9. Charlotte #2
“Yeah, Nora. Around here, who you know is not seven degrees of separation, more like three.” Ruth leaned forward with her elbows on the table.
“I will say that Henry is a catch, and there are plenty of women in this town who tried to date him after his wife left.” Charlotte cast a glance at Henry, who looked like he was in a serious conversation with DD.
Was there anything deeper there than friendship?
“Can I ask you something? Tell me if I’m out of line, though.”
Ruth gave a giggle. “If you knew the number of times I was out of line with people, you wouldn’t even have to ask. Fire away—I live for the free exchange of information.”
Should she ask? Maybe it was too personal? But curiosity prompted her. “I don’t really know anything about his wife—what happened?”
Ruth became somber. “She left Henry and Josh when Josh was twelve. Just out of the blue one day. This was when they still lived in Clover Lake. A couple of years later, they moved here to Beverley. That’s when Tess and I met Josh.
The thing is, it totally messed them up because both Henry and Josh let everyone in Beverley believe Melanie died.
I guess Henry thought people would ask less questions about a wife who died instead of one who abandoned them. ”
Charlotte couldn’t imagine the pain Henry must have experienced. And then having to explain it to his son must have been a double punch. “That’s terrible. And Josh never saw his mom again?”
Ruth shook her head. “No—never heard from her either. Tess and I didn’t even know that Josh’s mom was alive until this past summer, actually. It was part of how he grew emotionally after Tess broke up with him. Effie helped him face the pain from his past.”
“Poor Henry. And poor Josh, too.” Stoic, careful, thoughtful Henry. How did someone leave a man like that? And how was he still alone? He was the kind of man who burned, silently, and Charlotte imagined that deep down, he was passionate, intense…erotic.
“Yeah, out of all the men out there, Henry did not need or deserve that kind of torment. I mean, the man makes the best coffee in town. So yummy.” Yes, yummy was one way Charlotte would describe Henry, studying him over her own cup of less-than-stellar coffee, but now she had other adjectives as well: tragic, steadfast, survivor.
His underlying strength was what had drawn her in from the beginning.
“Ruth!” someone called from the front counter.
“Oh, there’s my order. Better get home before my in-laws get restless.” With a wave, Ruth was off.
Henry, Henry, Henry. What was she going to do, after discovering the pain that life had caused?
As empathetic as she was, his past made things more difficult for her pursuit of him, though.
His complicated history with DD could prove too powerful, worrisome even, not to mention what happened with his ex-wife.
How does one recover from that? Once again, her eyes sought Henry, and to her astonishment, he was gazing intently at her while tracing his lower lip with his finger.
Desire unlike any she had experienced before blazed through her, burning her nerves.
What would it be like to have his mouth on hers, his hands stroking her, his body pinning hers?
Sex with Brady had ceased being exciting once they were married, when the taboo of teenagers sneaking around had worn off.
How would it be with a man who aroused her across a restaurant?
Her ringing cell phone broke into her fantasy, and when she saw the caller, she landed harshly back into reality.
“Merry Christmas, Brady,” she greeted her ex-husband. “I’m sorry we didn’t see each other when I was there.”
“Me, too, Char. Harmony was looking forward to meeting you.”
Charlotte’s eyes still on Henry, she replied, “I guess that makes us thoroughly modern, huh, meeting new partners.”
“I’m glad you brought that up, actually. What’s this I hear about some guy from an auto shop?”
Dropping her gaze, she asked, “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”
“Well, our daughter informed me that you’re interested in some mechanic there? That you took your vehicle to him a couple of months ago? “
Annoyed, she snapped, “I’m sorry, but how is this any of your business?”
“I would just hate to see you move too fast into anything. Plus, a mechanic is the kind of guy who might take advantage of a single woman. These guys tell women they need all kinds of work done on their cars, but in the end, they’re just racking up a bigger bill.
” Confused, she wondered if Brady cared about her personal life or her wallet?
Neither was any of his business. “Didn’t you have the Jeep checked out before you moved? ”
“I did,” Charlotte informed him with exaggerated calmness. “It wasn’t my Jeep, it was the Tempest.”
Brady scoffed, “You can’t tell me you’re driving that old car around, are you? Char, you know it’s not safe! I understand that you’re sentimental about it, but be realistic! What if it breaks down on you somewhere? Aren’t you concerned about your safety?”
“For your information, I never take it out of town and only drive it around Beverley. All it needed was a new battery. And I’ll say it again, but it’s not any of your business.” When they were married, she had resented his criticism of the Tempest, but grudgingly put up with it. Not anymore.
“Who cares if you drive it around Beverley! That’s the middle of nowhere! I still don’t know why you moved all the way over there.”
“How dare you, Brady! You got to start over, with your new girlfriend. I believe I am afforded the same opportunity. You have no right to question me, my actions, or anything else!”
“I’m just worried about you.”
“Well, don’t be. Professionally, Henry has taken great care of my car. Isobel met him, and she thought he was nice. Respectful.” In fact, her daughter often asked her why she wasn’t “exploring things” with him.
“Yeah, she mentioned that. She may also have said he was extremely interested. So if he’s single and you’re single, what’s stopping you?”
“It’s not that easy, is it? I’m friends with his sister, and I’m pretty sure she tried to set us up. But I don’t know…I thought there was something between us, but nothing’s happened. It’s complicated.”
“Char, it’s okay to be hesitant. I mean, it’s hard knowing who might be attracted to you, or what their motivations are, especially at our age.
” At our age? Was her ex-husband going out of his way to irritate her?
“When Harmony and I met, you and I were still married and…what had you called it? Oh, right, slogging our way through.” Shame flooded Charlotte, regretting words she had spoken when frustration had a chokehold on her.
Mistakenly believing that she was alone in feeling that way, she had many times bitten back suggesting divorce.
“We just struck up a conversation. I had no way of knowing if she was interested, and I didn’t want her to think I was some lowlife scum, so I proceeded with extreme caution.
Until you and I separated, when everything kind of…
fell into place. It shocked me to my core, that feeling that I was alive, like I hadn’t been in years.
” Charlotte recognized the sensation, because it was the same she experienced with Henry.
“But if you are considering dating, maybe you should join one of those services first? You don’t want to go from three decades of being married to dating a man with issues, do you? ”
Hanging up with Brady, his words had a ring of truth, especially as her eyes once again found Henry’s, over the shoulder of another woman he had once cared about…possibly still did. Was she ready to put her heart on the line and take a chance?