Though he felt slightly awkward, and more than a little guilty about what he had cancelled in order to make his impromptu trip to the primary school, he tried to convince himself that he just looked like a grandfather waiting to pick up his grandchild parked among minivans and station wagons that mid-April afternoon.

Ignoring his phone's vibrating buzz in his pocket, he craned his neck just in time to see a smiling Elsie make her way into view while holding the hand of a five-year-old little boy who had been blessed with a wonderfully wide grin and an extra chromosome.

Rolling down his window, he heard her say, "I hope the Easter bunny brings you lots and lots of candy, Noah," before exchanging waves with the departing child and his mother, and it was as she was pulling her sunglasses from her bag that he called out, "Excuse me, miss, but would you care for a ride?"

The sunny spring weather that was heralding in the Easter break from school had inspired a happy mood in most of the teachers and students at the primary at which Elsie was a special needs aide, and she herself was no exception. The surprise turn-up of Charles only cheered her more and there was a distinct bounce in her step as she made her way towards his waiting Volvo.

"Miss, eh?" She made her way to his window. "Do you often drive around offering women rides, Mr. Carson?"

Joe had called her "Miss Sassy Pants" when she was in this sort of mood, and until now, he had feared she had lost that bit of playfulness, the alter ego having not made an appearance since Joe's health had taken a turn the Christmas before last.

"Hardly. Only one woman. Get in and I'll buy you an ice cream."

She was laughing as she climbed into the car. "If I were about fifty years younger this would be very creepy."

"Stop teasing me or I'll rescind my offer."

"Alright, alright. What are you doing on this side of town?"

If he were honest, he'd have to admit that he had had plans to meet someone nearby, but realizing he was close to Elsie's school at around the time she was due to leave for the day, he had made the selfish choice to cancel at the last minute in favor of taking a chance on seeing her. Knowing he couldn't admit this, he simply added to the guilt he was already feeling and told a white lie involving some supplies he'd picked up at a garden center earlier in the day.

"I had to pick up some guttering nearby and finished up about the time I figured you were getting out of school, so thought I might see if you wanted to grab a cup of coffee, although now that I mentioned ice cream, I want that."

"Ice cream and coffee both sound wonderful, and guttering, eh? Were you in desperate need of guttering? Is there a guttering emergency at Chez Carson?" She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye, pleased to see he was smiling, but just as quickly as her pleasure came, a deep blush covered her cheeks and her smile disappeared as she mentally chastised herself: Dear God! You are flirting! FLIRTING! Flirting with Charles Carson. He's your husband's best friend, for heaven's sake. Get a hold of yourself, girl.

The change in her expression didn't go amiss, and his heart sunk as he noticed her bright smile had suddenly disappeared. Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. "So, how are Gus and Rose?"

He had made a wise subject choice and a bit of the smile returned to her face as she answered, "They are very happy. Very young, very happy, and having a great deal of sex in the room across the hall from mine." She giggled as he cringed, which if she had been forced to admit it, was a large part of the reason she had added the bit about the sex.

"Oh, dear."

"Oh, yes."

"How unpleasant."

"Not from the sound of it."

His cheeks were instantly red as he sputtered, "Good Lord, Elsie!"

"Sorry, it's a compulsion, making you squirm."

He sighed dramatically as he shook his head, although in truth he adored the attention, so he stuck to the subject as he pulled the car into a spot at the front of a small café. "So their doing…that…Are you concerned they might get caught out?"

"No, not-" She had answered while bending over to retrieve her pocket book from inside her tote bag at her feet but stopped as she looked up to find him moving quickly around the front of the car to get her door, and she let out a gentle huff which was followed by, "You are the last of your breed, Charles Carson."

His efforts earned him her brightest smile and he returned it as he offered a hand to assist her out before following her towards the restaurant where they stepped inside to witness a group of teenagers giving the a waiter, a teenager himself, a hard time as they purposefully dropped pieces of cutlery on the floor for the tall, ginger-headed boy to pick-up, which then gave them the opportunity to throw chips at his bum.

