9. Charlotte
Chilly evenings, abundant snowfall, and the holidays marked the passing of time for Charlotte.
She had stayed in Beverley for Thanksgiving, hosting Isobel and Amy, but for Christmas, she traveled to Sioux City.
Originally intending to stay for a few days to see other friends, a winter storm moving in from the west made Charlotte cut her time in Iowa short, and she’d gotten back to Beverley early the night before.
Still in the holiday spirit, and invigorated by the weather, she treated herself to brunch at Betsy’s and had just ordered when Diadema walked in.
Hope swelled upon Henry’s entrance, until he stopped at Diadem’s table.
From the far corner, Charlotte sank low into her booth, shutting her eyes against the sight of Henry next to Diadema.
Unbelievably, she hadn’t seen him since the evening in his shop when Isobel had found her.
She had anticipated another encounter with him when she picked up her car the following day, but when she and Isobel arrived that afternoon, just five minutes after two, he wasn’t there, a discovery that disappointed her.
Although she longed to ask where he was, she felt awkward and restrained herself from doing so.
If he had wanted to see her, wouldn’t he have been there?
Charlotte wasn’t the only one discouraged with the outcome of events; Trixie had called her later that week asking how everything had gone with Henry.
Thoughts of him consumed her, alone at night, underneath a blanket knitted by her grandmother: soft blue eyes searing into hers, calloused fingertips coursing fire on her skin, solid body emanating heat she longed to possess.
She assumed he’d been as interested in her as she was in him, but if that were the case, he would certainly have reached out.
Wouldn’t he? After convincing herself that perhaps it was for the best, she stayed busy with the drama department and her students.
Wasn’t this what she had longed for: life as an unencumbered woman?
Charlotte had amassed a wonderful collection of friends, enabling her personal life to be as active as she wished.
When her mind flashed to Henry and her body’s awareness of him, the still winter nights made dreaming of him inevitable, and she woke up sweaty, blankets tangled around her thighs and hips far too often to deny her longing.
Her stomach clenched as the scene unfolded between Henry and Diadema.
What was between them? Across the expanse of the diner, Charlotte easily read the care on his face as he held her, and despite Trixie’s insistence that her brother wasn’t interested in Diadema, they seemed quite close.
Could their past be more complicated than Trixie thought?
Could Diadema be the reason Henry hadn’t been there the day she picked up her car?
Just her luck that the only man to make her body sing in response to a simple touch could be off-limits.
Fighting unwelcome tears of frustration, Charlotte wanted nothing more than to go home, and wondered how to so as unobtrusively as possible, when Sissy appeared with her breakfast—blueberry pancakes, sausage links, and two over medium eggs, all arranged as if her food were smiling at her; however, she was in no mood to return the smile.
Pushing her plate aside, she took her phone out of her pocket to text Amy.
Charlotte
At the diner.
Henry is here.
Amy
Make your move, Lottie!
A fine man like that won’t be available too long.
Charlotte
Well, I’m not sure he’s available at all.
He’s with that woman, DD.
Amy
Ooh, nasty Charlotte…
I thought she told you, under no circumstances, were you to call her DD.
She is Diadema only!
Am I spelling that right?
Charlotte
Well, she annoys me.
I figure I can annoy her back, even if she is unaware!
Amy
Go, girl!
Anyway, I thought his sister told you DD was nothing to worry about.
Charlotte
She did, but he is sitting next to her in a tiny booth.
Weird, right?
Oh, wait, now he just moved back to the other side.
But his hand is reaching out…he’s holding her hand!
Amy
Maybe she’s upset about something.
She seemed like the high-strung type.
And from what you’ve said about Henry, that’s not what he’s into.
Torn, Charlotte bit her bottom lip, uncomfortable that she was a grown-ass woman acting like a teenager.
Should she just walk over and say hi? Sitting immobile, watching them, certainly wasn’t making her feel better.
Then she could just leave. Tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table to cover her uneaten breakfast plus a tip for Sissy, she gathered her purse and coat and scooted to the edge of her booth.
At that moment, Ruth walked in and, after a brief chat with the hostess, went over to talk to Henry and DD.
Charlotte slunk into her booth. No way could she leave discreetly now, because Ruth had eyes like a hawk, and the last thing Charlotte wanted was to make small talk with Henry while he sat with DD.
