7. Charlotte
We spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hotel room.
I was both physically and emotionally exhausted.
It was still early when I woke up. Despite having some of the best sleep I’d had in months, my brain was now wide awake. I decided to take the opportunity to have a shower and wake myself up for the day ahead. After the shower I looked at my phone. I hadn’t dared look at it until now.
Adam: Where the hell are you?
Adam: Stop messing around and get your ass back here. Now.
I felt myself tense at the messages even though I knew they were coming. There must have been over twenty sent in the last day alone. All of them were laced with anger and made me feel terrified. Should we have left? Did I just put us in more danger? As I scrolled through the messages, I felt my resolve harden. We couldn’t have stayed another second.
Moving to Rosehaven had been a slightly last-ditch effort. Luckily for me, I had always been a slightly spontaneous person so I knew we would adapt. I couldn’t handle people who were too meticulous about everything they did–not everything needed to be taken so seriously. That being said, whilst I was spontaneous, I wasn’t na?ve. I had a bit of a thing about making lists. As long as I wrote everything down, I would be fine. I was a little too scatty otherwise.
As well as getting things done, I was looking forward to exploring more of this town. I spent time researching and it just looked so beautiful.
It had also been rated one of the safest towns to live in by some small magazine. I had never heard of it before until the other night and that’s also part of the reason I chose it. He would never think to look for us here.
After getting both of us ready and fed at the hotel, we headed out towards a local park I found nearby. The first two things on my list were to find us a place to rent and to find a job. I knew I would need to figure out childcare arrangements as well, but one step at a time. Theo ran excitedly off to play with the other kids the second we entered the play area. He had always been extremely extroverted and had no trouble going up to complete strangers and inserting himself into their games and conversations. It always made me smile to watch him playing. His face was animated as they were all setting the scene for whatever imaginary scenario they were in. He may look like his dad, but their personalities were polar opposites and I was grateful for that. I wouldn’t change my kind, inquisitive boy for anything.
I settled myself to a bench on the side so I could still keep him in my line of sight. I wished I had grabbed another coffee to go when we left the hotel as I pulled out my phone to look at property listings. I had about enough saved for the deposit and first month’s rent, but I really needed to find a job before we moved somewhere. I was so engrossed in sending off my enquires I hadn’t noticed I was no longer alone on the bench.
“Is that your son in the blue?” The voice made me jump slightly as I turned to the woman who was now beside me. I guess I was feeling a bit on edge still. She looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I don’t think I’ve met her before, but I can’t shake the feeling she looks like someone I know. My eyes moved over to Theo who was now playing with a young blonde girl on the slide.
“Yeah, that’s my son, Theo. Is that your daughter with him?” I put my phone in my pocket before turning my attention to her.
“It is, her name’s Violet. She’s usually very shy, but she seems to be in her element with Theo.” She had a slight chuckle in her voice as she spoke.
“Theo can sort of bring that out of people sometimes. He basically goes about the world thinking everyone is his best friend and wants to chat to him.” I smiled softly. “Some people are too polite to tell him to get lost.” Adam wasn’t. On the rare occasions we went out as a family, he always got annoyed by Theo. He hated having to endure small talk with strangers and Theo was an expert at doing just that. I was the one who was punished when we got home, told how I needed to rein our son in. That I wasn’t raising him correctly. No matter how angry he got, I never tried to change anything about Theo’s nature. I wasn’t going to lessen his sparkle.
She laughed at my comment and I was brought back to the present. Her eyes left the kids and turned to me. “I think Violet needs someone like that, to be honest. She always seems to be standing just outside the group.” She held out her hand to me. “I’m Alice, by the way.”
I took her hand, offering her a smile.
“I’m Charlotte, although most people call me Lottie.”
“Lottie,” she echoed as she matched my smile.
“Are you visiting someone in town? I don’t think I’ve seen you guys around before.”
“Just moved here, actually. We only arrived yesterday.” There was something comforting about Alice’s presence that I couldn’t quite place. I relaxed myself into the bench as I continued, “I’ve been utilising the time Theo’s been playing to look at listings of places to live. Job hunting is next.”
“Is it just the two of you?” she asked. I could hear the slight hesitation in her voice as she asked. I guess I should get used to people asking that question, although I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little.
“Yeah, it’s just us two now.” I tried to hide the slight shake in my voice as I answered.
“It’s just Violet and I, too. Well, her dad and I are still married, but we’re starting the divorce process soon. He lives out in the city.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” I guess I was lucky that Adam and I never married. It makes it a lot less messy to cut ties.
“I’m not.” There was a determination in her voice as she replied.
“Sometimes things are better on your own, you know?” I did know, I knew exactly what she meant. I knew it more than I cared to admit at this moment.
We talked a while longer whilst the kids continued playing. Alice told me that she ran a book store in the town and lived with her mother just on the outside of town. She moved back in when she separated from her husband. She told me all about how her ma dotes on Violet. I kept the conversation light on my side. I told her how I fell pregnant with Theo in college and had been a stay-at-home mother since he was born. I used to waitress at a diner in college, which is where I met Adam. After a while the kids ran up and Theo was complaining that he was hungry.
“I was planning on taking Violet for lunch at the café if you want to join?” Alice asked.
“Yes!” Theo beat me to answering, making us laugh. “We’d love to,” I chimed in and I meant it. After the less than warm welcome I got when I entered town yesterday, it was nice to find a friend. And I really needed a friend right now.
Caffeine Central was buzzing from the start of the lunch rush when we arrived. Sending the kids off to claim us a table, we waited at the counter to order. Our eyes both fell to the help wanted sign on the desk.
“Are you still looking for someone for that position, Jane?” Alice asked as she stepped up to the front.
“Yeah, I can’t seem to find anyone. I was just talking about it with your brother yesterday, actually. Asked him to keep an eye out for me.” She smiled. “You know anyone looking?”
“My friend Lottie is looking, actually,” she said, pointing to me.
“Oh, yeah. I just moved here yesterday. I was actually planning on asking around to see who was hiring later today.” I couldn’t help but smile when Alice referred to me as a friend. It was comforting to know she was looking out for me.
“Really?” Jane asked, turning her full attention to me. “Do you have any experience?”
“I waitressed my way through college before I had Theo,” I said, pointing over to where the kids were sitting. “I’ve been a stay-at-home since I had him, though.”
“Sounds good to me. How would you feel about doing a trial shift and seeing how we go from there?” I had to try to keep my face from giving too much of my shock as to how easy that had been. If I could do a good trial shift, that would be the first thing on my list ticked off, not to mention a huge weight off of my shoulders. I guess having Alice to vouch for me helped massively, even though she hardly knew me, either.
“That would be great!”
I answered before I suddenly remembered Theo. “Oh, shoot. I would just need to sort some childcare out for Theo. I was planning on looking at day cares later, too.” I suddenly felt anxious; I didn’t want to blow the opportunity. I guess I didn’t quite think about the logistics of being on my own.
“My friend runs a day care down the road. Violet goes there when Ma and I are both working. I can give her a call and help you get Theo set up there?” Alice offers.
It’s official, Alice is quite literally my guardian angel. I am convinced at any second I’m going to wake up and none of this would be real. We spoke to Jane more as she took our order, and providing Theo gets set up okay, I have my trial shift tomorrow afternoon. I was falling more and more in love with the town and its people by the minute. Yesterday’s drama was becoming a distant memory, just a small blip on our timeline. Everything was going to be okay; we were going to be happy here. I could feel it.