He followed her to the back of the room, pleased she had chosen a small table which would allow them a little privacy and a modicum of quiet away from rowdy group they had just passed.

He let out a sigh of disgust. "Poor lad. Why do kids behave like that? Gus wouldn't have done that when he was in school."

She sighed, grateful to see a few of the more disruptive boys collecting their things and leaving. "I think they are going, thank goodness."

Relieved to see she was right, he once again broached the subject of their earlier conversation. "So why aren't you worried about Gus and Rose making little Guses and Roses?"

She glanced up from the little menu in front of her, "Little Guses and Roses, Lord help us."

"You know what I mean."

Setting her menu down, she nodded, "I do, and I'm not worried because, well you see, my son isn't the tidiest of souls and I have picked up more than a few little foil packets from the floor around his bed."

It took him a moment to realize she was talking about condoms, which brought on a cringe. "I know he's a grown man, but in my mind, I can't help but see a five-year-old in wellies jumping into mud puddles."

"Oh, I think he'd still do that if given the chance," She laughed just as the waiter stepped up, his freckled face still red with embarrassment from his treatment by the other kids.

Elsie made a point of reading his name tag and then gave Charles a quick wink before she began to ask the young man a series of questions, beginning with how old he was (eighteen), when was his birthday (July sixteenth), what was his favorite flavor of ice cream, what was his mum's favorite flavor of ice cream (pistachio), what was his girlfriend's favorite (he didn't have one), what was his boyfriend's favorite (chocolate mint), his favorite color (green like the grass of summer), his favorite Christmas song (the one about the little boy with a drum), and if he could go on a trip anywhere in the world where would he go (Fiji, whichhe had heard was paradise).

The pleasant interrogation having come to an end, a bright smile was now in the place of the frown on the waiter's face.

"Thank you for indulging me, Sam, now I'll have a small dish of chocolate ice cream, please, and a cup of coffee." She looked across the table and prompted, "Charlie, what'll you have?"

If anyone ever asked what made him love her as he did, he could easily offer the previous minute as an example. Joy coloring his face he simply said, "The same please."

Sam was still grinning brightly as he jotted down some scratchings on his pad. "Anything else?"

"Not for me. Excuse me, gentlemen." Elsie gracefully slipped from the table and across the room to the restrooms.

"Is your wife like that all the time?" Sam asked Charles as they each looked in the direction of where she had disappeared.

The word "wife" throwing him a bit off-kilter, Charles' look back at the young man was one of puzzlement.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it. I just meant is she, well is she good like that, you know, kind like that all the time?"

Returning his gaze to the closed ladies' room door, Charles voice was barely more than a whisper as he answered, "Yes, she is."


Hope your mum feels better. I look forward to the rain check. Next weekend? X Marta

His attention on his phone as she returned, she wondered what on the screen had darkened his mood. "Everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah. No, yeah. Fine." He nearly dropped the device as he fumbled in his haste to return it to his pocket.

The pink of his cheeks piqued her curiosity further but she didn't press as Sam appeared at their table with the ice cream and coffee, a complete change in his demeanor as he proudly placed their dishes on the table. "On the house," he added as he placed Elsie's ice cream in front of her.

"Oh, Sam, aren't you an angel. You don't have to do that."

She watched him struggle to speak as tears filled his eyes. "Oh, sweetheart." Reaching over she squeezed his hand and gave him an understanding nod. "It's alright."

Having whispered "Thank you," Sam left quickly, the sound of sniffling accompanying his hurried steps back towards the kitchen.

"What a sweet lad."

"Sweet lad? Sweet you." There was admiration in Charles' gaze from across the table.

She looked up at him with a slight sneer. "Oh, don't be silly. All I did was distract him for a minute."

Picking up his coffee cup, he leaned back in his chair, a knowing smile on his lips. "You asked him about things you knew would make him happy."

