Six Months To Love: Charlotte's Redemption

by Leija, Christina

  Hurt, John stormed out leaving the papers on the counter, he had read them and was now determined to find out what was going on and who was the cause of ruining what could have been the best thing that ever happened to him and he knew just who to start with…his father!

  John stormed into his father’s office with a fury that scared a few of his father’s associates. When John spoke it was with dominance “Leave now!” The associates all got up except his father who seemed stunned by his son’s fury. “What is the meaning of this intrusion Johnathan?”

  “What is your connection to Alexander Jackson?”

  “How do you know? Wait, where did you get that name from?”

  “Your stupid goon you had serve his ex-wife Charlotte Jackson, that’s where!”

  “Johnathan what on earth are you talking about? How do you know about that case?”

  “That’s the woman I intend on marrying that’s how! You and your client may have just ruined it you worthless bastard!”

  “Johnathan you’re not thinking clearly, that woman is unstable and will be under investigation for her poor parenting skills, she’s a danger.”

  “She’s not a danger you self-absorbed asshole, all you see is money and your wife abusing client’s lies!”

  “Lies son? She’s sick, just ask her yourself”

  “Sick how? What are you talking about?”

  “She hasn’t told you?” Intrigued his father slowed to a smile, now realizing he had the upper hand in this situation. Of course Charlotte would reel his son in, he had money, wealth and a strong name behind him, just like his client use to have. Oh yes, he was already warned about Charlotte Jackson, the failed socialite whose father had disowned her for her stupidity and now she was sinking her hands into his son.

  “Father, what are you talking about? You don’t even know her and now you may have ruined the one true happiness I’ve ever had.”

  “Stop complaining Johnathan! You’re a Ranger for Christ sake, have some dignity. I get it son, you fell for long legs with easy access, it happens to the best of us.”

  “Don’t you ever talk about her that way! You don’t even know her; she is an amazing mother and the one I’m going to marry.”

  His father took a stride at him, now obviously frustrated with the confrontation. He took one big deep breath and the furry in his father’s eye lit like a wild fire, consuming everything in its path.

  “Listen here you little shit, I paid for your law school, your licensing and all your expenses since. I have put up with your dreams of wanting to play the field and live this carefree life style, throwing all your college away, but no more. Man up or you’re cut off! This is fucking it son, if you continue seeing that whore you’re done, I damn well mean it, don’t fuck with me anymore!”

  The buzzer came from the intercom before John could answer, which was probably a good thing because right now he couldn’t remember a time that he hated his father more. All he cared about it was money and getting ahead no matter who he mowed over, his mother included.

  “Mr. Jackson your 9pm is here”

  “Kind late to see a client isn’t it father?”

  Just then a gorgeous blond strode in; she was the epiphany of well breeding and beauty, the kind of woman that men drool over. After her however walked a burly man who looked beat and worn.

  “Mr. Jackson and the lovely Victoria, may I introduce you to my son Johnathan Ranger, he will be heading your case”

  “Over my dead body!” John was appalled over his father’s introduction and assurance that he would lead the case, a case against Charlotte, the one he loved, was his father put of his fucking mind?

  “Son, remember our agreement” His father’s tone was stern and with warning, a warning that john didn’t take lightly.

  Just then Alex stuck his hand out with a greeting that showed arrogance and a respect for his father domineering tone. John slapped his hand away and began to storm out.

  “Johnathan if you walk out that door you’re done, I do mean fucking dead to me.”

  “I’ll see you in court old man! Fuck off.” Storming out Johnathan went straight to Penny the secretary. “Penny my dear, I need a file, can you fetch it for me please, my father needs it for his current client, a Mr. Jackson I believe.”

  “Yes my dear, I’ll fetch it right away and bring it in”

  “It’s ok I’ll wait, you should be headed home soon.”

