Chapter 33 Charlotte
Charlotte
It was a beautiful little star-shaped locket.
It looked like it ought to open, but it was old, and even if it had opened once, it no longer did.
She thought about trying to prise it open with a needle, and had just about got it into the little joining part when she glanced at her watch and let out a scream.
She was going to be late.
Monday morning, the first Monday after school had broken up for the Christmas holidays, and it had been tough to convince the parents to let the kids come down to Sycamore Park for a festival rehearsal.
She had lost five of her class to planned holidays and other family engagements, but she had shuffled a couple of parts around, dropped a couple of minor characters that had been shoehorned in just to make up the numbers, so they were good to go.
So she hoped. It was only a fifteen-minute performance, so they should be able to stumble through it, even if a couple of the kids forgot their lines.
Just as she headed out of the door, she met Clive coming up the path, a couple of other dogs—and rather surprisingly, Kelly—in tow.
‘Ah, school holidays,’ Clive said. ‘I forgot.’
Charlotte glanced at her watch. She was running late, but there was still enough time to grill her best friend.
‘Hi Clive,’ she said, then adding, ‘Well, hello, Kelly,’ with a wide grin. ‘What a coincidence this is.’
Both Kelly and Clive blushed so cherry red Charlotte could have hung them both on the Christmas tree.
‘Just thought I’d give Clive a hand,’ Kelly said. ‘It’s tough in this snow to keep track of all these dogs.’ She shrugged. ‘Particularly the small white ones.’
‘You might as well tell her,’ Clive said.
‘We’re an item,’ Kelly said.
‘Ah!’ Charlotte jumped up and down. ‘Oh, goodness. I’ll interrogate you later. In the meantime, please don’t lose my dog.’
‘He’s in capable hands,’ Kelly said, glancing at Clive.
‘As are you,’ Charlotte couldn’t help but say, making Kelly go red all over again.
She hurried to Sycamore Park. Luckily, the snow had delayed everyone, so by the time she got there, only about half of the kids had arrived. Some had come with their parents, others alone. Lisa Cole had arrived with Michaella and Johnson, who were running about, throwing snowballs at each other.
Lisa greeted her warmly, wrapping thick woollen mittens around her in a hug. ‘Is Jacob coming down?’ she asked.
‘Ah … I don’t know. He’s working, I think.’
She assumed he was. It was Monday after all, but in truth, she hadn’t spoken to him in several days, and hadn’t seen him since last Wednesday.
He had called her last night, but she hadn’t answered, sending him a brief message this morning to say she had gone to bed early.
He was yet to reply. She had a funny sense that something was going wrong between them, but wasn’t quite sure what.
The honeymoon period appeared to be over before it had really started, but she couldn’t help but think that it had something to do with a certain magician, one way or another.
Whether she liked him or not—and she was still pretty sure that she didn’t—James’s presence had a terrific hold over her, one from which she was struggling to break free.
‘Oh, well, never mind,’ Lisa said. ‘I was hoping he’d be able to see this, but maybe it’s better to leave it as a surprise.’
‘Maybe,’ Charlotte said.
She looked around, counting heads, making a note of who was yet to arrive. Billy, who had been upgraded to a bigger part after a couple of others had pulled out. Danny, William. Ah, there was Danny, just coming up the path with his mother. So, just two of them to come and they could get started.
‘Sorry I’m late, Miss!’ came a familiar holler, and she turned to see William running across the plaza, his flustered father struggling both to keep up and to keep from slipping.
So, just Billy.
The kids began to fuss, wanting to play in the snow. Charlotte glanced at her watch. Billy was now nearly thirty minutes late.
‘Everything all right?’ Lisa said.’
‘Just one missing,’ Charlotte said. ‘Billy Toad. He’s one of the lead characters. I upgraded him to explorer after one of the others dropped out. He ought to be here by now. He’s never usually late for school.’
‘Billy Toad? That’s Clarice’s son, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘I just walked past the tearoom on my way over, and saw her there. Why don’t you give Jacob a call?’
Charlotte froze. Yes, she could, couldn’t she? It would be a good reason to stamp through the thin layer of ice that had appeared between them.
‘Do you want me to do it?’ Lisa already had her phone out and was trying to make the touchscreen work with cold fingers.
‘No!’ Charlotte shouted, loud enough to make all the kids turn, wondering what they had done wrong. Lisa took a step back, then smiled.
‘Go for it,’ she said.
Charlotte took a deep breath. She pulled out her phone, finding Jacob’s number, pressing it to her ear. What if he didn’t answer? What if he did? What would she say if he did, and what would it mean if he didn’t—
‘Hello? Charlotte?’
She felt like someone had stuck a marshmallow into her heart. Only two words, but he sounded so pleased to hear from her.
‘How are you doing? I’ve been meaning to call—’
‘Ah, Jacob … is Clarice there?’
‘Clarice? Right. Hang on.’
‘It’s okay. Can you just ask her if Billy’s all right? We’re waiting for him to arrive so we can get started with the stage rehearsal.’
‘Okay, just give me a sec. I’ll ask her.’
The phone went quiet as though he’d pressed it to his chest. Charlotte listened intently, trying to hear his breathing. All she wanted was to hear his voice again. Jacob. Jacob, Jacob—
‘Are you sure he’s not there?’
‘What?’ Charlotte spun, surveying the group of kids. Two girls were screaming as one of the boys pelted them with snow. Another boy was halfway up a tree, flurries of snow cascading down as he fought for a grip on the snow-covered branches. But of Billy … there was no sign.
‘He’s definitely not here.’
‘Oh, God. Clarice said he left on time, and should have been there half an hour ago.’
‘Really? Where is he?’
‘I’ll call the police. Stay right there in case he shows up.’
‘Jacob—’
In the background, she could hear wailing. She felt a momentary sense of utter despair, but Jacob was right. Someone had to stay put. She had to look after the rest of the kids.
‘We’ll find him, Charlotte. Don’t worry.’
The line went dead. Charlotte turned to Lisa, who stared at her, open-mouthed.
‘What happened? Where is he?’
Charlotte shook her head. ‘No one knows,’ she said.