"It's just because I'm a mum..."

He found her modesty endearing, as he countered, "No, it's because you're Elsie."

She wrinkled her nose and waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever."

"Whatever nothing. You didn't have to do what you did. You could have just smiled and ordered your ice cream and coffee, but you didn't. You saw he was hurting and you comforted him. It never would have occurred to me to do what you did. It was a lovely gesture by a lovely woman."

The sincerity in what he said surprised her. She knew him to be polite and somewhat of a gentle giant, but it wasn't like him to be so free with his compliments, or emotions, for that matter. Unable to think of an adequate retort, she just shook her head and then nodded towards his dish. "Your ice cream is melting."

He held her gaze for a moment, an "I mean it" implied in his expression before finally taking a slightly runny bite of his dessert. "Oh, that's good. I'd forgotten how much I love ice cream. Seems an age since I had it last."

"Isn't it? I'd weigh twenty stone if I worked here."

Noticing a smudge of chocolate on the corner of her mouth, he considered reaching over and gently wiping it away with his thumb, but the gesture felt too intimate. "You've a bit of ice cream just there," he whispered, pointing at the spot.

She stuck out her tongue and tried to lick it away but was unsuccessful. "Gone?"

"Nope. Not quite."

Another attempt failed which drew a chuckle from him.

"Oh, don't just sit there laughing at me. Help."

He pulled a fresh napkin from the dispenser and with very delicate movements removed the sticky bit of cream. "There. Lovely."

"Well, tidy," she said with a shrug before draining the rest of her coffee cup.

"So, what is on the agenda for the school break, Mrs. Burns?"

"Ah, well, slowly, but surely, I have been cleaning out closets and cupboards and I am spending tomorrow clearing out the garage. If there is anything you'd like, feel free to take it. The only thing spoken for is that little fridge Joe kept in the back. Rose's mum has dibs on it." She bit the inside of her mouth as she debated on how cheeky she wanted to be with him in regard to the refrigerator. "You know the one I'm talking about, don't you? The one you and Joe used to hide all that Halloween candy in that you thought I didn't know about." She would have given anything to have taken a photo of his face when she revealed the fact that she had known about their secret stash.

"Ha-ha-ha! You thought I didn't know! Thought you were so clever! Like I wouldn't notice the smell of peanuts and chocolate on Joe's breath when he'd come to bed after you and he'd stay up until the middle of the night supposedly discussing the mysteries of the universe in the garden."

A blush had once again crept across his cheeks a he sat up in his seat, half-heartedly rebutting, "We had some very intellectual conversations in that garden, I'll have you know."

"Yes. Fueled by Penguins and Maltesers and After Eights!"

He opened his mouth to argue, but her raised left eyebrow made him think better of it.

"It was Gus's thirteenth birthday and I needed a place to hide his cake, so I remembered Joe had that wee fridge in the back corner of the garage and I figured it probably had only a few bottles of beer in it, so I thought I'd use it, only to find it was chocked full of boxes of cheap chocolate! Tons of it! I don't think I would have been any more shocked if I had found pot or porn."

"Elsie!" Charles made a quick survey of the room to see if anyone was listening to their conversation.

"Oh, please. Pot and porn are two of the tamer things people talk about these days." Her arms folded, she playfully continued her scolding. "Children! You two were no better than rotten little children sneaking around behind my back!"

He knew she was enjoying making him squirm, so he kept up the pretense, intent on her maintaining a happy mood. "So, why didn't you call us out?"

She was leaning back in her chair deciding how far to take her teasing when she found herself distracted by simply looking at him. He'd been a part of their lives for so long that he had become a fixture of sorts, only now, without the outside distractions of others, she realized she hadn't really taken a good look at Charles as a person, as a man, in a very long time. He was quite handsome, she admitted to herself, surprised to even be having the thought. He possessed such strong features, not to mention that marvelous voice, which she had always found affecting. Her eyes slipped from his face to his chest, fixating on the bit of skin revealed by the three buttons that were left undone, and she suddenly felt warm in a way that was familiar, albeit in a distant way. This unexpected sensation led to another pang of guilt like the one she experienced when she caught herself flirting with him earlier. Sitting up quickly, she turned her attention back to the small bit of ice cream still in her dish.

