Chasing Charlie

by C. M. Newman

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: GRUMPY OLD MEN

  Harry looked busier and less approachable than usual the next morning when Angela got to work, or perhaps that was her mind’s way of procrastinating on talking to him. In any case, she sent him an email saying she needed a few minutes with him that afternoon and that she needed the afternoon off the next day. He replied with a quick Works for me. Marshall offered to pick up lunch for anyone who wanted it when he went out; Angela took advantage of his offer so she could eat at her desk and get in a solid day’s work before taking even more time off.

  “Goin’ to see Fitz?” Marshall asked when he saw Angela step toward Harry’s office. Marshall had been so quiet all morning that Angela had forgotten she had a neighbor.

  “Uh, yeah, why, is he busy?”

  “No, he’s not here. He came through while you were getting your fourth cup of coffee, said he was takin’ a long lunch.”

  Angela sat back down. “Oh.”

  “Something wrong?”

  “No, just wanted to run something by him.”

  —

  Just as Vince got home from the circuit court, a knock sounded at the door. A quick look through the peephole told him that Harry was here for a surprise midday visit.

  “Harry, hey,” he said with a pleased smile.

  “How’s it going?” Harry asked before stepping inside and giving Vince a firm hug.

  “Not too bad,” Vince said. “What brings you here in the middle of the day?”

  “Rumor has it your girlfriend’s here every evening, and I’m not all that crazy about her, so I figured I’d stop by when she wasn’t around.”

  Vince’s eyes brightened as he let Harry further into the apartment. “Have a seat. Thirsty?”

  “Actually, how about we go grab a bite to eat?” Harry asked. “Have you had lunch yet?”

  “Nope,” Vince said, omitting the fact that it was because he wasn’t really hungry. “Sounds like a good idea. How long’ve you got?”

  “As much time as I want. I’m the boss and I worked like a good boy this morning,” Harry said with a smirk. He watched Vince step into his shoes and spotted a pair of heels and a women’s pair of sneakers. While Vince laced up, Harry walked into the kitchen and ran his finger over the top of the microwave. “Clean. There’s a woman living here.”

  “Nice try, but no, there’s not,” Vince said as he put on his coat. He saw where Harry was standing and that he was holding up a finger. “I cleaned the top of the microwave myself, thanks very much. And Angela doesn’t live here. She just keeps some stuff here.”

  “Right. So, were you ever gonna tell me about you two on your own?” Harry asked harmlessly.

  “Wasn’t my place,” Vince said with an apologetic shrug. “It had to be Angela’s choice.”

  “She’s living quite the double life,” Harry remarked. He led Vince down to his car and they got in.

  “I take it she hasn’t talked to you yet today, has she?” Vince asked.

  “No, but she did ask to meet with me this afternoon, why? She leaving too or something? I’m already having a hard enough time finding a replacement for you, please don’t tell me I have to dip back into those crappy resumes.”

  “Angela and I…” Vince stuck a finger underneath his beanie and scratched mindlessly at his scalp. He swallowed and couldn’t help but smile a bit. “She was going to tell you this today. Hopefully she doesn’t strangle me for beating her to it.”

  “Spit it out.”

  “We’re getting married.”

  Harry was silent long enough to worry Vince. “Now that one I did not see. I would’ve guessed pregnant before engaged. Is this a new development?”

  “Fairly. We just decided last night.”

  “So you proposed after only a month, huh?”

  “Actually, I think she proposed to me,” Vince said with a pathetic laugh. “Not my proudest moment.”

  “Just surprises me given what you’ve said to me about being afraid how much this is gonna hurt her,” he said as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed to the end of town with the most dining options.

  “Trust me, that was a concern of mine and still is, but…she seems to be thrilled. I can’t keep making her decisions for her.” Vince swallowed anxiously, not having expected Harry to react so vaguely.

  When Harry stopped at a stop sign, he gave Vince a good once over and a smile that wasn’t the least bit forced. “Sorry, I just needed a minute to process. I’m obviously scaring the living daylights out of you, aren’t I?”

  Vince chuckled. “Maybe a little.”

  “Didn’t mean to. Congratulations, Vince. I’m happy for you two. When’s the big day? Wait, don’t tell me. Half day off on a Thursday to go to elope at the circuit court?”

