“Why is that?”
“You know why, Hailey.”
Charlie lifted herself up and pressed a soft hand to Hailey’s stomach. Hailey did know why. She smiled and nodded up at Charlie, who leaned down and kissed her. The phone buzzed again, indicating that Ember wanted her update, but they let it buzz and buzz. Nothing else in the world mattered in that moment, because that moment was everything.
EPILOGUE
“I can’t believe you had two at once. You two are classic overachievers,” Hailey said as she held the tiny baby in her arms.
“We talked about having two before. I guess we just got lucky,” Hannah replied while she ran her hands through Alyssa’s hair as the still exhausted woman lay in her lap.
“So, no more after this?” Charlie asked and let the little boy try to tug at her finger, even though his small hand was in its little baby mitten to keep him from scratching himself. “You got two, and you got the boy and the girl.”
“They’re so small,” Hailey remarked as she looked down at the little girl.
Charlie smiled at her girlfriend and wrapped her arm around her, pulling her into her side.
“I literally just had these two. Let’s give it some time before we consider adding any more.” Alyssa looked up at Hannah who smiled down at her.
“Fine by me,” Hannah agreed.
The infant in Hailey’s arms started to fuss.
“Here. I’ll take her.” Alyssa sat up, and Hailey passed her the baby. “Come here, little Lizzy.” She kissed her forehead and rocked the baby back and forth.
“Where are my grandchildren?” Judy, Alyssa’s mother, walked down the stairs.
“They’re right here, mom. They can’t exactly walk off.”
“Can I see my baby boy?” Judy approached Charlie. Charlie passed over the quiet child. “Tyler, are you ready for a nap?” she asked.
“I’ll take Lizzy up.” Alyssa kissed Hannah on the cheek. “Be right back.”
Alyssa walked off and then up the stairs with her mother and the babies.
“She is a great mom,” Hannah said to no one in particular.
“I think you’re both great moms,” Hailey offered.
“Guys, this one made me late, I swear.” Ember entered in through the front door with Eva close behind.
“She’s right. My fault.” Eva raised her hand. “I was reviewing her paper, and since I don’t understand half of it, it took me a while.”
“Why were you reviewing it then?” Charlie asked.
“I check for typos mainly. But it makes her feel better when I read them first, for some reason,” Eva explained.
“I just think she’s hot when she rocks out those new reading glasses,” Ember said and sat on the couch next to Hannah. “Where are the babies?”
“Al and Judy just took them up for a nap.”
“What? We only came here to see them?” Ember said with a sad face.
“She’s kidding.” Eva sat on Ember’s side and smacked her shoulder lightly.
“It’s true, but can I just go say hi before they fall asleep?”
“Sure, but if they say hi back, let me know,” Hannah returned.
“That would be Ember’s kid,” Charlie stated. “She’d pop out a little genius that could talk from birth.”
“Babe, a little you.” Eva looked awestruck by the idea.
“We’ll talk about that later,” she said to Eva. “You, stop it.” She pointed at Charlie as she stood and headed up the stairs.
“She puts on a big show, but she’s a softie,” Eva told the room.
“She wants them, doesn’t she?” Hailey asked and leaned in closer to Charlie, placing her hand on Charlie’s thigh.
“She does,” Eva said. “She just wants to get her Ph. D first. Then, we’ll start figuring that out.”
“We’re going to have more little nieces and nephews.” Hailey kissed Charlie’s cheek.
Charlie smiled and rolled her eyes.
“You two all settled in now?” Hannah asked.
“I am officially out of my old studio and moved into Charlie’s apartment. Well, our place now.”
“It’s been our place for a while. She just still had the lease,” Charlie added.
“How does it feel to be officially living together now?” Eva questioned.
“Weirdly the same,” Hailey said.
“Yeah, Hails was pretty much always at my place even before we started dating.”
“And that didn’t tell you anything?” Ember bounded down the stairs and back next to her wife. “They’re asleep. I was in the way, so I was told to leave before Alyssa murdered me for waking them up.”
“Where’s Al?” Hannah asked.
“Judy told her to try to get some sleep while they’re out. She’s in the process of resisting,” Ember relayed.
“That Judy is a smart woman,” Hannah returned. “I’m going to go check on my wife and try to convince her to sleep.” She stood.
“Do you want us to go so you can get some too?” Hailey checked.
“No, you don’t have to,” Hannah answered. “We’re doing this shift thing from one of the books. We pretend like we actually know what we’re doing.”
“I read this study that mentioned-”
“Hails, 78% of studies turn out to be wrong,” Ember said.
“What study was that in?” Hailey asked.
Ember just laughed silently and shook her head. Charlie kissed her temple and pulled her closer.
“Hannah, why don’t you, Al, and Judy take a nap? Em and I can keep watch over the little ones,” Eva offered. “It will give us a little practice.” She took Ember’s hand.
“You sure? I think I’ve had like six hours of sleep in three days. It could be a long nap,” Hannah said.
“Go for it,” Ember said and leaned into Eva.
“You guys are awesome,” Hannah replied. “I’ll tell Al and Judy. There’s food in the fridge, I think.” She shrugged.
