But he didn’t’ want to be touched – not by her, not by anyone. And he didn’t want to be comforted for being a cheat. Alex stood up and turned around to look at Lola… “Damn it. I’m sorry, Lola but I gotta go.”
***
Charlie jumped up from her nightmare with tears in her eyes. Holding her chest, she looked around the dark empty room, breathing hard and squinting. Pushing up on her hands, she moved her body up against the pillows and reached over on the nightstand to turn on the light. He’s not home, she thought to herself. Looking down at her watch, she saw that it was already 3:00 a.m. She picked up the house phone and dialed his cell phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
“Leave a message,” his voice said before the beep.
“Alex, it’s Charlie. Where are you?” she said into the phone.
Hanging it up, she set the phone back on the nightstand and rested her head back on the pillows. Tears formed in the side of her eyes as she realized just how lonely she was.
Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this? Nothing could justify being raked over the coals daily for trying to love someone.
Wiping her eyes, a name flashed across her mind in a moment for desperate attention. Sullivan Orrin. He had given her his cell phone number earlier today, and she didn’t believe in coincidences anymore after last night, so this must have been meant to be.
Grabbing her cell phone off the dock, she talked into the phone. “Call Sully,” she said, sitting back in the bed.
She waited, wondering if she should hang up because of the hour, for him to answer.
He finally answered sluggishly. “Hello,” he said in a scratchy voice.
“Hi, Sully, are you in bed?” Charlie asked, heart thudding against her chest again.
Sully sat up. The room was pitch black except for the fireplace across from the bed. He looked into the embers sort of disoriented. Was it really Charlie on the other end? Realizing that he was silent, he spoke. “I’m…I’m up,” he answered, rubbing his eyes and looking over at the nightstand for the time. “What’s wrong?”
Charlie held the phone.
“Hello?” he asked, hoping that he had not lost her. He didn’t get the best reception on this end of the house.
“I didn’t have anyone else to call. I work so much until I don’t have any best friends but Frank, and he’s probably with his boyfriend right now.” God, I sound ridiculous, she said to herself as she put a finger to her brow.
“No, it’s fine.” He threw the covers off his legs. “What’s up?”
Charlie laughed nervously and sniffled again. “I think I’m having a nervous breakdown is all.”
“Is it budget time at Sophie’s Choice?” he asked, turning on his lamp. “I remember trying to work on my budget at the DLC. It would literally drive me to drink,” he joked.
Charlie laughed too despite herself. “It is budget time,” she said, realizing that she had not been able to hold a conversation about her job that Alex understood ever in their relationship, especially one where he could relate.
“Trust me, whatever problems that you’re having are probably based subconsciously on that,” Sully assured.
“I wish that were true,” she said, feeling the empty space beside her where her husband should have been laying. She couldn’t wait anymore. Curiosity peaked and she wanted to change the subject. “So what are they like, Sully?”
“The kids? Oh, they are…rambunctious, optimistic little bundles of joy who still think that the world is fair and the grass is green on both sides of every fence.”
Charlie smiled. “So do mine. Hunter and Hanson are eight now.”
“Twins?” he laughed. “So you do carry the gene.”
“Yeah, who knew?” She shook her head. “I didn’t know my father’s family, but I’m guessing that it came from on his side.”
“I thought that the twins were a result of the IVF process. You know that it tends to be a more prominent possibility…” His voice trailed off. What the hell where they were discussing? He hadn’t talked to the love of his life in eleven years and they were chitchatting about genes. Unbelievable.
“Yeah, I’ve heard about that, but no, it’s all me…my fault or my gift to you, depending on the day.”
“You’ve got that right,” he said, chuckling. “Like tonight. We had a discussion about a damned pot belly pig.”
“What?”
“Benny…that’s my son. He wants a pot belly pig,” he explained.
“What’s wrong with that?” she asked, oblivious to the concern.
“He must be more like you than me, because I would have never asked my dad for a pig. He would have committed me,” he joked, but then he quieted. He’d never been able to say that before.
“They sound like great kids,” Charlie said, wishing that she could see them right then.
Sully sighed. “You know that this changes everything, right? I mean, keeping them in the dark now, after you’ve seen them, it doesn’t seem right.”
“So much has been going on today, until I really haven’t had the opportunity to think it through, but I know that some major changes have to be made. I just have to figure out how to break this to Alex.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to figure out how to break this to the kids,” he said, thinking that his situation was a little more critical than hers. Alex was a grown man who already knew who his parents were. He was talking about two very impressionable young people whom whether he liked it or not would be forever changed by this new revelation.
“Would you like for me to be there when you tell them?” she asked sincerely.
“Normally, I would say yes, but you don’t know my kids. It might be best for me to have that conversation alone,” he joked.
Charlie didn’t like the way that he said my kids. It was so territorial – so untouchable. Still, she understood, because she felt equally territorial over everything that was about Hunter and Hanson.
“Are you going to tell them before I come?” she asked, feeling unsure if that was the right thing to do either.
