Chapter 15: Roses, Rings and Strangers

The week was finally over and done with and Charlotte was thankful for that. So far she had found a school for Charlene (Rosewood Academy), gotten engaged and possibly made a friend. She had decided that Violet, formally known as the curly–haired nuisance, wasn’t really so bad.

There was only one thing she was really worried about. Cooper’s parents.

She was currently in Cooper’s office admiring the engagement ring she had received from her fiancé yesterday. She was surprised when he came to her with a little blue box in his hand. She had tried not to grin like an idiot when he slipped it onto her finger, but she couldn’t help it. She was just so ridiculously happy.

They, meaning she, had decided to wait on telling their, meaning Cooper’s, friends. But of course Violet knew. They didn’t tell her. Violet just looked at Cooper and knew. A part of her hated that the therapist could do that, but the other part didn’t mind so much.

She gazed at the ring again and moved her hand so that the diamond sparkled in the light.

“You know, people are going to find out that you guys are engaged if you keep flaunting your ring like that,” Violet said from behind her.

She startled, but said nothing. She was still caught up in the wonder of being engaged, of being part of a whole. Violet moved past her and sat in a chair facing her. When the therapist said nothing for a while she looked up, finally tearing her gaze away from her ring.

“What,” she said with a smile on her lips.

Violet smiled back at her. “Nothing. It’s just…I’ve never seen you this happy before.”

“That’s cause I’ve never been this happy before.” She paused when she noticed Violet looking in the direction of Pete’s office. “And how are you?”

“Pregnant and fat.”

Charlotte chuckled. “You’re not even showing yet. You just wait a few more months. Then you’ll have something to complain about.”

“Gee, you sure know how to cheer a girl up Charlotte.”

.Charlotte grinned. “I have my talents.

Violet rolled her eyes.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“You’ve met Cooper’s parents right?”

“Yeah, lots of times. They’re great,” Violet confided. “They’re coming tonight aren’t they?”

Charlotte nodded.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. Just be yourself.”

“Really?”

“Actually, don’t be yourself. Be nicer than yourself and friendlier. No insults or sarcastic remarks and no criticizing.”

Charlotte frowned, but said, “I guess I can try that.”

0oo0oo0

Charlotte had finished for the day and was waiting for Cooper to come back with Charlene. He had taken the girl to some bookstore or other, without her permission. Not that he really needed it, but it would be nice to know when or where her daughter was disappearing off to.

She made her way back to Oceanside, deciding to wait for Cooper’s return there. Oceanside was winding down for the day and the all the doctors were in their respective offices. She ventured over to Violet’s office and found the therapist asleep on her couch with a hand resting on her stomach. After she wandered down to Pete’s office and observed him unnoticed for a while.

“So that’s it? You’re not going to speak to Violet anymore?” She said from the doorway.

He jumped and dropped the pen he had been holding. It fell on his desk and rolled onto the floor, stopping at her feet.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business Charlotte.”

She picked the pen and slapped it on his desk. “It is when she’s staying at my house every other day. So why’d you leave her?”

“I don’t have to answer you,” he said stubbornly as he returned to his paperwork.

“Fine, but I’m just going to stay here till you do. I’ve got time.” She smirked at Pete and took a seat across from him.

She started playing with her ring absentmindedly, as Pete tried to ignore her. Only a minute passed before Charlotte started to get annoyed. She didn’t like being ignored, so she began to hum a little, hoping it would irritate him.

Pete sighed and looked up at her. He noticed that she was toying around with something that looked just like… “Is that an engagement ring?”

“Sure is.” Guess the secret was out.

“Congratulations then.”

“Thank you,” she said without looking up from her ring. “So you gonna answer me? Why’d you leave her?”

He sighed. Charlotte was the last person he thought he would talk about this with. “It’s complicated.”

“Is that so?”

“Look, you wouldn’t understand.”

She laughed darkly. “I understand complicated. Complicated is what keeps me up at night”

“I just can’t do it Charlotte. I don’t know how to take care of her or how to make her happy. Half the time she shuts me out. And then there’s the baby. I can’t be a father. I don’t even know how to be one.”

