And now as Charlotte walked into the house, she felt relieved that her mom hadn’t listened to her. It was awfully nice to be someplace familiar. And she knew her mom would get strength from this place to battle the cancer. She went around back to look at her mom’s flowers. They were perfect as usual. Charlotte leaned over to smell a rose as big as a saucer and as red as Marilyn Monroe’s lips. She breathed in the sweet scent as if it were life-giving oxygen.
She’d just gone back inside when her mom returned. “How fun to come home and find you here; I thought maybe I’d beat you this afternoon.”
“Not a chance.” They hugged each other more intensely than usual, and Charlotte noticed her mom had trouble letting go.
“Where do you want to eat?”
“Luigi’s, of course. I’ve been hungry for it all day. It’s a little early though.”
“Oh well, let’s beat the crowd. If I know you, you probably skipped lunch anyway.”
Charlotte grinned, “I’m starving now that you’ve reminded me.”
A few hours later they were back at home with commentaries, concordances, and several different translations spread around them. “I’m so glad you’re doing this, Charlotte. Girls sure need to get this straight.”
“You’re telling me. I know that all too well.” A smile with just a hint of sadness passed between Charlotte and her mom.
After diligently working, they had the first lesson figured out. Charlotte felt quite pleased with it and her mom seemed just as satisfied. “This is fun. I haven’t prepared a Bible study in years. Maybe I should volunteer to teach Sunday school again.”
“You’re the best, Mom. You should. Those kids would love you. How could they not?”
“I guess I’d better wait and see how I feel after my first radiation treatment tomorrow night. I guess I’m going to lose my hair.” Her mom looked sober.
“Let’s go wig shopping when you get home from work tomorrow. It’ll be fun.”
She smiled slightly. “I’ve always wondered what I’d look like as a blonde.”
“This could be a blast. Why don’t we pick out several wigs? You could have a different style and color every day.”
“I like that idea.” Her mom perked up now. “I always wanted to be a splashy old lady. Maybe this is my chance.”
“It’s the perfect opportunity.”
Charlotte and her mom had a great time. She tried on long, short, and medium length wigs in auburn, platinum blonde, and raven black. She even put on an afro that set them both giggling until they could hardly stand up. They finally decided on a highlighted brown, a red-tinted brown, and a brown that almost matched her own color for the days she wanted to be conventional. She felt quite happy with her choices, kind of like a school girl who gets red and silver shoes as well as basic black. Charlotte stared at her as they walked out to the car and felt again that she was amazing.
The week ended on a happy note, with all of the lessons finished. Saturday, Margaret had another radiation treatment, which wore her out more this time. Charlotte rented a couple of movies and popped a giant bowl of popcorn. Fortunately it was raining, so the weather cooperated with their plans. She knew her mother would never sit inside on a nice day. On Sunday they went to church together, then Charlotte packed to go home. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“Nope, our mission’s done. You have youth group tonight and a Bible study to lead Monday night. I have my Bunko group and the potluck at church Wednesday. Sorry, I’m too busy to fit you in.” She said this with a smile, lifting her chin in a superior way. Charlotte hugged her and refused to cry, knowing that was the last thing her mom wanted. She thanked God again that when He chose a family for her to be in, He gave her this one. Her parents had prayed for a baby, and when the adoption agency called them about Charlotte it was no mistake.
She drove home feeling content and looking forward to youth group. She arrived at her house just in time for a quick bite to eat before heading over to the church. The girls from the retreat bounded up to her as if she were their long lost friend. When Pastor Gordon saw her his pulse raced, but he simply said, “Janice told us about your mom. We prayed for her on Wednesday night.”
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“You look like you’re feeling better.”
“I am.” Then she braced herself for the next part. “By the way, here’s the Bible study I’m doing with the girls. We’re starting tomorrow night. I’m sorry for the short notice, but I just got back from my mom’s.”
“I’m sure it’s fine, but I’d like to see it anyway. Go ahead with it. I think it’s just what the girls need.” She watched him walk up to the front of the room to open the meeting, wondering what the real Gordon McCrae thought about her. Maybe they’d reached a truce.
After a devotional, the group played games that Charlotte would have been glad to skip. It looked like most of the adults felt that way except for Mrs. Donahue. She was having the time of her life.
Charlotte woke up Monday morning filled with expectancy. She’d just filled her mug with coffee when there was a knock at her door. “Hello. I know it’s early but I’ve been worried about you.” Mrs. Bartholomew stood there holding Custer. He looked lazily up at Charlotte through slitted eyes, as if appraising whether or not she might have some fresh fish in the house.
“Oh, come in. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Yes, I would.” As soon as she set Custer down, he dashed through the door, running to the kitchen to see what Charlotte had there. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll put him out.”
“That’s okay. I like cats. He’s welcome to stay.”
Mrs. Bartholomew looked at Custer and pointed a finger at him. “Now listen, mister, you’d better behave. This isn’t your house, you know.” In answer he swished his tail, put his ears back and took a giant leap onto the counter. “Why, you rascal,” she yelled, and she turned on the faucet, wet her fingers, and flicked water in his face. He jumped down and went to the corner to sulk. Mrs. Bartholomew shook her head, “I can’t take him anywhere.”