  “Church, actually. It was the only time the pastor could fit us in this week.”

  “There’s no waiting period for licenses?”

  Vince grinned. “There is. Five days. But I took care of that this morning. Angela just has to stop by on her way home and do her part of the application.”

  “Nice work. Am I not invited?” Harry griped.

  “We wanted—”

  “I’m yankin’ your chain. I get it. This is about you guys, not what anyone else thinks, right?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Besides, the rest of the team would have my head if I got to go and they didn’t even know about it.”

  Though Vince liked the idea of a wedding with all their friends and family present, it did add an element of pressure that he didn’t want, and it would turn the ceremony into something they didn’t want it to be. If he was sticking around for longer, maybe they would have felt differently. “I’m sure Angela would be happy to celebrate with everyone this weekend or something,” he added after a few minutes’ silence, desperate not to alienate Harry like Angela had.

  “Let me throw you a little reception Saturday night.”

  Vince realized Harry was already pulling into a steakhouse. “Parties are expensive. You sure?”

  “I’ve been working and single for about forty years, Vince. I’ve got some money put away. I’d love to host something. That is, if Angela plans on telling everyone. Otherwise it’ll be a really small party, or a party full of people who don’t know why they’re there, and then I’ll have to tell them it’s my fortieth birthday. This okay for lunch, by the way?”

  “Yeah, a steak sounds good, actually,” Vince said. They went inside and got a table.

  “So? She planning on telling people or not?” Harry asked, picking their conversation back up once their hostess left them alone with some menus.

  “She said she’ll come clean to everyone after the wedding.”

  “That could be twenty years from now,” Harry quipped.

  Vince felt guilty for letting Harry pick on Angela while she wasn’t there to defend herself, but he couldn’t help but let his eyes twinkle at Harry’s fearlessness. “I’ll talk to her and see if she can do it Friday at the office. You think you can get them to come to a party on such short notice?”

  “You kidding? I run ‘em into the ground. They’re always too tired to make plans for the weekend, so they’ll be free. Don’t you worry about that. Just get Angela to treat her friends a little more like her friends. That’s your job.”

  That was where Vince drew the line. “Harry, she’s wanted to tell people, but her biggest fear right now is how everyone’s going to feel about her keeping it from them all this time. At first she really didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want the comments. She still doesn’t want to shout it from the rooftops because she’s a private person, and you know that, but she realizes that she’s put her relationships with everyone at risk. She does get that and she does want to fix it.”

  “Got it. Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude. Really, I didn’t.”

  “And being with me every day isn’t a walk in the park, either. She’s running on fumes right now. She’s exhausted.”

  Harry put down his menu
and waited for Vince to look up at him. “I know, Vince. It was a distasteful comment and I apologize. That being said, I do hope she tells Marshall and Sophie soon. Even if they don’t approve, I think they’d still support her. And she’s gonna need them a few months from now. The sooner she tells them, the better.”

  “Just out of curiosity, who do you think might have a problem with it?” Vince asked.

  “Hard to say. Sophie’s been vocal about her worries, and you know how sensitive she is. But then again, she’s a hopeless romantic. She might be stuck in the middle of being scared for Angela, angry at her for being kept in the dark, and wanting to write a crappy romance novel about the whole thing.”

  Vince grinned. “And Marshall?”

  Harry’s lips slanted downward. “He’s protective, he loves every single one of us, and he’s not always known for thinking before he speaks. I’ll let you do the math on that one.”

  “As long as he takes his problems up with me and doesn’t question Angela, then fine,” Vince said.

  “Feeling a little protective yourself, huh?” Harry teased.

  “Only because she tells me what’s going on inside her head and I understand a lot more about her perspective than anyone else on the team. I mean…” Vince sighed and lolled his head back for a second. “I want Marshall and Sophie to know, because even if she doesn’t turn to them now, she’ll need to when I’m gone. But at the same time, I can’t imagine this going down without some sort of negative reaction from Marshall or Sophie that’ll make Angela regret telling anyone at all. I can’t help not wanting her to face that kind of stuff. So yeah, I’m protective.”

  “Then all you can do is hope for the best,” Harry said with a shrug. “Is Charlie excited about you guys getting hitched or have you not told him?”

