This story will be drawing to a close soon so I hope you continue to enjoy it to the end. Love, IJKS xxx
Chapter Twenty Nine
Joey headed straight round to Charlie's house. It seemed that whenever one of them was in some sort of trouble, they ran to each other.
"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Joey said glumly as she and Charlie sat on the sofa with a glass of wine. "But I can barely afford rent on my wage, let alone now I have nothing coming in."
Charlie felt guilty and responsible. She put her arm around her.
"You'll find something else," she said, trying to sound positive.
"With the reference I'll get?" Joey remarked.
Charlie sighed, silently admitting that she had a point.
"Whatever happens, we can get through it together," she decided.
Joey smiled gently at her, gazing into her eyes. She supposed that even without a job, she had won – for want of a better word. Brax had destroyed his own marriage and now Charlie wanted to be with her, at least, she would when the time was right. Both realising that they were both single now, they leant forward, their lips meeting softly in the lamp lit room. Charlie closed her eyes and sank against Joey's inviting mouth. They kissed tenderly, growing in passion as their lips parted and their tongues began to play. They both felt like they had been waiting for this moment all their lives.
"I love you," Joey murmured.
She kept her eyes closed, expecting Charlie to pull away but the police officer just kissed her all the more passionately.
"I love you too," she returned.
Joey smiled against Charlie's lips, wrapping her arms tightly around her. They jolted apart when the door opened and Ben and Ruby appeared. Everyone looked a little startled.
"Um… what's going on?" Ruby asked cautiously, sitting on the other couch.
After everything that had happened recently, the last thing she wanted to do was jump to conclusions and upset anybody. Ben sat quietly beside her, having secretly suspected this would happen for a little while.
"Um… well," Charlie tried.
"Are you together?" Ruby asked carefully.
"We haven't exactly had that conversation yet," Charlie said. "But we… we do have feelings for each other."
She held her breath, waiting to be admonished and hated all over again. She opened them when no harsh words came.
"Did you cheat on Dad?" Ruby asked.
"No," Charlie said quickly. "Joey and I have had feelings for each other for a while but we never cheated on your father."
She didn't feel a need to explain the threesome arrangement they had had going for a while there. Thinking about your parents' sex life was hideous and she didn't want to make things any worse, especially not when Ruby was already so fragile.
"Does this mean you're gay?" Ruby asked.
"I don't know what it means," Charlie replied honestly. "I never thought I'd be with anyone but Brax but…"
She sighed, trying to decide how to say what she needed to.
"I've always assumed I was straight but the thing is, that until Joey, I've never really been attracted to anyone, male or female," she tried.
"What about Dad?" Ruby asked, a little alarmed.
"I've been with your Dad for a long time," Charlie said reasonably. "Since we were kids. After what happened to me… my life changed."
"Because you had me," Ruby concluded glumly.
Charlie reached out and squeezed her hand.
"Because of what happened to me," she corrected. "Having you was a blessing. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, no matter how you were actually conceived."
Ruby nodded, holding onto her mother.
"But the trauma of that conception was the worst thing," Charlie said, hoping she wasn't being tactless. "And because of that, I never got the chance to enjoy a sexual life really."
Ruby pulled an automatic face over the thought of her mother having sex.
"I won't go into details, obviously," Charlie joked. "But I always did it because I was supposed to and didn't really enjoy it. Once upon a time, when I was a kid, before any of the bad stuff happened, I was attracted to your Dad. And I still care for him and I still think he's handsome and everything but… I don't feel about him the way I feel about Joey. I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about her."
She cast a glance to her hopefully future girlfriend who smiled. Ben smiled to himself as he watched them interact so lovingly.
"So, you want to be together now?" Ruby asked.
Charlie and Joey both nodded.
"If we have your permission," Charlie added.
Ruby looked surprised.
"My permission?" she asked.
"Ruby, ever since I knew you existed, every decision I've made has been based around you," her mother said. "This isn't any different."
"So… if I tell you I don't want you and Joey to be together, you won't be?"
"It would break my heart but yes, that's the way it goes," Charlie confirmed.
She looked apologetically at Joey who returned the look with sad acceptance. Ruby watched them with interest.
"Go for it," she finally decided.
Both women looked surprised but pleased.
"I just want you to be happy, Mum," Ruby said, pulling Charlie into a hug.
Charlie held onto tight to her daughter. Ben and Joey smiled affectionately at each other, glad that things seemed to be becoming easier.
"Aren't there two people missing from the family meeting?" said a voice.
All four of them turned to see Casey in the doorway, looking unimpressed.
"I mean, I guess one person wouldn't be invited but I thought I might be," he added.
"Case, come and sit down," Charlie invited, bracing herself to tell him what was going on.
She knew as soon as Brax found out that she and Joey were making a go of things, all hell would break loose.
Next time… Brax reacts badly to Charlie's new relationship…
