by Tamie Dearen
“Well, I think you should keep this text and file a complaint about her.”
He sighed. “Whatever. I don’t have the motivation to do anything since Charlie’s left me.”
“So that’s it? You’re giving up?”
“She doesn’t love me.” He slumped in his chair.
“You just need to talk to her and straighten things out.”
“She won’t talk to me.”
“She’ll be at the New Year’s Eve party tonight, won’t she? You can talk to her there.”
“She probably won’t go. I don’t know if I can stand to see her, anyway.” He dropped his face into his hands and moaned.
She stood and put her hands on her hips. “Stop being so tragic and melodramatic. Do you love her or not?”
“I do. But she doesn’t believe me.”
“Go to the party. Make her listen.”
“I already told her I love her, but she won’t believe me. There’s no reasoning with her.”
“She’s a girl. You don’t reason with a girl. You have to appeal to her emotions. Let her see you’re devastated without her.”
“How can I do that? She won’t believe that either. Nothing will work. It’s hopeless!”
“Good grief! Just go and be like this. She can’t help but see how messed up you are. You’re ridiculous.”
“You think so?” He blinked rapidly, his eyes brimming with tears.
“That you’re undeniably ridiculous?” Olivia asked. “Absolutely.”
“AND THEN YOU BROKE up with him?” asked Emily.
“Yes, I had to. It was the right thing to do,” said Charlie.
“How do you figure?”
“He only promised to marry me because of the kids. He didn’t even ask me—I asked him. He made a commitment to me based on the fact I was his only hope of gaining custody. He was willing to do anything he had to do to make the adoption happen. But I don’t want to hold him to a stupid promise based on a false assumption.”
“Not even if he wants to be held to that ‘stupid promise’? He’s in love with you, Charlie.”
“He’s not in love, Emily—he’s in lust. He thinks he’s in love with me, but he really only has a physical attraction. The marriage commitment was just about the kids. It was never about the two of us.”
“I think you’re wrong, Charlie.”
“I wish I were wrong, Emily—I really do. But I know I’m right.” She sucked in a huge breath and blew it out through puffed cheeks. “And I need your help tonight at the party. I can’t let him kiss me, because he messes with my mind. So I have to keep my distance. You’ve got to keep him from getting me alone.”
“I don’t know, Charlie.”
“Please. You’re my sister. You have to help me.”
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Just make sure we’re never alone together. I was thinking maybe I should go with someone else.”
“Like who?”
Charlie made a face. “Maybe Collin?”
“Ewwww! Really?”
“Got a better idea?”
“How about Derek?” Emily suggested.
“Do you really think he’d be willing? After all we put him through on the ski trip?”
“Are you kidding? He loved it. I’m betting he’d do it just to get invited to the Gherring Inc. Christmas Party.”
Charlie’s lips curved in a wobbly smile. “I bet you’re right. Thanks, Sister.”
“AND SHE BROKE UP WITH you?” said Brad.
“You were right—I let her think too much. She talked herself right out of the engagement.” Josh moaned into his hands.
“What did she say?”
“She said she wouldn’t ruin my life by holding me to a promise I made by mistake.”
“So she’s still convinced the only reason you wanted to marry her was because of the custody battle?”
“Yep.”
“But you’re really in love with her?”
“Yes. It’s worse than ever, now that I got my hopes up.”
“But isn’t she in love with you, too?”
“I thought maybe she was kind of in love. At least I thought she was getting there. But now I guess there’s no chance.”
“Well, you can’t take this lying down. You’ve got to fight back.”
“What do you mean?”
“The party tonight... Maybe you should show up with someone else—a date. Maybe if she sees you with someone else she’ll get jealous. Maybe she’ll realize she has feelings for you after all.”
“Do you really think so?”
“It’s your only hope,” Brad declared.
EMILY ANSWERED HER cell phone. “Hey, Grace.”
“Olivia just told me about Charlie and Josh. What are we going to do? We have to get them together at the party tonight.”
“Actually, I promised Charlie I would help keep Josh from getting her alone. She says his kisses mess with her mind.”
“You’re not really going to do that are you?”
“I had to promise because she was so upset.”
“But you and I both know she needs to be with Josh.”
“Yes, but I can’t go behind her back. I gave my word.”
“Well, luckily I didn’t give my word. I’ll just have to do it myself. I’ll figure out a way to get them alone together.”
“It may be hard. She’s inviting Derek to go with her as extra protection.”
“Okay. Good to know. I’ll have a contingency plan.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll think of something.”
ANNE HATED TO BE THE bearer of bad news, especially to Gram. For a tiny woman, she had a huge temper. “I’m only telling you what she told me, Gram. She said they’ve called off the wedding because Josh doesn’t need to get married.”
“Humph! And what does Josh say?”
“I don’t think she’s taking his phone calls.”
“I’ve been saying all along they were rushing into this,” Steven said.
“Hush, Steven,” said Gram. “It took me fifty years to get you married. You have no idea whatsoever about the proper timing of love and marriage.”
“That’s not fair, Gram. I got married as soon as I met the right woman—it’s not my fault it took so long to find her.”
