Great. We’re all doing fine,” she answered. “Good seeing you Perry.”
He nodded with genuine agreement, and went inside.
Charlotte plodded to her car, disoriented from lack of sleep when she heard her name.
“Charlotte.”
She turned back to see Perry’s kind face.
“If you ever need anything, you know you can always call me.”
“Thanks Perry,” she said holding back the tears. “You’re a good guy.”
He embraced her as proper as he would with any distant relative, then left.
Inside her car, Charlotte heaved sobs of uncertainty. She was trying to save her marriage yet already felt defeated.
The feelings of failure continued to haunt her throughout the day. Unable to sleep, Charlotte had waited until the hour when Stefan would depart his sleeping chamber to confront him.
As she freshened up, she realized that the concealer and face powder did little to hide the fine lines of fatigue and sorrow. She chose to wear something more cheery than her usual conservative attire although the bright colors seemed out of context as the sun set into the evening.
Standing opposite his chamber door, Charlotte waited as Stefan exited his sleeping quarters.
“Charlotte, where have you been?” He was astounded to see her.
“I had to take some time to think.” Her voice shook with hesitation.
Her uneasiness put Stefan ill at ease, too. He hated these oncoming feeling sessions. Why couldn’t she keep everything at a surface level?
“You didn’t leave a note,” he complained. “Where’d you go?”
“Charleston.”
Now he was really surprised. “You know we can’t afford getaway trips like that right now.”
“I did it for us. I had to find out the truth.”
To Stefan, the truth of her discovery sounded like it involved too much emotion. All he wanted to do was escape to his club.
He started walking towards the bathroom sink adjacent to their bedroom as Charlotte trailed behind.
Stefan rigorously brushed his teeth with particular attention to his front canines while giving himself more time to think.
“The truth about what?” This time his voice registered agitation, which usually caused Charlotte to back off.
He spit and rinsed before going to the next task of lathering his face with shaving cream.
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“About you. I know,” she said more confident than she normally did when having these types of discussions.
This really made him nervous. Quickly, he slathered additional cream to hide the peculiar feeling of discomfort.
Okay, he thought. He’d go a bit stronger with the anger.
“You know what? Come on, Charlotte. Quit the guessing games. I’ve got to get to work.”
He eyed her amid the foam on his face but all he saw was her sincere face etched with sadness.
“Stefan, I really want this marriage to work.”
“And that’s why you’re sneaking off to Charleston?”
“You seem to be hiding something.”
“You know about my sleeping disorder.”
“I’m not talking about that.”
“Then what are you talking about? Just say it.”
Then he wondered. Did she know? Would she say it aloud? What would she do if she did? There was Stephanie to consider. As much as these discussions made him irritable, it made him more aggravated to think his life may have to be altered when it was quite comfortable for him the way that it was. Despite Lisa’s remarks, he didn’t want things to change or his opportunity to supersede his status quo existence. He may not be able to accumulate worldly assets, however, with Charlotte, that all changed.
She reached over to hug him tightly. “I’m afraid, Stefan. I’m afraid I’m going to lose you. You’re the father of our baby.”
“You are going to lose me if you can’t trust me. I don’t know what more I can do. I’m working hard to get this club going, and I’m under extreme pressure since you haven’t been able to come up with the extra money.”
“That’s why I want us to talk. I did come up with the extra money. I took out another loan today.”
At once, he softened his approach and moved in closer. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I got the idea driving back from Charleston this morning.” Charlotte broke down and cried.
“You’re the best,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
The front door deadbolt of Charlotte’s house turned fluidly. Neither Stefan nor Charlotte heard the click of the key or saw the outside darkness leak into the hallway as Lisa stood in the entrance listening carefully to the sounds in the back bedroom.
Stefan had told her that Charlotte would be working that evening and she had planned to capture him at home for a swift session, as their episodes at the club had grown stale. Besides, Lisa had been fasting for awhile and if Charlotte happened to be in the way, well, so be it.
The sounds of arguing caused Lisa to gloat. The sounds of crying were even better until she ventured further down the hall, closer to the bedroom door and heard the dreaded words. The intimate details Stefan had shared with her about his loveless marriage were contrary to what she now heard.
“Oh, Stefan, I love you,” she heard Charlotte say.
Cocking her head to hear better, she was stunned to hear Stefan’s reply. “I love you, too.”
The sounds that followed were incomprehensible to her. How could Stefan act the same way with her as he did his wife?
As Lisa’s body hardened with wrath, she backed out to leave. Her steps against the hardwood floors were purposely heavy and her anger propelled the determined click of the door’s deadbolt before she left.
In the bedroom, Charlotte abruptly broke from Stefan’s embrace. “Ssh. Stefan, did you hear that?”
With an indolent smile, Stefan pretended to listen then gently pushed her back against the bed and resumed his kisses.
“No listen,” Charlotte insisted.
“That’s the old Charlotte, always worrying.”
“I guess I am kind of jumpy. I haven’t slept in thirty-six hours.”
“You’ll sleep well soon,” Stefan assured her.
* ~ *
Chapter Twenty-Six: Back on Track
It was a little slow for a Thursday evening as Victor headed out to the bar area where he spotted Mickey hanging up the phone.
