by Rose Dumont
“Uh. Yeah, I guess it has been a long day.”
When they got upstairs in the bedroom, Charlotte changed into her nightgown, shyly facing away from Grayson in the dark corner of the room.
“Charlotte, you don’t have to be modest with me. I’m your husband now.”
“Yes, I know. I guess it’s gonna take some getting used to.”
Grayson got under the covers and then patted the other side of the mattress. “Come on to bed.” Charlotte slowly got under the covers, staying close to the edge of her side of the bed.
“What are you doing way over there? Come over and give me a hug.”
“Well…okay.” Charlotte rolled over towards Grayson and felt his warm body touch hers. He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a light kiss on her lips and then her neck. “You’re not tired?” Charlotte wasn’t sure if she was ready to consummate the marriage tonight or not, but she knew by now that Grayson was.
“Not too tired to make love to you. I’ve waited so long. I don’t think I can wait any longer, unless you tell me otherwise, of course.”
Charlotte kissed him back. “I love you Grayson.”
“I love you too, Charlotte.”
***
The next morning, Charlotte arose refreshed and energized after having a very good night’s sleep. Grayson was tender, gentle and very loving with her during their first night together. She didn’t really know what to expect since she didn’t have her mother or anyone else to ask about adult relationships and wedding nights, but it was better in some ways then she expected, although somewhat uncomfortable too. She figured it would get better the more they were together in the years to come.
Charlotte and Grayson made their way downstairs and were greeted by Jarrod and Miss Jean already having breakfast.
“Well good morning Mr. and Mrs. Lee. Sleep well?” Jarrod asked with a smile and eyebrows raised.
“Yes,” they replied in unison and then laughed.
“Good. Join us for breakfast.” Miss Jean put two plates down on the table.
“Thanks, Miss Jean.”
“Yes, thank you Miss Jean. Is Jenni up yet?” Charlotte asked.
“She was up earlier and I fed her, but now she’s taking a nap.”
“Thank you. I know that’s my responsibility now. I don’t usually sleep in like this.”
“I’ll give you some leeway since it was your wedding night and all. I don’t expect either of you to make it a habit though.”
“Of course not, Miss Jean. You know me. I’m always up early.” Grayson grabbed another biscuit and more bacon for his plate.
“And I’ll be up to cook your breakfast, Dear.” Charlotte stroked Grayson’s back.
“Married life is good.”
“It always is the first morning,” Jarrod said.
“Just wait and see when the right girl comes around and knocks you off your feet.”
“Yeah, I’ve been waiting and no one has so far.”
“You’ll see. And then I can tease you.”
“Unless I’m too old to hear you by then.”
“Don’t be such a pessimist. You’ll find someone sooner than that. You just can’t be so fussy.”
“I’ll be as fussy as I want to be, especially if I have to spend the rest of my life with her.”
“It’s your life, I guess. Would be nice if you still have your teeth though when you meet her.”
“Ha. Ha. Ha. Why don’t you just be quiet and finish your breakfast.”
“Now that’s enough from you two already. And yes, finish your breakfast so you can get to cleaning up the mess left outside from last night.” Miss Jean got up from the table and gathered the dishes to the sink.
“Yes, Miss Jean,” Grayson and Jarrod said in unison.
Charlotte looked over at Miss Jean. “Please leave those dishes in the sink, Miss Jean. I’ll wash them directly after I’ve finished eating. You already made us breakfast and all. Why don’t you relax and have a seat on the porch for awhile. When I’m done with the dishes, I’ll make us some tea and join you.”
“You did marry the right girl, Grayson. That sounds lovely, Charlotte.” Miss Jean went out the front door.
“Miss Jean likes you.” Grayson smiles and puts his hand on Charlotte’s shoulder.
“I hope so. And I want you to like me too, Jarrod.”
“Oh, I do Charlotte. I’m glad to see Grayson has found someone like you. Don’t take it the wrong way when I tease Grayson. We do it to each other all the time.”
“I think I’m starting to realize that.”
“Well I’ll get started on the mess outside. I’ll see you out there, brother.”
“Yeah, I’ll be joining you soon.”
Jarrod grabbed the last biscuit and walked out the door. Charlotte got up from the table, gathered the rest of the dishes and began washing them. Grayson came up behind her, gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be outside with Jarrod. Then we have some ranch work to do. I’ll be back around lunch time. You’ll have the rest of the morning to spend with Jenni and get to know her better.”
“Yes. I’ll finish these dishes and tidy things up and clean up whatever’s left outside. And yes, Jenni and I will have some nice time together.”
Grayson put on his hat and opened the front door, then looked back at Charlotte, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Over a month had passed and Charlotte was getting used to married life as well as adjusting to western life. The girl from the city was now milking cows and churning butter, something she never saw herself doing while living in Boston only a few months ago. But she was starting to not only tolerate this simple hard-working lifestyle, but actually beginning to embrace and enjoy it. And every day that passed, she fell more in love with Grayson as did he with her. Everything was perfect. So she thought.