  Charlotte was so distraught over this whole evening. Her eyes were blotchy and red from crying. Charlotte’s throat was scratchy and sore from yelling at John. She hadn’t even had time to register anything before Alex’s town car had delivered Andrew home. Her boy, the one good thing she could always count on. No matter what he always made her feel blessed and happy, even in a thunderstorm to hell, like the one she was living now.

  She put Andrew down for bed after dinner and finally had a chance to sit down and sort through all the events of tonight. John, the process server, her ex and John’s dad? It was too much to process and she was feeling betrayed and overwhelmed. How did all this fit together? How could she have missed the signs? Were there any signs? Just as she was ready to sit down and fall fast into a sleep to forget everything, a knock at her door came as ferocious as a drum line in a college show.

  John rushed over to Mr. Black’s house as fast as he could. His rage was overwhelming. John couldn’t stop shaking, his father! His own father! Involved! He knew that bastard was shallow but this was a whole new level. His father was about to assist in ruining a woman’s life for good. Of course, John thought to himself, it would have helped if Charlotte had enlightened him to who her ex really was. But she hadn’t wanted to talk about her past, insisting that she wanted to put everything behind her and only work in the present and focus on the future so John had not pushed it.

  John knocked on Mr. Black’s door, it was just after 10pm and raining like crazy, not that the rain was unusual in New York. John noticed the lights come on in the entry way of the New York town house. The door slowly opened only admitting a small bit of light through the still latched door.

  “John, is that you? What on earth?”

  “Mr. Black I’m so sorry to scare you but it’s urgent.”

  Mr. Black opened the door and John stood wet and cold looking like a broken puppy that had been whipped near death. Mr. Black rushed John in and yelled for the house keeper to grab towels, a change of clothes and something hot to drink quick.

  After John was changed, warm and most importantly dry he sat at the bar in the barely used, immaculate kitchen, his head in his hands John looked up at Mr. Black who seemed concerned and slightly irritated with the wait that John was submitting. John took a deep breath and told Mr. Black about the last few months and all the events that had lead up to tonight’s fiasco.

  When he had finally finished it was nearly 1130pm. John waited as he attempted to search Mr. Blacks face for his emotions, some sign that John wasn’t crazy or ruining his life. Mr. Black took a deep breath.

  “Well my boy, what do you want to do about this?”

  “That’s why I am here, I’m confused, lost, hurt, angry and everything in between, but most of all I know I need to help her, I love her.”

  “I admire your dedication, I loved your aunt very much and she loved you as a son, you do know that, right my boy?”

  John said nothing but he knew that his adopted aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Black cared deeply. He simply nodded and hoped for the best, some solution that could save his heart and save Charlotte from any further damage that he was sure may crush her for good.

  “Well, your father has always been a son of a bitch and one thing he has never been able to do, is beat me in court, so the question is where do we begin?”

  John snapped his head up in shock, he couldn’t believe it. Mr. Black didn’t ask for any further explanation or question John’s sanity in his time of rush. Truly he had never loved the man more.

  “First off, I need to meet with
Mrs. Jackson.”

  “That might be a problem, I am not sure she wants anything to do with me, she’s furious with me and told me to get out and never return. My father has ruined everything, again.”

  “Jonathan, I never want to hear you disrespect your father, that’s my job not yours and do you think I would have been married 40 years if I listened to your aunt every time she told me to get out and never return?”

  “She told you that?”

  “Oh yes, plenty of times, I was a son of a bitch as a youngling, and I suppose not much has changed but that woman kept me in check and put me in my place as soon as I got out of line. God bless that woman, and that my son is a kind of love that only comes around once in a life time and a love worth fighting for to the bitter end.”

  Anthony’s wife Violet had just passed away less than 2 years ago, John did love her like a mother. She was stern but loving. She held a firm hand on Mr. Black and never disrespected him in public but in the privacy of their own home; you could see who ran the family and Mr. Black was just fine with that.

