“That woman was a real old harridan,” Sam said.
Ben found his fists squeezed so tight that his knuckles were white with anger. Both Sam and Eve were a bit worried at the expression on his face as he was listening to them, his heart breaking at the thought of all Charis had to deal with in her young life. He could think of no punishment severe enough for Mildred and her son. But the visit ended on a happy note when he issued the invitation to the wedding and told them about the chartered plane and a room for them already booked at the hotel. They accepted eagerly and promised to be at Heathrow by nine that Saturday morning.
Ben was grateful for the addresses and phone numbers that James had supplied him with. He'd been able to visit the Chandlers and now could phone the Pattersons and Ridleys - not as easy as talking face to face, but he didn't have time to drive as far as Meadow Lea Hall. And besides, the first time he saw her home he wanted Charis to be with him. Phone calls it must be!
So the calls were made and he managed to tell them as succinctly as possible about the wedding and to issue them invitations. He was surprised when Marjorie Patterson asked if he was the Ben that Charis had known as a child and when he replied in the affirmative she was thrilled.
“She never actually said but I always knew that Ben was very special to her,” she said.
Ben was deeply moved. Everything he knew and learned about Charis made him love her more.
After a quick visit to the flat he’d shared with two other doctors from the hospital to pick up the remainder of his clothes and stuff he’d left behind, Ben headed back to their Chelsea house and more phone calls to make. This time he wanted to arrange some surprises for Charis on their “at home” honeymoon. He’d read in the newspaper that the Royal Ballet were performing “Giselle” so he bought tickets, front row of the dress circle, and a concert of Mozart music was being performed at the Albert Hall so he bought tickets for that, too.
He rummaged around in the freezer again and found a couple of chops to cook for his dinner, heated up a few vegetables and was glad that Charis had said that she could cook.
“I like to eat,” she’d said. “So I cook and I enjoy it.”
All that was left to do was to call Charis. They talked for half an hour and he found that he was missing her more than he believed possible. His busy schedule finally caught up with him…he was exhausted so he went to bed.
The next morning saw Ben hiring a car and travelling out of London, down the M3 and into Hampshire, past Winchester and on towards Romsey. About half way between the two, he took a side road, drove a couple of miles down a quiet lane and came to Willow Bend, so named for the bend in the little tributary of the River Test, where in some dim and distant past someone had planted a little grove of willow trees. He drove past the few houses that comprised the small hamlet and up the driveway that led to his childhood home. His mother must have been watching for him because before he was out of the car she’d opened the front door and was down the steps and into his arms as he turned from getting out his overnight bag.
A short while later, sitting with his mother, his dad, Jennifer and his sister Amelia, who had also been at school with Charis although three years ahead, he was telling them the edited version of their meeting in Cairo and how they were to be married in ten days.
“I've chartered a plane and booked the third floor of a hotel near the Embassy in Cairo,” he said. “So there will be plenty of room for anyone in the family who wants to come.” Then he added with a smile, “Well, when I say I booked it all and chartered the plane, I mean the King did, or at least his staff did.”
Jennifer was stunned and explained to him that she'd seen Charis less than two weeks ago and she’d said nothing about going to Cairo.
“No,” he agreed. “I think it was a spur of the moment thing. She received an invitation from Henry.”
“She's had lots on invitations from Henry! She'd never go to see him…she hates him.”
“Well, whatever her reasons were,” he responded, “I'm glad she went or who knows how long it would have been before we would’ve met again.”
“At Amelia's wedding,” said Jennifer, sounding a bit miffed. “In another three months’ time.”
Ben looked at his other sister. “Will you and Charles be able to come?” he queried.
“Oh, I hope so! It sounds so romantic. I certainly hope so,” was Amelia's response.
The invitation went out to all his family. They’d known Charis for many years, although by the name of Jane. He was somewhat surprised and touched by their reaction. Without exception they had all loved her as a child and were eager to meet her again. His mother, father, Jennifer and Amelia were the only ones who’d seen much of her in recent years, and were now used to calling her Charis.
That afternoon he was up in the bedroom that had been his for as long as he could remember, collecting together the remainder of his things he would need to take back with him to London. He heard her come up the stairs and knew it was Jennifer. He’d always had a special place in his heart for her, his baby sister. He’d been almost nine when she’d been born, old enough to understand a little about his mother's pregnancy. When Amelia was born he was only six and hadn't noticed much, or cared. He was too busy being a happy and busy little boy. But when Jennifer arrived he was intrigued with all the mystery of childbirth, and demanding the answers to all the difficult questions that went with it. Whether that had influenced him in any way in his choice of career he didn't know.
When she peeped in the door she knew she would be welcome. He smiled at her and stopped what he was doing to give her a hug, then returned to sorting through his medical books.
“You have so many,” she remarked. “Have you read all of them?”
“Most of them,” he answered. “A few are reference books that I haven't read all the way through. But most of them I’ve read cover to cover, and some several times.”
“It's a lot of hard work to become a doctor, isn't it?”
“Yes, it certainly is, but worth every minute.”
“You like your work?” she asked.
