Chapter Eight
Charlotte paced the house. Why, oh why had she decided to go over to see Joe?
Hadn’t she decided she was going to be less impetuous?
She shook her head and took a big gulp of coffee.
Well, it just served her right, didn’t it?
She should have known, planning a surprise had been a dumb idea.
Surprises were her thing, not Ben’s. She climbed up on one of the stools at the kitchen counter and drummed her fingers.
She was mad at herself. She wished she hadn’t gone.
She wished she hadn’t seen Ben talking to that woman.
Wished she hadn’t heard him call her his angel.
She stood up again, unable to sit still.
What was going on between the two of them?
And was it really any of her business? She started to pace again.
Her mind was racing; of course, all the coffee didn’t help that.
She was totally wired, somewhat sleep deprived, and definitely overemotional.
And now she had to decide what she was going to do.
She took her mug to the sink and poured the coffee away. That stuff wasn’t going to help her. The question was, what would help her now? She had no clue what to do. All her hopes of giving Ben a wonderful surprise had gone down the drain, just like the coffee.
She let herself out onto the deck. Maybe some fresh air would help her clear her head.
She walked down to the water’s edge and picked up a handful of stones.
She threw them one by one into the water, watching the ripples spread.
She pursed her lips, thinking that each stone that fell into the water was like an action taken—its repercussions spreading far and wide.
She flung all the stones she had left and turned to go back inside, she felt as though she’d created a tidal wave rather than a ripple this morning.
She didn’t know what to do. Perhaps she should just call Ben, perhaps she should’ve just called him this morning.
But she couldn’t change what had already happened; all she could do now was figure out the best way to deal with it.
She probably should just call him, but now she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
After seeing him with that woman this morning, she felt as though there was a distance between them.
She hated feeling that way. That wasn’t how this was supposed to start.
If she wasn’t going to call him, what was she going to do?
She couldn’t just sit around here and think about it, she needed to do something.
She checked the time; it was still early, but not too early.
Missy would be up and about, and Scott would be leaving for school soon.
Maybe she should go and see her. On second thoughts, no.
Maybe she should learn from her mistakes and call first.
She grabbed her cell phone from her purse and found Missy’s number.
She wondered what her friend would have to say.
Charlotte hadn’t even called her to tell her she was coming.
In fact, they hadn’t spoken for months. When Ben had said they should cease contact for a while, it hadn’t felt right to keep in touch with Missy.
She knew there would be too much temptation to ask how Ben was doing.
She dialed the number and waited. She had to hope it was just the coffee, but for the first time in her life she was nervous to talk to her old friend.
“Beanpole!”
“Shrimp!” Tears pricked Charlotte’s eyes. It was so good to hear Missy’s voice, and even better to be greeted in the same old way and with such enthusiasm.
“What’s going on? When are you coming?”
“He told you then?”
“Of course, he did! He’s beside himself.”
“He is? Beside himself in a good way? Or have I really thrown him for a loop?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean is he excited that I’m coming back? Or is he beside himself because I’m intruding on his life out of the blue?”
“Don’t be ridiculous! He’s been waiting for this for years. And come on, this is you we’re talking about; you always do things out of the blue.”
Charlotte sighed. “Yeah, you’d think I would’ve learned by now, right?”
“Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound too good. Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Of course I do. I need the wisdom of the shrimp.”
Missy laughed. “You’re going to need to stop calling me that if you want my help.”
“Oh Miss, I haven’t been back five minutes, and I’ve screwed up already.”
“Err, excuse me! You’re back? When the hell did that happen? And why the hell are we talking on the phone? Where are you? And why aren’t you here?”
“Okay, let’s see if I can answer all of those. Yes, I’m back. I arrived late yesterday afternoon. We’re talking on the phone because I’m hiding out in a little house I rented.”
“I think that raises more questions than it answers. Where is this little house? I’m on my way.”
Charlotte smiled. “It’s down Lexington Drive. Number 222.”
“Oh, wow! You’re going to love your neighbors—April and Eddie, and her boy Marcus. They’re lovely people. But, sorry, by the sounds of it, you’re not too worried about your neighbors at the moment. I’ll be over as soon as I can get there. Do you want me to pick up some coffee on the way?”