“Yes, but Josh and Charlie have already found each other, and there’s no reason for them to wait,” Gram said.
“Evidently, Charlie’s not convinced,” said Anne. “I really am surprised, though. I know she was in love with him. Maybe she discovered he doesn’t love her.”
“No,” said Steven. “Josh is definitely in love with Charlie—he told me. I think they simply decided to be sensible and not rush things.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Gram. “You can’t be sensible about these things. It takes all the romance out of it.”
“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it. Especially if they aren’t even talking to each other,” Anne said.
“I wouldn’t say there’s nothing we can do,” said Gram.
“Gram.” Steven’s voice growled a warning. “Don’t start interfering. They’ll work it out themselves if it’s meant to be.”
“I wouldn’t dream of interfering,” said Gram. She mumbled in a barely audible voice, “Why dream when you can have the real thing?”
“YOU’RE TAKING IRIS Winger to the New Year’s Eve party tonight?” Olivia’s voice was shrill. “Why are you taking a date when you want to get Charlie back?”
“It was Brad’s idea. He said it would make her jealous.”
“It might make her jealous. Or it might confirm her belief you don’t love her after all.”
“Do you really think so?” He kicked at the floor. “I can’t catch a break.”
“It’s okay,” she said, patting his arm as her mind raced. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. You could always ditch her after you get there. Iris is a huge flirt, and she’s so insipid she probably won’t even
notice.”
“Should I let Charlie see us together or not?”
“I guess it’s possible Charlie could come with a date. So maybe you should wait and see.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to stand it if she’s there with someone else. Maybe I just won’t go.” He looked like he might consider jumping in front of a moving bus.
“No, you have to go. It’s your best chance.” She tapped her fingernail on her chin. “Oh! You should wear a tux. Girls are suckers for a guy in a tuxedo. She’ll be practically drooling when she sees you. And Iris is pretty hot, even if she is brainless. Maybe this will work out after all.”
“You think so?” His smile was earnest.
“Absolutely,” she said, with more confidence than she felt.
“HI, GRAM. WHAT’S UP? You don’t usually call me.”
“Charlie, we have a problem.”
“We do?”
“Yes, it’s about the wedding dress. My dressmaker won’t give me a refund.”
“I’m sorry, Gram. But maybe I can keep the dress and use it sometime in the future. I really hope I’ll get married someday.”
“No, by then we might want a different style. So she’s altering a dress for you to wear tonight instead.”
“Tonight? But Gram, I wasn’t even planning to wear a dress. It’s cold outside.”
“Can’t you wear a coat when you’re outside?”
“Yes. But Gram, I was going to wear pants and a sweater.”
“It’s too late. I already told her to alter the dress for you. Now be a dear and wear it for me. I’m dressing up, and I want to get a picture with you and your sister.”
“But Emily’s not dressing up.”
“Humph! Yes, she is. She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT,” Anne told Steven.
“What’s my fault this time?”
“Josh and Charlie breaking up. You suggested the marriage wasn’t a good idea.”
“I did not. I merely suggested they were rushing into marriage for the wrong reasons. And I was obviously correct. And thanks to me, they found out they didn’t need to get married for Josh to gain custody.”
“Thanks to you? What did you have to do with it?”
“We simply did a bit of investigative work and discovered it was all a misunderstanding. Then we encouraged Mr. and Mrs. Parsons to ask for a meeting.”
“Then it really is all your fault.”
“My fault? For guaranteeing Josh the custody he wanted and helping the Parsons be grandparents to both Chloe and Josh? That’s my fault?”
“Couldn’t you have done that without breaking up their marriage?”
“I didn’t break up their marriage—they did that all on their own. Charlie wouldn’t have broken up with him if she were really in love with him.”
“Steven, can you really be that dense? Don’t you remember when I ran out of the Christmas Party and tried to fly back to Texas?”
“Yes, but that was different. You didn’t know I was in love with you.” Anne pressed her lips into a firm line, crossing her arms and fixing him with a stare.
“Okay,” he admitted. “I can see a similarity. But I managed to stop you from leaving and convinced you to marry me without any help.”
“Oh really? What if Rayna hadn’t informed you where I was and then prevented me from getting in the taxi?”
“Fine, I had some help. But I asked for it.”
“I wouldn’t have even gone to the party except for Johanna’s encouragement and Gram’s interference.
Steven sighed his resignation. “Fine. I give up. What do you want me to do?”
“OHMYGOSH! I CAN’T WEAR this dress!” Charlie stood, mortified, in a short, tight, black backless halter dress with a deep plunge and a side slit.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. What’s wrong with it?” asked the dressmaker with an anxiety-ridden face. “I’m sure it’s the one Mrs. Gherring specified. I had to take it up quite a bit to make it fit you.”
“Maybe you cut away too much of the fabric when you took it up.”
“No ma’am. I assure you, that’s just the style of the dress.”
“Well it doesn’t cover much of anything. I can’t even wear a bra with it.”
“That’s okay. I’ve brought along these little stick-on cups for you, and here’s some tape to keep it from gapping anywhere.”
