Page 49 of A Night To Remember

“Charlie, I’m glad to finally get a chance to talk to you without everyone else crowding around.” Charlie looked around to see Jake’s sister approach. Helen wasn’t smiling.

“Hi.” Charlie felt wary all of a sudden. She didn’t think she had the emotional strength to deal with whatever Helen wanted to get off her chest. During dinner, Charlie had thought she caught Helen glaring at her a couple of times, but the other woman would immediately look away. Now Charlie knew she hadn’t imagined the hostility.

“It was nice you could come join us for dinner tonight. Kristy is a little angel.” There was no warmth in the other woman’s eyes.

Charlie went on the defensive.

“Yes, I got pretty lucky with Kristy,” Charlie answered cautiously.

“Jake obviously adores her,” Helen pointed out.

“Yes, and Kristy adores Jake. Helen, I get this feeling Jake and Kristy’s feelings for each other isn’t what you want to talk about.”

Helen looked as if she were biting her tongue. “I understand you’ve worked for Jake’s company for several months now, yet he’s just found out about his daughter’s existence?” Helen asked caustically.

Charlie sighed. Here we go. She knew she’d been in the wrong for what she’d done, but Charlie didn’t appreciate Helen’s tone. “Yes, that’s correct.”

“How could you do that to him? Everyone else might be skirting around the issue as if everything is fine and dandy, but I’m not. I was here when he came to Mom, practically in tears. What kind of woman are you to do something so foul? How could you keep Kristy from him?” Helen demanded through narrowed eyes.

“I’m sure nothing I could say at this moment will satisfy you, but I had my reasons. Reasons that are none of your business,” Charlie replied with a calm she didn’t feel. She didn’t want to stand here arguing with Helen in front of Jake’s family, but she wouldn’t be cowed by her either.

Helen’s face turned scarlet at Charlie’s reply. She was obviously a woman who was used to getting her way. “It is my business when you mess with my family. Jake is my brother, and I love him. After what you’ve done, you have a lot of nerve to show your face around here.” Helen tossed her blonde hair back in an angry gesture.

Helen looked as if she wanted to physically attack her. Charlie silently counted to ten before she spoke, realizing Helen’s anger stemmed from love for her brother. “I don’t want to argue with you, Helen. I know what I did was wrong, but like I said, I don’t want to get into those reasons. And the only person I owe an explanation to is Jake. Besides, my reasons shouldn’t be important to you. The important issue here is Kristy and Jake. They adore each other, and I won’t stand in the way of their relationship.”

Helen’s eyes were still narrowed, but her words lost a lot of their bite when she next spoke. “And what about you and Jake?”

Charlie shrugged. “What about us? He’s my daughter’s father.”

“I see,” Helen said slowly. “Don’t jerk my brother around or you’ll have me to deal with,” Helen threatened before turning around, leaving Charlie standing on the wall watching her angry figure retreat.

What had Helen been implying about her and Jake? Although the evening had started off great, she was relieved when Jake returned with her coat. She didn’t avoid eye contact with Helen as everyone said their goodbyes.

On the way home, Kristy slept in her car seat, wiped out from the night’s events. Jake wasn’t in a talkative mood. In fact, every attempt Charlie made at conversation Jake either ignored or answered with one syllable retorts. Charlie finally gave up and they drove the rest of the way home in silence.

When they arrived at her house, Jake carried a still sleeping Kristy inside. They both put their daughter to bed. After they left Kristy’s room, Charlie turned to him. “Jake, I had a nice time tonight. I liked your family.” She omitted her confrontation with Helen.

“They liked you, too. Well, I guess I’d better be heading out. I’ll see you on Monday. By the way, I’ll have a support check for you.” He was so formal.

Charlie was stunned by Jake’s coldness. What had happened tonight that made him do a one-eighty turn from his happy contentedness earlier?

She made one last effort to bring Jake to a friendlier disposition.

“Would you like to stay for coffee?” Her mouth said stay for coffee, but her eyes said stay for more.

Jake paused, but only for a second. “No, thanks. I’m actually kind of tired. Goodnight, Charlie.”

“Oh…goodnight, Jake.”

Why did it bother her so much to see him go?

Chapter Thirteen

The minute she got out of bed on Monday morning, Charlie knew it was going to be a bad day. Kristy was extra sluggish and fussy. It took longer than usual for her car to start, and she broke a heel, all before eight o’ clock in the morning. By the time she got into the office, she felt an impending sense of doom.

She was about to go into her cubicle when she saw Sandy approaching. The woman was a plague. This is not how I wanted to start the day, Charlie thought warily, but she pinned a smile on her face. The best defense was a good offense.

“Good morning, Sandy, how are you today?” She didn’t want to hear the answer, but did the polite thing and waited for a response nonetheless.

---