Page 75 of A Night To Remember

“I wasn’t thinking about her actually, although I wish we had gotten off on better footing.”

“Well, Helen is quick to judge a lot of times, but she’s a good girl. She’ll come around. Now, tell me what happened in there. When Caleb said those letters, you looked as if you had seen a ghost before you passed out.”

Charlie shivered. “I didn’t but Kristy and Caleb apparently did,” she answered slowly.

“What?” Moira asked, looking confused.

“They described my husband’s favorite shirt. He always wore that shirt. I put that old shirt in storage before I moved to this area, so how could they possibly know about it? I never talked to Kristy about my husband, and Caleb…well, he obviously wouldn’t know anything about it.”

“Oh my. It all sound so very twilight zone to me.”

“I know. It’s so weird but they say angels do exist and I don’t think I knew anyone who deserved to be an angel more than Paul. If he is an angel, this sounds like something he would do.”

“What do you mean?”

“He would find a way to reassure me everything is okay. He was always looking out for me.” Charlie smiled. Her heart swelled fondly, knowing Paul seemed to be giving his blessing to love Jake. Why else would he be there holding Jake’s hand as Kristy had put it?

“He sounds like he was quite a guy. You must have loved him very much,” Moira observed.

“I do. I mean I did…well, I will always love him. I’m not in love with him anymore, though. I couldn’t have asked for a more special man in my life. He touched so many people when he was alive,” Charlie said wistfully.

“But?”

“But I also know he wants me to be happy, and the fact Kristy said he was holding Jake’s hand, it’s as if he’s trying to save Jake to make me happy.”

“Will it make you happy?”

“Yes. It would make me very happy. I love Jake very much. I was so scared of loving again I lost sight of the gift I was given. I had such a loving relationship with Paul, I thought I would never find it again, but then Jake came into my life and things changed. I think that’s why I fought so hard. I was falling in love with him, but in the back of my mind, I thought if I allowed myself to give into those feelings, I would lose him like I lost Paul. I know that sounds silly but it’s how I felt,” Charlie explained.

“It doesn’t sound silly to me at all. I knew we were kindred spirits when I met you. I was scared to love at one time, too. Believe it or not, the road wasn’t easy for Bill and me,” Moira confided.

“Really? But you two seem so in love.” Charlie was incredulous.

“We are now. As you can see, Bill is still a very good-looking man. You should have seen him when he was in his twenties. He was…what do you young people say? A hottie I think. Yes, that’s it. Bill was quite a hottie. We formally met at a civil rights march although we went to the same school. I just never had the courage to approach him before then because he was the big man on campus. He had a bit of a reputation for being a ladies’ man. Even back then I was losing the battle with my weight and I wasn’t exactly prom queen material, so when Bill showed an interest in me, I couldn’t see what he saw in me. He could practically have any girl on campus, but he liked lil’ ole frumpy me. I was scared to love him because I wasn’t beautiful and I thought he would eventually leave me for someone who was all the things I felt I wasn’t.”

“I think you’re beautiful.” And Charlie meant it.

Moira smiled and patted the younger woman on the cheek. “That’s sweet of you to say, dear.”

“But it’s true and your husband is crazy about you. Anyone can see that.”

“I know that now, but the point is, it took something big for me to wake up and realize life is much too short for what ifs.”

“What happened?”

“Oh nothing of this magnitude but it was enough to make me realize what I fool I was being. You see, Bill was accepted to two law schools after graduation, Columbia University on the east coast, and Stanford on the west coast. He asked me to marry him. I turned him down so he chose Stanford. When he left, I was devastated. I moped for weeks until a good friend of mine talked some sense into me. I hopped on the next flight to California, and when I found him, I got down on my knees and asked that man to marry me,” Moira finished proudly.

“You asked him?”

“I sure did and I don’t regret it for a single minute. Bill has been a wonderful husband and father. He’s brought joy to my life every single day since we’ve been married.”

Charlie was humbled by Moira revealing such an intimate detail of her life to her. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“No problem, dear. After all, you’ll be my new daughter if Jake pulls through this.”

“Jake will pull though this. I know he will,” Charlie said with a certainty she hadn’t felt earlier. She knew her guardian angel was looking out for Jake.

Chapter Twenty

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