Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
“Do you think she is? Mad?” Jilly asked.
Levi kissed her temple. “She’ll be okay, babe.”
“I’ll see if she’ll talk,” Charlie said. She wasn’t sure Ollie would open up to her, but Charlie was determined to give back whatever she could to this sweet family.
As she walked along the side of the lodge where they had the pergola and a couple of outdoor buildings, her nerves tickled the back of her neck.
This wasn’t how she usually started a session.
For one thing, she usually knew what she was going into, had time to peruse notes, set a goal, make some plans and backup plans.
She felt the weight of Grayson’s family’s stares as she disappeared from their view and went around back.
A large hot tub with a surrounding deck sat nestled in some trees with twinkle lights strung up in a crisscross pattern.
The cantilevered deck offered lots of seating and space for entertaining.
Between the hot tub deck and the ones off the lodge, there was a little garden space with a child’s playhouse so lifelike, it seemed as if they’d just shrunk a regular house down to a smaller size.
Ollie sat on a little stool outside the playhouse, using a stick to draw in some dirt.
She glanced up at Charlie, then went back to moving the stick back and forth.
“Okay if I come sit?” Charlie asked.
Ollie shrugged, but that might be as close to a yes as she’d get, so she took it. There was another stool that matched the first and as she came closer, she realized they looked like mushrooms. The thought and detail that went into making this a family-oriented lodge were impressive.
Charlie took a seat but didn’t rush. She watched Ollie make random designs, flicking dirt here and there, creating circles and triangles, a couple of hearts that she then scratched away.
This was different than anything she’d done for so many reasons, but the main one was she had a personal connection to Ollie. She cared about her. Instead of approaching her as a therapist, Charlie decided that it was time to be honest with someone here other than Bernie.
“Do you know why I came to your lodge, Ollie?”
Ollie kept raking with the stick but looked up and shook her head.
“My mom was going to get married,” Charlie admitted.
“My mom and Levi are going to get married,” Ollie told her, tossing the stick and rocking back and forth on the mushroom stool.
“Yes. And I think all of you will be really happy. You’re all wonderful people and it’s so obvious how much you love each other.”
Ollie sniffled, kept rocking back and forth.
“My mom was going to marry a man I didn’t mind so much, but he had two daughters and they were incredibly mean to me. They hurt me very much and I didn’t know what else to do, so I left California and came here.”
Ollie went still. “Why were they mean to you?”
Charlie gave a sad smile that she felt in her heart. What a question. “I’m not sure why anyone is mean to anyone else. Sometimes because they feel bad about themselves or maybe they’re so focused on what they want, they don’t think about other people’s feelings.”
“I’m sorry they were mean to you. My mom says grown-ups can be just as mean as kids sometimes.”
Charlie picked up the stick and traced it along the dirt. “She’s right. And just because you’re an adult doesn’t make it hurt any less.”
“Is your mom still going to marry him?”
“No. Which surprised me. I thought for sure she’d choose to have a husband, even if it meant bringing his girls into our family.”
“I’m glad she isn’t marrying him. I wouldn’t want mean stepsisters.” Ollie stood up, paced along the little path between flowers and what looked like the start of veggies.
“I didn’t want mean stepsisters either. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really want a stepdad either.” Why was it easier to open up to a ten-year-old than adults?
Ollie stopped in front of her. “I want Levi to be my stepdad. He’s the best. He’s funny and we go on lots of hikes and he lets me help with dinners and he gives really great hugs.”
Reaching for Ollie’s hand, she squeezed it. “Are you scared that Levi won’t be the same if they have a baby?”
Ollie shook her head, her eyes welling with tears.
Charlie dropped the stick, though she kept looking at the little girl who seemed like she wanted to say something but maybe didn’t feel brave enough in this moment.
Before she could think of a way to word her next question, Ollie’s lip trembled and she whispered, “My real dad doesn’t want to see me. He doesn’t like kids. My mom says that’s his loss.”
Charlie’s heart spasmed painfully and she took Ollie’s other hand as well. “Oh, honey. I’m so sorry. And your mom is right. It’s absolutely his loss but knowing that doesn’t make it hurt any less, does it?”
Ollie shook her head, tears falling as she did.
“You know Levi is different than your dad, right?”
Leaning in, the little girl kept her voice low. “But he’ll be the baby’s real dad.”
Freeing one hand, Charlie brushed Ollie’s tears from her cheek. “He will be the baby’s biological dad but that isn’t what makes a connection real. Do you understand that?”