Noticing the climbing blush that now covered her neck and was quickly filling her cheeks, he craned his neck towards her, tilting his head in an effort get her attention. "You alright?"

"Yes, fine. Sorry." She swallowed hard, still slightly reeling from the previous few moments. "Just suddenly felt a little warm. What were you saying?"

"I asked why you didn't call us out after you found the candy."

"Oh, well, I don't know. I suppose I just thought it made you two boobies happy to have a secret and I'd much rather he'd have hidden candy from me than another woman, or a drink habit, or drugs so..." She forced herself to look up at him, regaining her wits as she added, "And I didn't see any more candy after that year and neither of you developed diabetes, so I let it go."

He grinned at her cheek and admitted, "It turned out that when I put on my Santa suit that Christmas, I didn't have to stuff the tummy like before; had my own bowl of jelly, you see, so I told Joe I had to cut down on sweets." He glanced down at his gut and shrugged, "And it looks like I might need to do that again."

Self-deprecation tended to be Charles' default means of communication, and it always made Elsie sad to hear him be anything less than kind to himself caring about him as she did. "Oh, don't be silly. You're lovely, absolutely lovely just the way you are."

Lying in bed later that night, she would replay this exchange in her head, dissecting the moment from when he looked back at her with such tender appreciation and how she had held his gaze as they exchanged an unspoken acknowledgment of care which was powerful in its chemistry.

Sam appeared with a carafe of coffee, and the connection between them was broken as he asked, "May I top you off?"

Returning his smile, Elsie shook her head as she pushed her chair out a bit, collecting her purse as she said, "No, but thank you so much. The ice cream, coffee, and service were all wonderful."

"Well, I hope you come again soon."

"I'm sure we will, and I add my thanks. You were very kind to treat us," Charles offered as he rose from his seat.

"Do you have kids?"

Standing, Elsie answered, "Yes. A son."

"He's…well, my mum and dad, they aren't..." he struggled to find the right words, settling on, "…okay, you know? They aren't like you. Nice and that. Your son is lucky. You're just, you're just really nice people." Somewhat embarrassed by his own remark, Sam gave them one more smile before moving away from the table.

Charles inhaled deeply before commenting, "I supposed he's not incredibly far-off. I'm not his father, but I am Gus's godfather."

"True." She watched him fetch his wallet from his back pocket and pull out several pound notes as she added, "And I think it's good that we didn't spoil his illusion." Glancing down, her eyebrows were raised and her eyes wide when she looked back up at him and whispered, "That's forty pounds, Charles!"

He would have paid twice the amount again to have shared the time with her, and so simply dismissed her comment with a wave of his hand before ushering her ahead him to lead the way outside.

Waiting until he had opened her car door, she paused before climbing in to give his hand a quick squeeze. "That was awfully sweet of you."

Still unsettled by the rather intimate moment they had shared, he managed a quick smile before turning his head as though looking at something over his shoulder rather than meeting her eyes as she climbed into the car.

His interest in something across the parking lot provided her ample time to study his profile, her eyes trailing over the shadow of beard on his cheek and down over his thick neck, his Adam's apple rising and falling as he swallowed hard making her wonder what was on his mind that perplexed him- and if, perhaps, it was the same thing that had unsettled her over the last few minutes.


The ride home was quiet, both of their minds too preoccupied to make small talk, and after pulling up in front of Elsie's home, he declined her invitation to come in.

"Thanks, but I'd better be off. I need to drop some of this guttering off at my mum's."

