Page 102 of If My Wishes Came True
I stand in front of the mirror, and I let myself feel sad. I let my eyes tear up. I let my heart ache. I let myself unravel a little bit, knowing I’ll be okay. I remind myself, again, that I have art, and Esther, and my sister, and Vanessa and Sam. And maybe even my mom, eventually. And every time a wave of grief washes over me from the loss of Charlie, I’ll remember how much I’ve gained.
I take one deep breath before I head back to my sister, then open the door to the hallway.
But as soon as I turn right, someone crashes into me.
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry!”
It’s an automatic reaction to the impact. But even as the words are coming out of my mouth—even before I step backso my eyes can meet his—I know in my soul, it’s Charlie.
It’s not the first time we’ve crashed into each other, after all.
This time he isn’t gazing at me with stunned surprise, though. He looks exhausted. And disheveled. His hair is mussed up like I’ve never seen it before. He’s in the sweatpants he sleeps in, and his t-shirt has a hole in it. I’m pretty sure there’s a smudge of dirt on his cheek.
“I saw your sister standing outside—I recognized her from the portrait you painted,” he says, breathlessly. “She just left. She said she had your spare keys and wanted to give us time to talk. I put her in a cab, I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course it is…thank you.” I want to reach out for him, but he looks so serious. “Charlie, what’s wrong?”
He drags a hand over his face. “Jenna, I just had the worst two weeks of my life.” He pauses for several seconds, maybe trying to figure out where to begin. Whatever happened, I’m guessing it’s a long story.
“See…when I left for Denver,” he finally goes on, “I had a plan. I was going to interview candidates to replace me at Sutton’s. I was going to find additional support staff, and when I quit my job, I was going to hand my dad a stack of resumes and tell him not to worry, because I took care of everything. And then I was going to fly back to Chicago and surprise you here tonight with a grand, romantic gesture. I was going to be here when you walked into the gallery,notlooking like I got run over by a truck—which nearly happened by the way?—”
I gasp.
“And everything was going to beperfect.” He laughs, but hissmile is more ironic than amused. “But the universe had other plans. And you know why?”
I shake my head.
“Because I learnednothingfrom our argument, that’s why. You said you didn’t need me to be perfect, and my first thought was that I needed to come up with the perfect exit plan to please my dad, and the perfect grand gesture to convince you I’m worthy of you. And I did. I had it all figured out—but then everything went to hell.”
He pauses to catch his breath.
“The candidate I liked best to replace me ended up accepting an offer somewhere else an hour before I was going to give my dad her resume. I’d come so close to pulling off the perfect escape from Sutton’s…and when my plan fell apart, I was beside myself.”
My hopes are dashed. I think I see where this is going. There’s no way Charlie would leave his dad in the lurch.
“I cried, Jenna,” he admits. “That’s when I realized how miserable I’d been, and I knew I had to quit. So, that’s what I did.”
“Wait—really?” I ask, unable to believe my ears.
He nods, but his expression is still somber. “Since I didn’t have a vetted replacement to offer my dad, I told him I’d stay on a few more months to help find the right candidate and assist with the transition. As long as it didn’t interfere with my job offer in Italy this summer.”
“Oh my gosh,” I say, my heart fluttering with excitement. “You’re going?”
When he nods, a smile forms on my lips, but Charlie doesn’tnotice because his eyes are squeezed shut. He pinches the bridge of his nose before telling me the rest of his story.
“My dad was livid that I was quitting—especially to pursue photography. And he went off on me. Normally I’d just sit there and take it…but I was so fucking tired. I hadn’t slept the entire time I was in Denver, because I was doing the work of three people, while also conducting interviews—and missing the hell out of you, if I’m being honest. So I just broke. I gave my father a piece of my mind and, let me tell you, it was a long time coming.”
He heaves a sigh and looks at me.
“Will you and your dad be okay? Or…do you even want to be?”
Charlie shrugs. “To tell you the truth…I think my father respects me more now than he ever did. He’s still not my biggest fan at the moment. That’s okay, though. I guess this is what it took for me to realize I’d rather have his respect than his approval.”
My eyes fill with tears, I’m so happy for him. But he’s on a roll, and I can’t get a word in before he continues.
“But while I was arguing with my dad, I lost track of time, and I missed my flight to Chicago. And the only other flight that would get me here on time was booked. So I rented a car.”
“You drove here from Denver?” I ask, incredulous. “How many hours is that?”