Sully scratched his head. “I don’t think so. I was hoping to play it by ear and maybe tell them after the benefit next week. They could get to know you, maybe like you and cut me some slack when I tell them.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” she said, realizing that this was Sully and not Alex. Sully always had a primary plan and a contingency plan. A flashback of their relationship in Miami crossed her mind.
“So are you still a master chef in the kitchen?” she asked, trying to change the conversation again.
“Oh yeah,” Sully grinned. “I’ve only gotten better with time, my dear.” He cocked a leg up and scratched the bottom of his thigh.
“Good, because over the years, I seemed to have lost some of my flair. I think it’s from working too much.”
“Well, it’s an opportunity cost, I guess,” he yawned. “You took on that position pretty young. To be tapped to be the president of an organization like yours is an honor but a major undertaking.”
“You said a mouthful,” Charlie huffed. “I think it cost me my marriage.”
Sully was trying to be a friend, but he couldn’t help but see a small window of opportunity. “Charlie, a job can’t cost you your marriage,” he said, picking up on the undertone of the conversation.
“Oh, yes it can,” she argued. “Otherwise, why am I sitting alone at three in the morning while my husband is supposedly out with the boys?”
“Ouch,” Sully said, quietly grinning. “Well, I imagine that you’re sitting there alone because you’re not appreciated enough for what you do or who you are. I mean, I raise two kids by myself, and I would love the extra hands for just an hour a day.” He knew that he was inside of her head. “But to have a woman who is as talented and beautiful as you are not only be my wife but the mother to my kids…” he chuckled, “well, I’d be there every night.”
That was too much for Charlie. She wasn’t a sucker a
nd normally, she didn’t fall for smooth talk, but it had been so long since a man had even acknowledged her in those terms until she simply began to fold.
“You’re too kind,” Charlie said, trying to hide her true reaction. “But I’m sure in time with the hours that I’ve been putting in, you’d have problems with me too.”
“Not likely. You forget that I was the king of long hours when I was with the DLC and any campaign I ran. It’s addictive…the rat race. Plus, I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my craft. I say that even though my blog has like two readers.”
“What’s your blog about?”
“Mostly government policy.”
“What type?”
“Education reform. Since the kids’ birth, I’ve been an advocate for it here in Virginia.”
“Text me your link later and maybe you’ll have three readers.”
They both laughed, but Sully appreciated the gesture. He could use a third.
“I probably shouldn’t say this considering that you’re coming here, but I can’t tell you how often I think about us.” He waited for her to respond in kind but it just wasn’t time yet.
Charlie got quiet. “Do me a favor, Sully. Keep it to yourself for now. I’m too vulnerable to hear that. I don’t’ want to make any rash decisions based upon the fact that I’m…displaced right now in my marriage.”
Sully shut it down. “Yeah, you’re right. Me too for that matter. One thing at a time, right?”
“Yeah, one thing at a time,” Charlie said, looking at her watch. “Well, it’s getting later and I have to get up with the kids in the morning, but thanks.”
“For what?”
“For answering. Just talking to a familiar voice made me feel worlds better. I called Alex and he didn’t bother to pick up, text or return my call. So I appreciate you picking up the phone at three in the morning.”
Sully smiled, happy that he could still make her happy. “Anytime.”
“Good night,” she said, not wanting to hang up the phone.
“Nite,” he whispered.
151
The Contingency Plan
Chapter 9
Charlie had never been to Norfolk, Virginia although it was just a short trip from New York City. But from what she had read about it over the last few days, it was a nice place to raise a family, plenty of recreational space, clean air, beautiful parks, good schools and breathtaking waterways. From what she could tell from a general assessment, Sully had picked an excellent place to raise the twins – and unintentionally or not, he was close enough for her to get to them often, if he allowed it.
Part of the reason that Charlie had moved to Somerset was for the same reason that she assumed Sully had moved to Norfolk. She didn’t want to raise the twins in the big city either. The hustle and bustle of the busy life could come later for them when they were much older and were able to make decisions on their own.
For now, she wanted them to have a big backyard, a quiet neighborhood and an overall sheltered existence. Only, now that she would more than likely be breaking to them that they had a big sister and brother hidden in another state with another man, the protection of a happy family would be shattered somewhat.
And depending on Alex’s reaction to all of this, it could be shattered completely.
But she couldn’t think about all of that now. It would only bring her mood down to where it was pre-Norfolk, and she had been sailing on a weird adrenaline high since she woke up this morning. Even though she went to bed and woke up on only a few hours of sleep, she wasn’t tired. Even though she had to wrangle with the crazies at the airport, she wasn’t flustered. And even though, she was about to open Pandora’s box, she wouldn’t dare turn back.
Now she was finally here in the same city as her “other family” as Frank referred to them, only minutes from seeing her kids and only minutes from seeing Sully. She didn’t know which prospect made her more nervous. There was a prayer constantly on her lips that her children would like her of course, but there was something else deep and silent in her soul that she wouldn’t even address festering about Sully.
“I won’t think about that either,” she said aloud as she pulled her bag from its compartment in First Class.
The black gentleman in an impeccable black suit beside her gave her an I-do-it-too nod, before he grabbed his briefcase and filed out onto the catwalk.