"Well, thanks for the ride. Oh, if you have the time, please stop by on Sunday afternoon. I think I'll be on my own. Gus and Rose are going over to a cousin's house for Easter dinner and Richard and Roz have plans with friends, and I've been putting it off, but I think I am going to have a clean out of Joe's wardrobe. I'm not looking forward to it, so it would be nice to have a friend on hand."

There was no way he would deny her the help, although his feelings were conflicted as he rejoiced at the thought of more time alone with her, while at the same time, he blanched at the thought of what it would be like to go through all of Joe's things.

"Of course, I'll come by. Mum will expect me for a bit, but after I'll be glad to help. Two-ish?"

"Perfect."


She felt slightly ashamed about it but was relieved to find the house quiet as she dropped her bags and purse on the entry table.

"Gus? Sweetheart, are you here? Rose?"

Receiving no answer, she debated whether to plunk herself on the couch and enjoy the rare bit of solitude, or to pick up her purse and get her weekly trip to the market out of the way. Her better angel winning out, she gathered a few bags for life from the kitchen, along with her purse from the entry, and was at the local grocery store within ten minutes.

The essentials in her basket, she was nearing the front when a display of large chocolate Easter eggs and boxed candies caught her eye. Knowing Gus would be quite disappointed to wake up Sunday morning and find the Easter bunny had passed him by, she selected ornate eggs for both he and Rose, as well as picking up a giant bar of Cadbury they could all share in over the next week. One pink and one blue plush bunny also added to her things, she as turning the trolley in the direction of the check out when she stopped short and looked back over her shoulder, hesitating only for a moment before gathering several packages of Penguins, Maltesers, and After Eights.


Sometime Elsie wondered if Rose spent as much time with them as she did because of Atticus, or because of her, given the girl's tendency to follow her around from room to room and fill her ear with chatter.

"I still can't believe you bought us Easter eggs and the stuffed bunnies! Ah-may-zing! You are like…well, my mum, she's not…I think the last time I got an Easter egg was when I was like seven, but well…Oh! My mum said she might not get to come by until next week for that little fridge, but you are so nice to give it to her, just in case she doesn't thank you properly, I mean, I think she will, but she just…anyway, it's so nice, really, really nice of you. Just like the eggs and the bunny. I named my bunny "Hoppy." Did I tell you that? Gus said he won't name his, but I think he is just saying that to like wind me up. I mean it wouldn't be fair for one of them to have a name and not name the other, would it? I wouldn't want to be a bunny with no name sitting next to another bunny with a name, would you? He'll let me name his, too. Don't you think? Yeah. I'm sure he will. He said you're always good about things like Easter and like you know, birthdays and things. My birthday isn't for three months. July twenty-second, but I think I already told you that, too. It's like nice having a summer birthday, but it will probably rain. My mum says it rained and rained the day I was born, like flooded, and it was awful to get to the hospital because the streets were flooded and so she didn't get there in time to get the thing where they like poke you in the back and the pain was so awful she told my dad she would never let him touch her again, and I think she probably didn't because they got divorced when I was like three and he always says she's frigid, but he's like really nice, my dad. I think you would like him. Anyway, thank you again. It was really sweet, like so nice of you to do that, you know, the eggs and Hoppy."

Elsie had been in the middle of pulling wet clothes from the washer when Rose had appeared to thank her for the third time that day for the baskets that had been placed outside Gus's door early that morning.

"I'm happy you liked them, love."

Watching Elsie pull a tiny cotton thong out of the washer, Rose giggled, "And thanks for letting me throw in a few things with your and Gus's wash. I seemed to be here all the time lately!"

Thinking truer words had never been said, Elsie took a deep breath as she hoisted the heavy basket of wash onto her hip, smiling and nodding before making her way to the back door, where she prayed she might be granted the opportunity to hang the wash in peace. It was cool outside, but she was quite comfortable in her cardigan, and she hoped the temperature would keep Rose in her short, thin dress inside the house. To her dismay, however, the young woman simply folded her arms and followed close behind, her teeth chattering as she began describing the film she and Gus had gone to the night before.

