Charlie
( And The Beast )
By Thomas Mc

Note: This story is a little vignette about Charlie and her annual brush with magic.

Charlie ran her hand caressingly along Harry's flank crooning softly as she threaded the leather strap through the metal ring with her other hand. "Easy there, big fella." She smiled to herself as she looped the loose end of the strap around the whip while continuing her monologue. "Tonight is a very special night." She spoke to him in soothing tones as she walked back toward Harry's head and double checked the harness one last time. "Tonight is the night we will get to see magic happen." Charlie gave one last affectionate pat along Harry's neck then headed back to the carriage. She climbed up into the driver's seat of the carriage then settled the distinctive top hat into her head. She glanced again at the hand written note then stuffed it back into a convenient pocket. Satisfied that everything was as it should be, she grabbed the reins and, with a snap of her wrist, emitted a soft clucking sound. The horse drawn carriage moved out of the shed and onto the streets of New York City.

Charlie glanced up toward the sky above the towering buildings as she headed along the park toward tonight's special destination. She estimated that the sun would be setting in less than a half hour. Then the magic would begin. As she headed toward the rendezvous where she was expecting to pick up her very unique fares, she thought back to that strange, magically romantic night fifteen years ago today.

~ x x x x x ~

She had been twenty-four years old and still very new to this trade. It had been less than three months after she had taken over for her grandfather who had finally been forced to retire due to age and failing health. It had been Halloween night and she had felt a little nervous because of all the strange stories she had heard about the kinds of things that happened in New York on that particular night. She had been petting the side of Spock's neck (Her grandfather had named his old dappled tan and white horse after his favorite science fiction character.) while watching the flashing red and blue lights of police and rescue vehicles about two blocks away. She was startled when two individuals stepped right out of a 'Beauty and the Beast' fairy tale and into her carriage.

The 'Beast' was large and powerful looking, yet moved with a grace that belied his size. He had the face of a lion with deep sapphire blue eyes that a girl could drown in. When he spoke his voice sent shivers down her spine and made her heart race. The 'Beauty' was just that, beautiful in a way that made Charlie, who knew herself to be far from plain, just a tad envious. Her emerald green eyes glowed with love for her strange companion and her soft voice projected warmth into the cool night air.

The 'Beauty' produced a respectable wad of cash and informed Charlie that they wished to engage her services for the rest of the night. Charlie shrugged and nodded asking where they wished to go first.

The aura of romance and magic that seemed to surround the couple soon engulfed the carriage and Charlie felt herself being carried along by it. Throughout that night she transported the remarkable couple from one New York Landmark to the next. The couple would point out the various sights and talk in low murmurs. There was a glow of warmth and amazement in their eyes for each other that warmed Charlie's heart. It was a night she would never forget. Often the couple would have her stop while they stepped out and strolled, arm in arm, among the historic landmarks that dotted the city, pointing and talking together.

Early that morning, Charlie had stopped at a park along the East River where the couple could sit on the park bench and watch the sunrise come up over one of the bridges that spanned that waterway. As her magical couple had watched the sunrise, she watched them with a contented sigh and thought about her fiancé, Bill. Just after the sun cleared the horizon a jogger had come along the path and, with a start of surprise, made some comment to the couple. The 'Beast' then pulled his hood up over his head, hiding his impossible leonine face and moved off, disappearing into the trees. The 'Beauty' gazed after him, with a look of love and sadness mixed in equal portions, for a couple of seconds before returning to the carriage alone. Then Charlie had taken the quiet, pensive 'Beauty' back to an apartment building on Central Park West.

~ o ~

In the late spring, a few years later, Charlie saw a picture of the 'Beauty' from that magical night on the front page of the newspaper. The caption identified her as the heiress and heroic Assistant District Attorney, Catherine Chandler. The story was about how she and Acting District Attorney Joe Maxwell had exposed and broken up one of the largest crime and corruption rings in the state.

As she looked at the pictures of Catherine Chandler and Joe Maxwell, she wondered if maybe the 'Beast' might have been that same Joe Maxwell that appeared in those articles that dominated the newspapers in the following days.

