by Linda Mayes
CHAPTER 3
For the next several days, Grace worked with Sarah at the store, getting to know the routine and how to work the cash register. Sarah also told Grace that she was in charge of the hunting and fishing items. She had grown up not far from Belt, with a father and five brothers who had taught her well. She was quite a bit older than Grace, but funny and smart and easy to talk to. Grace hadn’t realized, until now, how hard leaving her own friends behind had been. She’d been so worried about her kids that she hadn’t put much thought into her own needs.
Charlie was busy during those first few days helping Sarah with the cash register and stocking and ordering supplies. He made a point, however, to walk Grace through everything he was doing as he did it. He was easy to talk to as well, and they both made Grace feel welcome and needed at the store. She left each day with a feeling of accomplishment, and a renewed sense of worth. She hadn’t even realized that she’d been missing that until now.
She noticed that many of the women who came into the store would flirt with Charlie. He was always friendly, and would ask each of them about their kids or their husband, but never seemed to really be flirting back. Grace wondered what such a nice looking man was doing single at his age, running a grocery store alone and driving the lady who ran the quilt shop home every night. He knew it wasn’t her business, but the small-town culture was beginning to rub off on her. So one day while she and Sarah were having their lunch and Sarah was talking about who had married and divorced whom in town, she saw an opening.
“Has Charlie ever been married?”
Sarah looked sad and said, “Yes, he was married. The poor boy, he’s been through so much.”
“A divorce?”
“No,” Sarah started, “much worse.” She glanced behind her at the break room door before she went on. Grace could tell she was trying to make sure they weren’t overheard. “Charlie married his high-school sweetheart. They both went away to college after high school, different ones, but they found their way back here and to each other. Celeste. She was a beautiful girl. She was happy and warm, like Charlie. They got married and Charlie took over the store and Celeste worked with him. She was the one who would run to Great Falls if we needed something and couldn’t wait for a delivery, or go to all the farmer’s markets in the area to get fresh produce.” She stopped and looked at the door again. Grace could tell that the woman was nervous talking about it.
“Sarah, if you’d rather not talk about it—”
“No, it’s okay. It just makes Charlie so sad that I can hardly stand it. I, well actually, we, no one in town, talks about it in front of him, ever. Anyways, Charlie and Celeste had a little girl. Her name was Celia. She was a sweet, angelic baby and her daddy loved her more than anything in this world. He would bring her to work with him from the time she was born. He set up a cradle for her there in the back before she could walk, and when she could, she’d be running up and down these aisles, laughing and playing. She was the kind of kid that made people happy.” Sarah stopped talking again, this time wiping a stray tear from her eye. Grace felt bad about asking now. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she could sense where the story was going and it was going to be very badly. She started to stop Sarah, but then the other woman said quickly as if she were just trying to get the words out, “She should have been here that day, the day she and her mama died. Charlie hadn’t been feeling well, though, so Celeste took her with her to Great Falls. The sheriff said that the driver of the truck that hit them must have fallen asleep. He said that they both died instantly, I don’t know if knowing that helps a person or not. Dead is dead, and poor Charlie was devastated.”
“Oh my goodness, poor things,” Grace said sincerely. She was sorry she had asked now. She felt guilty that here she was going around feeling so bad for herself because her life had seemingly fallen apart. She realized, hearing Charlie’s story, that she didn’t know a thing about real pain. She thought about Charlie’s easy smile and friendly way with people and wondered how someone could ever recover from something so tragic.
Sarah was nodding. “Yes, poor things, all of them. It was almost five years ago. Charlie locked himself up in their house for weeks. He wouldn’t talk to anyone or see anyone. His mother and father came back in to run the store, and his poor mama would cry every day. She missed her sweet angel Celia, and she hurt so badly for her boy too. She said that he wouldn’t answer his phone or his door. She was afraid he was going to die in there or hurt himself. That was when that family showed how strong they really are. His brothers all came home. They left their jobs and their lives and they busted down that boy’s door and refused to leave him alone. They probably saved his life.”
“He must be such a strong person. You would never know that he had been through something as terrible as that.”
“Yes, he is strong, but every year now for the past five years, on the anniversary of their death—”
The door opening interrupted Sarah. Charlie stuck his head in and grinned at them. “I’m sorry ladies, but it’s getting a little busy out here. Sarah would you mind helping me out? You can finish your break later.”
Sarah jumped up. “Not at all, I’m done.” She looked at Grace and said, “Go ahead and finish your lunch, you’re too thin, you need to eat.”
Grace laughed and watched the older woman go. She sat for a few minutes thinking about Charlie. She couldn’t even imagine waking up each morning if it wasn’t for her children.