Page 51 of When You Smile

“I shouldn’t have said anything. He swore me to secrecy. But he was planning to propose in a couple of weeks. On Christmas Day.”

Charlie swallowed, and her stomach churned. “You know that for certain?”

Emerson nodded and paused to accept a stack of returned books.

“That’s a lot to process,” Charlie said when she returned.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Emerson said, just as much to herself as to Charlie. “Transitions aren’t easy, but you’ll get through this section.”

“Thanks, Em.”

“How does his mom feel about all of this? I know they’re your second family.”

Charlie swallowed. “He asked that we not tell her quite yet.” She felt the emotion bubble and press down on her. “I’m hopeful she’ll understand.” Underneath it all, she prayed her own mother would, too. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but it’s my life and my happiness at stake.”

Emerson turned from the tablet in front of her and stalked over to Charlie. “Don’t take candy from your bowl and put it in someone else’s. Then they have all the candy, and you have an empty bowl. Who wants that?”

It was a highly specific analogy, but Emerson always seemed to have one at the ready. Her writing was riddled with them. But this one did resonate. “I’m gonna remember that.”

Emerson stared at her hard. “Hold on to the candy.” Her intensity was daunting, prompting Charlie to nod obediently.

The whole thing made sense, she thought thirty minutes later while struggling to see the road. Her windshield wipers worked overtime to combat the rain. They’d talked about when to get engaged multiple times, and with such pressure from Monica, Danny likely wanted to make a big splash in front of his family. God, he had a ring and a firm plan to get down on one knee just before she blindsided him. She hated that part of all this, yet felt helpless to fix it.

The only saving grace on this dreary evening was that she got to see Taryn tonight for what would be their first official date. With Taryn still being fairly new to town, Charlie’d picked out a local restaurant she’d heard about, the North Star. It was far enough away from campus that they could unplug and enjoy a nice meal in an intimate atmosphere. She hoped Taryn would enjoy her choice and got a bump of happy energy just imagining her smile because it was honestly her everything lately. That smile kept her going.

She knocked on Taryn’s door on the fourth floor at precisely the time they’d agreed upon, hating to be late but also never too early. She opened the door wearing black pants and a red sweater that hit at the waist and offered a purposeful glimpse of her left shoulder.

“Hi. You’re here.” They shared a grin, and Taryn hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “Let me just grab my bag real quick.”

“Hey,” Charlie said, catching the door so it didn’t close between them. “I haven’t been here since the drunk walk circa beginning of the semester.”

Taryn closed one eye. “Can we never speak about that again?”

“We will always speak about it. It’s a favorite memory of mine. Where’s Caz?”

“Am I allowed to come out?” she heard a female voice say in a stage whisper.

“Yeah, weirdo. You are,” Taryn said. “You live here.”

“I didn’t want to harsh the vibe you two had going with any kind of interloping.” A wide-eyed brunette with a long ponytail emerged from the door to her right, smiling openly, her hands pressed together. She remembered her from the party.

“Interloping. Good word. I’m Charlie.”

“Hi. Welcome to our pad. I’ve heard a great deal. Big fan. Caz.”

“Likewise.” She accepted Caz’s firm and impressive handshake. She seemed like a fun person, and she remembered Taryn describing her as witty and warm, a favorite combination of hers.

Taryn rocked on her heels. “Everyone is acquainted and off to a great start. Shall we go?”

“Yes, we have reservations.”

“And thoughtful, too,” Caz said, walking back to her room. “This is going really well, Tare.”

“Don’t embarrass me, Caz.”

“I got you,” Caz called back to her.

They really were a cute duo with a fun give-and-take. In many ways, Charlie was envious. She had friends, but no one she had a true shorthand with, or inside jokes, or who knew her better than she knew herself. She’d always kept people one step away without even fully realizing she was doing it. Trusting people enough to let them close was still a tall order. She looked over at Taryn as they made their way to her car, feeling the tug to make this time different. She wanted to go into this thing open and vulnerable, which terrified her no end.

---