  “So, my boy let’s get started, there is a lot to do and I didn’t push you through law school just for me to do all the work.

  Charlotte dropped Andrew off with Mrs. Nelson and left for work an hour earlier than usual. This of course was at the insistence of Mrs. Nelson who convinced Charlotte to go down and apply for a court appointed attorney to help with guidance if nothing else. Charlotte had spent the night holding Andrew as he slept, her whole world was that boy and Mrs. Nelson, the two people she loved most in this life and now her ex was threatening to take her world away.

  She was still confused and angry with John, how could he have done this to her? How did he know how to get to her? Was she really that naive that she attracted only douche-tards? Disgusted with herself, Charlotte had been sick all day and unable to take her medicine and now she was feeling the emotional strain and exhaustion was threatening to take her over. Charlotte stopped by the first coffee shop that she could find for a quick pick-me-up and hurried to the subway towards the court house.

  Charlotte finished the long and repetitive paper work to file a response and to hopefully gain another court appointed lawyer, at least to guide her. Charlotte was exhausted over the last few hours with everything that has transpired. Her head was pounding from a headache, no doubt caused from the stress and crying. Still Charlotte powered forward and took the subway to work. Hopefully her work would take her mind off everything and then she would approach the situation with a clear head, a useful technique she picked up in therapy.

  Work flew by and all she could think about was getting home to Andrew. Alex was supposed to take Andrew for 3 days this coming Thursday, that only gave her 3 days with him and this time she dreaded letting him go, especially after Alex just filed a court judgment stating she is unfit and he has “proof” of significant changes that he believes he is legally bound to challenge the custody agreement.

  While clocking out for her shift, Charlotte’s phone rang; without looking at it Charlotte answered only to be shocked by the info on the other line.

  “Mrs. Jackson, this is the charge nurse at the cancer support center here in Brooklyn.”

  “Yes…. How can I help you?” Charlotte’s voice was shaky and shocked. She had just gone in for further testing last week.

  “We have your test results and ma’am I am sorry but we may not have many treatment options for cancer in your stage.” The nurse was stern and unemotional; this stabbed Charlotte on a personal level even though she knew she shouldn’t take it personally.

  “Mrs. Jackson I need you to make an appointment to come in and discuss your options please.”

  The shock still folded over Charlotte like a constricting blanket, not many treatment options? How long did she have? Did they find something new? On top of all going on with Alex, Charlotte felt more hopeless and scared for her son’s life, now more than ever.

  The next week flew by and Charlotte had adjusted to not having John blow her phone up with his obnoxious texts every hour. Charlotte made it through Andrews three day absence, which in the long run offered her some much needed rest, this, of course was at the insistence of Ms. Nelson. Charlotte even received a letter that informed her that her public defender had been approved and would be readily available for her first court date in 2 weeks. Compared to last week, Charlotte was doing amazing.

  Charlotte decided that a girl’s luncheon was much needed and she had decided to give Victoria a call. She hadn’t heard from her old friend in quite some time lately. Of course that can partially be blamed on John and his distraction. John, Charlotte thought….wonder what he is doing right now. Charlotte missed his touch and his horrible sense of humor that had the worst timing in the world. One of the most annoying, yet also one of the things she loved about him the most, his humor.

  Pushing the memory aside she called Victoria for lunch at a quaint café’ up the road from 5th and Park Avenue. Her mood was instantly lifted at the idea of a stress free, drama free lunch with an old friend she could trust. Charlotte quickly got dressed and rushed out, this time with a hop in her step.

  The sun was shining and felt wonderful for a fall day. Usually in September the weather began to cool dramatically. But today the patio table would be a wonderful option. The patio sat 6 small tables, just big enough for two people, three if you liked a cramped space. The café specialized in light lunches, wine and coffee drinks. The tables with black with smooth thin marble tops that shone with an elegance. The tops held a small crystal ball with floating lilies. Their table held a gorgeous orange and pink lily that seemed to open before them. This was just the relaxing day that Charlotte needed. A day she craved, a day where all her troubles and worries could temporarily disappear without any consequence.