~ o ~

Four years after that memorable Halloween night, on another Halloween evening, that same magical couple again appeared out of the night and stepped into her carriage. She had just let a group of teenagers off at Belvedere Castle when the same 'Beauty and the Beast' couple had come up behind her and requested her services for the evening. This time Catherine was dressed as some type of beautiful arboreal fairy but the 'Beast' looked exactly the same as he had that time four years ago. Just like that previous occasion the ride turned into another romantic tour of the city.

The aura of love that surrounded the couple was unmistakable and far less restrained than it had been four years ago. This time Charlie was able to catch the Beast's name as Catherine lovingly uttered 'Vincent' to draw his attention to various sights they passed during the drive through that long magical night. As before they made many stops where the couple would get out and casually stroll around or through the various famous landmarks, pointing and talking animatedly.

This time, after watching the sunrise over the Brooklyn Bridge from her carriage, they had asked her to drop them off back at Belvedere Castle. Catherine paid her for the ride with a very generous tip, and they thanked her for the lovely ride then they had disappeared into the Castle not to reappear.

Charlie drove her carriage back to the storage shed in a dreamlike daze. That next day she and her husband of three years now, both had the day off. The aura of romance from that night's ride seemed to have followed her home and enveloped her and her husband all that day.

~ o ~

The very next year on Halloween night, Charlie spotted Catherine and Vincent again just before midnight as they strolled slowly along the park side of Central Park West. This time Catherine was obviously very pregnant. Charlie had read about the mysteriously secretive birth of Catherine's daughter a year and a half ago and wondered if this child would be surrounded by as much mystery as the first one had been.

Charlie pulled her carriage up beside them and asked if they would like a ride in her carriage. Catherine looked up in surprise at her then nodded gratefully. "As a matter of fact it would do me good to sit down for a while." She glanced down at her expanded girth and commented. "Lately I haven't been quite as spry as I usually am."

Catherine held out her elbow to him and Vincent, once again in the same amazingly realistic 'Beast' makeup assisted her up into the carriage. Then he sprang up into the carriage and settled in beside her.

Vincent cocked his head and commented. "Aren't you the same one that drove us around last Halloween?"

Charlie responded. "Actually, Vincent, this will be the third time that you and Catherine have spent Halloween in my carriage." She grinned at them. "My name is Charlie." She indicated her grandfather's horse. "And this is Spock."

Vincent's eyebrows had risen a bit and Catherine had looked a bit startled at her mention of Vincent's name then after a quick glance at Catherine Vincent gave Charlie a half smile. "It's nice to meet you Charlie."

Charlie smiled back. "Same here. Where would you two like to go tonight?"

Vincent glanced at Catherine who shrugged then responded. "You're probably very familiar with the city and we had no specific plans for tonight . . . why don't you choose the route for this evening?"

Charlie nodded her acknowledgment and did her best to pick the most romantic route that she could think of. She started off with a meandering ride through all the roads through Central Park. This time Vincent and Catherine stayed in the carriage during the entire night's ride through the city, with the exception of a short stop at an all night bistro for a late snack. The unique couple spent a large part of the ride more engrossed in each other than in the sights of the city around them.

Shortly after leaving the bistro, Vincent asked Charlie how she had ended up in this profession. She told them about how close she had been to her grandfather and how she had taken over for him after he retired.

As the first rays of the morning sun began to redden the clouds that decorated the sky, Vincent directed Charlie to an upscale brownstone that faced Central Park. This time it was Vincent that handed her the wad of cash and Charlie experienced a moment of shock as she noticed, for the first time, the very real looking claws on Vincent's fur covered hand. Her mind swirled in dazed confusion as she watched those same clawed hands assist Catherine out of the carriage. Then the couple turned away and Vincent gently assisted Catherine up the stars to the brownstone's front door.

A few moments after they disappeared into the brownstone, Charlie shook herself and drove her carriage back to its storage shed. Her certainties had taken a severe blow in that moment and she found herself wondering just what it was that she had discovered. She was asking herself where, exactly, was the line between fantasy and reality.

~ o ~

It was the middle of that summer that Charlie finally had to retire 'Spock' to a pasture up in Connecticut and replaced him with a big grey buckskin that she named 'Harry'.

