Chapter 04 SHANA
“Oh my god. Charlie?“
I whispered, my hand in front of my mouth. My knees threatened to buckle.
Slowly, she stood up, tucking the helmet underneath her arm, and I was confident I was going to pass out. I took a deep breath and I tried not to lock my knees. It had been two decades since I last saw her, but her graceful movements were familiar. I held my breath as her hips smoothly swayed toward me, the movement almost preternatural, as if she were stalking prey. Charlie was just as stunning as she had been all those years ago. She hadn’t aged a single day since she stopped talking to me all those years ago. My vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over.
Charlie lifted her hand, swiping a thumb under my eye gently before cupping the side of my face. Her eyes were soft, questioning. I subtly nodded, and she closed the gap between us, cupping her hand on the back of my head before her lips crashed into mine. I wrapped my hands around her back, pulling her as close to me as I could.
It was a kiss of desperation, of two past lovers reuniting. We shared a breath, each refusing to part even a little to pull in air. That shattered piece of my heart, the one held together like kintsugi, began to feel as if it was shaping back into the heart I once knew. I thought I could live without her. I knew nothing.
The sound had faded, and as Charlie dipped me backwards, whispering, “I’ve got you, mon coeur.”
I nodded again, and the kiss went from one of desperation to one of worship. It was slow, gentle, and full of every single word she hadn’t yet expressed. I held her close as the first few fat snowflakes fell, before the sound of Sadie’s camera shutter brought me back into the land of the living.
I smiled against Charlie’s lips, and as she lifted me back up, she went down on her knees again, hugging my middle. I ran my fingers through the top of her hair, since the sides were nearly shaved to her scalp. Her ears were bright red. She’d need to get warm soon before she caught frostbite.
She kept whispering something, and I bent down to her level so I could hear her. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,“
she repeated over and over.
“Hey, hey, gioia. It’s okay. You’re okay,“
I said, bending down to meet her at her level. The snow was picking up, but I grabbed her chin gently, forcing her to focus on me. “It’s okay. We can talk in a little bit, all right?”
I wiped her tears away as she had done for me, then pulled her in close, letting her rest her head against the shoulder furthest away from the camera so she could get her emotions under control. With my other hand, I made the cut motion across my neck toward Sadie. The shoot was over.
“That’s a wrap, friends. Thank you,“
Sadie said quietly.
The crew, ready and anxious to break down the set, began pulling carts over as the snow picked up. Charlie pulled away from me slowly, her emotions under control. I kissed her forehead gently before standing back up and making my way to Sadie.
“You cannot tell me that you and my mom didn’t coordinate this on purpose,“
I said, playfully angry, my hands on my hips.
She ducked her head. “And if I said that was the case?”
I grabbed her camera, and she let me without hesitation, pulling the strap off her neck to hand it over to me. The pictures were fucking incredible. I quietly gasped as I flipped through shot after shot. Even the ones where we were blindfolded, the chemistry was off the charts. It looked like a high fashion shoot. The Mississippi floated by in the background with ice patches marking the passage of time in each image, and as the torches had been lit, the entire scene changed again, and then one more time as the snow began to fall.
“My mother and I are going to have a talk,” I said.
Sadie laughed. “I remembered you telling me about her when we last met. Your mom told me stories, too.”
“I can’t believe you remembered. That was what, ten years ago?“
I asked, handing her camera back to her.
“Your mom means a lot to me and Olivia, my fiancée,“
she said with a fond smile.
“She’s pretty great.“
I glanced back at Charlie, who was laughing with the horse’s handler. My lips twitched, and my heart was full to bursting.
“Thank you,“
I said simply, hugging her. “Please be safe getting back home. When is your flight?”
“It was supposed to be tonight, but I’m guessing it’ll be canceled. I’ll get these photos to you both as soon as I can,” she said.
I nodded and hugged her again, then made my way back to Charlie, who was helping load the rest of the set into the back of a cargo truck. I really hoped they’d be able to get down the bluffs and back to St. Louis safely.
“I’m going to go ahead and head out before it starts getting impassable,“
I said quietly as we watched the last of the production crew wind their way out of the wooded area that led to the main road.
She wouldn’t meet my eyes, but she took my hand in hers, softly running her fingers across the back of mine. I shivered at the contact, but I didn’t say anything. My intuition told me that she’d speak when she was ready.
“Stay. Please,“
she pleaded, finally looking up at me again.
I broke. She always could ask me for anything, and I would never say no, even all these years later. “You want me to get snowed in with you? You sure about that?”
She pulled me into her, and I wrapped my arms around her again. No one had ever felt as perfect, and that scared the shit out of me. “Absolutely.”