  Charlotte and Victoria ordered, Charlotte opted for grilled chicken with pineapple salsa and quinoa salad, while Victoria stuck to her usual house salad with lemon instead of dressing. The waitress was a bit clumsy, obviously new and nervous and this irritated Victoria slightly, which could be told by her snappy tone. Victoria always had high standards and that included her wait staff. Charlotte felt bad for the waitress and secretly prayed that she would get her confidence together or she would most likely not have a job left after today and that would be something Victoria would make sure of.

  “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to fall for yet another looser.” Charlotte felt defeated and stupid in front of Victoria, but she knew that Victoria had never had any trouble with men, maybe her old friend could offer some help. “Charlotte darling, forget him, he betrayed you, and you don’t deserve to be treated like that.” Victoria was smooth and methodical in the way she spoke, similar to that of a snake getting ready to strike at the prey it’s been stalking. Charlotte excused herself and head to the bathroom. Her eyes had begun to water and crying in front of Victoria and the public was the last thing Charlotte was going to do. Crying had become an ever to common event in Charlottes life and this time, she would not let it control her or ruin her day.

  As Charlotte walked off Victoria’s phone rang; “Hello darling, perfect timing I might add, the Bitch just ran off to the bathroom to wash away her poor tears.” Victoria made a face of pure disgust. Being in the company of Charlotte was bad enough when all she wanted to do was smack her, but now having to listen to her whine, Alex and his dear mommy owed her big time for this one. “No, my sweet she has no idea, she thinks some guy is to blame, stupid Bitch.” “I have to go; she’s on her way back.”

  “Sorry about that I needed to freshen up a bit, it’s been a long and exhausting week.” Charlotte tried to not sound so anxious. Truth is she envied Victoria for her cool, calm and collected demeanor. Charlotte however wore her emotions on her sleeve. Charlotte spent the rest of lunch spilling her guts to Victoria, whom seemed to soak up everything Charlotte was saying with an open mind. She went over how she and John met, when her first met Andrew and how Ms. Nelson seemed to adore him, even
still after all he had put her through. Ms. Nelson seemed to think that John was an innocent bystander in the whole situation, but Charlotte wasn’t so sure.

  Charlotte felt relaxed and carefree after she bid good bye to Victoria, who seemed in a better mood than when they first came. Victoria told her it was just stress at work, so Charlotte blew it off.

  Charlotte made it to the bus stop just in time to get Andrew off the school bus. Recently Andrew had insisted on riding the bus to school with his friends. It hurt her heart to see how grown up her boy had become. It hurt even more for Charlotte to think that she may not get enough time with Andrew before her cancer took over and death became her.

  With court coming up Charlotte was getting more anxious by the minute. She had decided, at the insistence of Ms. Nelson, that she would take an extra shift at the hospital to help keep her mind busy and hopefully ware her out so she could get a little sleep, which Charlotte agreed was better than none at this point. The bags under Charlotte’s eyes had begun to grow so much that a stranger asked, out of concern, who punched her. She was emotionally exhausted, but Charlotte could not get her mind to rest at night. Charlotte knew that she would eventually lose her son to that monster, but she would only give in when God decided it was time.

  The shift was flowing quickly due to the fast paced ER atmosphere and constant flow of patients tonight. Charlotte was thankful more than stressed. Feeling a bit more charged, Charlotte decided to help out another nurse who was falling a bit behind and looking exhausted. “Betty, I’ll take your next patient for vitals and exam if you want, you look like you can use a coffee fix.” Betty Sampson was all too happy and almost threw her chart at Charlotte before hurrying to the break room. Charlotte just smiled and giggled slightly, happy that she could help.

  Charlotte’s smile turned shocked the moment she walked into the exam room to find the last person she wanted to see right now…..John.