Charlotte managed to avoid giggling during this display while she poured coffee. Sitting down at the table, she said, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was leaving. I left in such a hurry. My mom just found out she has cancer, so I spent the week with her.”
Mrs. Bartholomew’s hand flew to her mouth, “Oh, stupid me. To think of all the unkind things that went through my mind. I was sure you’d run off with that Rubin boy.”
Charlotte blushed, grabbed Mrs. Bartholomew’s hand and said emphatically, “You don’t ever have to worry about that happening. I’m very old-fashioned and won’t run off with anyone until I’ve got a wedding dress on.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” She nodded her head once, looking like a judge. “And I’m sorry about your mother. I like her.”
Charlotte knew this was a compliment rarely bestowed. They both sipped their coffee, and Charlotte decided that she’d best tell her as much as possible about everything so that she wouldn’t jump to conclusions. “I’m helping with the youth group at church now, so every Monday a group of girls will be coming over.”
“I know. I’ve seen them over here, although not always on a Monday.”
“Oh, that’s Misty and her friends; a different group. I never know when they’re going to pop in.”
“They came by last Wednesday, but left when no one answered the doorbell.”
Charlotte nodded. Truly nothing would ever be a secret from Mrs. Bartholomew if she could help it.
As soon as Charlotte saw both her guests to the door (it took some time to catch Custer), she thought of her answering machine. She’d been so busy that she hadn’t checked it. There were seven messages. The third one was from Frank: “I miss you, Charlotte. When are you going to call me?” He whined a bit, sounding like a little boy who’d been denied his daily ice cream.
“Oh, Frank. How could I have neglected to call you?” She dialed the number and he
ard a sleepy voice, “Rubin Insurance, can I help you?”
“I don’t know. Have you got any policies that will guarantee I live happily ever after?”
“Charlotte!” Frank sounded wide awake now. “When’d you get back?”
“Last night.”
“I missed you.”
“Thanks. It’s nice to be home, but I worry about my mom.”
“Oh yeah,” he said as if he’d forgotten all about her mom. “She okay?”
“She’s doing amazingly well for all she’s going through.”
“Good for her.” He paused a moment then said, “So let’s go out to eat tonight. I’ll pick you up about seven.”
“I can’t, Frank. I have a group of high school girls coming to my house tonight.”
“Well, cancel it.”
“What?”
“Cancel it. I miss you. I want to be with you.” He sounded annoyed.
She laughed as if he were joking. “Oh sure, your majesty. I’d hate to ruin your plans.”
He knew she thought he was kidding and played along. “That’s okay, princess. If you’re too busy for the white knight to rescue you . . .”
“How about tomorrow night?”
“I don’t know. I’ve got a meeting.” He didn’t, but he liked feeling that he had important things to do without her.
“Thursday night, then.”
“What happened to Wednesday?”
“I’ve got Bible study, remember?”
“Oh yeah. You sure spend a lot of time at church.”
“I guess I do,” Charlotte laughed.
After she hung up the phone, Frank threw his pillow against the wall so hard that feathers flew out of it. He was tired of waiting for Charlotte. He needed her to want him as much as he wanted her. He wondered what he could do about that.
A little while later Charlotte’s phone rang. “Charlotte, this is Pastor Gordon. I just finished looking over your study. It looks great! I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll be praying for your group tonight.”
“I’d appreciate it, Pastor.”
He hung up the phone smiling. He wished she wouldn’t call him Pastor, though. She was one person he really wished would call him Gordon.
At precisely seven, Charlotte opened the door on the first knock. Louisa and Marcie stood there with two other girls Charlotte didn’t know. “I think more are coming,” Louisa said and walked in with the other three following her. A few minutes later two more girls came. Charlotte gave them all something to eat and drink, then they settled in on all the available chairs, with a few on the floor.
She’d just started the study when a loud rap sounded at the door and JoAnn walked in. Charlotte was very glad to see her. She slunk in and slouched against the sofa as if she owned the place. “I’m giving this one night.” She held up her pointer finger to indicate the number one and then pointed at Charlotte. “You have one chance, lady.”
Charlotte stared at her wide-eyed, then looked around the room at the rest of the girls. They all looked back at her to see what she would do. “Thanks for giving it a chance, JoAnn. I’m glad you could come.” In response, JoAnn closed her eyes halfway, looking extremely bored. Charlotte looked away from her and continued. “We’re going to start in the first chapter of Genesis and find out how God created women in the first place. If He made us, He must know better than any of us what He wants us to do. So let’s start there.”
The girls looked mesmerized as Charlotte wove the creation story and shared some things she’d read about it. All except JoAnn. She remained cynical. Once in a while when she thought no one was looking, she got involved in what Charlotte was saying and paid close attention. When it was over she said, “I might come back next week. I haven’t decided yet.”
Louisa, on the other hand, hugged Charlotte. “This is going to be wonderful. Thanks so much for doing this.”
