Chapter 22
Charlotte
Tip #22: When you can admit your breakup wasn’t about a lack of love but a lack of alignment, you’ve officially graduated to heartbreak wisdom level ten.
T he living room was a dim cave with only one lamp on, matching my dreary mood perfectly. I sat on the floor, surrounded by a fortress of wadded-up tissues, my latest attempt at a hobby—an animal-themed coloring book—spread out on the coffee table with crayons strewn around it.
My nose felt like sandpaper and my eyes were puffy from all the crying. Isaac had left only a few hours ago, but it felt like days as I tried to distract myself from my shredded heart and shattered secret hopes.
I halfheartedly scribbled some green onto a leaf in my coloring book as the low hum of the garage door broke the silence, followed by the click of the interior door. It seemed Ella was home.
“Yoo-hoo! Lovebird! I see Isaac’s car isn’t parked out front, so it’s time to spill!” Ella’s voice echoed down the hallway, chipper as always. “Where are you?”
I leaned back against the couch I was huddled against, resting my head on a cushion. “In here,” I croaked.
All the crying had given me a voice that matched my current emotional stability.
“How’d the date go?” Ella called, her footsteps getting closer. “And why do you sound like you’ve been screaming at a heavy metal concert?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but the words got stuck somewhere between my heart and my throat. Ella appeared in the doorway, her smile fading as she took in the scene.
“Charlotte? What’s wrong?”
I tried to speak, but all that came out was a pathetic squeak as my eyes once again filled with tears.
“Isaac and I, we’re not…” I swallowed hard. “We’re not together.”
Ella’s giant handbag hit the floor with a thud as she rushed to my side, plopped down next to me, and wrapped me in a bear hug. “Honey, I’m so sorry.”
Her embrace broke the damn of my emotions. I melted into her arms, my shoulders sagging with relief at finally having someone to lean on. The tears I’d been holding back flowed freely now.
“It’s OK, let it out.” Ella rubbed my back, and the gentleness in her voice was a balm to my broken heart.
Between sobs, I managed to explain what happened—about the call, the discussion with Isaac, and the realization that our different priorities meant we were never going to work out.
“I knew when he said he had to go—he couldn’t even wait half an hour to eat first—it was like…like a preview of our future together. Always interrupted, always second to the family company.” I hiccupped. “It was obvious we had to end things, but even though it’s clear we wouldn’t work out I-I still love him….” I pressed the palms of my hands against my face, tired of crying but still in too much pain to do anything else.
Ella had listened intently to my explanation, never loosening her hug. Sensing I had finished my explanation, she gave me an extra squeeze. “Oh, Charlotte. My heart is breaking for you.”
I wiped my nose with a crumpled tissue. “I have only myself to blame. I knew from the start that Isaac prioritized Warner Print above everything else. He was always up front about that.” I paused, my voice barely a whisper. “I just thought… maybe he loved me enough to change. But I guess I’m not worth it.”
“Charlotte Fisher!” Ella’s voice was sharp, making me jump. “Don’t you dare think that for even a second!” Her brown eyes blazed as her comforting hug turned viselike and she leaned so close to me I could see each individual eyelash. “You are beautiful and smart, but more importantly, you’re caring and empathetic. You’re so much fun to be around, and you’re the best housemate and friend anyone could ask for!”
I blinked at her, taken aback by her fierce defense.
“And another thing,” Ella continued, on a roll now. “You’re creative and witty, and you’re adorable with all your failed hobbies but sweet in the way you persevere. Isaac Warner is an idiot for letting you go!”
Ella’s words seeped into my wounded heart. The pain was still there, raw and throbbing, but having her by my side made it a little more bearable.
“Thanks, Ella,” I mumbled, leaning my head on her shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
Ella, however, wasn’t done. In fact, as she patted my back—keeping still so she didn’t jostle my head on her shoulder—her pep talk exploded into a full-blown rant, her voice rising with each word. “In fact! Isaac Warner doesn’t deserve you—much less a romantic relationship with anyone—if he can’t put personal relationships before his need to work! How dare he cause you pain with his personal issues? Talk about selfish to actively try to seduce you—and don’t you dare claim otherwise; the man bought a business because of you—when he knew all along what you wanted out of life!”
Ella was so mad, she’d taken her house slipper off and was using it to gesture—if Isaac had been around, she would have undoubtedly thrown it at him. (I knew from personal experience she had expert aim.)
Her unrestrained reaction soothed me—Isaac might not prioritize me, but Ella loved me enough to.
“He’s so obsessed with his precious Warner Print that he can’t see what’s right in front of him. You’re a catch, Charlotte, and he’s an absolute fool!” Ella finished her tirade, out of breath and visibly angry. Her cheeks were flushed, and her dark eyes flashed with indignation on my behalf.
I tried to flick my normally silky hair over my shoulder, but my fingers got stuck in a snarl I’d unwittingly created while moping. “Thanks, Ella. I’m so grateful to have you at my back. But just as I made the choice to end things because I saw what I wanted out of life didn’t match Isaac’s, he’s free to make his own decisions about his life and what he wants to do with it.”