That next Halloween Catherine and Vincent both noticed the change and remarked on it. Charlie had received a note that morning stating that they wished her to pick them up at the Central Park West brownstone at sundown. The note had been handed to her by a bright eyed young boy dressed in layers of patched clothing. The note had been signed by Vincent.

Every year after that, on Halloween, she would pick up that same couple at the time and place specified by a note received that morning and spend a magical night driving them through the city. Each year the route and the stops would be different. Sometimes Charlie would drop Catherine and Vincent off to spend most of the evening at some party or night spot full of other costumed people. Each year Catherine would be in a different and amazing costume. The two things that never changed, however, was Vincent's leonine appearance and the romantic carriage ride through the city that finished off the night with a stop at some picturesque spot to watch the sunrise.

By this time Charlie had become convinced that Vincent just might be exactly what he appeared to be and would often wonder where he came from and how he and Catherine Chandler had ended up together. She also often wondered what had become of the child from Catherine's pregnancy that third Halloween night. Though it became commonly known that Catherine had given birth to three daughters there had never been any mention of any offspring from that particular pregnancy.

Charlie often wondered fancifully if that child had ended up looking like Vincent and tried to picture a young female version of him. The thought led to many flights of fancy within her mind and a few interesting bedtime stories that she told to her own two children. It even let to her writing a couple of short children's stories that she managed to get published. Though not a big seller they had produced a modest but welcome little addition to her income.

~ x x x x x ~

Charlie's attention snapped back to the present when she heard voices and she looked around but it was only a group of young people out on a 'trick or treating' expedition. She looked back forward at Harry as he fidgeted then she made soft soothing sounds to calm his restlessness. She glanced down at her watch. It was still a few minutes before the time that the note from Catherine had requested her to pick them up.

The note had stated that they were planning to attend the big Halloween costume bash being held at the Central Park Band Shell this evening. The orchestra would be playing a selection of spooky and Halloween themed music this evening. Halloween costumes were encouraged. Charlie was actually looking forward to being there for that. The fact that she was being paid to transport Catherine and her mysterious Vincent there was just icing on the cake.

As Charlie glanced up at the solid carved wood door and beautiful flanking stained glass windows to that elegant brownstone, she wondered what other fantastically mysterious wonders, besides Vincent, lurked behind them. She smiled at her own overactive imagination as she continued thinking back to all her previous encounters with the mysterious Vincent.

~ x x x x x ~

Charlie's mind then wandered to that horrible nightmare of September 11, 2001. She had been riding the subway to her husband's place of business near the World Trade Center towers. They had planned to meet for breakfast as soon as he got off work as a night security guard. Suddenly there had been a violent shaking and then the floor had dropped out from beneath her. The next thing she remembered was darkness broken only by one dimly glowing emergency light. She had thought to herself that it should have been much brighter than that and wondered if the battery was about to go dead.

The pain in her leg and thigh brought her rudely out of her dazed state. She realized that she was lying on an unnaturally tilted floor at one end of the subway car and the cause of her pain was the partially crushed seat that had her pinned to the floor. She couldn't see past the crushed seat and partially collapsed ceiling but she knew by the various sounds of groans that there were others alive in here.

She had called out for help but had gotten no answer beyond a few more human groans mixed in with the occasional groans of strained metal.

She noticed that she was very thirsty then she realized that, by some miracle her water bottle in its strapped carrier had remained attached to her. She tried to get a drink from it only to discover that it was nearly empty. The plastic bottle was cracked and there were only a few drops of water left in it.

After what seemed like hours she must have passed out again because the next thing she knew she was awakened by the sound of voices. It was definitely brighter that it had been and the light kept shifting as though the source was being moved. A rough male voice seemed to be calling out. "I think that's all of them. Let's get out of here."

Charlie tried to call out but all she could produce was a barely audible croak. In desperation she hit the metal floor with her bruised fist and was rewarded by an unexpected response. A distinctly childlike voice called out from very close by. "Daddy I heard something." After a few seconds of grunting and scrabbling sounds she saw a very young girl's dusty grey face appear in the narrow space between the seats that hemmed her in and the partially crushed ceiling. "There's a girl back here and she's alive."

