Page 18 of A Night To Remember

When she finally made it to Kristy’s daycare, the two-year-old was back to her jovial self.

“I drawed you a picture, Mommy.” Kristy proudly displayed her latest work of art when Charlie walked into the daycare center.

“It’s beautiful, darling. We can put in on the refrigerator when we get home.”

“Super!”

Super was Kristy’s new word, and it always amused Charlie to hear her daughter use it, but she was so distracted she barely paid attention to anything the toddler said as Charlie strapped her into her car seat and drove home.

“Mommy!” Kristy yelled to get her attention.

Charlie shook her head, trying to get rid of thoughts of Jake. “Yes, sweetie?”

“Can I have ice cweam?”

“Maybe after dinner.”

“Okay.” Kristy seemed to accept this.

Charlie went on autopilot the minute she got home. She cooked dinner, letting Kristy assist her with rolling the meatballs. After Kristy was fed and bathed, Charlie read her daughter a story before putting her to bed.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the little girl nodded off to sleep. Charlie was a bundle of nerves as she contemplated what she should do next. After pacing her living room floor for at least an hour, she decided to give Laura a call. She had never told Laura who Kristy’s father was and she knew her friend would flip when she finally did and Charlie was right.

“Jake Fox! Are you fucking kidding me?” Laura screamed through the phone after Charlie broke the news to her.

“I wish I were kidding, but I never thought I would see him again which is why I never went into details with you.” Charlie was very close to tears.

“Oh my God, girl. Still waters sure run deep. If you’re going to have a drunken one-night stand, it might as well be with a hottie like Jake Fox.”

“Laura, this is no joking matter. I can’t work there anymore. What if he finds out about Kristy?”

There was silence on the other end of the line before Laura responded. “Charlie, are you high? Not only do you want to give up this very high-paying job, but you also want to keep Kristy a secret from her father? It’s one thing when you didn’t think you would ever see him again, but it’s an entirely different issue now that you know how to contact your daughter’s father. That’s pretty low, Char,” Laura reprimanded.

“But what if he tries to take her away from me? He’s obviously in a better financial position than I am.”

“He’d be crazy to try. Any fool can see what a great mother you are. You were born for all that motherhood shit. Now calm down. It would be in your best interest as well as Kristy’s to tell him about her. With his money, Kristy could have the best of everything.”

“I don’t want anything from him. I’ve given Kristy everything she ever needed!” Charlie realized she was being irrational but she’d had her daughter to herself all this time and she didn’t like the idea of having to share her.

“I know you have, but like I said before, what are you going to say when she starts asking questions? What I know about my father I found out myself and let me tell you, I’ve always resented my mother for that. I don’t want Kristy to grow up feeling that way toward you.” She broke off for a moment. Charlie knew Laura’s own upbringing was still a sore point. “Is there another reason why you don’t want to tell him? Jake’s a pretty nice guy. I can’t possibly see him doing anything that would hurt you or Kristy.” What Laura said sounded reasonable enough, but Charlie wasn’t in the mood to be rational.

“I understand what you’re saying, but I just can’t take the chance of losing her.”

“Is it the prospect of losing your daughter or allowing Jake into your life that bothers you so much?”

Charlie paused. She didn’t want to let her friend know she was getting too close to the truth. “What do you mean?”

Laura sighed. “You know what I mean, Char. You haven’t dated since Paul died. You’ve become commitment phobic. Are you scared you may have feelings for Jake?”

“No! Absolutely not! How could I after a one-night stand three years ago?”

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

“Cute, Laura, real cute. Look, I don’t have time for this. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

“You’re being pigheaded and you know it. Stop thinking about yourself for a moment and think about that beautiful little girl of yours. You can’t up and quit your job like this. Promise me that you’ll at least stay on at MBF until you find another job comparable to what you have now. You know how I feel about you telling Jake the truth about Kristy, and that is your decision, but giving up your job like that in the blink of an eye would be beyond selfish.”

Damn Laura for being right. Charlie sighed to herself. “Okay.”

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