by Nikki Ashton
“I can’t believe that Esme has slept through most of this. That WPC said that she just gave Esme her teddy, and she dropped off again, straight away. Did you want to see her? I bet that you’ve missed her loads.”
Kerry made to go to Esme’s room, but Kelvin pulled her back.
“No, I’ll see her soon enough when she wakes up. I just want to spend some time alone with you, to tell you how much I love you.”
Kerry started to cry, as relief flooded through her body.
“I’m so sorry that I put you through all this, but I just thought…”
“Ssh, listen let’s make this bed up in here, and we’ll talk about everything in the morning. I think that you really need some sleep; unless of course, you want to go home now?” Kelvin asked, as he gently stroked Kerry’s hair, desperate to protect her.
“No, as long as we don’t have to sleep in there, the morning will be fine. I just want you to hold me,” she whispered.
“Of course I will, and I’m never going to let you go again.”
Niall and Charlotte lay on the floor in a post-coital glow. Almost three hours after they had entered the bedroom. The duvet was now a twisted ball in the middle of the bed and the pillows were thrown aside like discarded rubbish, very definite signs of wonderful, exciting lovemaking. Charlotte lay next to Niall, her head in the crook of his arm, playing with his thumb, twisting round the silver ring.
“This is nice, where did you get it from, a present from someone?” Charlotte knew that she was fishing, but even so, she wanted to know whether Ingrid had given the ring to Niall.
“Hmm.” Niall nodded. “My ma bought it for me, when I graduated. It’s not a thumb ring really, but she got her sizing all wrong and that’s the only finger it would fit. Here you have it,” he said, pulling the ring from his, thumb and popping it onto to Charlotte’s much smaller one.
Charlotte started to protest. “Niall, I can’t, your mum gave it to you. No take it back.” She tried to take it off, but Niall wrapped his strong fingers around hers. “But Niall it’s massive. I could lose it. I can’t possibly accept it.” Charlotte looked up at him pleadingly, but Niall merely shook his head.
“No, keep it then you’ll always have a part of me. Wear it around your neck, on a chain or something.”
“Well if you’re sure, won’t it be missed?”
Niall knew what she meant, despite not mentioning the Ingrid word. “No, she probably won’t notice. I’m not even sure that she has ever noticed that I wear it.”
“Oh I’m sure she does.”
“Look I don’t want to talk about her, so give us a kiss.” Niall pulled Charlotte on top of him, leaving no doubt in her mind that she was all that he was thinking about at the present moment.
“God Niall, you are insatiable,” she groaned, dropping her head onto his chest. “I don’t know whether I can take much more. I already feel like I’ve got a horse between my legs as it is.”
“I can’t help being a total love God, would you prefer it if we sat in bed and did the crossword, then?” he joked.
Charlotte grabbed a pillow and landed him full in the face, then tried to scramble to her feet and run away.
Niall, too quick for her, grabbed Charlotte’s ankles and dragged her back towards him, her bare bottom stuck up in the air.
“You are not going anywhere,” he laughed, landing a passionate kiss on her lips, as he turned Charlotte to face him.
As they pulled away from each other, Charlotte sighed deeply, unable to believe her luck.
“I love you,” she sighed, gently tracing Niall’s nose with her finger.
“I know, but I love you more,” Niall whispered, kissing her with even more vigour than before.
When Charlotte woke she was still wrapped in Niall’s arms, warm, safe and happy, but then she glanced at the clock glowing in the early-morning darkness. 5:15; she felt sad knowing that their time together was soon to end. He would be off to his conference, and in a couple of days, his life with Ingrid would continue, in preparation for their wedding and then the birth of their child. Charlotte would have no more part in his life. She spun the silver ring around on her thumb, amazed that she hadn’t lost it. It was very loose. As she stared at the ring it suddenly hit Charlotte; she couldn’t say goodbye.
