Charlotte was a little confused. She honestly felt that her heart was with Jeremy, but she didn't know what was going to happen there. She was in love with a married man. A man who was happy with his wife, regardless of how much they both wished that "wife" was Charlotte. She couldn't compete with that.
So when Terrance showed up, things for her got even worse. Terrance was the only man that she knew that could compete with Jeremy for her feelings. Had Terrance not been called to duty, she would've married him back then.
How thin was the line between loving someone and being in love with someone?
"Can I come in?" Terrance asked.
Charlotte was standing in the doorway staring at him. She shook her head out of the daze she was in and stepped aside as his six foot four frame waltzed into the room. She closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
She didn't know what to do or say. If they were still on the phone, it would've been easier, but given that he was here, now and in the flesh, it was throwing her off her game. This was something that she had to mentally prepare herself for.
"I'm sorry, have a seat," she said, motioning to the sofa in her living room.
"I was just about to, um, fix myself a drink. You want?" she asked. She knew she definitely needed something to stop herself from going crazy.
She walked over to the bar in the corner and pulled out two highball glasses. She filled them both halfway with Alize. Her bar, her rules, she thought. He knew she knew nothing about mixing drinks, let alone what went into which glass.
She handed him his drink and sat on the floor cushions lining the wall under the window. She chose sitting on her floor over sitting on the sofa any day. She purposefully had her entire house lined with the thickest carpet underlay she could find. When you walked on it, your feet would sink into the carpet.
So when Terrance showed up, things for her got even worse. Terrance was the only man that she knew that could compete with Jeremy for her feelings. Had Terrance not been called to duty, she would've married him back then.
How thin was the line between loving someone and being in love with someone?
"Can I come in?" Terrance asked.
Charlotte was standing in the doorway staring at him. She shook her head out of the daze she was in and stepped aside as his six foot four frame waltzed into the room. She closed the door behind him and leaned against it.
She didn't know what to do or say. If they were still on the phone, it would've been easier, but given that he was here, now and in the flesh, it was throwing her off her game. This was something that she had to mentally prepare herself for.
"I'm sorry, have a seat," she said, motioning to the sofa in her living room.
"I was just about to, um, fix myself a drink. You want?" she asked. She knew she definitely needed something to stop herself from going crazy.
She walked over to the bar in the corner and pulled out two highball glasses. She filled them both halfway with Alize. Her bar, her rules, she thought. He knew she knew nothing about mixing drinks, let alone what went into which glass.
She handed him his drink and sat on the floor cushions lining the wall under the window. She chose sitting on her floor over sitting on the sofa any day. She purposefully had her entire house lined with the thickest carpet underlay she could find. When you walked on it, your feet would sink into the carpet.
"So..." she began, "what brings you out here?"
"I came to see you. I just got back yesterday, went to see my mom and dad last night, my Big Mama this morning and now you this evening. I didn't want to call and you maybe not be here. And I didn't want to call and you maybe be here and not want to see me. I just didn't know what to expect. I mean it’s been a couple of years, you know?"
"Three years, two months and four days, to be exact. But who's counting?"
She coyly took a sip of her drink and watched him over the rim. She noticed that he'd set his drink down and was intensely watching her.
“Why are you sitting way over there?” he questioned.
“I like it over here. Why don’t you come join me? I don’t bite.”
Terrance stood up and Charlotte looked up just in time to see that he was just about to walk into a cluster of small lights she had hanging over her reading chair.
“Watch your head!” she yelled.
He ducked, but not in time. He knocked one of the lights off and Charlotte caught it. She laughed as he looked like he was about to cry. He apologized as he tried to fold his long legs under him like she did. She cracked up even more as he tipped over trying to sit Indian style.
Once he got settled, they sat and comfortably talked for the next couple of hours. It was fun catching up with Terrance. He told her about the things he saw while he was away and she caught him up on what had been going on in her life.
She asked him if he’d met someone while he was away and he thought that was a strange question. She told him about how there were men that she knew who got called to duty and came back married or engaged to women from where ever they served. He denied having a wife or fiancée, claiming that he was still in love with her.
He then told her about the ring and how he would’ve proposed had things been different. He asked her if she was seeing someone now and she hesitated with her answer.
“It’s complicated. I’m in a situation that is not ideal and I have no idea how I’m going to handle it,” she told him.
That was one thing she always loved about him. She could tell him anything and he would sit and talk it through with her, no matter what it was about.
But this wasn’t something that she really wanted to share with Terrance. She wasn’t exactly sure that she wouldn’t come out hurt in the situation with Jeremy. She thought it would be best to keep her options open. After all, Jeremy was married. And right now, one of her options was sitting and talking with her in her living room.
2 comments:
Girl, you need to get this published. I'm losing it hanging on waiting to see what happens. You are good! mum
Mum is right. You need to publish this. It is excellent.
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