Hannah disappeared quickly up the stairs, apparently believing Eva and Ember might change their minds.
“We’d stay too, but we have plans tonight.” Hailey looked at her watch. “We should probably go actually.”
“Oh, yeah.” Charlie turned Hailey’s wrist so that she could see the time. “Sorry.”
“No problem,” Ember said. “Have fun,” she said to them as they stood. “Want to order a pizza? You know there’s no food in that fridge.”
Eva smiled and rolled her eyes.
◆◆◆
Charlie and Hailey headed out to Hailey’s car and then back to their apartment. Charlie let Hailey “do the beep” as Hailey called it, and they walked in. They had to get ready for the event that was in exactly two hours.
“Do I have time for a shower?” Hailey asked. “I’ll make it fast, I promise.”
“Only if I can join you.” Charlie requested and followed her in the direction of the shower.
◆◆◆
“Do I look okay?” Hailey asked as she stood in front of Charlie in the kitchen.
“Hails, you always look okay.”
“I’m really asking. This isn’t some girlfriend trick question,” she replied.
Hailey was wearing a new dress she’d bought for the occasion. It was a pale pink and had a pencil skirt shape about it.
“And I answered you, Hailey. I’ve been in love with you for my entire adult life and thought you were hot since the moment I first laid eyes on you. I’m not exactly the one you need to talk to about what looks good on you. I think you’re hot when you’re eating chicken wings and wearing my old sweats and a t-shirt.” She thought for a moment. “That white tank top in particular. It’s kind of see-through.”
“You are no help,” Hailey said seriously. “But that was very sweet. You look nice too, by the way.”
Charlie had chosen a dress for herself that was off the shoulder in green, and she’d worn it because Hailey said it went well with Charlie’s dark eyes.
; “Thank you. You ready?”
“Let’s go.”
◆◆◆
The party was nearing full swing by the time they arrived and walked into the room hand-in-hand. The event was to celebrate both the completion of the project in Detroit for Summer’s company and the launch of the new Chicago office. Charlie’s team would be heading up the project and, thanks to Charlie’s success, she’d been promoted.
“Ladies, welcome,” Summer greeted when she saw them and delivered two glasses of champagne to them. “Glad you’re here.”
“Thank you,” Hailey told her, took the glasses, and handed the other to Charlie.
“How long are you staying in town this time, Sum?” Charlie asked.
Hailey let go of Charlie’s hand but looped her arm through Charlie’s arm instead. She’d gotten accustomed to Charlie’s friendship with the younger woman and was no longer bothered by their brief history in Detroit.
“I’m going to stay until the project’s finished. It’s too much flying back and forth from Cali. It’s just easier if I’m here, since the brother has decided to go on sabbatical. He’s twenty-seven. He’s not old enough to go on sabbatical. What does he need a sabbatical from?”
“You guys have been building a massive company since you were twenty years old. I can see needing a break from that,” Charlie replied.
“I guess. He’s going to tour around Asia for a while and has yet to provide me with a date for his return. I’m going to stay here and try to get actual work done.”
“It’ll be nice having you around more,” Hailey stated and found that she actually meant it.
“I actually wanted to talk to you tonight, if I can,” Summer said in Hailey’s direction.
“Me?”
“Yeah, can I borrow her for a minute, Charlie?”
“As long as I get her back,” Charlie replied with a wink in Hailey’s direction.
“Always, baby.” Hailey kissed her on the cheek and walked off with Summer, while Charlie went to find her team to congratulate them.
Since her promotion, Charlie had picked up another ten employees and had a supervisor between her and her overall team. It meant more responsibility. And she’d had some long days at the office while she wrapped project after project. But she’d come home to Hailey every night even before she’d officially moved in, and it made everything better. There was always this moment for Charlie where she’d be right outside her front door, she’d take a deep breath in and then out and open the door. Hailey was there every time. Sometimes, she’d make them dinner, or she’d ordered food in. Other times, they’d cook together, or Charlie would cook for her, while Hailey worked on her own stuff on the counter.
Charlie’s favorite nights were when they’d lie in bed together and whisper things to one another as if they’d be heard. Hailey would share things about her day or just something about one of those studies she’d read. They’d talk about the books they’d read and re-read in some cases. Hailey had even gotten them a few Nancy Drew books to go alongside those old Hardy Boys. She’d told Charlie that Kristy had been her favorite babysitter, while Charlie told her she liked Dawn the best. It had been silly and ridiculous, and Charlie loved every minute of it. She felt like she was getting to know a part of Hailey no one else knew. That made her love Hailey even more.
◆◆◆
“Hey.” Hailey returned, stood behind her and placed her hands on Charlie’s hips.
They were at a work party, so she wouldn’t take it further, but she wanted too. She loved the feel of Charlie pressed against her. Whenever they were together, she found it difficult not to touch her in some way. It had taken Ember pointing that out to her a few months ago that made her realize she’d always been like that. She’d always liked touching Charlie. Even when they were twenty-year-old kids, waiting tables, she’d always somehow found a way to sneak a touch. She’d often approached her from behind as Charlie filled cups with soda and touched her waist just like this, causing Charlie to jump in surprise. She’d been so young and so stupid back then.