“I love it,” he smiled. “Especially when the babies are born safe and sound, strong and healthy. Of course it doesn't always work out like that. Sometimes babies are born with serious defects and sometimes they die. Then it’s devastating for the family, especially for the mother who’s carried them for so long.”
“Do the mothers die very often?”
“No, hardly ever in this country these days, but it can happen.”
“Charis' mother and grandmother both died in childbirth.”
“Yes,” replied Ben. “She's told me about it. But it was a long time ago and medicine has come a long way since then.”
There was a few minutes silence, then she hesitatingly asked, “May I talk to you about something very personal?”
“Of course you can, Titch.” Titch had been his childhood name for her. When their mother first came home from the hospital with her as a baby, Ben had looked at her and said, “She's such a titchy little thing,” and the name had stuck. Jennifer smiled at the sound of her pet name. He put his books down and turned to give her his full attention, half leaning, half sitting on the edge of his desk and said, “Do you have a problem? Something you need help with? Or advice about?” His expression was serious.
“Good heavens, no!” she responded. “I'm as healthy as a horse!”
“You do know that you can come to me at any time about anything, don't you, Jen?”
“Yes of course I do, and I will if I ever need help, I promise.” She paused for a moment and said, “It's about Charis.”
Immediately attentive, he looked at her intently. “Yes?”
“Well, you know we’ve been best friends for many years?”
“Yes, Jen.”
Still she hesitated and still he waited quietly for her to continue. “Best friends talk about all sorts of things, you know.”
“Yes.”
Again she
hesitated and again he waited. Finally she blurted out, “Charis is afraid of sex.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. She's told me often enough. I think it might have something to do with her mother and grandmother dying, but she's always been so shy about her body as well. She would never shower or even undress in front of any of the girls at school. Some of them even wondered if she was deformed in some way.”
“Charis is not a child anymore, Jen. Things change when girls grow up.”
“They don't change in just two weeks you know.”
“Two weeks?” he questioned.
“We were together just two weeks ago. I spent a couple of days at her house and we were talking about Amelia getting married and she said she didn't know how any girl could bear the thought of some man doing that to her.”
“Well, Jen, I know you mean well, but I can assure you that Charis is no longer afraid of sex.”
Jennifer looked at him long and hard and then exclaimed, “You've already slept with her haven't you?”
Ben was exasperated with her. “Jen that is not something you ever ask anybody. It is too personal and none of your business.”
She looked so upset that he relented and said, “I know that you are only speaking out of concern for your friend. But I love her very much and I can assure you, she will be fine.”
Jen, looking somewhat chastened, said, “I'm sorry,” and turned to go.
But Ben couldn't let her leave like that. “No, I'm sorry I snapped at you. It took a lot of courage for you to come and talk to me about Charis. But you needn't worry about her.” He paused and then added with a smile, “She is...she is incredibly beautiful, most definitely not deformed in any way and she has no blemishes anywhere.”
“Yes, but...” Jennifer stopped.
“What is it?” Ben asked.
“Don't get mad with me,” she pleaded with him.
He smiled to reassure her. “It's okay, Titch. I know you love your friend and I've as good as told you that we've already slept together.”
After a minute Jennifer asked, “Was she scared?”
“No, I think I can honestly say she wasn't scared,” and as Jennifer started to look relieved he added, “I think she was terrified. And with good reason.”
Jennifer's eyes filled with tears. “Oh, I can hardly bear it for her.”
“You don't have to Jen. By the end of the night when we finally went to sleep, everything was fine and she was happy.” He paused for a moment, smiling at some private memory.
Jennifer threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad,” she said.
“Well, I'm glad that you're glad, but why?” Ben asked.
“Well now she won't spend all her wedding day worrying about the wedding night!” She had the biggest grin on her face as she left the room.
He hurled the pillow from his bed at her, but she’d already gone.
He chatted with Charis on the phone. She’d visited the markets and done a bit of shopping but there really wasn't very much for her to do. Everything for the wedding was organised and she longed to have him there to talk to, and to make love with. She missed him terribly. He told her what he'd been doing and how excited his family was with the news and he hoped that at least his Mum and Dad and Jennifer would be there. It was late in the evening so Ben told her he'd call again tomorrow when he returned to London. “I love you, you know that, don't you? Sleep well sweetheart.”
“I love you, too. Say hello to your family for me please. I'm excited to see them.”
“Next time you see them, they'll be your family too,” he said. And on that happy note they said goodnight.
*****
Ben was in his room getting ready for bed when there was a knock on his door. His mother poked her head inside.
“Do you have time?” she asked.
“Of course! For you I always have time,” he answered with a big smile.
It is well known that mothers don't have favourites among their children but Emily knew that if she had it would’ve been Ben. He’d been her reason for going on when her marriage had fallen apart. Her daughter Elizabeth was nearly two and a half when Ben was born and needed her mother, too, but she was a very independent and self-assured child and the unborn baby had given her even more reason to carry on.