“Oh, I’m sure Gram didn’t realize the dress was this... this uhmm... small. It’s not your fault. But maybe there’s something else I can trade it for. Something that covers a little more.” Charlie crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to peer around the seamstress into her outer shop area.
“But this dress has already been altered. You can’t trade it in.” She tugged on the dress, smoothing the seams. “And if you’ll put your arms down, I think it fits perfectly. Maybe you’ll like it better with the jacket on.”
“Oh! It has a jacket?” Charlie sighed in relief. “Perfect. Let’s try it on!”
The woman helped her slide the jacket over her wrapped arm.
“What kind of jacket is this? It only covers my arms,” she said, tugging on it. “And it’s see-through!”
“Well, yes. It’s just a sheer arm-jacket. You wouldn’t want to hide the dress with an opaque jacket.”
“I don’t want to hide the dress. I want to hide what the dress doesn’t hide. I can’t go to the New Year’s Eve party naked.”
“But you won’t be naked at all. Look... This is the same dress Virea Shane wore on the red carpet.” She held up a glossy magazine photo in front of Charlie’s face.
“I’m not Virea Shane. I don’t even wear dresses, much less little-tiny-nothing dresses. I go by the name Charlie. Don’t you understand? I’m not used to displaying my girl parts for everyone to see.”
“Everything will be fine, Charlie,” the woman soothed. “Why don’t you have a glass of wine? Let me tape you into this and no one will see your girl parts—I promise. This dress will only make them watch you, hoping for a glance. But it won’t happen.”
“I don’t want to be watched,” she protested in misery. “Can’t you at least close up the slit in the skirt? It’s going to show my underwear.”
She tsked her disapproval. “I’ll sew up the slit a bit, but it will make it harder to dance.”
“I can’t possibly dance in this dress. I’ll be hiding in the shadows.”
“Mrs. Gherring said you might be a bit reluctant, but I never expected this.” She chuckled as she stitched.
“Gram knew I wouldn’t like the dress? Then why did she pick it?”
“I’m not sure. She mentioned some man’s name. Collin? Maybe that’s your date tonight?”
“Gram said something about Collin? Are you sure?”
“Let’s see, her exact words were, ‘Hopefully Collin will like the dress. I hate to waste a wedding cake.’”
“Gram wants me to marry Collin?” She tasted something awful in the back of her throat.
“Now you didn’t hear that from me,” said the dressmaker. “I don’t want to get in trouble with Mrs. Gherring.” As she completed her stitching and taping, she stood back and surveyed her work. “You look simply stunning, my dear. I’m certain Collin will be pleased.”
“I don’t want Collin to be pleased,” she complained, pulling on her overcoat.
“Well, I can tell you right now, he’s going to be pleased unless you manage to hide from his sight. I can’t imagine a man who wouldn’t be pleased to see you tonight.”
“Ughh! This just complicates things.” She slipped on her trench coat and buttoned it to her neck. “Thanks for your help. I’m sorry I’m not more grateful. I’m sure you did your best to please my Gram, and she’s the one paying the bill.”
“Yes, indeed,” she smiled. “Have a great time at the party tonight.”
AS THE DOOR CLICKED shut behind Charlie, the dressmaker called, “You can come out now, Margaret!”
“You were
magnificent, Elaine. You should have been on Broadway. You were well worth the bonus.” Gram wore a broad, satisfied smile.
“She doesn’t seem too fond of this Collin, fellow.”
“Oh that’s fine.” She waved her hand. “He’s not the target anyway. Yes, yes, yes. Everything’s going according to plan.”
“SO CHARLIE. THANKS for coming by. Why don’t you come inside and get comfortable for a minute? Don’t you want to take your coat off?” Steven observed her with concern. Why is her coat buttoned to her neck when it’s warm inside? And her face is flushed. Does she have a fever?
“No thanks, I’m comfortable with it on. Why did you want to talk to me before the party?”
“Your mother wanted me to talk to you. Uhmmm...” He paused, searching for the right words. “She thinks you might have misunderstood my intentions. When I said you were rushing into the marriage for the wrong reasons, I didn’t mean I thought you shouldn’t get married.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I just wanted to make sure you were...” He cleared his throat. “I wanted you to think about it, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to talk you out of it altogether.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. But thanks, anyway.” She turned to go.
“Charlie, wait. Why did you call it off? Why not just postpone it? After all, you told me you loved each other, didn’t you?”
“We said that, but...” Her hand rose to her throat, and her chin trembled. “But it wasn’t true. I mean, it wasn’t true for him, anyway.”
“What you’re saying is you love Josh, but he doesn’t love you?”
She nodded, her eyes downcast and her expression miserable. Anne was right—Charlie was clearly lost and afraid.
“Charlie, have you ever heard the phrase, ‘Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water?’”
“Yes, but I always thought that didn’t make any sense.” She gave him a wobbly smile.
“Well, it does if you know the origin of the phrase. Supposedly, there was a time when an entire household would bathe in the same water—first the husband, then the wife, then the children, and lastly the baby. And the water would be so black at the end, one could accidentally throw out the baby when trying to get rid of the dirty water.”