  “Haven’t told him,” Vince said. “I honestly can’t see a way to keep it a secret and I’m not sure I should want to, but I haven’t figured out a strategy yet. I’m hoping it’ll come to me.”

  “Can I ask you one more thing about Angela?”

  “Sure.”

  “This might be a little heavy for a lunch conversation, and if that’s so, then just say it, but do you think she’ll take a leave of absence once things start to…you know….”

  “I’ve actually thought about that,” Vince confessed. “And if we’re married, then she can take FMLA if she wants. It’s not even remotely the reason I agreed to marry her, and it’s not something I’ll ever bring up to her. FMLA only guarantees her twelve weeks, so if she does want to take time off to take care of me, it won’t be for a while from now. In any case, I want it to be her idea. I could never ask her to do that.”

  “You could never ask your wife to be there with you twenty-four seven for the last few months of your life?” Harry asked a bit incredulously. “Where else would she be?”

  “Being there with me is one thing. She can’t take leave from work just to sit and hold my hand, though. She’d have to be my caregiver, no?”

  “She wouldn’t have to be your sole caregiver. The rules are flexible. And you know Hanson will do what she can.”

  Vince’s eyes went wide. “Does Hanson know about us?”

  “Come on. You think I’d tell her? No, she has no idea. But I wouldn’t put it past her to throw Angela a bone if she did know. I know she’s not your best friend, but she’s not completely heartless.”

  “I know,” Vince said from experience.

  “Besides, twelve weeks is what we’re legally required to give Angela. We can keep her job open for as much time as she needs. I won’t let Hanson go and replace her. Only problem is it’d still be unpaid leave.”

  “That’s all well and good, and I appreciate the support, but this is really a moot point unless and until Angela brings it up,” Vince said. “I’m sure she will eventually, and you know what? I’m sure she’ll insist on doing the in-home hospice thing once I go off my chemo. But I can’t really guarantee that, and I can’t risk asking her to do it.”

  “Vince, she’d do anything for you. Look at what she’s doing right now. She’s marrying you even though she knows it’s gonna hurt when you go. You really think she’d turn you down?”

  “I’m not afraid she’d say no. It’s the opposite, really. I’m afraid she’d feel obligated.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t want to do, Vince. Pull your head out of your—you know, I can handle you not asking her, but don’t avoid bringing the topic up because you’re afraid of how she’ll interpret it. It’s something you need to talk about ahead of time. Do you know what you wanna do yet?”

  “After I stop chemo?” Vince asked. Harry nodded. “That depends on Angela more than me. Hospice care of some sort so I don’t die in complete misery, obviously. Whether it’s at a facility or in my apartment…that depends on how involved Angela wants to be.”

  “You’ve got a much thicker skull than I remember,” Harry grumbled. “Where the heck is our waitress?”

  “Right here, sorry about the wait,” a young woman said.

  “It’s all right,” Vince said with a smirk. “He’s a grumpy old man who gets worse when he’s hungry. Do you have a senior discount?”

  “It’s for him,” Harry said. “He’s turning sixty-five today. Hasn’t had a hair on that head in ten years.”

  The waitress looked confused by Harry’s addition to the banter and looked back and forth between them.

  “Sorry, we’re ready to order,” Vince informed her.

  Once they had each picked out a steak, Harry looked peacefully over at his friend.

  “What?” Vince asked.

  “You. You just…amaze me. I like to think I’d be half as collected as you are if I were in the same circumstances, but I don’t think I would be.”

  “You know how I take compliments,” Vince warned.

  “Not at all, I know. What else is new in your life? Got any new friends at chemo?”

  “Not really.”

  “So your only chemo buddy’s a ten-year-old girl? That doesn’t ring creepy to you at all?”

  Vince cast Harry a sardonic glare.

  “Relax, I’m joking. She sounds like a spunky kid. How is she?”

  “Not too great, actually. She hasn’t been feeling well, not that any of us feel well, but, you know…worse than she expected. I guess she’s going in for some testing sometime this week or next. That’s the last I heard, anyway.”

  “Maybe it was smart of you not to make a bunch of chemo buddies,” Harry said.

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing. That was actually my plan in the beginning, but she found me. Care to talk about something less depressing?”

  “Scratch my love life.”