Sunday morning Charlotte wakes up to the loud music of Cooper's alarm. With half open eyes, she glances at the clock – 7 a.m. "Why the hell is that ringing so early?" she mumbles, still half asleep.
Cooper laughs softly at his tired wife's grumpiness. "Go back to sleep," he tells her before placing a light kiss on her lips and extricating himself from the covers.
"Where are you going?"
"That is for me to know," Cooper tells her as he pulls on his t-shirt and pajama pants.
It's immediately clear to Cooper that he's said the wrong thing, because now Charlotte is sitting up, interest piqued. "What are you up to, Coop?"
"As I said, that is for me to know. Go to sleep." He leans back down, pressing a kiss to his Charlotte's lips so she can't argue.
"Too late. I'm awake now," Charlotte tells her husband as he stands up.
Cooper lets out a mock exasperated sigh. "Then get in the shower. Read your book. Stop being so damn difficult. We'll come get you when we're ready for you!" And with that that Cooper's out the door to wake Mason.
Charlotte has obligingly showered, put on yoga pants and an old t-shirt, and is sitting in bed reading when Mason and Cooper knock at the door. Cooper's carrying a tray with food and Mason's carrying a gift-wrapped box and a card. Charlotte hadn't been expecting Mason to do anything for her for Mother's Day. She'd spent the previous day talking to Mason about Erica, helping him make a card to bring to his mother's grave, and holding him while he cried. Charlotte's only thought about today was how to help Mason get through it.
"Happy Mother's Day, Momma!" Mason exclaims jumping on the bed, putting the box down, and giving Charlotte a hug. It's only been a few days since Mason had asked Charlotte if he could call her 'momma,' and her heart still melts every time she hears it.
"Thank you, honey. This is so sweet of you." Charlotte says as Mason settles himself against her side.
"We made you apple cinnamon pancakes and coffee. Dad said we had to make you coffee," Mason informs Charlotte.
"It looks delicious," Charlotte says, looking down at the enormous stack of pancakes with three forks next to it.
"Open your present," Mason insists excitedly.
"Can I read your card first?" Charlotte asks, and Mason hands it to her. On the outside Mason's drawn a picture of himself and Charlotte together and written the words Happy Mother's Day. Charlotte opens the card to read in Mason's slightly messy scrawl:
Dear Momma,
Thank you for taking care of me. You're a great mother. I love you.
Love, Mason
Charlotte grabs Mason and pulls him into a hug. Through her tear filled vision, Charlotte meets Cooper's eyes. He seems on the verge of crying himself watching his wife and son, and Charlotte can't image loving anyone more than she loves the two boys in her life. "Thank you, Mase. That is the best card anyone's ever given me," she tells him.
"Really?" Mason asks, looking pleased with himself.
Charlotte can't help but chuckle a bit. "Really." Mason quickly shoves the gift-wrapped box into her hand, anxious for Charlotte to open his present. Mason's clearly wrapped the box himself, and Charlotte has trouble getting through the massive amount of scotch-tape he's used to accomplish the task. Inside the box, Charlotte finds a picture of Cooper, Mason, and herself in a frame that Mason's painted. "This is beautiful. I love it!"
"You said you wanted a picture of me for you office."
"That I do. I want to be able to brag to everyone about how I have the most amazing son." Mason smiles at Charlotte, and she puts her arm around him, pulling him close. "Thank you so much, honey."
"You're welcome," Mason tells her, before adding a minute later, "You need to eat your pancakes before they get cold!" Cooper sits down next to his wife on the bed, wraps one arm around her, and picks up a fork in his other hand. They all dig into the pancakes, and before long, Charlotte is caffeinated, fed, and happier than she can ever remember being.
"Do you want to go to the cemetery now?" Charlotte asks Mason later, when they've gotten out of bed and changed out of their pajamas.
"If that's ok," Mason says a little tentatively.
"Of course it's ok. We talked about it yesterday."
"I just wanted today to be special for you." Mason tells Charlotte, breaking her heart.
