Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
M andie squeezed Charlie’s hand as he led her into Alice and Arthur’s suite. A full-size Christmas tree had been set up in the corner, and the couch had been staged across from it to open up the sitting area.
Ginny and Bob had already arrived, and they canoodled on the couch, talking quietly to one another. Arthur had just entered the room ahead of Mandie and Charlie, and he said, “I’ve got the treats.” He set a carton of milk and a plate of cookies on the credenza beneath the TV.
This room didn’t have a fireplace like some others, but Alice had hung six stockings from the back of the couch, pinned in place with what looked like giant quilting needles.
As always, she looked like she’d been dressed by the most famous fashion designer in the city, as she wore a pair of navy blue slacks that flowed like warm water around her legs and a Christmas sweater tastefully done in white, with a beautiful Christmas scene on the front in matching blue.
Mandie always felt underdressed in front of Alice, and today especially so, as she and Charlie had not changed out of their pajamas after the group Christmas present exchange and breakfast. Ginny hadn’t gotten dressed either, but Bob had, and he glanced up at Charlie and Mandie as they came around the couch.
“Hey, we’ll make room,” he said, and he scooted over so that Charlie and Mandie could fit onto the couch as well. Since Charlie was tall and lanky and barely had any body fat at all, he didn’t take up much room, and Mandie sank into the space between him and Bob and gave Ginny’s boyfriend a smile.
“Are you as nervous about this as I am?” Bob murmured.
Mandie leaned her head closer to his so she could hear him. “A little,” she admitted.
“Has she ever done this before?” Bob asked.
Mandie shook her head. “No.”
“It’s going to be fine,” Ginny said, a little bit of bite in her voice. She’d obviously told Bob this before. “It’s a few gifts and some cookies.”
“We already did a few gifts and a whole meal,” Bob said, articulating how Mandie felt as well.
“She just wants something for us,” Ginny said. “Mom’s always done this.”
“She’s right,” Charlie said, his voice quiet as Arthur and Alice spoke about something only a few feet away. “My dad would sometimes only be home on Christmas for a couple of hours, and Mom would then do something just with us after he left.”
Mandie reached over and took his hand in hers. Charlie hadn’t admitted it, but he carried a lot of anger and resentment toward his dad that he would need to eventually work through. They talked a little bit about it, and he’d said that his mom had put him in therapy after the divorce, and he had enjoyed speaking with a counselor.
Mandie had told him he should go again, but he’d shaken his head and said, “I can’t afford it.”
She’d mentioned that his mom would pay for it, and Charlie had simply said, “I don’t want my mom to be paying for anything.”
She hadn’t brought it up again, and she hadn’t realized that big family gatherings and special occasions probably triggered him a little bit, bringing forward memories that weren’t so great on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, New Year’s Eve, and birthdays.
In this moment, she wished they had their own room so that she could lay in his arms and reassure him that he had plenty of people who loved him and would never leave him, even if one of them wasn’t his father.
“All right,” Alice said, finally turning toward them. “Did you guys get everything you wanted for Christmas?”
She smiled in that sophisticated, beautiful way she had, and Mandie smiled back at her.
“I didn’t,” Ginny said good-naturedly. “Unless you’ve got a suitcase of cash over there.” She laughed, and Charlie joined her. Alice did too, and this must be some sort of inside joke that Mandie, Bob, and Arthur didn’t know, because the three of them simply smiled and looked at the Keltons that they loved.
Ginny hadn’t said that Bob had told her that he loved her. She hadn’t said very much about the two of them getting married, but Mandie could see the adoration playing on Bob’s face.
He’d fallen for Ginny quickly and hard, and he was probably simply waiting for her to dictate the next step of the relationship. Mandie realized then and there that she was doing the same thing with Charlie, and she decided that after this was done, she would ask him about getting married again.
“I just want my grades to come in,” Charlie said. “Have you got that wrapped up under the tree?”
Alice giggled and shook her head. “No. What other impossible gifts do you guys want from me?”