Charlotte also loved being a mom to Jenni and was looking forward to having a baby with Grayson soon. Lately, she was feeling kind of queasy in the mornings, but thought is was nothing. No one ever told her about morning sickness or really anything about being in the family way. She thought if her symptoms continued or got worse, then she would make a visit to the doctor, but wouldn’t tell Grayson or anyone until she knew what was wrong.
***
Several people waved to Charlotte as she walked down the town’s dirt road. She hesitantly waved back.
Sid looked up from behind the hotel front desk and saw Charlotte approaching with a suitcase in hand. “Good afternoon, Miss Charlotte. Are you going somewhere?”
“No. I just arrived. I’m guessing you and everyone else in town are mistaking me for my twin sister, Cheryl.”
“Cheryl? I don’t know a Cheryl. But I do know Charlotte and she looks just like you.”
“Sounds like she’s fooled everyone. Her name is Cheryl and I assume she is with Grayson at his ranch. Can you be so kind as to tell me how to get there?”
“Huh? I’m confused. Charlotte or err, Cheryl never said she had a twin. I guess I didn’t even know she had a sister for that matter.”
“I’m not surprised she didn’t tell you or anyone else.”
“Yes, I reckon so. Um, well you can go to the ranch if you can find someone to take you, but Grayson or his brother, Jarrod, usually comes into town about this time every week to get supplies and pick up the mail. If you wait around a bit, I’ll bet one of them will show up.”
“That sounds fine. In the mean time, I would like to get a room. Do you have one available?”
“Yes, I do. Just sign this and I’ll get you your key and show you to your room. When I see Grayson or Jarrod I’ll let them know you’re here.”
“Thank you.” Charlotte went to her room, freshened up and changed her clothes and waited for either Grayson or Jarrod to arrive.
***
Sid saw Grayson pass by on his buckboard and went outside to tell him about Charlotte. “Hey, Grayson!”
&nbs
p; “Well hey there Sid. How are you?”
“Good. Um…There’s someone in the hotel to see you.”
“See me? Who?”
“I think you should just go meet her and find out for yourself.”
“Her? A woman? Who is it, Sid?”
“She’s in room two. She’ll let you know who she is.”
“Why you being all funny?”
“You’ll see.”
“Alright, well I don’t have a lot of time to spare. I got stuff to take care of so enough of this mystery talk. Let me just go see who it is. Can you at least tell me her name?”
“Charlotte.”
“Charlotte? Do you mean my Charlotte?”
“Not exactly.”
Grayson shook his head and then put the brake on the wagon and went directly to room two and knocked on the door. As the door opened, Grayson began to speak but stopped mid-sentence as he raised his head, “Hello Ma’am. Sid told me…Charlotte? What are you doing here?”
Charlotte opened the door wider and then rushed into Grayson and gave him a big hug. “Oh Grayson, it’s so good to finally meet you!”
“Wait a minute. What’s going on here? You sort of sound like Charlotte. You certainly look like Charlotte. But for some reason, I don’t think you are Charlotte. Who are you?”
“But I am Charlotte. The one you have been writing to. It is my twin sister, Cheryl, that you are confusing me with.”
“Cheryl? Twin sister? What?”
“I never told you about my twin sister. We never got along and I barely consider her family. I just didn’t see any reason to mention her in my letters to you.”
“But she calls herself Charlotte. She arrived here acting as if she was you. For goodness sakes, we got married!”
“Married? Oh, I was hoping that hadn’t happened yet.”
“Well it has. And I’m really confused now. I thought she was you. But now here you are standing in front of me telling me I married your sister! How did that happen?”
“She knew I was receiving letters from you, a handsome and wealthy man. I knew she was jealous, but I never knew she would stoop so low. She somehow intercepted your last few letters, but one more came after she left. The one where you said you were so happy that I agreed to marry you. I was shocked and confused. I found one of your previous letters in some of Cheryl’s belongings that she left behind. And then it all made sense. We didn’t know where Cheryl was going when she left. She just took off one day without much of an explanation, but then I put two and two together and realized what she did. I borrowed some money from my Aunt and got on a train as soon as I could. I was praying the entire way that you hadn’t got married yet, but it looks like my prayers weren’t answered.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’m completely dumbstruck.”
“Even though you’re married, it’s not too late for us, Grayson. You can get an annulment and then we can get married.”
“Hold on. Just hold on. I need time to think.”
“What’s there to think about?”
“It’s terrible to know that my marriage is based on a lie. And the woman I married lied to me. But I cannot help or deny the truth that I have fallen in love with your sister.”
“But what about all the words we exchanged in our letters to each other? Doesn’t that mean anything to you? Didn’t you fall in love with me through those letters?”
“Of course it meant something and I was falling in love with you, but now everything has changed. I really don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I can forgive Cheryl.”
“Forgive Cheryl? You don’t have to forgive Cheryl. Just have the marriage annulled and marry me.”
“But I do love your sister. At least I think I do.” Grayson furrowed his brow, looked away from Charlotte and rubbed his head.
“Don’t you love me?”
“I don’t know anymore. I thought Cheryl was you. And now she’s not, but you’re here now and I’m so confused.”