"Oh Mason. Today has been so special. You hear me?" Charlotte asks, bending down so that she can make eye contact with Mason. He nods, and Charlotte tucks some hair back from Mason's face before continuing. "It's ok to be sad today, and it's ok to miss your mom." Mason still looks unsure, so Charlotte continues. "I'm your momma, and that means it's my job to take care of you. Unless you don't want to anymore, I think we should stick to our plan. We'll go to the cemetery and you can give your mom the card you made for her and talk to her, and then we can come home and watch cartoons all night." Mason manages a small smile at the itinerary they'd come up with the day before to distract Mason from how sad he would be after visiting his mom's grave.
Mason goes to get Erica's card, and Charlotte tries to steel herself for seeing her son in so much pain.
The drive to the cemetery and the walk to Erica's grave are mostly silent. When Mason kneels down next to his mother's headstone, Charlotte asks, "Do you want us to give you some time alone to talk to your mom?"
Mason shakes his head and looks up at Charlotte and Cooper with tears in his eyes. "Can you stay?"
"Of course," Charlotte tells him sitting down next to Mason, who scoots back to sit on her lap. He leans against her chest and sobs, and Charlotte's heart aches for her him. Charlotte feels so powerless when she sees Mason like this. All she wants is to take away his pain, to feel it for him. But she can't, and she's left holding him tightly, rocking him, and praying that she and Cooper can see Mason through his grief.
Cooper sits down, puts a hand on his son's knee and wraps his arm around Charlotte. They stay like that for a long time, just holding each other. As Mason talks to his mother, Charlotte silently talks to Erica too, thanking her for the precious child in her arms and promising to take care of their son.
Cooper had said goodnight to Mason and then left to give Charlotte and Mason a few minutes to talk alone. When Charlotte comes in to their bedroom she seems emotional and a little overwhelmed. She crawls into bed and lies down with her head on Cooper's chest. Cooper runs his fingers through her hair soothingly, as Charlotte tells him, "I didn't expect any of this: the gift, the card, Mason thinking of me as his momma. I'm his mother – I know that, I feel it – but hearing him call me 'momma'…" She swallows, shakes her head, can't quite put words to these feelings.
"Mason knows you're his mother too." Charlotte nods. She'd been insisting to Cooper since Erica died that she was Mason's mother now, but to have Mason think of her that way feels different. "He knows Char, because you have made sure that he has felt loved and safe since Erica got sick. You've been his momma, and he loves you for that. Just like I do."
Charlotte's quite for a moment, as she tries to gather her thoughts. Cooper watches his wife as she plays with the buttons on his shirt, giving her time. "I have you and Mason, and I love you both more than I ever knew was possible. I just didn't think my life could be so filled with love," she tells him. The way she says it reminds Cooper of something he rarely thinks about these days: just how alone Charlotte had always been. She talks to him so openly now that he almost forgets that this is the same woman who he had sex with for months before they had their first halfway decent conversation. Being a mother seemed to come so naturally to Charlotte that he'd forgotten that her own mother was a drug addict who'd resented her children.
"I love you Charlotte, and I am so thankful to be raising a family with you." Charlotte kisses him, and as she reaches to unhook his belt, Cooper stops her. Charlotte gives him a pout that makes Cooper laugh as he grabs her hands and keeps her from trying to remove his clothes again. "Just wait a minute," he tells her as he reaches to pull out a few items from his night table. "You have to open your presents."
"Coop. You shouldn't have gotten me anything."
"Why not? It's your first Mother's Day. Besides, you don't even know what I got you yet."
"I can see a jewelry box."
"Must you ruin every surprise?" Cooper jokes as he hands her a card. Charlotte reads her husband's card telling her how much he loves her, how much he's loved watching her become a mother, and she can't keep a few tears from leaking from her eyes. Cooper kisses the tears away and hands her the jewelry box. She opens it to reveal a necklace with three intertwined hearts.
"It's beautiful. Thank you."
"I was thinking it would look nice with this next present," Cooper tells Charlotte, a smirk blooming on his face.
Charlotte opens the box suspiciously, "Edible underwear? You bought me edible underwear for Mother's Day?"
"Well you know the expression, 'mother I'd like to – '" Cooper is cut off by Charlotte's mouth on his.
Charlotte pulls back when she's out of breath. "Wait here," she instructs Cooper. "I'm just going to change into something a little more tasty. Then you can give me my real present," she tells him with a suggestive raise of her eyebrow. Cooper laughs and assures her that he has at least one more present in store for her tonight. "Well happy Mother's Day to me," Charlotte says flashing her husband a smile.