After a few minutes of deliberation, Charlotte eased herself out of bed, careful not to disturb Niall as she edged away from his loving hold. She took a quick shower and dressed, before quietly emptying her drawer, and throwing the contents into her suitcase. She marvelled that Niall didn’t even stir as she moved around the room; he must have been dog tired. If he felt like her he probably hadn’t slept a lot over the last few weeks, worrying about their situation. As Charlotte gazed at him, she could see the peacefulness in his face, enabling a deep and happy sleep.
As Charlotte placed the final few things into her case, she heard Niall move behind her. Holding her breath, Charlotte turned around, but he had just shifted position, and was still sleeping. She couldn’t have handled it if he had woken; it would have been so difficult to leave. At least, this way she could get through it.
With her case by the door Charlotte picked up the silver ring from the dressing table, where she had left it while she showered, and tenderly put it to her lips. She couldn’t take it. It wasn’t fair to put Niall in the position where he may get found out; anyway, it would be too painful looking at it every day. Placing it next to Niall’s watch, Charlotte fished around in her bag for a lipstick. She smiled, as she thought of what Bets’ reaction would be to what she was about to do with a Givenchy lipstick. She unscrewed the lid and wrote in scarlet on the mirror.
I’ll never forget you. I love you with all my heart, Charlotte xx
Then quiet as a mouse she moved towards her suitcase, next to the door. As she opened it, she took one last look back, her resolve almost failing, but she stood firm, telling herself that it was better this way. With tears silently rolling down her cheeks Charlotte went downstairs and checked out, realising that she had just done the hardest thing that she had ever had to do. If she didn’t go now one night would become two nights, and so it would go on. Niall had a child to think of now, and she couldn’t face the possibility of him having to choose. Somehow she knew that she would come off second best, this way was better for everyone; well, everyone except Charlotte maybe.
Chapter 34
When Niall woke, a few hours after Charlotte’s escape, he was not totally surprised to find that she had gone. He knew that it had taken a lot for her to have spent the night with him. A few weeks ago, she wouldn’t let him kiss her because he had a fiancée, so Niall realised that bringing a baby into the equation would just serve to make her feel even guiltier. That, coupled with their feelings for each other, would make it harder to say good-bye, so perhaps her sneaking away was the right thing to do for both. Even so, Niall felt terrible. He should have been the one accountable for their actions last night, but he didn’t care, it had been the best night of his life.
Wondering about his future, Niall wished he was even slightly happy Ingrid was carrying his child, but he wasn’t. All he wished was that it was Charlotte, who was pregnant. It was strange how she had affected him so much, after all he hardly knew her, but he knew that he loved her. As he thought about Charlotte, Niall realised that to say he didn’t know Charlotte was wrong, yes they had just met, but he did know her, of course he did. She was the female version of him, she was his other half. He recognised that she was probably his soul mate, but it was too late because nature had stepped in and thrown a spanner in the works. It was going to be hard, but he would try to make a go of things with Ingrid, for the baby’s sake, after all he loved her once, at least he thought he had. It was only since meeting Charlotte that he had realised how he should feel about Ingrid, but he didn’t, He felt that way about Charlotte.
Stumbling out of bed towards the bathroom Niall spotted the message on the mirror; he smiled at the words, and touched them with his f
ingers.
“You are one mad woman Charlotte Price, and I’m really going to miss you,” he whispered. As he started to walk away he noticed the silver ring on the dressing table.
He picked it up and studied it, before putting it back onto his thumb, his heart felt heavy because she hadn’t taken it. He really wanted her to have something to remember him by. However, he knew that he wouldn't be able to look at anything of Charlottes either, without wondering and wishing all the time. Maybe she’d done the right thing again, but then the right thing would be for them to be together.