The murderer had just severed both of his victim's hands and feet, blood gushing everywhere when a window on the second floor suddenly opened and Gus mercifully called down to say that Rose's cousin was on the phone.


Humming "Here Comes Peter Cottontail," she was pinning one of Gus's shirts to the line when she glanced over her shoulder at the sound of the back door opening, relieved to see it was him and not Rose emerging.

"What doing?" he asked with a mouth full of chocolate from a recent bite of the chunk of Cadbury he had broken of the big bar she'd left on the entry table.

"Having tea with the Queen. What does it look like I'm doing?"

He grinned, draping his arm around her shoulders as he offered her a bit of his chocolate which she took.

"Thanks for doing that this morning, you know the rabbit and the egg and the basket and all. Rose started crying when I told her one was for her."

Setting the laundry basket next to her on the ground, she pulled him into a full hug. "I'm glad it made her happy."

"I think she likes you."

"Yes, I get that feeling, too."

They exchanged amused smiles as Elsie returned to her task and Gus lowered onto one of the plastic lawn chairs nearby.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to her cousin's with us? It's going to be very nice. It's her mum's cousin and they're pretty posh."

"Thanks, love, but no. Charlie's coming over, remember? And we're going to clear out your Dad's wardrobe. You got what you wanted out last night, didn't you?"

He nodded, his happy demeanor having shifted to one more somber. "I kept some ties and that leather coat he always wore. That okay?"

"Of course. You keep whatever you want. Is there anything else you might want?"

In truth, he found it quite upsetting that she was getting rid of his father's things, but he didn't have the nerve to voice his feelings, so he had taken a few ties he could remember having given Joe for either Father's Day and Christmas, and the jacket that still smelled so strongly of his dad .

"No, I'm good." He was lifting the chocolate back to his mouth when he suddenly asked, "So why is Charlie coming over?"

Elsie was surprised by the question and it registered on her face as she turned to look at him. "He's helping. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, not sure himself why the man's impending visit concerned him. "I just, well, Easter's a family day. I thought he'd be at his mum's."

"He's coming by after he goes to his mum's. We haven't seen him very much since the fune-"

He cut her off, "You just saw him the other day, didn't you? You had ice cream."

His interruption had sounded almost petulant which was not like him at all. "What's wrong, Gus?"

"Nothing. I just think it's weird that Charlie isn't spending the holiday with his mum…" He looked away as he added, "…and what's the hurry about getting rid of all of Dad's things?"

So that's it. She dropped a few loose clothespins into the basket on the ground before joining him on the lounger, her arm going around his shoulder as she rested her cheek against his arm. "I know it's hard, sweetheart. It was hard for me to make the decision to clean out Dad's thing, but I'm finding it hard to cope. See, I open the wardrobe and I have a memory of him wearing every single shirt in it, and it smells of that cologne we always gave him on his birthday, and I can close my eyes and remember what it felt like to hug him when he was wearing that leather coat," she paused for a moment, her throat feeling thick with emotion. "And while I absolutely cherish every memory of your dad I have, when I look at and smell all of his things, it just reminds me that he's not there, and you know," she squeezed him tighter, a sob in her voice as she fought to continue, "You know I would give anything and everything to have your dad here, but he isn't, and we are…and though it is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, I have to keeping living, and part of living is moving on, love." She wrapped her arms more tightly around him as he began to tremble against her. "But moving on does not mean forgetting. Please, please don't think that is what I am doing."

Gus's eyes and nose were red as he turned and looked at her for the first time since she sat down.

"We can move on while still remembering all the wonderful and funny and good times we had we with your dad. You know that, right?"

He nodded and fought through his tears to say, "I'm sorry, Mum. I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry…"

"Shhh…shhh…don't be sorry. Nothing to be sorry about." She used her cuff to wipe his eyes before pulling him to her. "I hope you will always tell me how you are feeling. Please don't ever feel like you can't tell me something."