“Oh, there you are,” she said. “That was your friend Damon on the phone.”
“Yeah? What’d he say?”
“He’s coming to Charlotte and wants to get together.”
Victor was pleased since he hadn’t seen Damon in years. He always enjoyed an update on New Orleans including the people they mutually knew.
“Wait till I show him pictures of Stephanie. Have you seen her new one?” Victor reached for his wallet.
Mickey smirked. “Not since the one where she’s four months, seventeen days, and eight hours old. Your friend has no idea of what he’s in for. It’ll take him days to get through Uncle Victor’s brag book.”
“I can’t help it, the kid’s cute.” Victor scowled at Mickey’s playful ridicule. “Damon say why he’s coming?”
“Yeah, some investment opportunity.”
Victor shrugged. He didn’t recall Damon having interests in Charlotte other than Lisa, and now she was gone. Or was she, he wondered. With a frown, he watched Mickey sip her soda water. He hated when she was right.
* ~ *
At the club, the contractors humorously strolled by Stefan’s closed office door to linger and listen to the muffled, escalating voices on the other side.
“I thought she was gone and besides, you said it was over,” Lisa yelled at Stefan inside the room.
Equally forceful, Stefan yelled back. “It is.”
“That’s not what I heard.” Lisa recalled the previous night’s discovery with venom.
“Give me a break. I am a married man.” Stefan slammed the folder against his desk.
The evening had been worse than a roller coaster ride. First Charlotte and all her emotions. Now Lisa. “How’d you get in?”
Lisa held up a single key between her scarlet-painted nails. “I made a copy.”
“Give it back.” His patience was short.
She reluctantly complied. “I was going to surprise you.”
His tone weakened. All the conflict had worn on him. “Listen, I’m working as hard as I can to make this break as smooth as possible. I have a baby girl to think about.”
“Well my uncle’s coming to town and I want to make sure the break happens before he puts in the money.”
Stefan always did like her surprises as they came with fewer heartstrings than Charlotte’s. “How much is he talking?”
“You said $10,000.”
Stefan easily calculated that he’d have double what he needed. “And where do you fit in?”
Lisa pushed herself against him. “Right here. I’m your new business partner.”
With the extra money, he could leave Charlotte and get that custom sectional he wanted for the waiting area. He could always see Stephanie on the single dad schedule, which was appealing – every other weekend, one night a few hours a week. Then, he'd have Lisa to help him full-time with the club. Naturally, she understood him better. They wanted the same things. He and Charlotte were too different. They’d had a good time but it had apparently run its course. He’d wait until the club was up and running, then give her the news. Time to move on.
* ~ *
June was feeding Stephanie when Charlotte arrived. Although the baby gave her best arm reach for her mom, it was only temporary as she had discovered a new favorite: rice cereal that was splattered across her cherub cheeks and puckered lips.
Charlotte didn’t mind the mess. She pulled Stephanie from the high chair and hugged her tightly.
“How was she?” she asked June.
June was obviously smitten. “She’s a good baby. Took her bottle right at two and went back to bed. With the cereal, she’s sleeping much better.”
“Thank you for watching her. It’s given me time to get things straight with Stefan.”
She could see that June was eager to hear more. She knew that she’d been praying for her. No one had to tell her but that’s how June was – a prayer warrior, praying for those who often didn’t have the confiden
ce to pray for themselves.
“I’m happy for you both, Charlotte. Club opening soon?”
Charlotte nodded.
“Stefan found an outside partner so we have more time to finish up a few items. This way, he’ll be able to watch Stephanie since I’m going to be putting in extra hours.”
“You two have a lot on your plate.” June’s comment hit a sore spot of reality.
“I know but it’s worth the stress,” Charlotte answered.
“Stress?” June asked.
She shrugged slightly. “We have a few bills due.”
However, the few bills pile had grown considerably larger. By the time Charlotte arrived at the shop, Tammy pointed to the collected mail from the past several days.
“You win a contest?” Tammy teased her. “I’ve never known you to receive so much mail.”
“I must be on some list,” Charlotte mumbled. A feeling of dread dropped like a brick inside her stomach.
“Say, sure you don’t need me for the next couple of nights?” Tammy asked. “That wedding on Saturday is a monster project. It’ll take double the hours to get all those arrangements ready.”
“Thanks, Tammy. I’ve already got it handled.”
“Oh, okay. I was offering because I could use the extra money,” Tammy said.
Charlotte stared forlornly at the large pile of financial obligations. Me, too.
* ~ *
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Night Moves
Lisa’s Uncle Damon had departed the club by the time the banker handed the final papers to Stefan.
“Congratulations on your outside investment,” the banker told Stefan. “Tonight’s meeting gives new meaning to personal banking.” The peculiar man left with a chuckle as he headed out the door.
Stefan assumed the man was amused with himself for the personal banking comment but his attention had already shifted to Lisa who eyed him with lust. He responded by pinning her down on top of his desk and nipping a love bite to her neck.
“You’re the best,” he told her.
“I’m glad you know that because the best deserves more than I’m getting now.”
Charlotte Marries a Vampire Page 10