Kerry and Kelvin slept fitfully; desperate for daylight to come so that they could escape the farm and go back home where they belonged. They talked during the wakening hours, both wanting to clear the air and start again, agreeing that things would be different when they got home. They both conceded that they would spend more time together, just the two of them. They realised that no matter how much they both loved Esme, they had loved each other first, but they seemed to have lost sight of that fact. Kerry also promised to go and see her doctor and ask for some help. She knew that she had worked through the worst part of what was probably depression, but agreed with Kelvin that the previous night’s trauma could have set her back, and neither of them wanted to go through this again. After Kelvin had spent some time with Esme, for father and daughter to re-acquaint themselves with each other, they packed up the rest of their things and drove their cars away from the farm without a backward glance, both relieved that the nightmare was over.
By the time Charlotte arrived home at around 11am Tom was obviously at work. She opened the front door with some trepidation, convinced that a battle sight would meet her, but she was pleasantly surprised, everywhere was clean and tidy. Even Petula’s food bowels and litter tray were washed and the dishwasher empty.
Charlotte gave Petula a welcoming cuddle and scratch and then settled down to open up her post. D that there was nothing from Kerry, she made a mental note to call Kelvin later in the day. After making herself a cup of tea Charlotte decided to call Bets, who answered rather too breezily.
“Bloody hell, you’re chirpy, on a promise are we?” Charlotte asked dully.
Bets recognised instantly, that all was not well.
“Charlotte! Hello, are you having a good time, or does your tone answer my question?”
“I’m not there. I'm at home.” Charlotte suddenly wished that she hadn’t called, because at this precise moment, she didn’t want to talk about what had happened in Kent.
“Before you ask, it’s to do with Niall, but I don’t want to talk about it at the moment, can I ring you tomorrow? I only wanted to let you know that I was home.”
“Sure of course you can. Listen, you sound tired, why don’t you get your head down and get some rest? Tom is coming to my flat tonight, to see Alfred, so I’ll ring him and get him to come straight from work, will that help?” Bets was worried about Charlotte. She understood though that some time alone was all Charlotte needed, and that things weren’t a total disaster.
“That would be great Bets. He can still stay here tonight. I'm just not in conversation mode at the moment. Will you ask him not to say anything to my mum, about me being home? You know what she’s like, she’ll be straight round otherwise.”
“Of course I will. You leave it to me, and I’ll speak to you tomorrow. Take care and go and get some sleep, bye darling.”
“Bye.” Charlotte replaced the receiver.
Suddenly, she realised what Bets had already deduced, she was absolutely shattered. She had been driving since six this morning and hadn’t had an awful lot of sleep the previous night. Last night – the memories came flooding back in vivid pictures; she felt a lump form in her throat, and emptiness in her heart as she thought about Niall. She slowly trudged upstairs, knowing that the only way to get through today was to sleep through it. After closing her bedroom curtains, and falling into bed, still dressed, she lay and sobbed for half an hour, before finally drifting off to sleep.
Tom was worried about his sister after receiving Bets telephone call, but he knew better than to go around to see Charlotte when she had asked him not to. Charlotte had invariably been the deep one, the one who regularly wanted to be alone in her abject misery. Tom remembered once pushing a frog through her bedroom door, with a note. She had fallen out with Kerry and Bets over something trivial, and had decided to lock herself away.
As the frog jumped across the carpet, with Tom’s note attached to its thick neck with a bright-red ribbon, Charlotte’s screams could be heard for miles. Obviously, Charlotte hadn’t read the note:
Charlotte, so that yue do not feel lonerley, from Tom xx
If she had read it, she may not have been so rude as to squeal like a pig at such a thoughtful gift.
The frog was obviously a bad idea, but not to be beaten Tom got hold of Kerry and Bet’s telephone numbers and called them, telling them off about their treatment of his big sister. Within an hour, they both turned up bringing a Take That poster, and a bag of liquorice torpedoes by way of an apology. No one ever told Charlotte what Tom had done for her, he wanted to many times over the years, especially when she was sitting on him trying to make him submit, but then he would change his mind. It was gone, and as long as she wasn’t sad, that was all that mattered.