"I will."

A minute passed as they each regained their composure.

"You okay, sweetheart?"

He nodded, before asking, "And you want Charlie here to help you? Really?" Using his own sleeve to wipe his eyes, his question was lighthearted, a tease in his voice as he wrinkled his nose.

"Oh, leave poor Charlie alone. He's a very dear man, and you know he loved your dad so much. I think it will be good for both of us to do this together. Cathartic."

"You know I love him, too, but he's just…I'm sorry, Mum, but he's just boring."

She gave his knee a squeeze. "Oh stop. He's not boring to me."

Something in her voice gave him pause, but the thought was interrupted as Rose suddenly appeared at the back door and called out, "Are you two donuts ever coming back in? You are going to freeze your balls off if you don't come inside!" before ducking back into the sun room.

"You've found yourself quite a lady there, my son," she teased.

"I know, but she's right. I am freezing my balls off."

"Charming."

"You know you like her."

Elsie laughed heartily and shook her head in agreement. "I do, I do."

Leaning over, he gave her cheek a peck before standing and moving towards the house, throwing over his shoulder, "I think the thing I love most about her is what a goofball she is."

Watching him hurry back into the house, she waited until she was sure he was out of earshot before reclining against the lounger and lifting her gaze heavenward. Scanning the clear, blue sky, she whispered "Oh, Joe, he's head over heels for that silly girl. I wish you were here to see it." Sighing, she then rested her eyes, a few moments passing before she added, "And Charlie. What do I do about Charlie, love?"

The wind suddenly picked up, and she shivered in response, although it wasn't only the coolness of the breeze which caused the reaction. Eyes now open, she bit down on her bottom lip and once again scanned the sky, her attention going to three birds that had just alighted from the neighbor's tree, one taking off to soar high above and then off into the distance, while the other two simply landed in the tree at the back of her garden to share a limb.


One bottle of Shiraz gone, Elsie giggled as Charles reappeared in her bedroom doorway, his eyebrows dancing as he shook a new bottle in one hand and a corkscrew in the other.

"Shall we be very, very bad?"

"I'm game if you are."

Charles handed her the bottle before tipsily lowering himself next to her, both leaning against the side of the bed, the empty wardrobe in front of them and three full garbage sacks sitting to their left.

She peeled a bit of foil from the top of the bottle before handing it back to him to open, her head lolling to the side as she watched him work the corkscrew only to startle him as she suddenly pushed against his arm in an effort to get on her feet.

"Be right back!"

Moving too quickly, she had to grab onto the bed post with one arm while her other hand rested on top of his head as she fought to regain her balance as the blood left her head.

"You alright?" he asked as he tried to look up at her only to be thwarted by her weight pressing down against his crown.

"Fine. Stood up too quickly." Grazing his scalp with her fingernails, she whispered, "You've got so much hair."

He closed his eyes, willing himself not to pull her into his lap, reminding himself that neither of them in full possession of their faculties.

The blood now redistributed throughout her body, she lifted her hand from his head, reaching out to grasp the door frame before leaving the room, her hand never leaving the rail as she carefully made her way down the stairs before hitting the kitchen.

Taking deep breaths, while clinging to the experience of the previous minute, he forced himself to replenish their glasses while waiting for her to return.

"Shit! Ow!"

He looked up to find her hobbling into the room, something held hidden behind her back.

"You alright?"

"Yes, just stubbed my toe."

The pain not long-lasting, he was happy to see her smile quickly return, her eyes twinkling as she gazed down at him.

"What are have you got there, young lady?"

"Treats."

"Treats, eh? What kind of treats?"

Lifting one eyebrow, she smirked before bringing the bag around in front of her. "Penguins, Maltesers, and After Eights!"

His face lit up to match hers as she moved back next to him and pulled out an assortment of the candies.

"Pick your poison."