Ollie shook her head.
“Levi might not be your biological dad, but I can see how much he loves you and he introduces you as his daughter. He brags about you and when he looks at you, his smile is so big, you can see it all the way across the room.”
Ollie sniffled loudly. “He really likes me.”
“He really loves you and likes you and that’s the coolest thing ever.”
“Does your mom love and like you?”
Charlie’s heart pinched again. “She does. And she misses me and she’s sad right now because even though she no longer wants to get married, it’s hard when things are over.”
Ollie reached out and stroked a hand down Charlie’s head and it was the sweetest gesture, stealing Charlie’s breath.
“When my mom’s sad, I give her extra hugs. Maybe your mom just needs some more hugs.”
Laughing, her own tears pushing through, Charlie nodded. “She probably does. What do you need, Ollie?”
Ollie’s lips pursed and she looked like she was truly considering the question. “I want Levi to be my dad, too.”
Charlie smiled. “I need to call my mom and tell her I owe her some hugs, I think. What do you want to do right now? You want to go back and see Levi and your mom?”
Ollie didn’t answer; she just took Charlie’s hand, waited until she stood, and they walked back to the front of the lodge together.
Levi and Jilly were sitting on the steps of the lodge. Gray was leaning against the lodge wall, his gaze landing on Charlie and Ollie immediately as they rounded the corner. Everyone else seemed to have slipped away.
“Hey, bug,” Jilly said. Her eyes were red.
Ollie looked up at Charlie, who leaned down, pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You’re the coolest kid I’ve ever met, Ollie. And I’ve met a lot of kids.”
Like it gave her a boost of self-esteem, Ollie beamed at her and let go of her hand. Gray watched from where he stood and Charlie stayed frozen, watching the moment play out.
Ollie walked over to stand in front of Levi and Jilly.
“You know we’re always going to love you just as much as, if not more than, we do right this minute, don’t you?” Jilly reached for her little girl’s waist and held her gaze as she spoke, her voice shaky.
“I know.”
“That includes me, too, Ollie. You know how much I love you and your mom, right? I think, other than her, you might be my best friend,” Levi said, a somewhat shaky laugh rumbling out of him.
Ollie laughed and looked at Levi. She took one of his hands and one of her mom’s. “The baby is going to call you dad.”
Levi’s brows pushed together. “When they can talk, yes.”
Ollie’s little lips pursed and she shifted them back and forth. “It might be confusing for the baby if I call you Levi.”
Charlie’s heart just about burst when she realized what was happening, where Ollie was going with this. She pressed a palm to her chest, trying to tame the rapid beating.
Levi’s gaze brightened and he sat up straighter. “You might be right. What do you think we should do?”
“If I call you dad, too, then the baby won’t accidentally call you Levi,” Ollie said.
Jillian sucked in a breath and looked at Levi, covering her mouth with her hand.
Levi pulled Ollie closer so she was standing directly in front of him. “Do you want to call me dad, Ollie?”
Ollie nodded.
Levi looked at Jilly, who was already bobbing her chin up and down, then back at Ollie.
“There’s nothing that would make me happier than you calling me dad, Ollie.
And I promise you right now, I’ll try and be the best dad ever.
I’ll always be here for you, I’ll do my very best to never let you down, and I’ll love you as my daughter, my oldest child, for the rest of my life. ”
Tears streamed down Charlie’s face. Gray came off the side of the porch and found his way to her. Levi, Ollie, and Jilly were hugging each other and laughing and Charlie’s heart was like a balloon overfilled with helium. It might burst or soar away.
“I can never thank you enough,” Gray whispered in her ear.
She leaned into him. “I didn’t really do anything.”
Gray looked down at her, his gaze bright with unshed tears. “You’ve done more than you could ever imagine.”
In that moment, Charlie felt like she was meant to come here, to meet these people and have these experiences.
The thought of leaving, even if it was far off, was starting to tie her stomach in tiny knots.
She knew, when it was time, she’d take pieces of this experience with her, tucked away like special photos in a scrapbook.
The memories would be something to cherish and relive.
Charlie truly believed that, in some way, every person someone met impacted their journey.
She wasn’t sure, until this moment, how she might impact the Kellers when they’d been the ones to share so much.
But now, she felt confident that she’d hold a special piece of their hearts, a spot in their memories.
And that felt like a gift. Almost like a legacy.