Charlotte had to laugh. “No thank you. I drank about a gallon of it this morning already. I’ve still got plenty left though and doughnuts too. Just get yourself over here. I need you to help me sort myself out.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
“Thanks, Miss. You’re the best.”
“And don’t you forget it,” said Missy with a laugh.
Charlotte stood by the window, hoping that Missy wouldn’t take too long. She laughed when she saw Missy’s minivan pull into the driveway a few minutes later. She ran outside and was waiting when Missy climbed out. They wrapped each other in a hug. Tears stung Charlotte’s eyes again.
“It’s been too long, Miss.”
Missy laughed. “Well, that’s hardly my fault, is it?”
Charlotte shook her head and stepped back. “No, it’s my fault. It seems like everything’s always my fault.”
Missy wrinkled her nose. “Do I detect self-pity? And if so, why? That’s not like you. Are you going to tell me what’s going on and how you’ve already screwed up in the short time you’ve been here?”
“Yeah, come on in. Let me show you my lovely new home. And tell you what I went and did this morning.”
After Charlotte had given her a tour of the house and made fresh coffee, the two of them went to sit out on the deck.
Missy finished her doughnut and took a sip of her coffee before turning to look Charlotte in the eye. “I’m guessing whatever you screwed up has something to do with Ben?”
Charlotte nodded. “I feel so stupid, Miss. I wanted to surprise him.” She held up a hand when she saw the look on Missy’s face. “I know, I know. Dumb move. Ben doesn’t like surprises at the best of times.”
Missy frowned. “Stop beating about the bush. Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“I woke up too early this morning, you know what it’s like with the time difference.
I didn’t want to sit around here and wait until the rest of the world was awake.
So, I had what I thought was this amazing idea to go down to the restaurant and see if Joe still drank his coffee there first thing in the morning. ”
The furrows in Missy’s brow grew deeper. “Only Joe wasn’t there, right?”
“No. Ben was.”
“And let me guess, he wasn’t alone?”
“Shit! So, you know about her?” Charlotte’s heart was hammering in her chest. She didn’t know what she felt.
She didn’t know how she should feel. Part of her wanted to scream and shout and let out all the anger and hurt she felt.
Another part of her knew that that was totally unfair.
She and Ben hadn’t been together for years and years.
Until Sunday they hadn’t even spoken for months.
She’d turned back up, just like Missy had said, out of the blue.
How could she expect him to have nothing else going on in his life? But, dammit, she did!
Missy shook her head. “I don’t even know who you saw.”
Charlotte glared at her. “Don’t, Miss, please! He has someone else, it’s obvious. I understand you would want to protect him. He’s been your friend even longer than I have, I get that. I respect it even. But please don’t lie to me.”
Missy put her hands on her hips and scowled. “Don’t you dare go calling me a liar! I do not know who you saw this morning. I think I could probably hazard a fair guess, but even if I’m right, it’s not what you think.”
Charlotte gave her a grudging smile. “You know I’d never dare call you a liar. I value my life more than that. I just … I don’t know what to do, Miss. I feel so stupid.” She turned and looked Missy in the eye. “If you had to hazard a guess, who would you say I saw him with?”
“I would say it was Angel. She works for him. She’s managing the new lodge over at Four Mile Creek.”
Charlotte nodded. Her heart was racing. So, the woman’s name was Angel.
She felt at least some relief that Ben hadn’t been calling her his angel.
At the same time, the news that Angel worked for him seemed to make her more of a threat.
Ben’s work was the most important thing in his life; it always had been.
If this Angel was a part of his work life, then Charlotte knew that she was a big part of his whole life. “Are they dating?”
“No.” Missy shook her head with a frown. “Like I said, she works for him and they’ve become friends.”
“They certainly seemed pretty friendly this morning.”
Missy nodded, but didn’t comment.
“Come on, Miss. Please tell me what’s going on!”
Missy sighed. “As far as I know there’s nothing going on between them. I do know she likes him.” She wrinkled her nose, looking uncomfortable.
“And you think he likes her?”
Missy met her gaze. “I’m not going to lie to you, hon.”
“I’d rather you lied to me than sat there and said nothing. This is driving me nuts! Tell me what you know, or at least what you think.”