The young girl's head disappeared and seconds later she heard the rending sound of metal and plastic being shifted and torn. After about a minute or two of this two furry clawed hands appeared around the metal framework of the seat that was holding her down. There was a pause, broken by a grunt of effort, then with a squeal of abused metal the seat slowly moved away from her. Immediately the pain in her leg and thigh lessened to be replaced by the pins and needles in her calf and foot. She looked down at her leg wondering how badly damaged it was.

Movement in her peripheral vision made her look back up to see the totally unexpected leonine face of a thickly dust covered Vincent. He leaned down and gently lifted her out of that confined space. Between the surprise and extreme relief, her mind gave up its tenuous hold on consciousness and oblivion took over.

The next thing she knew, she was in a hospital bed with her husband leaning over her holding her hand and, in a ragged voice, asking someone behind him if she was going to be OK. Then Bill noticed that her eyes were open and he was hugging her and crying in relief.

~ x x x x x ~

It had been a couple of years since that disastrous morning and life had slowly returned, more or less, to normal. As near as she could figure, Vincent had no idea that she was one of the people that he had pulled out of that buried subway car and the news reports on the incident made no mention of a leonine person being involved in that rescue. But she had seen him as clear as day and had heard the young girl refer to him as Daddy . . . twice.

Her attention was again dragged back to the present by the sound of the brownstone's door opening. She looked up to see Vincent standing in the door way as six children ranging in age from elementary school age to young teenage were coming out of the door followed by Catherine.

Charlie recognized the four girls from the various things she had read about Catherine.

Then her jaw nearly hit the floor of her carriage as the four girls were followed by two smaller versions of Vincent. They were the spitting image of him down to their clawed and fur covered hands. Now she understood why she never heard anything more about that Halloween when Catherine had been very pregnant. The younger of the two leonine boys looked to be just about the right age to be the result of that pregnancy. Any doubts that she may have harbored about her conclusions of Vincent's reality were effectively smashed by the very real presence of his two leonine sons.

She watched, totally dumfounded, as the entire family piled into her carriage. There was a good deal of discussion and rearranging before they finally managed to get everyone aboard and seated. Vincent and Catherine sat facing forward with the younger leonine male between them and the two youngest girls seated on their laps. The two oldest girls sat in the, rear facing, front seat with the older male seated between them.

Vincent announced that they were ready to go and, after visibly shaking herself out of her stunned daze, Charlie turned back around and started off toward the park entrance. As the carriage pulled away from the curb she distinctly heard some of her passengers chuckling. She assumed that the expression on her face probably had been a bit amusing. She thought to herself that this was going to be one very interesting night.

In very short time she pulled up next to where her husband, dressed as Dracula, stood waiting for her. Charlie got a mild case of the giggles at the flabbergasted look on her husband's face as he watched her very unusual passengers disembark from her carriage.

As the last, oldest girl stepped down, Charlie spoke to Vincent. "I will be here to pick you up shortly after the concert." Then she turned to her husband, as they walked away, and grinned. "Close your mouth Bill and come up here with me."

Bill looked up at her, closed his mouth, glanced back at the retreating family, then shook himself and climbed up into the driver's seat next to her. He glanced again at where the family was disappearing into the crowd then looked back at her. "Do you believe that lion-man makeup? All three of them looked so real!"

Charlie pulled away from the curb as she shook her head and replied. "As far as I can tell there was no makeup involved. I've never seen the two boys before but, in the fifteen years I have known them, Vincent has always looked like that. What you saw was the real Vincent."

Bill looked at her incredulously. "You're kidding."

"No, I'm not." She shrugged. "You remember 9/11 when I was trapped in that buried subway car?"

Bill nodded. The memory of that awful time made him shudder.

She continued. "The reason I never would say anything about that rescue is because it was Vincent and his middle daughter that found us and pulled us out of there. Except for a thick coating of grey rock dust he looked the same that day as he looked this evening so I'm pretty certain that he is exactly what he appears to be."