“Hey back.” Charlie turned around to face her. She turned back. “I’ll see you guys later.” She waved at a few members of her team she’d been able to locate. “What did Summer want?”
“She offered me a job,” Hailey said and took Charlie’s hands in her own, allowing their fingers to play.
“She what?”
“She needs a new head of her PR department. They’ve gotten so big that there’s an actual department now, and she doesn’t have anyone in charge of it right now,” Hailey explained.
“Wow,” Charlie replied, happily. “What does that mean? Are you interested?”
“She said she’d call me and we can set up a time to talk formally. It sounds pretty interesting, though. I’d have a team under me. I could determine how the actual department works. Plus, she told me the potential salary, and, my God, Charlie, it’s like three times what I make now,” she exclaimed.
“That’s amazing, Hails.” Charlie took a long drink of her champagne and Hailey recognized it for what it was.
“Tell me what you’re thinking. Where’d you just go right now?” Hailey always recognized her mood shifts.
“Their main office is in Silicon Valley, Hails,” Charlie stated simply.
Hailey was grateful, because in moments like this, in their past, Charlie had often just pulled away and said nothing about it.
“Oh,” Hailey replied. “She said we could talk about that. They have multiple offices now, so I could likely just pick one to work out of and travel if I needed to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t know if I’ll take it or anything. We talked for, like, five minutes before she got grabbed by someone else. But now that she’s not sticking her tongue down your throat, I really like Summer. I’m willing to at least hear her out.”
“That’s great, babe.” Charlie said.
Hailey still liked the way she said ‘babe’. It was an interesting transition for them, because Hailey had had no problem calling Charlie ‘babe’ or ‘baby’ or other terms of endearment. Charlie stuck with Hails for a while and had only recently started calling her ‘babe’, and Hailey loved it.
“It could be.” She took Charlie’s glass and took a sip. “If I do take it, though, and we combine that with the nice raise you just got, we might be able to put a down payment on a house when the lease is up on our place.” She looked wishfully at Charlie.
“A house, huh?” Charlie teased her a little.
“It might be nice to have a place of our own, with a guest room for when people need to stay. Your mom has been wanting to visit, and if Ember and Eva come over and stay late, they could crash.”
“That’s true,” Charlie agreed. “Plus, I love you, and would like us to have a house together one day.”
“I know you’re usually little miss professional and this is a work event, but can I kiss you? Totally PG.”
Charlie leaned in and gave Hailey a sweet and all to brief kiss on the lips. Hailey stayed on Charlie’s arm most of the night, only breaking off a few times to get them drinks or chat with someone while Charlie moved on to talk to someone else. Summer found her just as the party was starting to die down. They confirmed plans to talk about the job the following Monday. Hailey had to admit to herself that she was excited at this possibility. She liked her job at the bank, but the past few months had been difficult. They’d taken over three months to find the replacement for her boss. And when they finally found it, Hailey didn’t like the guy. When he made a snide comment about the picture she had of herself and Charlie on her desk with Eddie in the grass between them, she lost what little respect she did have for him and had considered finding something else anyway. She’d sit down with Summer and see if this was the opportunity for her.
When they made it home at the end of the night, both of them were exhausted and ready for bed, but Hailey’s hunger came first, as she changed into pajamas alongside Charlie. Then, she went in
to the kitchen to grab a snack before sitting on the couch. Charlie joined her moments later with something in her hand.
“What’s that?” Hailey asked her and pointed to the item after crunching on a chip.
“It’s for you. I’ve finally finished it.”
“It?” Hailey checked. “Wait. That’s it?” She dropped the bag to the table and took the tube from Charlie.
“It’s the house, yeah,” Charlie said and turned to face Hailey on the couch.
Hailey smiled at her and wasted no time in pulling the top off of the slender tube and then sliding a few pieces of rolled up paper out. Charlie removed the tube and watched as Hailey leaned forward to unroll the pages onto the coffee table. The top page held the exterior front, side and back views of the two-story home, and Charlie placed a hand on Hailey’s back as she examined the architectural drawings.
“Charlie…” Hailey ran her fingers over the page and then glanced over at her. “It’s beautiful.”
“Look at the inside stuff.” Charlie nodded toward the pages beneath the top one.
Hailey removed the first page and revealed the first story of the house on the next one. The house would have an open floor plan with a spacious kitchen, living room and an office for Charlie. There was a dining room with enough room for a table that would comfortably fit eight people, and the deck off the back of the house led to rows of trees they’d plant, that would eventually grow and provide shade and cover from the rest of whatever neighborhood they’d build this house into. Hailey lifted to reveal the final page, which was the second story of the house. It was four bedrooms, and exactly what she’d asked for, with a large walk-in closet for them to share off the master bedroom. The master bathroom had dual sinks and a separate shower with spacious bathtub, also per Hailey’s request. She stared back at the first page and turned to Charlie.
“You drew everything,” she said.
“That was the idea, right?”
“You put a swing set in the backyard.”
“You said you’d want them to have somewhere to play back there.” Charlie shrugged.
Just Tell Her Page 32