Chapter Seven #3
Holy shit. Was Harper seriously flirting just then?
Charlie’s racing heart certainly made it feel like it.
And while Charlie wanted to ask more about her attorney past, what brought her to Key West, what the hell that amazing drink was, and see how she might react to being on the other end of a little flirting, it was a busy night, and she’d already moved on to her next customer. Dammit.
While Charlie was bummed that she didn’t have another chance to share a moment with Harper, she was still riding the high of the day as she waved to her and headed to the door.
Harper’s answering smile warmed her, and although she’d intended to walk around the building and go upstairs, it was such a nice evening that she found herself wandering aimlessly.
She felt like she was floating on air and wondered if she was finally starting to turn a corner.
This was the first day since she’d fled New York, a cloud of shame distorting the world around her, that she felt truly optimistic about the future, even though she didn’t know exactly what her next step was going to be.
She hoped every day could build off of the momentum of this one.
Eventually, Charlie landed in a nearly deserted Mallory Square.
With the sun long since set, the street performers and vendors were gone, and only a few stray tourists remained strolling along the water’s edge, it was peaceful.
Charlie knew it was nothing like the melee that she would’ve encountered if she’d come a few hours ago during the sunset celebration.
It seemed quite lively from a distance, with cheers periodically surging into the air, but the idea of experiencing it alone had always seemed too sad.
Tonight, however, she appreciated the peace. She sat on a bench and listened to the waves and just breathed and thought about all the false beliefs she’d carried in her life.
That money was the most important thing.
That if she took care of the company, they’d take care of her.
That she had to work insane hours in order to be successful.
That her parents didn’t want her to succeed.
That she didn’t need her parents.
Now that last one stung. Hell, the last two did, really, because looking back and having some distance from the person she’d been, she didn’t think either was true. Her parents simply hadn’t wanted her to lose herself. Which she had.
And now that she realized that, she realized just how much she needed them.
Without thinking, she pulled out her phone, pulled up their contact, typed in, Hi, and hit send.
With those two little letters, it felt like a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
A weight she’d been carrying for so long she’d forgotten it was there evaporated, and she took the deepest breath she had in at least five years.
She added, It’s Charlie by the way. This is my new number.
She felt her lips curl up into a smile as she stared at the moon reflecting off the water.
Before she’d even had a chance to lean back and relax, her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Hi! We’re so glad you reached out. How are you?
Charlie took a deep breath. She hadn’t thought this part out. What was she going to say next? She went with: I’m good. Have a lot of changes going on right now, but I’ve been thinking about you both. How are you?
She wondered how much time it would take them to respond.
She was envisioning her mom doing the texting.
Several years ago, they’d switched their home phone from a landline to a cell, which was how she knew the number by heart.
She wasn’t sure if they’d gotten a second cell phone or not, but her father had always been anti-technology.
A breeze picked up and ruffled the palm tree Charlie was sitting under. She closed her eyes, savoring the fluttery tickle across her skin.
Your dad and I are good. Counting down the days until summer break.
Charlie didn’t know what to say next, but it felt so good to know that she had extended a hand. God, she missed her parents. Her mom was the best hugger, and her dad, while more reserved with hugs, still gave a wonderful one and made the best waffles ever.
Any big plans for the break? she finally asked. She didn’t feel ready to see them yet but hoped they could get to a place where they’d be ready to see each other at some point during the summer.
The dots bounced and stopped. Disappeared.
Bounced again. But nothing.
What was going on?
She set her phone on the bench next to her and looked around the square.
The last of the lingering tourists had gone.
It wasn’t peaceful and quiet exactly since she could hear occasional roars from nearby bars, but she was pretty sure that it was the closest she’d get in this part of Key West after ten o’clock.
She leaned back on the bench and stretched her legs out in front of her. The pops in both her knees and the tiny jolts of pain that accompanied them reminded her that she wasn’t in her twenties or thirties anymore.
She picked up her phone and looked at the screen. Nothing. She slouched more on the bench until the high back gave her a little pressure right at the base of her skull.
She was happy she’d reached out, but she still didn’t know what to talk to her parents about. Didn’t know how to tell them that they’d been right.