She guided the carriage into an open space among several other horse drawn carriages. A young man dressed as a fairytale groomsman accepted responsibility for Charlie's carriage. Charlie and Bill headed back to join the crowd that was moving toward the Band Shell.

Charlie and her husband found a place not too far from where Vincent and his family were seated and soon the concert began. The concert was just as good as she had hoped and she and Bill really enjoyed it. Charlie was amused to note that several times she caught Bill staring over at where Vincent's family was sitting but for the most part he paid most of his attention to her and the music.

After the concert Charlie walked Bill over to where he had parked their car. Though the look on his face hinted that he was contemplating something very deeply he only talked about the music from the concert. She kissed him and reminded him not to wait up since she would probably be out very late tonight like the previous Halloweens. He told her that he would see her in the morning then closed the car door. As she walked back to where the carriages were parked, Bill pulled out and joined all the other cars moving toward the park exits.

Ten minutes later Charlie pulled her carriage up to the curb where Catherine, Vincent and their family were waiting for her. As soon as they were all aboard and settled, Charlie signaled to Harry and they pulled away from the limo loading zone.

As they joined the other vehicles working their way out of the park, Vincent spoke to her. "Was that vampire your husband?"

Charlie glanced over her shoulder and nodded. "Yea, that was Bill. I figured as long as I was going to hang around during the concert that he and I could go to it together."

Catherine smiled back at her. "He seemed to be a very nice young man . . . though I think he was very surprised when he saw us."

The youngest male piped up. "Yea, I thought his eyes were going to bug right out of his head."

"Charles!" Catherine admonished her son but Charlie could see the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Catherine's mouth. She could see that Vincent was also trying to suppress a smile as he looked sternly down at his youngest son.

Charlie smiled back at 'Charles'. "That's OK. I was a bit startled as well when I first saw you and your brother." She gave a short snort of a laugh as her gaze shifted to Vincent. "It kinda verified something that I had already figured out." She smiled at the three in the front seat that had now turned to look at her. "By the way, Vincent, now that Jennifer is here . . ." The middle daughter showed surprise at the mention of her name. "I don't know if you remember it but I would like to thank both of you personally for getting me out of that buried subway car right after 9/11."

Jennifer's eyes widened in surprise and recognition. "You were the one trapped under the bench at the front of the car."

The rest of the Family was also looking at her in surprise as Charlie nodded. "Yes, that was me. Anyway, thank-you both."

Jennifer smiled a bit shyly back as Vincent responded for the both of them. "You are most welcome, Charlie."

Charlie returned his smile then turned back around and concentrated on guiding the carriage to the family's brownstone.

After she pulled to a stop in front of their home, the children all disembarked from the carriage as Catherine issued final instructions to them. "You children do as Naomi tells you and we'll see you in the morning."

The oldest girl took charge and herded the other children into the brownstone. Just before closing the door, Naomi called, 'Good night!" to Catherine and Vincent.

As with the previous Halloween evenings, the night was topped off with another romantic ride. This time they drove through Central park beginning with a stop at the Carousel which happened to be open and in operation. With a mischievous laugh, Catherine drew Vincent out of the carriage and up to the carousel where the both of them got on for a ride. Charlie could tell from Vincent's expression that this had some very special meaning for him and he thoroughly enjoyed himself. After two rides they returned laughing to the carriage and continued on their way. Somewhere around four in the morning, they stopped off at the all night bistro that they had visited once before and had a light snack.

After leaving the bistro, they ended the night by heading down Broadway all the way to the southernmost end of Battery Park, next to the Whitehall Ferry Terminal. They stopped in the nearly deserted parking lot beside the water and sat there watching the sunrise light up the statue of liberty. Afterward it was a slow leisurely ride back to the brownstone as the first rays of sunrise began creeping down the sides of the tall buildings arriving just as the second floor of the brownstone emerged from the shadows of early morning.

After she had dropped Vincent and Catherine off, Charlie headed home to her own husband. Another magical Halloween night had drawn to a close and it was time to return to her normal life. She thought, with a smile, that the next few days, however, were likely to be peppered with some very interesting conversations between her and Bill.

THE END

'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.