Tom rang Bets' doorbell, still finding it strange not to hear barking from the other side. Then, as it was inched open, he heard a little whimper and realised that Alfred was indeed back home.
“Hiya, come in, ooh thanks for that,” said Bets as she took the bottle of wine from him, and clutched it to her chest.
She nodded towards the lounge, where Alfred could be seen wrapped in a blanket, in his basket.
“Well there he is, larger than life. He’s feeling a bit sorry for himself, but basically, he’s fine.”
Tom moved forward and stooped to give him a tickle under his chin, Alfred, happy to see Tom, licked his hand.
“I can’t believe he’s home, how’s his side?” asked Tom, gingerly lifting up his blanket.
“Not too bad, although the vet said it had been weeping slightly today, which is why it's all bandaged up still. I’ve got to take him on Saturday morning, to have his dressing changed,” explained Bets.
Tom grinned at Alfred, who was now falling asleep, then at Bets who grinned back, both very happy that the little dog was going to be okay.
Tom and Bets enjoyed their sausage and mash, accompanied by a bottle of wine, talking non-stop all the way through, pausing occasionally to put food into their mouths. Finally, after a dessert of apple pie and custard, they sat back in their seats replete.
Tom leaned across the dining table and filled Bets' wine glass.
“That was lovely Bets. I didn’t realise you could cook.”
“Well there are many lights that I hide under my bushel,” she giggled.
Tom smiled, as Bets winked at him, but he then started to frown.
“So, what do you think the problem is with my big sister then?” he asked, looking concerned.
Bets looked intently at Tom, realising that he was very handsome, even when he was frowning.
“She said that it was something to do with Niall, but didn’t want to talk about it. I suppose we should be grateful that it’s not Grant that’s upset her again,” sighed Bets.
“Ugh that idiot, I wish that she’d never set eyes on him. I can’t believe that he told the Irish fella that she’d slept with him again, as if she would,” Tom said, exasperated at the situation.
Bets tried to hide the look of horror upon her face, but Tom was too sharp not to pick up on it.
“Please don’t tell me she did!” he cried.
Bets nodded her head solemnly. “She did I’m afraid, but not when he said,” she added hastily. “It was just after New Year, he turned up out of the blue and caught her at a low ebb. It certainly wasn’t on the night that Niall had told her how he felt about her.”
Tom shook his head in despair, now
filling his own glass up from the second bottle of wine.
“If it wasn’t for Amanda and Dave, I would be convinced that our generation is cursed when it comes to relationships,” he sighed.
Bets rested her head on her hand, looking at Tom quizzically.
“Why do you say that, you’ve always got plenty of women?” She took a sip from her wine, waiting for Tom’s answer.
“Yeah maybe, but if I’m being totally honest none of them have actually meant anything to me. I did think that Isabel may have been the one, for a short time, she wasn’t a bimbo like most of them, but on the other hand,” he sighed, “she was a total control freak.”
Bets shuddered as she recalled the night of horror, staying at Isabel’s apartment, particularly the bathroom incident.
“So,” she said, shaking the images from her head. “What sort of a woman would you like?”
“Well I know that it probably sounds corny, but someone like Amanda and Charlotte, I suppose. I don’t want to sound soppy, but I really love my sisters. I know that we argue, but don’t all siblings?” Tom’s eyes glistened as he thought about them.
“Couldn’t tell you,” Bets replied nonchalantly, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy.
“Oh sorry, I never thought.” Tom shook his head, a look of apology on his face.
“Nah, it doesn’t matter. I'm just glad that you realise how lucky you are.”
Tom ran a finger along the rim of his wine glass, looking at Bets intently but not saying anything. She fidgeted, starting to feel exposed under his gaze.
“What – what are you thinking. I don’t like the look upon your face?” she cried.
Tom smiled, flashing perfect white teeth. “I was just wondering, why a beautiful woman like you hasn’t got a regular bloke, or even married?”
Bets thought about it for a few seconds, aware that it was something that had crossed her mind nearly every day recently.