16
Charlotte
The scent of fried bacon hits me when I walk through the front door, and I hold my breath, preparing for the oncoming sickness, but when I take a gulp of air, my stomach isn’t queasy.
Oh, thank God.
“Hey, you’re back,” says Sage. Her curly hair is tied up in a messy bun, and she’s wearing an apron that says ‘I like it hot’.
“Yep.” I throw my jacket toward the coat rack but miss. Of course, I do. “I just can’t seem to catch a break.”
Sage turns off the stove and walks toward me. She’s about to pick up the jacket, but I stop her. “It’s okay. I’ve got it.”
“So, what did Dr. Gibbons say?”
I sigh and then paste a smile on my face. “She said, ‘congratulations’.”
Sage squeals and throws a hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry. But aren’t you even a bit excited about this?”
I close my eyes, searching for the words to express how I’m feeling, but I can’t describe what’s inside me right now. “I don’t know what I feel. It’s all such a shock. I can’t believe I’m back here eleven years later.”
“But you’re not, Char. You’re not the same person. And this man isn’t Jason.”
“Right. Because at least I knew Jason’s last name.” I drop the back of my head onto the couch and cover my eyes with my arm. “What are people going to say?”
The couch dips beside me, and Sage’s voice is in my ear. “We’re going to find him, Char. I can feel it.”
“You’re not psychic, Sage. And I don’t think any smudging will conjure up a last name.”
“I may not be psychic, but I am intuitive. And I feel it here.” She grabs my hand and puts it to her chest. Her heart beats quickly. “We’re going to find the baby’s father.”
I peek beneath my arm. “Do you really believe that?”
She nods. I sigh and slide my arm back over my eyes.
Sage leaves the couch but returns only a few minutes later with a pen and paper. “Okay, so tell me everything you know about this guy.”
“Nothing.”
“You must know something, Charlotte. Now think.”
I inhale deeply and think back to our time at St. Kitts. God, it feels like years ago instead of two months ago.
“What does he look like? Do you have a picture on your phone? ”
I shake my head. “We lived in the moment. It was enough to enjoy those shared views together.”
Sage smirks. “You shared more than just the view.”
A smile creeps over my lips, and it’s the first genuine smile I’ve had in weeks. “He has dark hair,” I add.
“Did he share anything about himself? Where does he live? What does he do for a living?”
“Mmm. He never mentioned where he’s from. I’m not even certain he’s American. He didn’t have any regional accent. He could be Canadian for all I know.”
“Did he apologize a lot?”
“Not really.”
“Then he isn’t Canadian.”
I laugh, but Charlotte shakes her head. “Trust me. We Canadians apologize for the silliest things. If someone bumps into us, we say ‘I’m sorry’.” She waves me off when I try to argue, but she’s convinced that Caleb isn’t Canadian, so I don’t argue with her.
“What about work?”
I look up at the ceiling and think about our conversations. “He mentioned that he’s married to his job, and I know he was trying to chat up some guy that was at the resort, but—”
“What guy? What was his name?”
“Teo.”
“Do you recall a last name?”
“Guillermo. I’m not sure. ”
Sage bites her pen. “You’re not very good at this, you know.”
I drop my arms to my side and throw back my head in despair. “I know. It’s hopeless.”
“It’s not hopeless. There’s got to be something we can go on. Since Casey suggested the resort, could this guy be a baseball player?”
I shake my head. “No. He was wearing a suit when I got to the resort, and he said he was working. That doesn’t fit.”
“You’re right. But he’s got money because he booked himself the Diamond Level Suite.”
“I suppose.”
She pulls out her phone. “All right. Let’s Google the name Caleb and American business executive and see if anything comes up.”
“Mom! Can I go to Anthony’s house tomorrow night? Uncle Austin is going to take us to the field to practice some drills.”
“If it’s okay with Austin, it’s okay with me,” I call out.
Sage is scrolling on her phone, her eyebrows nearly touching and her brow furrowed deeply.
“Anything?”
“So far, it’s just some fat white-haired men in light gray suits. Is this him?” She turns the phone toward me.
“Eww, Sage. What do you think of me? ”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. The place is romantic. He could have swept you away.”
“He would’ve had to knock me unconscious first.”
Sage laughs and I can’t help but chuckle, too. “Okay, okay. Let’s focus.”
“It’s not gonna work. It’s useless.” I try to stand and go back to my room to take a nap, but Sage grabs my arm.
“Put this into the universe. Give it positive energy. So, say it with me. ‘We are going to find him’.”
I stare at her, and she narrows her eyes and crosses her arms. “Don’t mess with me, or the universe, Charlotte Tanner. Now say it.”
I refrain from rolling my eyes. “We’re going to find him.”
“Say it like you mean it.”
“We’re going to find him,” I say, a little louder this time.
“One more time, and I want you to scream it in my face with all the anger and disappointment you feel right now because you deserve something good to happen to you.”
Her words pump me up because damn it, I do deserve something good. “WE. ARE. GOING. TO. FIND. HIM!”
“Fuck, yeah.” Sage high-fives me, then continues scrolling on her phone.