Ben, in his turn, not only loved his mother because she was his mother, but because he admired her for her courage and for the way she’d been the force behind the second marriage working so well and becoming such a close and loving family. There was no difference between the way she treated her own children or Sir Giles two boys, her stepsons. When he compared this to Charis' and her mother's experience he realised how lucky they all were to have her. So he welcomed her with a smile, a kiss and a hug and they sat down to have a chat.
She wanted to know what he’d been doing while he'd been away; where he’d been and how he was feeling now he was getting married. She was relieved that at last he was settling down, and especially with someone they already knew and loved…almost as part of the family. But also because she wasn't happy about the lifestyle he’d been living. She was proud of his accomplishments in his field of medicine and she knew that he’d worked hard and long hours to achieve them, but she also knew that he'd had many and varied girlfriends over the years but no one special. She assumed that he’d been sleeping with some, if not all of them, and she did not approve. She knew that marriage would be the making of him.
After several minutes had passed, Ben found himself telling his mother the circumstances surrounding his meeting with Charis again, and how Henry had offered her for sale and Ravi had actually bought her to use as a gift of sex for his friends.
She could hardly control her anger. “And what would’ve happened to her if you hadn’t been the one?” she asked.
“She would’ve killed herself,” he said. “She would have found a way.”
Ben asked her not to repeat the story to anyone. He knew that Charis didn't want anyone to know, but he added that if she wanted Giles to know she could tell him, but please no one else, not even Jennifer. Emily promised.
He got up early next morning and took Rufus, the latest of their German Shepherds, for a stroll through their garden and down into the woods where he’d walked with Charis all those years ago, remembering the times she’d spent with his family when she was a child, and wishing that she was with him now. When he got back to the house, his mother was waiting for him on the terrace. He gave her a warm hug.
She came straight to the point. “I was thinking about you all through the night and I know it’s none of my business really, but I am a little worried about you and Charis.”
“There’s no need,” he answered her.
She smiled. “Well, I know you are all grown up now and I want you to know that I love Charis and have done for a long time, but I hope and pray that you aren’t marrying her out of any sense of guilt or pity. That would only lead to unhappiness for you both and I couldn't bear that.”
“There’s no need,” he repeated. “I adore Charis and simply can't imagine my life without her. She’s always been special…I just didn't realise how special until now. So you can be content. I promise you that I will love her forever and she loves me, too. She’s much smarter than I am,” he smiled. “She’s known we belong together for a long time.”
Emily looked at him intently for a few minutes, then smiled and said, “Very well, I am content.” She kissed him and added, “Your father told me last night that I was worrying about nothing.”
“Dad is a very wise man.”
Emily laughed. “Yes,” she said. “I know. I should listen to him more often.”
With arms around each other, they walked back into the house.
*****
Ben returned to London in the late morning, retracing his route of the previous day. He backed the car into the garage at the Chelsea house, unloaded his possessions, emptying the boot. He hung his clothes in the wardrobe and stacked his
boxes of books in the corner of his room. I'll get a desk and bookshelf later, he thought to himself.
He drove to his tailor, picked up his wedding attire and dropped it off at his new home before returning the car to the hire firm.
He phoned Charis. “Not long to wait now, my love,” he told her.
“It has been the longest week of my life,” came Charis' response.
“Only twenty-four hours and I'll be back with you.”
“I can hardly wait.”
They talked softly and intimately for a few minutes before Ben said, “Next time we talk, I'll be with you in Cairo,” and then said goodbye.
He hadn't told Charis that she would have wedding guests. He'd had a message from James to say that he and Helen would be definitely be at the wedding. Helen's mother had insisted that she and the au pair would be able to manage the babies and they were to go and have good time, so they'd see him in Cairo. Ben still didn't know if the Ridley's would make it, but he was pleased she’d have some guests of her own at their wedding.
After the phone call ended Ben decided that he needed to work on the wedding vows he would make. They’d decided to write their own and he knew what he wanted to say but not how to put it into words.
It was while he was contemplating his vows that he came upon the letter. His briefcase was upstairs and for the time being, until he got his new desk, that was where he was keeping his pens and notepaper. Instead of going up to get his own he began rummaging through Charis’ desk, hoping to find what he needed. He noticed a small box, just about the right size for pens. He carefully opened the lid and found a much-folded, crumpled piece of paper, which turned out to be the letter that Charis had received from her father after his death. It was extremely worn; the writing was faded, he thought from having many tears shed on it and from being folded and re-folded each time she’d read it. So many times, he thought. She must know it off by heart.
Feeling somewhat guilty, but curious, he opened the letter and read:
My dearest Charis,
If you are reading this it means that I have gone to be with your Mother and you are now alone. It makes me sad to leave you but you must not worry about me. Your mother and I are very happy to be together again - I have missed her so much. But it means that you must be a brave little girl and do your very best to be happy without me. Find joy in the world, there is so much that is beautiful and to be grateful for. Do everything that Mrs. Patterson and James tell you. Work hard at school and enjoy your music. One day you will be all grown up and make your mother and me so proud of you. And one day you will meet someone who you will love and he will love you as your mother and I love each other, the handsome prince we talked about in our stories, so then you can live happily ever after. My dear sweet little girl – I love you so much.
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