She got off the plane at the Norfolk International Airport with a Louis Vuitton overnight bag, Gucci shades and her I-Pod cell phone, looking as though she had it all figured out. But inside she was crumbling and questioning everything.
Unfortunately, her stomach had been in knots since the plane landed and she could see the tarmac, and now it was only starting to get worse. Her hands were clammy and her underarms had started toitch.
Quietly, she pushed down the jitters that made her want to make a b-line to the ladies room and proceeded on.
Every step further from the plane led her closer to Sullivan Orrin, a man that she had not seen in eleven years, and further from the family that she had left behind in Jersey. That was a strange fact, but what was even stranger was the constant thoughts of she and Sully, and what they could have been.
Worrisome and vexing contemplations had assailed her day and night since they had spoken on the phone Wednesday night. She kept thinking about all those late-night meetings that he would have understood and excused, all the awards that he would have been so proud of, all the work that she had done that he would have acknowledged. Plus, there were other things that she hated to give him credit for like great sex and the ability to make a woman feel as though she was the most important person on earth since Jesus.
Clutching the purse on her shoulder tightly, Charlie exited out of the terminal and moved into the large crowd. People walked in every direction, most of them looking a lot less lost than she was. Sure, she had been in a million international terminals, but not looking for the man of her dreams.
Wait! What was she saying to herself? Thoughts like that would ruin everything for her.
Chin up and eyes alert, she finally saw a tall, white man in a white button down, curled at the sleeves to show his bulging forearms and dark jeans that alluded to his sofa-like legs, holding up a sign that said Meadows/Mendoza. She had to giggle. Sully was such a smart ass, even after all of this time.
Waving at him, she saw him smile back and begin to head in her direction.
He didn’t even know that she was holding her breath as he approached. Why does he have to look so damn good, she thought to herself.
Charlie looked up at him completely unnerved by his aged splendor. He stood taller than she remembered at 6’6” with Timberland boots; his still gray eyes still sparkled like jewels, his wide mouth looked erotically tempting.
His strong squared jaw, perfect nose and dark black brows and lashes were the picture perfect features of a man of good breeding and his smell was still a familiar cologne that wafted down to her and sent her senses into a collective frenzy.
She inhaled him slyly. Hmm, he smelled scrumptious.
“Hey girl,” he said with a big grin, reaching down to hug her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close, closer than he was supposed to, and lifted her off the ground. Growling playfully, he twirled her around as people passed them.
“Hey,” she said, holding on to his rock hard body. “I hope you don’t mind that I changed my flight plans and came in early.”
Sully sat her back down on the ground and moved a wisp of hair from her face. The intimate action brought back sultry memories for them both. Crossing his arms, he winked at her. “Are you kidding? I’m glad that you’re here early. You look amazing by the way and that’s not an afterthought.” His crystal clear voice sounded like music to her needy ears. She could actually hear that he was happy to see her, unlike what she had heard from Alex lately.
“You do too,” she said, stepping back. “You look so youthful.” Tempting was a better word, but she kept t
hat to herself.
“Minus the streaks of silver? Thanks,” he said, rubbing a hand through his tousled salon-treated hair. “I opted out of the Just for Men’s club. Figured I’d keep it old school,” he joked. “It reminds me of my father. Everyone says that I look like him.”
“Well, I like it,” she said, reaching out to touch him. Remembering herself, she pulled back. “You still have a head full of hair.” The $10,000 hair plugs for Alex crossed her mind and she smirked.
Some men just had it, and some men…didn’t.
“Yeah, well the bald gene doesn’t run in the family, thank God.” He reached over and took her bag. “Allow me, madam.”
“Oh, thanks,” she said, handing it off. “Aren’t you thoughtful.”
“I try.”
They paused for a moment drinking each other in and smiling like school children. A hundred thoughts passed between them as well as emotions. It was one hell of a reunion, especially in an airport, but here they were. Both were in total approval of the other. Both had so much to say. But neither of them knew where to start.
Sully was amazed at how gracefully Charlie had aged. Even though she was 39, she didn’t look a day over 29. Her skin was still a silky, flawless deep brown, her brown eyes were wide and bright, her full lips glossed over made him still think of the most sinful ideas and her perfect smile still captivated him.
She wore her hair in a wrap now around her shoulders, instead of braids or a bob and she was thicker, more voluptuous – probably from the kids-but she wore it well enough to make him want to hug her tightly again. Plus, the khaki skirt, pearls and pink polo she wore made him think of their days on his brother’s campaign trail. She looked like an ad for Brooks Brothers and smelled like an ad for Victoria Secret.
“Let’s get you to the car,” he said finally, putting his hand on the small of her back. Because I could stand here and look at you all day, he thought to himself.
Sully’s constant touches on her shoulder, back and arm made butterflies erupt in her stomach again. She knew that it was innocent enough, but every, single solitary caress or well-placed touch, made her shiver, made her long for his hand to stay longer the next time, for him to walk even closer.
The Contingency Plan (The Lonely Heart Series) Page 12