Page 79 of A Night To Remember

“A party? Mom, I don’t want a party. Can’t you cancel it?”

“No. Carl and Helen are bringing their families. We’ve invited some neighbors who have asked after your well-being, and Charlie and Kristy are coming. When I talked to Kristy on the phone the other night, she sounded very excited about the party.”

At the mention of Charlie’s name, Jake perked up. “And Charlie? Did she sound excited?” Jake asked anxiously.

“She sounded pleased,” Moira answered.

At that moment, the thought of a party didn’t sound so bad. Charlie sounded pleased? Did he dare to hope? He had already gotten his hopes up with her before, only to have them cruelly smashed. Doubts assailed his mind. Maybe his mother had said that Charlie sounded pleased to make him feel better, but then again, she could have been telling the truth.

She did visit him in the hospital. He wondered what would have happened if they’d had some time alone when she had come to visit him in the hospital. He was almost positive she was going to tell him something the one day she had come to visit and Helen had interrupted. Jake wished he had the answers because he didn’t think his heart could take another beating right now.

As Charlie drove to the Foxes’ for the party she was bristling with anticipation. Tonight would be the night to tell Jake what was in her heart. Moira welcomed Charlie and Kristy when they arrived. Kristy leaped out of Charlie’s arms, gave her nana a kiss and went in search of Jake.

“She’s been so excited about the party. She’s talked nonstop about it.”

“Well, it’s a pretty exciting thing to have Jake back with us. It was a little touch and go there for a while.” Moira shuddered as if she were recollecting that night a few weeks ago.

“I know. I don’t think I could ever go through something like that again.”

“The twins have been waiting for Kristy to arrive. Those two are little mothers in training and someone else has been asking when you would arrive.” Moira smiled.

“Who?”

“Jake, silly. Who else?”

“He has? In the hospital he seemed so…distant. He was friendly but a little distant.”

“He’s hurting, Charlie. He loves you, but he won’t make the first move. Why didn’t you tell him what you told me at the hospital?” Moira asked with a bit of censure in her tone.

“Because we were never really alone. He always had a visitor.”

“That’s no excuse. You’re scared. I know how you feel. Remember, I’ve been there. When I proposed to Bill, he was in the middle of a lecture. I did it in front of about two hundred students. There are about forty people here, give or take a couple, so you march yourself in that living room right now, missy, and tell my son how you feel,” Moira commanded with all the fierceness of any Army general.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Charlie squared her shoulders and walked off to find Jake. He was in the living room sitting on the couch with Kristy on his lap. Some family and guests whom Charlie didn’t know surrounded him. She made her way through the crowd to stand in front of him. “Hi, Jake,” Charlie said nervously.

“Charlie,” he acknowledged with reserve still in his eyes.

“Kristy, why don’t you go find your cousins to play with while I talk to your daddy?”

“But I just got here,” Kristy argued.

“Please? I think Kara and Kammy were looking for you.”

At the mention of the twins, Kristy jumped off of Jake’s lap. “Bye, Daddy!” And she raced off.

“That kid is a little Benedict Arnold. She shows absolutely no loyalty to her old man.” Jake shook his head.

Charlie grinned. “When she gets tired of them babying her, she’ll be back. May I?” She indicated the empty space on the couch next to him.

“Sure. What did you want to talk to me about?” he asked cautiously.

“I wanted to talk about us.”

“Us? According to you, there is no us.”

She flinched at the reminder. A hush fell over the curious onlookers who surrounded them. She wasn’t going to back down. “I was a fool, Jake. I was so scared to love you I ended up hurting you and myself, as well. I messed up, Jake, and I’m asking you to forgive me and I’m asking you to be my husband.”

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