“My pleasure. See you all next week.” As soon as she closed the door, she had a strong desire to call Pastor Gordon and let him know it went well, but she thought that would be a bit strange. She decided to leave a message on the church answering machine instead, assuring him that he need not call her back.
CHAPTER sixteen
Frank decided to pull out all the stops. Around midday on Tuesday, Charlotte answered a knock on her door. There stood the florist with the biggest bunch of roses she’d ever seen. As she exclaimed over them, the elderly delivery man said, “Yep that’s the most I’ve seen someone order. Three dozen. Either you did something really great or you’re much admired, young lady.”
The attached note read, “To the most beautiful woman in the world. I can’t wait until Thursday.” Charlotte smiled like a woman who’s just been given the keys to an enchanted kingdom. She searched for a vase, but none were big enough. Against her better judgment, she decided to ask Mrs. Bartholomew. Walking up to her front door, she stopped to pet Custer, who napped on the doorstep as if keeping watch. She thought it best to keep on the good side of Custer.
“Yes?” Mrs. Bartholomew answered so quickly that Charlotte felt pretty certain that she knew she was coming.
“Would you have a vase I could borrow?”
“Got flowers, huh?”
“Yes, I did. The trouble is I need a large vase. Do you have a really big one?”
“I’ve got every kind of vase imaginable. Come on in.” Charlotte followed her to a hall closet. One entire shelf was filled with vases of all shapes and sizes.
“Wow. I never knew there were this many vases in the world.” She reached out and pointed to a tall, bronze colored one. “This one looks like it would work.”
Mrs. Bartholomew handed it to her. “Is it your birthday?”
“No, just something kind from a friend.”
She nodded. “Frank, huh?”
Charlotte nodded and smiled. There were certainly no secrets from Mrs. Bartholomew. “Thanks for the vase. I’ll take good care of it.”
“You’d better.” There was no hint of amusement. In fact, she seemed mad about something.
“Are you sure it’s all right if I borrow it?”
Relaxing, she said, “Yes, go ahead. Take it.” Charlotte left, wondering what that was all about.
“What are we going to do about this, Custer?” Mrs. Bartholomew asked. “She doesn’t know her own mind.”
The next day, Charlotte heard a knock on her door and saw a huge basket filled with chocolates of all varieties. It was so big she had trouble lifting it to bring it in. The note said, “Nothing could be sweeter than you.” On Thursday she wasn’t surprised, but still delighted, when she found a delicately sculpted china bowl filled with soaps and lotions. “I can’t wait until tonight” was all the note said. Each gift made Frank seem dearer. She couldn’t wait either.
At six thirty she made sure that her makeup was perfect, taking extra time to work on it. She used her favorite perfume and put her hair up, letting soft tendrils fall to her neck. The dress she wore was one of her favorites, with tiny pearl buttons down the front and pleats that fitted it perfectly to her waist. He’d told her he was taking her to a restaurant they’d never been to before, full of atmosphere. She didn’t know when she’d looked forward to a date more. She’d even called her mother to tell her about it.
At seven o’clock she was ready. He came about ten minutes late, but arrived with another small bouquet of flowers and looked dashing in a new Italian suit. “Charlotte, you look absolutely gorgeous. I hope there are no other women at the restaurant because they’ll leave in tears when they see you.”
“Oh Frank, that’s ridiculous, but sweet. You’re looking pretty good yourself.”
He smiled, put an arm around her waist and led her out to his car. They chatted amiably on the way to the restaurant, about a thirty minute drive. He didn’t ask her how her mother was, but so many people had asked her all week that she was glad not to talk about it again.
The resta
urant was small and cozy, with candlelight and white tablecloths. He had special flowers ordered just for their table. She’d truly never been treated so royally. But when they sat down, it seemed rather awkward. Frank obviously didn’t want to talk about her mother or her church, and there wasn’t much else that Charlotte was involved in. She asked him some questions about his work, but he said he didn’t want to bore her to death. In the end they talked about their favorite restaurants and some of the best vacations they’d taken.
After dinner Frank led her outside. “The best thing about this restaurant is the location. See this path?” She nodded. “It leads to a pond. Do you want to follow it?”
“That sounds lovely.”
He took her hand and led her down a path that had willows lining both sides, making a canopy of sorts to walk under. As they neared the water, they heard ducks quacking and frogs croaking to hasten the end of the day. They stopped at a stone bench which Frank brushed off with his handkerchief. “We wouldn’t want you to get that beautiful dress dirty.”
When she sat down, he sat very close and began pointing out different things to see in and near the water. Soon his arm was around her. She felt so comfortable that without even thinking, she nestled into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. They grew quiet and watched the sun go down. Then Frank pulled her chin up; her face was so close to his that she couldn’t focus properly. He placed his lips on hers and pulled her into an embrace that took her breath away in more ways than one. It was wonderful to be kissed this way by a handsome man in this exquisite setting. But when he began to unbutton her top buttons, she grew alarmed. It was all wrong. It’s not what she wanted at all. She pulled away and stood up quickly.