Chapter Six #2
He parked the car in the driveway at Dan and Missy’s house and sat there for a moment.
It was still so strange to come here to visit them.
This house had belonged to Charlotte’s grandparents.
She’d stayed here every summer of their childhood.
He swallowed as a memory hit him and a wave of emotion crashed over him.
The last time they’d ever been together as a couple, the last time he’d held her in his arms, they’d been sitting here, in his car, on the driveway.
He blinked away the tears that stung behind his eyes.
That was the night she’d wondered whether they should get rid of the baby.
The night before she left for Mexico. The last time he’d held her.
He’d been so stunned that she’d even consider not having the baby.
He drew in a deep breath to steady himself.
He couldn’t open that box up right now. He was here to see Missy and Dan, to tell them his good news that she was coming back.
He and Charlotte would no doubt revisit that time of their lives over the coming weeks.
He felt as though they still needed to grieve together.
But this wasn’t the time for him to be thinking about it. He opened the car door and climbed out.
“Hey, Uncle Ben!”
“Hey, Scotty. How you doing, bud?”
Scot nodded. “Great, thanks. I’m just on my way out. It’s good to see you.”
Ben watched him hitch his backpack higher and plug his headphones into his ears. He smiled and gave a little wave as he walked up the path and closed the gate behind him before walking off down Main.
Scot was growing up so fast. Not so long ago he still used to greet Ben with a hug.
He’d still behaved like a little kid just a year ago.
Now he was all teenager. Ben watched him as he walked away, head down, cell phone in his hand.
The time went so fast. He had to close his eyes again as another wave of emotion hit him.
He couldn’t help it. Whenever he saw Scotty, he had to wonder what his own child would be like.
No. He could not go there right now. He took a deep breath and went to knock on the front door.
He was supposed to be happy; he was here to share his good news. He couldn’t go breaking down now!
“Hey, hon!” Missy greeted him with a smile as she opened the front door. “I didn’t expect to see you till later. Come on in.”
Ben followed her through to the kitchen where Dan was sitting at the counter. “Hi.”
“Hey, Dan. I’m not interrupting anything, am I? I just saw Scotty on his way out. Is this precious alone time for you and I’m landing myself in the middle of it?”
Missy laughed. “Not at all. In fact, I’ll bet Dan’s glad you’re here. I was just chattering on about my coursework and how excited I am that I get to start at Summer Lake High after Christmas.”
Dan’s eyes twinkled when he smiled at Ben and shrugged.
Missy laughed. “Anyway. What do you want to drink? There’s beer or Dan was just about to open a bottle of wine.”
Dan smiled. “I was, wasn’t I?” He got down from his seat and went to the pantry.
“Are you going to tell me what’s up?” asked Missy. “Dan wouldn’t mind going to hang out with his computer, if you like.”
Ben laughed. “Thanks, Miss. But this is something I want to share with both of you. It’s good news.”
Missy wrinkled her nose and eyed him warily. “Am I going to think it’s good news?”
“I hope so.”
Dan came back with a Cab Franc and held it up for Ben’s inspection. “What do you think?”
Ben nodded. “That’s great, thanks.”
Missy pulled herself up onto one of the stools and indicated that Ben should do the same. He sat and took the glass that Dan handed him. Once they all had a drink, Missy poked his shin with her toe. “Come on then. Put me out of my misery.”
“I talked to Charlie this morning. She’ll be here by the weekend.”
Missy’s mouth fell open.
Dan smiled at him uncertainly.
“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you lost for words before, Miss.”
She recovered quickly and grinned at him. “I think it’s a first!” She laughed, but she still looked shocked.
“Why are you so surprised?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not.
I mean, obviously, I am, but I shouldn’t be.
You’ve been waiting for this ever since Vegas.
You’ve been waiting a hell of a lot longer than that.
We all have! But, I don’t know, I think I was kind of getting used to the idea that it wasn’t going to happen. ”
“You were?”
She nodded. “Hell yeah. I thought one or the other of you had finally decided it was time to leave the past where … in the past.”
Had she been about to say where it belongs? Ben raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Oh, come on! You haven’t heard a peep out of her in months.
I haven’t either, and I wouldn’t get in touch with her because I didn’t want to know anything that you didn’t know.
” She made a face at him. “It’s taken so long that I was starting to wonder if she’d changed her mind, or if maybe it was too hard to break up with Alastair, or I don’t know, something! And then there’s you.”
“What about me?”
She sat up taller and put her hands on her hips.
“I don’t know if you’re blind, or if you think we’re all blind.
Angel!” Missy blew out a sigh. “She’s beautiful!
And she’s so sweet, when you give her a chance—and I feel shitty that none of us have given her a chance, just because she’s not Charlotte.
You and her just seem to fit. It’s like you silently became this team—this partnership—without anyone noticing. ”
Ben stared at her. He didn’t know what to say.
Missy shook a finger at him. “Don’t give me the Mr. Innocent. You know damned well what I’m talking about! What did she say yesterday morning? Oh, I know. You’re kindred spirits, right? And you’re a genius.”
“She only said it was a stroke of genius to …” said Dan.
Missy swung to face him. “Don’t you try and defend her.”
Dan held his hands up and laughed. “Hey, I’m just reminding you of the facts. They get lost sometimes when you get …”
Missy glared at him and he smiled and zippered his lip. They both laughed and Missy turned back to Ben. “Okay, so maybe I’m getting a bit carried away, but I honestly thought you were coming over here to tell me that you were seeing Angel. I thought you were worried I was going to be mad at you.”
“Wow.” Ben shook his head. “It feels like you’re mad that I’m not.”
Missy shook her head. “No. I’m not. I’m just surprised.”
“Miss, after all these years … you’ve always known all I wanted was Charlie. How can you be surprised?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I know it’s crazy, but I think I’d really started to believe that it wasn’t going to happen.”
“And are you happy that it is going to happen?”
She didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t know. I really just don’t know. I’d love to believe that you two will finally make each other happy, but if you want to know the truth, I’m not sure that you will. Even more than that, I’m scared that you won’t.”
Ben nodded. He shouldn’t be surprised. Smoke and Joe had already voiced the same thoughts. “You know, I saw Emma earlier. I had to tell her because she heard me answer when Charlie called. So far, she’s the only one who’s been genuinely happy for me.”
“Aww, Ben. You know I’ll be happy with whatever makes you happy. I don’t want to pee on your parade.”
He held up a hand. “I know, I didn’t mean it like that. I should have said it differently. You and Joe and Smoke, you’re all wary, you have your reservations, and you’ve each questioned me about Angel. Emma? She just did her little happy dance.”
Missy pursed her lips. “Maybe that’s because our Em’s the only one who still believes in fairy tales?”
Ben nodded. “Maybe.”