Chapter 16 #2
“Is your sweet tooth satisfied?” I ask as I watch him savor a bite.
He nods, grinning. “For now. It’ll probably reactivate around dinnertime.” After a sip of coffee, his gaze turns pensive. “Maybe this is too much too soon—we did spend most of the day together yesterday—but I’d love to make you that tagine tonight. I don’t know if you’re free, or?—”
“Yes,” I reply right away.
Relief washes over his face. “You sure? You’re not getting tired of me?”
“Charlie…I don’t even think that’s possible.”
He reaches across the table for my hand, his thumb moving in slow circles over my skin, which sends shivers up my spine. The littlest touch from him makes me feel so alive.
“I can’t believe this is only our fourth date,” he says, his gaze landing on mine. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“I know,” I reply, wondering how it was only yesterday morning that I told him about Esther’s suggestion to take things slowly for a month. “Has it been thirty days yet?” I half-joke, every cell in my body yearning to be closer to this man.
He laughs. “I don’t even think it’s been thirty hours.”
I let out a playful groan. Every minute I spend with Charlie only confirms how right this feels. Do I really need to wait a whole month to know that he isn’t just in this to sleep with me? I think it’s pretty clear his motives are more sincere than that.
“My cousin was right earlier, Jenna. I am smitten with you,” he says—as though reading my mind, once again. Is that a soulmate thing? the hopeless romantic inside me asks.
“Likewise,” I reply, squeezing his hand.
“I have a few hours of work to get done this afternoon, so want to come by around seven for dinner?”
“That’s perfect,” I say. “As long as you let me bring dessert— for your sweet tooth.”
“Deal,” he says with a glimmer in his eyes.
“Speaking of your job,” I continue, “I haven’t heard any thunderstrikes coming from your phone lately. Is your dad getting better with boundaries?”
Charlie chuckles. “I guess you could say that. My mom convinced him to go on a trip for their fortieth wedding anniversary. And because she knows my dad so well, she booked a spa hotel in France that locks up your electronic devices while you’re there.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
“Not if you’re my dad,” he replies with a wry smile. “My guess is, he’s spent the better part of the week trying to sweettalk the staff into getting him his phone back. Or paying them off, more likely.”
As I’m laughing, an adorable little girl in pigtails walks up to us from a neighboring table. She can’t be more than three or four years old. “Hi,” she says. “I’m Lucy.”
“Hey, Lucy! I’m Jenna, and this is Charlie,” I say, smiling.
“Come on back, Luce,” her mom calls out from their table. “I’m sorry, she’s in a very chatty phase right now,” she explains with a sheepish grin.
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all,” I tell Lucy’s mom. “She’s adorable.”
“Alright, time to go, honey bunny.” Lucy’s mom stands from her chair, gathers their things, then takes her daughter’s hand.
“But I don’t wanna go!” She stomps her feet.
Her mom heaves a deep sigh.
“We’re about to leave, too,” I tell Lucy. “Can I get a high-five before you go? ”
Lucy beams and slaps my palm.
“Oh, you’re so strong!” I tell her, pretending my hand hurts.
Lucy giggles. “Bye bye!” she calls out as she lets her mom lead her to the patio door.
When I turn back to face Charlie, he’s smiling ear to ear. “You were so sweet with her.”
The late summer sky is still perfectly blue and clear, but it’s like a storm cloud rolls in over my head. My heart sinks, and my grin fades.
How could I forget? I haven’t told Charlie that I don’t want kids.
This is where it ends. This is where the other shoe drops.
This is where my wishes don’t come true.
“Jenna…are you okay?” he asks, concern written on every crinkle of his forehead.
But there’s no point in delaying the inevitable. I am who I am—and if Charlie and I aren’t compatible, it’s better to know now than later.
My heart will break, yes. But now I know that, if I work hard enough, the pieces will come back together.
“I don’t want to be a mom,” I tell him, my pulse racing. “I don’t want children. Is that…a dealbreaker?”
When Charlie’s brow unfurrows, I wonder if I’m imagining things. But then, he says, “No, Jenna. It’s not.”
“It isn’t?” I have to be sure I heard him right.
He smiles. “It’s not a dealbreaker. I always thought I could go either way.
If my partner wanted children, I wouldn’t have ruled it out.
But lately, since I’ve become more serious about pursuing travel photography, I can’t imagine how young kids would fit into that lifestyle.
Plus, I never dreamed of becoming a father.
Maybe it’s the strained relationship I have with my dad, I don’t know.
But I have four nieces and three nephews I adore, and that’s enough for me. ”
Yet again, he says all the right things.
I’m so relieved, I begin to cry. Charlie gives me a questioning look.
“When I fill you in on what I’ve been working on in therapy, this reaction will make sense,” I say with a little laugh through my tears. “Suffice it to say, dating is sometimes tricky for a woman who doesn’t want kids.”
Charlie moves around the table to sit next to me, then puts his arm around my shoulder. “Jenna, nothing could be a dealbreaker for me when it comes to you. Nothing.”
The intensity in his gaze leaves no room in my mind for doubt. I believe him.
This isn’t the end. This isn’t where the other shoe drops.
This very well might be where my wishes come true.