Reaching over, he happily plucked a small package of Maltesers from her hand before passing over her newly filled glass of wine. Lifting his glass, he offered a simple toast. "To Joe."

Clinking his glass, she swallowed hard before repeating, "To Joe."

A companionable silence settled between the two of them and the only sounds in the room were the slosh of wine against the sides of their glasses and the sound of paper and foil being pulled off the bits of chocolate.

"You'll tell me if I'm being nosey, won't you?"

He frowned, but nodded, his curiosity and fear about what she intended to ask volleying for prominence in his stomach amid the wine and candy.

"The other day, at the café, when I came out of the ladies' you were looking at your phone and frowning."

He felt a pang of sobriety as the circumstances of the moment to which she was referring came back to him. "Oh. Oh, that was nothing, just a friend."

"I see."

Her intense gaze felt like some sort of wordless interrogation and he uncharacteristically mumbled, "I joined one those online things."

"What?"

He felt his cheeks grow even redder than they had been from the wine as he admitted, "I joined one of those things that matches you with other sad singletons."

Eyebrows threatening to touch her hairline, she leaned back to take a good look at him as she pried further. "A dating site? You joined a dating site?"

"I know. Ridiculous, right? Who would want to be matched with me."

Once again, his self-deprecation kicked into gear which earned him a squeeze on his bicep.

"Don't be unkind to yourself. You know I didn't mean that way it sounded. I'm just surprised. Doesn't seem like you, although any woman would be lucky to be matched with someone as sweet and as lovely as you are."

Turning his head, he looked down at her appreciatively. "Thank you. That is very kind of you to say."

"I mean it!" She gave his arm another squeeze before asking, "So this friend is from the site?"

"Mmm, yes. Marta. That's her name. Marta."

"It's a nice name and this is exciting! So this Marta, what is she like?" The bright smile on her face betrayed an uncomfortable bout of butterflies in her stomach.

"Nice, I think. We haven't met up yet. Just been emailing and texting for a few weeks."

"So why the frown?"

He could never admit it, but he had signed up for the site more than three months before and had begun chatting with this woman a few weeks before Joe's death, but now she was pressuring him to set a date for them to meet in person, and he was dreading it. Dreading it for the simple reason that Marta wasn't Elsie. In fact, he had been frowning that day in the restaurant because he'd told Marta a flimsy lie about his mother being sick at the last minute so he could visit with Elsie, and the woman had been very sweet about the whole thing, which made him feel even more awful.

Unable to convey the absolute truth, he managed, "We had settled on doing something Friday evening, but something came up and she cancelled. I suppose that was why I was frowning."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Well, don't give up." She yawned, her hand over her mouth before she continued. "There's someone out there who will appreciate you for being the wonderful person you are. Goodness knows you are wonderful to me, giving up your afternoon and evening to help me clean all this out. Would have been much harder to do it alone."

He froze as he felt the gentle weight of her body lean against his side, her head heavy with wine and emotion as it rested against his upper arm.

"Of course. No place I would rather be."

Placing her now empty glass on her other side, her eyes felt quite heavy and her speech was a bit slurred as she slipped her hand into his. "I feel better when you're here. You help keep me steady."

Glancing down at their clasped hands, he lowly offered, "You can always hold my hand if you need to feel steady."

He held his breath as he waited for a response, but after a few moments he sensed her breathing had changed and leaning forward to find her fast asleep against his shoulder.

"No place I'd rather be."

Leaning his head back against the bed, he closed his own eyes, the room spinning a bit as he began to gently sing:

"I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand…"

Succumbing to the effects of the wine, he shifted slightly which caused their bodies to curl closer together as he rested his cheek atop her head, the lyrics of the song fading as he drifted to sleep.

"...And when I touch you

I feel happy happy inside

It's such a feeling that my love

I can't hide…I can't hide…"


I am so grateful for the wonderful feedback I got from chapter one. Thank you for being so sweet and lovely-

Jen