Charlie got home and changed clothes. She came down into the kitchen and saw that Jaycee was baking. She narrowed her eyes. Jaycee only baked when she wanted to break what she thought was bad news to someone. Jaycee looked up and saw her.
"Hey, how was your day? I thought you might like some chocolate chip cookies to go with our pizza tonight."
"Who died?"
"No one. Why would you think someone died?"
"Because you're baking. So what's going on?"
Jaycee bit her lip a little bit. "Phil joined the reunion committee. He wants to help plan the reunion."
Charlie sighed. "Well alright. He has as much right as anyone else I guess."
"Good. Cookie?" Jaycee smiled as she held out the plate of cookies.
"Thanks," Charlie said taking one. "Was this Phil's idea or yours?"
"I'm going with Phil's." She smiled.
"Which means it was 99% you," Charlie said as she took another cookie.
"Well.." She replied.
"I didn't know you were so sneaky." Charlie laughed. "But just because you set this up, doesn't mean anything. Phil won't commit and that's just how it is."
"Agreed. He just wants to help with the reunion. He and the band are playing. So he wants to be involved."
"He wants to be near me hoping I will cave and his involvement in the committee is an excuse to do that."
"See you belong with him. You know him and me for that matter so well."
"Should make things easier when I'm raising this baby." She said as she walked into the living room to see that Ted had just gotten there.
Jaycee sighed and headed out to the living room. "Well glad you could come, Ted." She said when she did. "Everyone else should be here soon."
"Great," Ted said. He looked at Charlie. "Can I talk to you?" She nodded and she looked at John and Jaycee.
"Why don't we go check on that last batch of cookies?" Jaycee asked and John nodded.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Charlie asked him once Jaycee and John were in the kitchen.
"Well, I wanted to…that is…I was hoping you might have dinner with me."
"Like a date?"
"Well, yeah. I mean if you wanted to go." He said.
"Yeah. Dinner sounds great." She said just as Phil walked in.
"Great. Tomorrow around 7?"
"It's a date."
"You're dating?" Phil asked when he heard the words. "How can date someone else?"
"Because I'm single and I can." She said.
"But you're having my baby."
"Yes but we aren't together and I can date who I want." She said turning to Ted. "I would love to go out with you tomorrow. Now let's start this reunion planning."
Phil walked into the kitchen and walked to the fridge and grabbed himself a water. "She's dating other people."
"Did you think she would wait around forever?" John asked him. "We told you that she wouldn't wait for you to realize that you wanted to be married to her."
"But to date Ted? Seriously?"
"Why not Ted?" Jaycee asked him. "If she wants to move on because you can't commit, I can't think of anyone better than Ted. He's smart and sweet. And he's hot." She looked at John and Phil. "What?"
"You think he's hot?" John asked her.
"Not as hot as you are." She said before kissing him. She turned to Phil. "I want you and Charlie to be together. But I can't fault her wanting to move on if you're going to stay in the same place."
"This isn't over."
"I know," Jaycee replied. "Why don't you go into the living room and wait for the others to come?" Phil sighed and walked out. Jaycee turned to her husband. "Are you going to stay for the meeting?"
"Nope. I'm taking Ethan out for dinner. Father/son bonding." He said before kissing her. "So, enjoy your meeting. And I will bring you something special home."
She laughed. "Alright. Have fun." He nodded and headed upstairs to get Ethan.
Jaycee headed into the living room after John and Ethan left. "Well, I hope everyone else comes soon." She said to Phil, Charlie and Ted.
"Where did you want to go tomorrow?" Ted asked Charlie and Phil rolled his eyes
"Wherever you want is fine." She replied.
Jaycee sat there uncomfortably watching the three of them. She wished someone else would come.
"Great. I will plan a great date." Ted smiled.
"Okay, why don't we talk about the reunion a little bit and wait for Natalie and Lexie?" Jaycee said to them. "I was thinking buffet for the food."
"I love that idea. It'll be more cost-effective and give people a chance to mingle."
"That was my thinking too." She replied just as the door bell rang. "And that would be Natalie and Lexie." She got up and walked over to the door and opened it for them. "Thank goodness you're both here. It is very uncomfortable in there." She said as she took their stuff.
"Why is it uncomfortable?" Natalie asked.
"Because Phil decided to join the committee and then Ted asked Charlie out. So it's a barrel of monkeys."
Natalie looked at Lexie. "We've died and gone to General Hospital."
"I know right?" Lexie laughed. "Well let's go deal with this."
The three of them walked into the living room. "Look who is here," Jaycee said to Phil, Charlie and Ted.
"Hey guys," Charlie said as she got up to hug them.
"Charlie," Natalie said. She turned to Phil and Ted. "Phil, how is things? And Ted, nice to see you as always."
"Nice to see you guys too," Ted said. Phil didn't say anything he just sat there staring a hole through Ted.
"Everything okay Phil?" Lexie asked.
"Everything is peachy." He said as his gaze shifted over to Charlie. "Can I talk to you alone for a second?"
"We have a reunion to plan." She replied.
"Please. For a minute."
She sighed. "Fine. For a minute." She said getting up. "We will be right back," she told the group. She turned to look at him as they walked into the kitchen. "What?"
"How can you go on a date?"
"It's called being single. You should try it. I mean that's what you wanted right? A life with no commitments?"
"Charlie please.." He said before she cut him off.
"No. You made your feelings known and now I'm trying to move on and get my life together. Just leave me alone. And stay out of my personal life." She said walking back to the dining room where everyone was. "Where were we?" She said as she sat down next to Ted and Jaycee.
"We had decided the food," Jaycee replied. "And we know that Phil and the band are playing. So we just need to decide on decorations. Are we having it at the school gym or in a hotel ballroom? I suggest a ballroom."
"Great idea. I'll talk to Alicia. She's the manager at the hotel now." Natalie said.
"Good. So we have a place, a band. I will call the caterer tomorrow and let her know it's the buffet. So what about decorations?"
"I was thinking old yearbook photos and maybe a photo booth so we could take pictures now too," Charlie said.
"I love that" Jaycee smiled. "Anything else?"
"What if we put the senior wish lists on the wall?" Ted added. "And everyone can see if we actually accomplished our wish lists."
"That's a great idea." Lexie said. "I mean obviously Phil and the band did right?"
"Yep." Jaycee smiled. "Oh we should so read the wish lists now." She said getting up and walking over to the bookcase. She picked up their senior year annual and brought it over. "Let's see who out of us accomplished our lists." She turned to the pages that held them. "Let's see mine says hopes to be a best selling author in ten years." She looked up at them. "Guess I was wrong on that part." She laughed. "Now, Charlie." She said handing the yearbook to her.
"I don't want to read mine. Someone else go."
"Oh, c'mon Char. What does it say?" Lexie asked.
"I'd really rather not read it okay?"
"We're all reading them. C'mon, it'll be fun." Natalie said. Charlie got up and put the book down on the coffee table.
"I said I don't want to read it." She said as she walked toward the stairs. Jaycee, Lexie, and Natalie followed. Ted looked at Phil.
"I'll see myself out." Phil sat there for a minute before he picked up the yearbook and looked at Charlie's wish list. 'Spend the rest of my life with the man I love.' He sighed and headed out too. He had to try to fix this.