She processed what he had said and then…“Oh, for god’s sakes. Grow up!”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Grow up. You got her pregnant, possibly, and now you have to deal with that. You understand that Violet and the baby are your responsibility now. You have to step up and be a man. You don’ think she isn’t scared either? She needs you Pete. She cares about you. There’s still time to fix this.”

He looked at her incredulously. “God you’ve changed.”

“Yeah, guess I did,” she agreed.

“I’ll talk to her.”

0oo0oo0

“This is fast,” Addison said.

“Yeah well, there are always more kids than there are homes. We gotta act fast,” the social worker told her while pushing more paperwork at her.

Addison nodded and peered over at the little girl sitting at her kitchen table. The little girl was named April. She had black hair, blue eyes and weighed a whooping thirty pounds and stood at just three feet tall.

“How old is she again?”

“Just turned four,” the social worker replied as she glanced over at April. “She’s very shy, so don’t be disappointed if she doesn’t talk to you for a while.”

Addison smiled. “I’m sure we’ll get along just fine.”

0oo0oo0

Cooper watched his fiancée bustle around the house, making last minute adjustments as they waited for his parents to arrive. He could tell Charlotte was nervous, but she hadn’t said a word to indicate otherwise. She was doing this for him because she was trying to show him how serious she was about this relationship.

He was impressed.

“Hey Char, where’s the munchkin?”

“Puttin’ her dress on.”

He grinned at her. “You didn’t have to make her wear a dress.”

Charlotte looked up from the picture frame she was straightening and smiled. “But she looks so cute in it.”

He watched her for a few more minutes before he decided that he couldn’t take it anymore. Charlotte just wouldn’t sit still. He made his way over to her and entwined his fingers with hers.

“Relax, they’re going to love you.

“Sure,” she scoffed. “And how many people like me over at St. Ambrose or even at Oceanside?”

So she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. “I like you and Violet likes you and so does Charlene.”

“I must be popular,” she muttered sarcastically.

“Exactly,” he exclaimed, while placing an adorable kiss on her nose.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and went back to fiddling with the picture frames on the side table. Charlene came out of her room not long after wearing a yellow sundress. The little girl held out a matching yellow ribbon to Charlotte.

“Can you tie this for me?

Charlotte nodded and did ask asked while he wandered over to the front of the house and looked out the window. By some miracle he could see his parents’ Toyota coming down the street.

“They’re here! They’re!” He yelled.

He saw Charlotte stiffen visibly. “It’ll be fine,” he murmured as she passed by him to open the door.

Charlotte and Charlene watched from the doorway as he ran out to greet his parents. His father was a tall sturdy man with graying dark hair. His mother had honey brown hair and kind brown eyes.

“Mom! Dad! It’s so great to see you.”

His mother grinned bashfully and pulled him into a hug. “I’m just glad you’re finally settling down. This is such a nice house. Goodness, look at that backyard. Perfect for kids to play in.”

“Better hurry up on those grandchildren,” his father said jokingly behind him.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to wait very long for that dad.”

His parents gave him identical looks of confusion. He hadn’t exactly told them about Charlene. Okay, he hadn’t exactly told them about Charlotte. His parent’s were probably confused. He had told them he had been dating a woman named Charlotte earlier in the year, but he had also told them that he had broken up with her about a month ago. He had neglected to tell them that he was back with Charlotte again.

“So are you ready to meet her?” Cooper asked his parents excitedly.

“Relax Cooper, she’s like family to us already,” his mother said.

He led them up the front steps a little confused about that statement. They had never met Charlotte before. They didn’t know a thing about her, so how could they take such an instant liking to Charlotte. Maybe his parents were just that accepting.

He led them into the house where Charlotte had retreated with Charlene.

Charlotte straitened up in the presence of his parents and tried to smile sweetly. He walked over to her and put an arm around her waist. Before he could say anything his father frowned and said, “Who is this?”

“Charlotte, my fiancée.”

“I don’t understand,” his mother said. “When you said you were getting married we thought it would be to Violet.”

Charlotte stiffened in his arms. “Mom, no, Violet’s my best friend.”

“But you’ve been with her for so long,” his father said a little sharply. “I don’t just don’t understand how you could chose this stranger over Violet.”

