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Charlotte . She’d asked him once why he didn’t call her honey or dear and he’d said, „Because Charlotte is like poetry and as pretty as you are.“ It worked for her.
Charlotte smoothed her knuckles down his cleanshaven cheek. This was so much more man she ever dreamed love could be, so much better. Studying the strong features she’d come to know and love so well, she wondered, „What if one of us hadn’t gone to the wedding that day?“
He shook his head; his gaze was like a caress. „It wouldn’t have mattered. We would have found each other eventually. The moment I saw you I knew I wanted to grow old with you. I knew that I’d love every second of our life together. And there you were, treating my son like a dog.“
He laughed when her mouth fell open and she gasped. She tugged his earlobe. „He was so cute. I was so glad to hear that the two of you came as a package. And now Lily.“ Her voice quivered.
She let her kiss tell him how deeply she loved him, how happy she was, how thankful she was for the life mey were building together. He had no problem reading her and rose up to slant his mouth over hers, pulling her closer and closer until the right side of her body came to rest against him. Cheek to cheek they clung to one another, warm and tender, and mey tried to capture that special moment forever in their hearts.
„Not more kissing again.“ Charlie’s high-pitched voice was packed with boredom and repugnance. „I might have to hurl.“
„Hurl?“
Charlie’s grin was gapped now that he’d lost his front teeth. „Kevin says that’s the same as barfing.“
„What happened to ‘throwing up’?“
„It’s a guy thing,“ Sam whispered in her ear. „The worse it sounds, the better it is.“
„Oh.“
There was a lot she didn’t understand about guys, a lot she took on faith as being right and true in both boys and men. She knew that the responsibilities of first grade and now the duties of an older brother had taken their toll on Charlie. He rarely spoke of Mel anymore – not that he was gone for good because from time to time she would still hear Charlie talking to him at night before he went to sleep. But he no longer requested a place for Mel at the di
„I brung some of my old toys in here for that baby to have. All she’s got is stuffed stuff and I’m too old for these now.“ A fire engine slipped out of his grasp and he picked it up, dropping a Marble Run Vortex as he did so. „I tried to get my jumping horse, too, but it got stuck in the door. Can you go get it, Dad?“
Charlotte noticed his beloved Super Stretch Mr. Fantastic and Thing in the heavy armload of miscellaneous toys. His generous heart made hers crack a little.
„Do you remember that baby’s name?“ his dad asked him. Sam gave her a little nudge and helped her to stand before getting up himself. „We need to use it so she’ll know who she is.“
„Lily.“ Charlie shuddered. „It’s a good thing she’s a girl.“
„That’s for sure. And the one thing we don’t want is for her to wake up. So, why don’t you put all your gifts here on the chair for now, and maybe Mom can go into our room and lie down to rest for a few minutes while you and I cook di
„Yes, it does.“ Dumping his possessions on the chair, Charlie leaned toward Charlotte and whispered, „It’s KFC.“
She laughed silently with him and zipped her lips together to keep their secret, before he trotted off to catch up with his father.
Charlotte stood over Lily for several long minutes, touching the fuzz of dark hair that capped her head, skimming a finger over the petal-soft skin of her tiny-fisted hand.
„You can be anything you want when you grow up, you know,“ she spoke softly to her daughter. „Even if you make a couple of mistakes along the way, it’s never too late to change. Just keep an eye on your dreams and you’ll make it. I know. I’m proof.“
She walked softly across the room to the door, heard Sam and Charlie talking and laughing downstairs. Just as she was about to leave the room she caught a hint of spicy cider and fir trees in the air…
And smiled.