Mandie realized that this was their game, and she looked over to Bob, who wore confusion plainly on his face. “I’ll take my degree now,” she said.
Alice nodded and said, “I bet you would.”
“Oh, is that what we’re doing?” Bob asked, finally cluing in. “Then I’d like my own law firm set up and full of paying clients.”
“That’s a good one,” Arthur said. “I think I’m going to be the noble one and say...” He rooted around through some presents. “I think we’ve got world peace under here somewhere.”
They all twittered again, and Mandie did enjoy being here in this smaller core family that was so much like hers and yet so different.
After this, they’d be leaving The Starlight Manor and going to Alice’s dad’s house for the afternoon, where they would be fed dinner before they returned here, and excitement stole through Mandie because it was fun to experience a different kind of Christmas with Charlie’s family.
“Okay,” Alice said, and she bent down and picked up a couple of gifts. “It’s not much, and I don’t want it to be a big deal, but Arthur and I got each of you something, and we wanted to give it to you here, privately.”
All four gifts were identical—white boxes with red bows tied around them—and Alice could hold all four of them in both hands. Curiosity pricked at Mandie, because what could she possibly get for Bob that Mandie would also want?
Charlie leaned over the arm of the couch as Alice started handing out the gifts, and he lifted the plastic sack that he’d brought in.
“Here, Mom,” he said, as Mandie took her gift. Charlie took his next and then passed over the plastic bag. They’d gotten gifts for his mom, Arthur, Ginny, and Bob as well, and Alice passed those out.
Ginny looked at Bob and asked, “What did we do with those candy bars?”
He bent over and picked them up from his feet. “They’re right here,” and they had giant king-sized candy bars for every person.
“Thank you,” Mandie said as she took one with toffee in it. “I love these.”
“Peanuts for me,” Charlie said, as he did love a good chocolate-covered nut.
Mandie then looked down the row of people on the couch to decide if she should open her gift from Alice and Arthur or not.
“Go on,” Alice said, and Mandie untied the bow and lifted the lid.
A certificate sat there that said One Month of Free Rent . Mandie blinked, sure this couldn’t be true. An apartment in the city—even as small as hers, Charlie’s, and Ginny’s—was a lot of money. Alice was going to pay the rent for a full month?
“Thanks, Mom,” Charlie said, and she glanced over to his box. He had the same certificate lying there.
Then Ginny got to her feet and flew into her mother’s arms and said, “Thank you, Mom,” in a genuine, sincere voice.
Mandie knew they’d just been given three months of free rent in the city, and that would take them almost through the end of their sophomore year.
“Wow. Thank you, Alice,” Bob said, and Mandie glanced at his box to find that he had a Visa gift card sitting there. “This is amazing.” He got to his feet and hugged both Alice and Arthur together, and Mandie got up to do the same thing.
When Bob stepped back, she took their place, and she said, “Thank you so much.”
Alice held her tight with one arm, and Arthur said, “Of course, sweetie, and you let us know if there’s anything else you need.”
She nodded, suddenly emotional. Her parents would never be able to do anything like this. That didn’t mean they loved her or Charlie any less; it simply meant they didn’t have as much expendable income.
Charlie hugged his mom and stepdad as well. And then Alice and Arthur opened their two gifts from their kids, making a big fuss about them.
“I love this scent,” Alice said about the candle set Mandie and Charlie had found in the clearance section of the home goods store. She leaned over and sniffed it and everything. “Thank you.”
She peered into the bag and pulled out the eye mask. “Oh, this is one of those you can put herbs in.”
“It comes with them,” Mandie said, hoping Alice liked lavender-scented things. “It’s got gingko-biloba and this Thai herb.” She looked over to Charlie, aware her eyes had gotten too round. “What was the name of it?”
He grinned and her and lifted her hand to his lips. “I have no idea. You think I’m going to remember that?”
“You’re going to pharmacy school,” Ginny said. “You should know what reduces puffiness around the eyes.”
“I’m not in pharmacy school,” Charlie shot back.