After ten minutes, my energy wanes. “Okay, I’m going to bed. See you later.”
Sage doesn’t argue with me this time, and I stop by Charlie’s room first. He’s wearing a headset and playing video games.
“Who are you playing with?”
“Anthony and Trina from school.”
“Okay. Five more minutes.”
When I reach my bed, I don’t bother changing my clothes and simply stumble on top of the covers. I close my eyes, and darkness falls before my mind wanders onto sunny beaches.
*
My head is foggy, and my body aches. It feels as though I’ve only slept for a few seconds when Sage shakes me. “Char, Char, wake up.”
“Go away,” I mumble and weakly try to roll over.
“Char, I think I found him.”
“No. You didn’t,” I groan into my pillow.
“Just look at this picture on my phone. Is this the guy you met at St. Kitts? Is this Caleb?”
I open just one eye, and while my vision is blurry, the image seems familiar. Rubbing my face, I try to clear the cobwebs in my head.
“Is it him? ”
I look again, with both eyes this time. His hair is shorter, and he’s a little thinner here, not as muscular as I remember, but that’s him.
I sit up.
“Yes. Yes, that’s Caleb. How did you find him?”
Sage sighs. “It wasn’t easy. I had to search deep into Google’s pages to find a photo of a man within our age range with dark hair. And this is the only one I could find.”
“Who is he? Where does he live? What does he do?”
She zooms out of the picture. “Well, if this is him, it says his name is Caleb Consuelos and his title is General Manager, but it doesn’t mention the company. The photo was taken in an office located at 43 Seaver Way.”
“Seaver Way? Where’s that?”
She waggles her eyebrows. “Queens, New York.”
“Give me your phone.” She hands me her cell, and I immediately google the address. “On the map, it looks like it’s in a financial district.”
“Check if there’s a phone number listed.”
I type ‘phone number’ next to the address in the search bar and scroll through the results. “Here’s one.” My finger hovers over the number.
“What are you waiting for? Call it.”
My heart races as I stare at the number. This is it. In a few minutes, I could speak with Caleb.
“Charlotte? ”
I bite my lip. “What if he doesn’t care? What if he says nothing after I tell him?”
Sage puts her hand on my knee. “Then we’ll deal with it together.”
I close my eyes, and when I open them, I punch in the number on the dial pad.
“It’s ringing,” I whisper.
Sage squeezes my knee.
“Reception. How can I direct your call?”
“I…uh…” Sage rolls her wrist, spurring me to say something. “I…uh…I’d like to speak with Caleb Consuelos.”
“One moment, please.”
My eyes widen. “Oh, my God. She’s connecting me to him.”
Sage squeals.
“Caleb Consuelos’s office. How can I help you?” A man answers.
“Hi… um… can I speak to Caleb?”
“Is he expecting your call?”
“Uh, no.”
“What’s this regarding?”
“It’s kind of personal. Can I speak to him?”
“No.”
“No?”
“No. Goodbye. ”
I pull the phone away from my ear and stare at the home screen. “He hung up on me.”
“Ugh. Give me the phone.” I place the phone in her extended hand. “We should have rehearsed this. But, don’t worry. I’ve got it.”
“Caleb Consuelos’s office, please,” she says to the receptionist.
She nods when the phone rings.
“Caleb Consuelos’s office. How can I help you?”
“Hi. This is Ms. Summers. I’m calling to speak to Mr. Consuelos regarding an upcoming appointment.”
“Which appointment is that, ma’am?”
“I… uh… the one scheduled for tomorrow.”
“There’s nothing in his schedule for tomorrow.”
“Look, I just need–”
Her mouth hangs open as she stares at the phone. “He hung up on me, too.”
I exhale and run my hands through my hair. “Should we try again tomorrow? Come up with something more believable?”
Sage shakes her head. Her mouth is tight and her eyes are hard. “No. We are going down there today.”
“What?!”
My heart hammers in my chest
“We know where he is and I won’t let some assistant on a power trip stop me.”
“Are you serious? ”
“Do you want to talk to Caleb or not?”
I stare at Sage’s phone, resting on her lap. Caleb’s photo is still on it. His familiar face makes my stomach clench and the memories of our time together come flooding back. It was one of the happiest times of my life. Besides, the decent thing to do would be to tell Caleb that I’m pregnant. He deserves to know, and he can decide how much he wants to be a part of his child’s life. He made it clear he didn’t want to be a father, but I must still give him the choice. Even if the fear of being rejected again makes me a little nervous.
“Yeah. I need to talk to him. He should know what’s going on.”
“Great. You pack a bag, and I’ll tell Jane that Charlie’s sleeping over tonight. Oh, and you might need to take Monday off, too. Who knows how he’ll react when he finds out he’s about to be a daddy?”
My stomach sinks and I wrap my arms around it. “Yeah. Who knows how he’ll react?”
Sage grabs my hand. “Don’t look so scared. I’m sure he’ll be good about it.”
“What makes you so sure?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Just a hunch.”
I inhale deeply and resign myself to it. “Well then, let’s go and find out once and for all.”
Sage smiles and claps her hands. “That’s the spirit!”