0oo0oo0

Charlotte stood still as Cooper and his parents argued. She couldn’t stand to hear his parents talk about her like that. They disapproved of his choice. They disapproved of her. They didn’t like her.

They don’t want me in their family and my family doesn’t want me either.

This was just too much for her. Anger and disappointment were swirling around in her stomach so strongly she thought she would puke or cry or possibly both. There’s only so much rejection a grieving woman could take. She headed to the door, grabbed her purse and the keys that had been hanging on the hook and left.

She was going to give Violet a piece of her mind even if this wasn’t really Violet’s fault. The blame had to fall on someone.

0oo0oo0

Everything was falling apart for Cooper. Charlotte had just left and Charlene was now crying and his parents were still arguing with him.

“It should be Violet!”

“Did she just leave? Whose child is this? Why is she crying?”

“Where’s Violet?”

He had enough. “Shut up! Both of you.”

His parents stopped talking immediately and Charlene ran to her room. The little girl didn't like being left behind.

“How dare you! How dare you insult my fiancée like that! I can’t believe my own parents could be so rude.”

“Now son-.”

He cut his father off. “That woman who just left, Charlotte, I love her and I’m going to marry her. She’s been going through a hard time. Her father just died, her family is shunning her and she has a young daughter to take care of. Now I have to go take care of Charlene. Please show yourselves out and come back when you can act like polite human beings.”

He walked out on his now stunned parents and went to find Charlene who was crying into her pillow.

“Hey, Charlie,” he said softly.

“Do they not like us?” the little girl asked in a wavering voice.

“They were just a little surprised,” he answered. “Don’t worry about it.” He sighed and stroked her silky yellow hair.

“”Why did she leave me,” Charlene whimpered.

“Oh honey, she didn’t leave you, she just went to cool off.”

“Yes she did! She left me again. She doesn’t want me.”

Could this day get any better?

0oo0oo0

“Turner! Open up! I gotta talk to you!” Charlotte banged on the door three more times before it opened.

“God Charlotte, you only have to knock once for me to hear you,” Violet said as she peeked her head out.

“Let me in,” she demanded.

“Uh…”

“Why won’t you open the door all the way? What are you naked or somethin’?”

The therapist sighed and let Charlotte in. Violet wasn’t naked, but she was good as. The therapist was wrapped in a grey silk bed sheet. Charlotte raised an eyebrow. Violet blushed and then led her to the living room.

“Pete came over to talk.”

“I’m sure you did a lot of serious talkin’ and discussin’.”

“Well I-.”

Charlotte dropped onto the couch. Her stomach didn’t feel any better. “You are ruining my life Turner!”

“Because I slept with Pete?”

“No, because apparently you’re supposed to marry Cooper.”

“Excuse me?”

“When his parents came over they took one look at me and asked where you were. They want you to marry their son.” She pointed an accusing finger at the therapist.

“You think this is my fault?”

“Yes! Well no, but I’m still angry with you.”

“But I didn’t do anything.”

“I don’t care. God Violet…how could they reject me,” she said softly.

Violet took a seat next to her. “Hey, it’ll be fine. Cooper will fix everything. It’s just a misunderstanding. Shh, don’t cry.”

“I not crying,” she said angrily.

“You are,” Violet said quietly as she handed her a box of tissues.

She took a tissue and dabbed at her eyes. Guess she had been crying after all. By now the emotions swirling in her stomach had turned into a hurricane and she felt nauseous, really nauseous. She put hand over her mouth, headed to the nearest bathroom and puked.

0oo0oo

Violet could hear Charlotte retching from inside the bathroom. She tried to open the door, but found that it had been locked.

“Charlotte, open up!”

“What’s going on?” Pete said from behind her. She jumped at the sound of his voice.

“It’s Charlotte. She’s…well she’s pretty distressed right now and sick. Can you go prepare the guestroom? She’ll be staying for the night.”

Pete nodded, kissed her and then was off.

It felt so good to be talking to Pete again. She had been surprised when he showed up at her door, but she let him in because she had missed him. She forgot about being mad at him for leaving her that night. She forgot that she was supposed to hate him. She just couldn’t. When she saw him on her doorsteps with a bouquet of roses in his hands she just melted.

She loved him. And that was that.