“My eyes are puffy?” Alice asked. She turned to Arthur and blinked at him. “Tell me the truth.”
Arthur looked like he’d been hit with a brick, and this conversation had spiraled fast. “Your eyes are not puffy,” he said dutifully, and that made Mandie smile too.
She snapped her fingers, and her memory fired at her. “Hibiscus,” she said. “It’s got that in it too.”
Alice looked down at the care kit she’d been given, then lifted her eyes to Mandie’s. “Thank you.” She came over and pressed a kiss to Mandie’s forehead. “It’s very thoughtful.”
“Your turn, Arthur,” Bob said, and Arthur pulled the paper off the box Mandie had wrapped. “It’s from all of us.”
“We pooled our money,” Ginny added.
Arthur lifted the lid on the box and laughed as he pulled out a handsome charcoal-gray sweater vest. “I love sweater vests,” he practically yelled.
Alice grinned and grinned at him, and he swept a kiss across her cheek made mostly of a smile. “He sure does. Says they make him look like he knows what he’s talking about when he has meetings with parents.”
They all laughed, and Arthur moved down the row of them sitting on the couch, and Mandie leaned into his quick squeeze before he moved on to Bob.
With the presents now open, Mandie wasn’t sure what would happen next. She glanced over to Charlie, but he gave no indication that he’d get up and leave. They didn’t have anywhere to go anyway.
Alice looked at him too, and Mandie got the distinct feeling that they’d had a conversation without her. Of course they had. They talked often, the same way Mandie spoke to her parents, especially her mother.
Charlie cleared his throat, and he did scoot to the edge of the couch and get up. “There’s one more thing.” He went around to the back of the Christmas tree and pulled something from the branches.
He faced them all again, and Mandie knew someone had moved on her left side. She somehow knew without looking that Ginny was recording, and that meant?—
“Mandie,” Charlie said, and he cleared his throat again. His face started to turn a deeper shade of red, and he glanced over to his mom. She gave him an encouraging nod and subtly pointed at the ground. So subtle, Mandie almost didn’t see it.
She couldn’t see anything but that deep, dark blue velvet box in Charlie’s hand.
He dropped to his knees, and Mandie tracked him. “I’m in love with you,” he said quietly, earnestly, using the voice he did when he told the same thing as they made love.
“I sort of freaked out this month on you, and it’s because I spent every last dime I have on this ring.” He opened the box to reveal the diamond. “I don’t really want to drop out of school. I just…panicked for a minute.”
He swallowed, and Mandie did too. The diamond wasn’t enormous or elaborate. It was a round cut on a white gold band, and it screamed her name.
“I don’t want you to lose the best wedding planner in the cove.” He grinned at her. “And I want to be your husband so dang bad, so I figured I better ask you: Will you marry me?”
Tears rushed into Mandie’s eyes, and she wasn’t sure why. Her heart pounded and thrashed against her breastbone, and finally, she figured out how to make her head nod.
A tear splashed down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away. “Yes,” she said, her voice throaty and cracked. She cleared it and said, “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Alice started to clap, and Arthur whistled through his teeth. Bob said, “All right!” like he was ready to attend the world’s biggest and best event.
Charlie slid the ring on Mandie’s finger, cradling her hand in both of his while they both looked at the sparkling diamond. Then he raised his eyes to hers, and she moved her hands to hold his face as he leaned in and kissed her.
So many things made more sense now, and she sincerely hoped Ginny had stopped recording. She pulled away so they wouldn’t have a scandalous kiss on the video she wanted to show her parents as soon as possible.
“I hope your mom won’t be too upset,” Charlie whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.
“You could’ve told me about the ring.”
“Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise.” He pulled away, his eyes searching hers. “I’m going to freak out about many more things in our lives. If you don’t want that, you should—” He swallowed again, a hard edge entering his gaze.
“I can handle it.” She grinned at him. “I can handle you, because you handle me.”
He grinned, kissed her again, and then got to his feet. “Come on,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers. “Let’s go tell your mom and dad.”