"I think Charity is cheating on me?" the words brought silence to the room. Tracy, Rhona, and Chas were all sitting in the pubs back room gossiping and drinking wine, a tradition that had somehow started a short time after she had moved into the pub. Her and Chas had been a little uneasy around each other in the beginning, but soon everything had calmed down and they had a genuine friendship. Even though she never said anything about it, Vanessa knew that Charity was happy to see them getting on so well.
"Why in the world would you think that?" Chas is the first to break the silence.
Vanessa shrugged and fiddled with her wine glass, "She's been distant. And she leaves before I wake up, and most nights she's been going straight to bed instead of," she blushed and looked down. "You know."
"I do know. I've actually gotten a couple of full nights of sleep," Chas said with a teasing smile.
Vanessa groans and covers her face, much to the amusement of the others.
"Getting back to what I was saying, she's been taking earlier shifts and then going into town, nearly every day."
"That is a bit strange," Rhona agreed.
"And she's usually full of energy, but she's been exhausted lately. She went to bed at 8 last night."
"I agree its all a bit suspicious. But I've seen the way she looks at you. There's no way she would stray," Tracy assured.
Before they can continue their conversation the door opens and Charity shuffles in. She raises an eyebrow as they all stare at her, "What?"
"Are you finished for the night? I thought you had a few more hours," Chas asks, her voice casual as she glances at Vanessa.
Charity sighs and leans against the back of the sofa, kissing Vanessa on the cheek, "Yeah, Bob is going to finish my shift for me. I'm beat."
Vanessa notices the dark circles under her eyes and the droop to her shoulders. She's about to comment on it when Charity's phone rings.
She glances at the screen and then wordlessly leaves the room. Vanessa's eyes fill with tears and Tracy lays a comforting hand on her thigh.
When Charity comes back in she has her jacket on and a bag that isn't her purse, "I need to head out for a bit, babe. I might be a couple of hours."
"Where the hell are you going?" Chas demands.
Charity gives her a strange look, "It's not really any of your business is it," she turns her attention to Vanessa. "Noah has some project he's supposed to do, he listens to you about that stuff more than he does me. Will you make sure he's done it."
Vanessa clears her throat, trying to hide the pain she feels, "Yes of course."
Charity smiles that soft smile that she reserves solely for Vanessa, "Thank you. I love you," the kiss she gives her is the same love filled kiss it always is. The little pause she always does just to stare into Vanessa's eyes just a little bit longer. It's all still there, and it hurts.
"OK, so that was a bit damning," Rhona says as the door closes behind Charity. "But she's being awfully obvious if she is cheating, isn't she. I mean she didn't even hide the bag."
"Maybe she just doesn't care anymore if I know," Vanessa says through dejected sniffles.
Nobody has an answer for her.
Its nearing 2am when Charity quietly opens the bedroom door, Vanessa listens as she changes into her sleep clothes in the dark, and then she feels the side of the bed dip.
"Why are you awake?" Charity asks quietly as she snuggles up behind her like she normally does. She's cold from the frigid night air.
"Just waiting for you," Vanessa lies.
"Mmmm," Charity hums into her neck, pulling her closer to her with a hand splayed on her stomach. "I love you," she mumbles before her breaths even out and she's asleep. A sign to how exhausted she is.
Vanessa lays there wrapped up in Charity. It feels familiar and also different. She takes deep breaths trying to smell anything unfamiliar, but all she smells are incense of all things. She lays awake a long time after, her mind running rampant with thoughts.
The next two weeks pass pretty much the same, some days its like everything is perfectly normal and then there are the days where Charity will disappear with little to no explanation. Vanessa can feel the stress getting to her. She's getting physically ill from the weight of it.
The pub is full and Vanessa is sitting at the bar, drowning her sorrows in a pint. Tracy, Rhona, and Chas are gathered around her in solidarity. Charity had scampered off earlier that day, and been gone for hours now.
"I hate seeing you like this V," Tracy runs a comforting hand over her back. "She's not worth this."
"Yes, she is. I love her. I," she sighs. "I just have to figure out what I did wrong," she wipes at a tear on her cheek.
Another hour passes of her friends offering unhelpful words of support when Charity steps into the pub from the back. She's smiling, but it quickly turns to worry when she spots Vanessa.
"What's happened?" There's genuine concern in her voice.
"Oh like you don't know," Tracy's anger laden voice is loud.
"Trace, don't," Vanessa tries.
"No, I'm tired of seeing you suffering while she gets her rocks off with some random behind your back," Tracy gestures violently toward Charity.
"What the hell are you on about?" Charity's anger matches Tracy's own.
"You're not even trying to be subtle," Tracy scoffs.
"You can't honestly believe that Vanessa," Charity looks hurt.
"I...I don't know," Vanessa says quietly.
Charity looks trapped, and Vanessa's heart breaks when she turns and leaves. It tears a hole in her heart.
Rhona, Tracy, and Chas all converge on her offering their comfort. The pub is quiet as the other patrons have caught onto what's happening. She jumps slighting when something is slammed on the bar beside her hand. They hadn't even noticed Charity come back into the room.
"Is that?" Chas seems to register what's on the bar first. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Open it," Charity says, she's looking at Vanessa. Her features unreadable.
Vanessa's hands shake as she picks up the small box. She can feel Tracy's hand clenched in her shirt. She can practically feel the other women holding their breaths. She knows she's holding hers. She gasps when she opens it. Her eyes snap up to Charity's who is standing more relaxed now. She looks back down to the ring. One night while they had been slightly tipsy, Vanessa had pulled out a scrapbook she had kept since she was a teen. She had all the things she wanted if she ever got married in it. And on the first page is a cut out from a magazine of a ring that she had always fantasized about. The very ring she was staring at now.
"How? How did you…," she trails off too emotional to form words.
"It took me forever to find one. And then I had to do some jobs at a haulage company and sell some stuff to afford it. It was a lot easier when I didn't have to worry about the legality of things," she jokes with a smile.
Vanessa chuckles.
Charity circles the bar and takes the box from Vanessa's hand, taking out the ring, "I had something a bit more romantic planned, but this is oddly fitting as well I think," she places the ring on Vanessa's finger. It's a perfect fit, "So what do you say?"
"Yes. I say yes," she pulls Charity into a kiss. The pub erupts into cheers.