Ella’s nostrils flared. “There’s no defending him! He doesn’t deserve it.”
For the first time since Isaac left, I managed a watery smile. “Thanks for being such a good friend.” I reached out to pat her hand, and she finally lowered her slipper and tossed it back on the ground.
“Of course. We’re ride or die,” Ella said. “Just let me know whenever you start blaming yourself for this. I am more than happy to rip into Oblivious Rich Man.”
“I didn’t know you disliked him so much.”
“I didn’t, previously,” Ella said. “He’s handsome and rich and besotted with you—everything I want for you and everything you deserve. But! The second he put his company first, he blew up his chances and made himself number one on my vengeance list!”
I considered my pile of tissues. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do now. I turned down those two job offers because I would have had to relocate for them, and I’d decided not to leave Fox Creek… because of Isaac.”
Ella hugged me again. “Don’t worry about it. You can move with me and Nate wherever we end up. We can be fish moms together, and I’ll get Nate to introduce you to more men than you could possibly want. With any luck, Nate will get assigned to a naval base near an air base—the Air Force is where you get the smart genius types who would suit you perfectly.”
I snorted at the absurdity of Ella’s plan—which was probably what she was aiming for. Unfortunately, the gesture made my nose stuff up with snot, and I had to grab another tissue to blow it.
While I was dealing with my sniffling nose, Ella’s attention wandered to the coffee table. She picked up my adult coloring book, eyebrows raised. “What’s this about?”
I tossed my crumpled tissue at the wastebasket. “I tried to color to get my mind off Isaac. I just kept reliving the conversation over and over again. I thought maybe if I focused on something else…”
Ella squinted at the open page. “I can see that, but I didn’t know you enjoyed coloring slugs.” She pointed to the slug sitting on the giant leaf I’d been working on before she got home.
“I was trying to make myself feel better by thinking it was Isaac,” I admitted, then immediately felt guilty. “That’s unfair, though. He was just as upset about our separation as I was.”
“He better be,” Ella muttered ominously under her breath.
“This feels like a very unusual breakup,” I wryly continued. “We both still have feelings for each other. We just recognized things would only end in heartbreak.”
Ella’s stormy expression softened. “You’re right. It’s obvious to anyone with eyes that Isaac adores you.” She paused, then added firmly, “But you were right to stop the relationship. You can still mourn the loss, though. Isaac might have only recently pursued you, but you two had years of close friendship before that.”
I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat.
Ella’s eyes suddenly sparkled with mischief. “That said, Isaac still deserves to be compared to a slug since his judgment is so terrible. You should draw some glasses on it—for cathartic reasons.”
I tried to smile at her joke, but my heart still ached. The pain was too fresh. It seemed so unfair that I’d come to love Isaac only to realize we shouldn’t be together.
Ella studied me for a moment, her brow furrowing. “Hey, did you eat any dinner?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t feel like eating after Isaac left. I just packed up the food and put it in the fridge.”
“OK,” Ella said, standing up. “I’ll get you something to eat.”
My stomach churned at the thought of the pasta Isaac and I had laughed over together as we prepared it. “That’s OK, really—” I hastily said.
“How about a sandwich?” Ella asked casually.
I blinked, surprised and touched by her perceptiveness. Wiping my nose, I managed a small, grateful smile. “That sounds great, actually. Thanks, Ella.”
“Good,” Ella said. “We’ll camp out in the living room tonight. We can watch movies or maybe research if guppies can eat slugs. If they can, we should get some and feed the fish—totally to provide enrichment for them and not at all for symbolic reasons.”
I winced, as my nose stung. “I need to get another box of tissues.” I pushed myself up from the floor.
“OK, but put some lotion on that nose,” Ella advised. “You don’t want it getting chapped.”
As I shuffled toward the hallway, Ella’s voice stopped me. “Charlotte?” She hesitated, then plowed ahead. “I don’t want to make you feel worse, but do you have a plan for work tomorrow?”
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even as my insides twisted. “It won’t be hard. I’m used to being professional around spiteful and mean clients. This will be similar.”
Ella raised an eyebrow, not buying my bravado.
I sighed and leaned against the hallway wall. “I’ll avoid seeing Isaac as much as possible. I don’t want to rub salt in the wound, but more importantly I don’t want to let the rest of the team find out and put them in an awkward place.” I paused, then added, “It shouldn’t be too difficult. I’m spending most of my time training my replacements and doing some role documentation.”
“Great.” Ella nodded. “And hey, it’s a good thing you only have a few days left, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, forcing a smile.
As Ella padded down the hallway toward the kitchen, I found myself thinking about my upcoming vacation. I couldn’t wait to get out of Fox Creek, to leave everything behind—Isaac, this heartache, all of it. Maybe a change of scenery was exactly what I needed, because the pain of my broken heart felt terrible.