“Well at the very least, you can give me a chance. We need to spend some time together and talk since we never have until now.”
“But how does that look? I’m married, but I am gonna get to know you like we’re courting?”
“Let me spend the week with you and then you can decide who you want.”
“And Cheryl is just gonna step aside while I get to know you?”
“I’ll take care of Cheryl. It’s the least she can do. I’m giving her a fair chance, even though she didn’t do the same for me. She stole you from me!”
“I reckon she did.”
“One week, then you decide. Fair enough?”
“Fair enough. I guess.”
“Good. I’ll stay at your ranch, in separate bedrooms of course, and Cheryl will stay at the hotel for the week.”
“This is going to be awfully confusing to Jenni. She’s just starting to warm up to Charl…I mean Cheryl. How am I going to explain all this to her? She already calls her mommy.”
“Yes, I don’t want to cause any more strife for Jenni than need be. She’s just a child. But I need to have time with Jenni as well and can’t have Cheryl there in the house at the same time. We will tell Jenni that Cheryl had to stay in town for a short time, but will be back.”
“Will she?”
“I guess that will be up to you.”
“This is just crazy. I thought everything was right again for me. I got married, have a lovely wife and new mother to my child and now everything is turned upside down.”
“I don’t want to cause you pain, Grayson. But I cannot leave without giving us a chance. I would regret it for the rest of my life. Wouldn’t you?”
“In some ways, I wish you never came. But I guess now that you’re here, I need to know too. Gosh, darn it. I just want to live a simple life.”
“A week and then you can return to your simple life with the right woman.”
“I hope it’s that simple.”
“I hope and pray it is too.”
CHAPTER NINE
Grayson walked through the front door of the cabin where he found Charlotte, who is actually Cheryl, cooking dinner.
“You’re home early. Did you get all the supplies you needed in town?”
“No. No I didn’t.” Grayson took off his hat, placed it on the rack and stared at the back of Cheryl as she cooked.
“Well, why not?”
“Because I ran into your sister.”
“My sister?” Charlotte immediately stopped stirring and turned around to look at Grayson. “What do you mean, my sister?” She began to tremble and got an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. She almost fainted, but then caught herself on the kitchen chair. Grayson ran over and helped her sit down.
“Charlotte, well I guess I mean Cheryl, don’t I? You need to tell me right here and now the whole truth about who you are and why you’re here.”
“But I am Charlotte! Cheryl is my twin sister. I knew she was jealous of me receiving those letters from you and your proposal for marriage, but I never thought she would come all the way out here and try to pretend she’s me. That’s just crazy.”
“Are you telling me that she’s the one that’s lying and not you?”
“That’s right. And why are you even questioning me? Don’t you love me?”
“Well that’s the problem. Of course I love you. But I got to know who’s telling the truth.”
“I am. I wouldn’t lie to you.”f
“There is only one way to know for sure.”
“What’s that?”
“Well the woman in the hotel who claims she’s you says that you stole the last few letters I sent to Charlotte. She did not get the letter where I proposed and just kept waiting for my letters to arrive.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“Well I wrote one more letter that supposedly arrived after you left and that’s how she figured what you did and why she’s here now.”
“I came out as soon as I received your proposal and the mo
ney for the train ticket from you. I didn’t know you wrote another letter.”
“Well I did. And there’s really only one way to know for sure if you’re telling me the truth.”
Grayson’s wife spoke with hesitation, “What’s that?”
“Even if one of you intercepted a few letters, only the one who wrote to me knows what was said in those letters to me. Only she and I know.”
“Yes…”
“So aside from the last letter that you wrote to me where you accepted my proposal, tell me something that you wrote to me that only you and I would know. I’ve kept all your letters. I almost know everything you’ve written to me by heart since I would read them several times over.”
“Well, let me think.”
“Anything, Charlotte. Anything.”
“Oh, I’m getting all rattled. You’re putting a lot of pressure on me. I’m having a hard time remembering right now. Those letters are from awhile back.”
“You’re starting to make me nervous, Charlotte. Or should I call you Cheryl!”
Tears started to roll down her face. She put her head in her hands and began to cry out loud. “I’m so sorry, Grayson. I didn’t think she would find out.”
“Find out what?”
“That I stole her letters. I figured when she stopped receiving letters from you that she would think you weren’t interested anymore. I didn’t know your wrote one more letter. I thought she would just forget about you and move on. I never thought she would come out here and find us.”
“You’re Cheryl?”
“Yes, I’m Cheryl, Charlotte’s twin sister. Did she ever mention me to you in her letters?”
“No.”
“I just thought I would come out here and find this great man that she talked about and marry him and I would be taken care of. I knew I would like you. I didn’t know if I would or could love you. But to my surprise, I have fallen in love with you. Deeply in love, Grayson.”
“But you lied to me. I thought you were someone else. I thought you were Charlotte. I don’t know who Cheryl is.”
“But you do know me. I haven’t pretended to be anyone else. I was afraid something that you and Charlotte discussed in a letter may come up, but it never did. I guess not until now. I have just been myself and I thought you liked me for who I am. I thought you’ve fallen in love with me too.”