Sissy approached Ruth, pointing to the kitchen.
Wait—was Henry leaving? He had his phone to his ear as he walked out of the diner.
Ruth then waved in her direction, which Charlotte half-heartedly returned, cringing when DD’s gaze met hers.
After making a beeline for her table, Ruth greeted her, “Hi, Charlotte, Merry Christmas,” and then flagged Sissy for a cup of coffee.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I wanted to thank you for that bread you made. It was so scrumptious.”
As part of a care package for Ruth after her second daughter was born, Charlotte had baked two loaves of bread and delivered them to her house. “Thanks. It was my grandma’s recipe.”
“And Sean hasn’t stopped raving about those jams, either. He’s obsessed. As soon as the weather is good, we’re going to drive out to the Hutterite colony to get some more.”
“Well, I picked those up at a farmer’s market, which I think will be starting up again in the spring.” Charlotte kept an eye on DD, who had gotten up from her table to walk to the door. Was she leaving, too? And where had Henry gone? “How’s the family?”
“Well, Arielle sleeps, eats, and poops, so she’s perfect. Eloisa is close to walking, so we will soon have a toddler on our hands. Sean, as usual, is brilliant.” Ruth took a sip of coffee, then asked, “How was your holiday?”
“Very nice. I went to Iowa to see my daughter and Amy, but I had to come home early because of the storm.”
“I’m sorry your time was cut short, but I’m glad you’re back,” Ruth told her.
“Sean’s mom and sisters are in town, so we have a houseful.
Poor Sean, all that estrogen. He’s always so relieved when my dad comes over.
Takes the edge off slightly.” Ruth had mentioned once that her husband’s dad had passed when he was a teenager.
“I came over to get some breakfast sandwiches for everyone. Have you heard from Effie since she’s been in New York? ”
Charlotte shook her head. “No, why?”
“Oh, her stepdad had what they thought was a heart attack. Josh called Sean at the hospital, asking what surgeon was on call last night. Turns out it was a case of angina, but still pretty severe.”
“Poor Effie,” Charlotte sympathized, having had her own struggles when her parents were in ill health.
“Yeah, I know. I was just asking Henry and Diadema how everyone is doing.”
Confused, Charlotte asked, “I’m sorry—how are Henry and DD involved?”
“DD? You mean Diadema?”
Charlotte grimaced. “Yes, sorry. That’s how she was first introduced to me.”
“Wow—calling her DD puts her in a new light,” Ruth grinned.
“Well, I’m not sure she likes it, because she corrected Trixie.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Well, regardless what she’s called, you do know that she is Effie’s mom, right?”
Now everything was beginning to make about why Henry and DD seemed so close.
Suddenly, Charlotte’s appetite perked up, and she poured maple syrup on her pancakes and dug into her eggs with renewed vigor.
As Sissy brought around coffee refills for them, Henry re-entered the diner, and Charlotte’s pulse raced accordingly.
Ruth lifted a strawberry-blonde eyebrow at Charlotte. “So…back to Henry. Do you know him?”
She stammered, “Well, I…I…I’m not sure if know is the right word, but we have met a few times.” She would definitely like to get to know him, very much.
“Ah, I see.” With her eyebrow raised, Ruth wore a small smile. “You know…he’s single. And just about the sweetest man in the entire world, including my husband and dad. And Josh, of course, who’s grown sweeter with Effie in the picture.”
Charlotte remarked, “Henry and DD looked pretty close before you came in, like they were having a moment.”
“Yeah, she’s quite upset about Burnside. Sounds like he’s going to make a full recovery, though. Henry was probably just comforting her. That’s how he is, and they go back a long way.”
Heart sinking, Charlotte said, “Yeah, I heard they went to school together.”
Ruth lowered her voice. “Effie once mentioned to me that, according to Diadema, she and Henry almost dated as teenagers. Other sources, though, say that dating is an exaggeration and that he just had a crush on Diadema. And it sounds like she was kind of a…bitch, for lack of a better word.” Ruth wrinkled her nose.
“Have you met Cait yet?” Charlotte shook her head.
“Okay, Cait is one of Josh’s cousins, and she told me that Diadema broke Henry’s heart.
She said something about using him as a date for prom to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, then she dumped him the day after.
And Cait should know, because her mom is BFFs with Diadema. ”
“Oh, you mean Nora?”