Page 35 of A Night To Remember

“Charlie is her name.” Jake sighed before continuing. “In the beginning, she acted as if she didn’t want anything to do with me. It was tearing me apart, but I just couldn’t let go. I know there was something between us even if she wouldn’t admit it, and then…”

“Then what?” Helen prompted.

“Something happened that made me think she wasn’t as adverse to me as she had led on.” He wasn’t about to explain the passionate interlude he and Charlie shared in his office to his mother and sister.

“You didn’t sleep together again, did you?” Helen asked with her usual bluntness.

“Helen, if you interrupt one more time, I’m going to choke you,” Jake threatened.

His sister rolled her eyes. “Take it easy. Sheesh.”

“Anyway, I began to think with time, she would give me a chance, so you can imagine my shock as I’m about to leave the office today and I come face-to-face with a little girl who has my eyes, and wouldn’t you know it, she’s the exact age a child would be if she was conceived around the time Charlie and I were together.”

Moira gasped. “Are you meaning to tell me, you fathered a child you had no knowledge of? I…I have another grandchild I’m just finding out about. This woman kept it from you?”

Jake nodded, finding the words difficult to say. His mother and Helen sat with their mouths wide open at Jake’s shocking revelation. “I’m sure you can imagine how I felt when all along I’d been thinking about how great it was to have finally found someone I could spend my life but she’s been playing me for a fool,” Jake concluded huskily. He blinked away unshed tears.

“That bitch!” Helen piped in yet again. “How dare she do this to you? Who the hell does this slut think she is?”

“Helen! Watch your mouth, young lady,” Moira scolded.

“She’s not a slut.” Jake groaned, a deep misery setting in. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have to beg for her time at every opportunity. Despite what she’d done, he couldn’t allow his sister to talk about Charlie that way.

Helen heard none of it however. Once she got on a roll, it was hard to steer her away from it. “But, Mom, this woman keeps her child a secret from Jake and I’m the bad guy? Look at your son for Christ’s sake. Can’t you see how much he’s hurting? How can you sit there so calmly? Isn’t finding out that you have a grandchild you knew nothing about enough to make you angry at what this bitch did?”

“Helen, the mother in me wants to rip this Charlie person’s heart out, but you don’t get to be my age without learning a thing or two,” Moira answered softly. It was obvious she was still processing this situation herself. “Things aren’t always so black-and-white, dear. Now, I really appreciate you coming for a visit tonight, but I think Jake and I need to have a little mother-son chat. Alone.” She smiled at her daughter, but her tone made it clear she wouldn’t take any back talk.

Helen didn’t look pleased with being dismissed, but she shrugged it off. “You haven’t heard the last of me on this subject. If I ever meet this Charlie woman, I’m going to give her a piece of my mind.” She kissed her mom goodbye and gave Jake a big hug before leaving.

When Helen was gone, Moira pulled her chair closer to Jake’s.

His mother wrapped her arms around him and cradled him against her bosom much like she did when he was a child. He held on to her tightly, comforted by her warmth. He could almost imagine he was a child again and Mommy would make things all better, but he knew that the only person who could make this all better was him.

Jake, overwhelmed with the recent emotions raging through him, shuddered against his mother’s body and let the tears silently fall. He hadn’t cried since he was eight years old and broke his leg sliding into home during a little league game. He cried for the lost years with his daughter and for how thoroughly Charlie had deceived him—so strong was his hurt.

After a long silence, he looked up at his mother, seeking her guidance. “Mom, what should I do?”

“Sweetie, it tears my heart in two to see you like this, and I would like to say I have a clear solution for you but I don’t. Only you hold the answers. You’ll need to choose your own path, but I know you’ll make the right decision whatever that may be. I’ll be honest with you and say I’m certainly not pleased with this young lady’s deception, but I am happy to know I have another granddaughter.”

“Mom, you should see her. She’s absolutely gorgeous,” Jake reflected, remembering every single detail of his daughter’s face. “Her name is Kristy and she’s precious and very well-spoken for her age.”

“Well, I’m certainly eager to meet her, and I’m sure your father will feel the same way. I would like to meet Kristy and Charlie. I’ll talk it over with your father, and perhaps we can set up a dinner this weekend. I’ll call you in the morning to let you know.”

“She may turn my dinner invitation down.”

“Don’t be such a defeatist. You can charm the bees from the flowers. Invite her and I’ll handle the rest. Now my question to you is this, Jake, has this changed your feelings for Charlie?” Moira asked.

Jake took a minute to think. Charlie had been wrong for what she had done, but he couldn’t imagine life without her.

“No, my feelings for her haven’t changed.”

The next day Charlie called out sick. She simply couldn’t face Jake. He had been so angry and if she were being fair, she would have to say he was justified in his anger. Her father had questioned her about the incident in the lobby the moment she got back to the car. Keith Brown was no one’s fool and she suspected he knew it wasn’t a coincidence his granddaughter had Jake Fox’s eyes.

Charlie refused to talk about it, however. The conversation still weighed heavily on her mind.

“Who was that man, Charlotte?” Keith asked later that night when Kristy was in bed. Charlie knew by his mannerism that her father had been holding his question in until that moment. She was in for it. Neither one of her parents ever called her Charlotte unless she was in trouble. It had the effect of making her feel like she was a child again.

“He’s my boss, Dad, like I said.”

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