Chapter 1

The vast living room looked all the livelier this peaceful night. Sally was setting the table when bobby and Charles came home. Sally was looking strikingly the same as her teenage self apart from the two heavy bags under her eyes; inerasable stigmas from the numerous sleepless nights caused by Bobby; her pointy blonde hair still arranged in a messy bun, her mouth still bearing her trademark sassy smile.

On one of her finger an expensive wedding ring was put.

Charles could not help being startled each time he saw the ring. His little sister was now 38 years old and was married with children while he never proposed to anyone much less anyone proposed to him, at least until very recently.

Her romance with the very one they used to call "pigpen" first came as a shock, who could imagine that this lovable mess of a kid would turn into a competent salesman and a potential groom for sally.

Once the surprise passed away, Charles came to accept the idea of having him as a brother-in-law. After all if sally was happy with him, had he any right to interfere in their relationship?

The issue was that Charles feared that Sally herself did not know if she had ever been in love with him. Charles however did not have any proof for this pressing intuition: sally and "pigpen" seemed like a pleasant enough couple but sally knew how to put on an act, always had been good at it, and she seemed to excel in playing the part of a devoted mother and a caring partner.

As of now "pigpen" was not home, he seldom was, and sally was once again alone with her two children.

Bobby was the younger of the two, an 8 years old chubby kid, as naïve and cheerful as his mother. Mary was 10 years, she was a fair child, much more quiet than her brother, in many ways she resembled her beloved uncle Charlie with whom she developed a special bond.

"Here you are Charlie, hurry up dinner is ready and Mary and me have been waiting for you" sally said in a sanctimonious tone.

"What have you done with bobby during all this time, uncle charlie?" Mary asked, visibly worried that Charles might prefer the company of her brother to hers.

"I flew my toy kite and Uncle chuck crashed it into a tree, now it is all torn up" Bobby answered

"Really, I guess some things never change" sally chuckled.

The rest of the evening passed really fast and as soon as the dinner was finished Mary and Bobby were sent to bed.

"I bet your younger self would love your performance as a stern mother, sally" Charles sneered to his sister

"I bet your younger self would love your portrayal of a wishy washy old bachelor" sally replied visibly upset at Charles' comment "Now that the children are sleeping, could you tell me about this big announcement that was too phenomenal for you to make over the phone?" sally insisted.

After hearing those words Charles started to blush and to clumsily stutter "I… I… mean it is really something… God I am not sure I can…"

"Stop acting so hesitant. Tell me now Charlie, you did not come here for nothing right?"Sally challenged

Charles then grew silent, trying to gather enough courage, his palms were sweating abundantly and his whole body was shaking.

"Marcie proposed to me two days ago and I…I accepted." Charles whispered extremely quickly.

The two of them then looked at each other without saying anything. Sally looked greatly bewildered and Charles 'face was red from contrition, fearing his sister's reaction.

Sally was the first to break the perfect silence that has felt on the room.

She stared deeply in Charles 'eyes and to his surprise started to smile; it was not an ambiguous smirk nor a sarcastic grin but rather a real smile of bliss.

"Charlie I can't tell you how much I am happy for you. I knew from the beginning that you and Marcie would make a perfect couple; I dreamt countless times that it would finally happen. Marcie is such a sweet girl, and I know for sure that she loves you, she told me enough times since we were 8. I am sure that you will be happy like no other couple. Why haven't you told me that you were dating?" she euphorically asked.

"Because we never really did." Charles bluntly replied, looking oddly bitter

"Well, it is not surprising from Marcie to ask away like this, I guess. She always had been her own kind. The most important thing is that you will finally have someone who will support you. Are you listening Charlie? Could you stop looking at me with this morose expression? Aren't you happy to know that maybe you will stop being alone for once?"Sally inquired, once again provoked by her brother's apathy.

"Me—Well of course I am… m happy why wouldn't I. I am getting married with someone wonderful who loves me …but" Charles responded, ineptly trying to look cheerful.

"But you don't love her?" Sally clamored, visibly irked. Charles then slowly nodded his head, resembling a child admitting to his mother that he stole from her purse.

"Charlie how could you expect the future to be bright for you if you don't give it a little hand. I know that deep down you are surely still longing for this perfect day where you will meet your soul mate, you will then fall deeply in love, get married, you will quit your boring job and you will then be happy for the rest of your lives. But Charlie, this world of make-believe is not real, there is no little red haired-girl at the end of the road Charlie. You have to make the better of what you get. And frankly what you get is not that bad. Marcie is the most adorable girl I have ever met, frankly, she will be perfect for you, listening to your miseries is the only thing she is waiting for. She will never let you down. Give her some time and you will see that you two make a natural pair. And who knows maybe you will even fall in love with her?"

"I…I know sally. I am just scared" Charles sighed

"Scared of what Charlie?"

"I am scared to wake up one day next to her and our future children, realizing that I made a bad choice and that because of this I ruined her life and my life too." Charles confessed

"Charlie isn't your life already ruined? Do you really think that marrying Marcie could make you even more miserable?" Sally scorned

At first Charles was tempted to confront her to her own unhappiness, to her missing husband and to her contradictions. But at the moment he opened his mouth, he unsurprisingly lost his guts and simply exhaled another sigh. "Sorry Sally. You are right. Thank you for making me realizes that I made the right choice." He unconvincingly apologized.

"One day you will have to do more than lousy excuses Charlie. Don't try to make me think I changed your mind, I know how stubborn you can be. Now let's start talking about something else". Sally asserted.

The two of them continued to uneasily discuss for a while before Charles left, pretending that he had some urgent work to finish. As Charles walked over to his car, an unusually chilly breeze wrapped him. As he watched the dour houses around him, barely noticeable in the dim night, he reflected on what sally just said. He knew that despite being overly sanctimonious about it, sally had his best interests at heart. Maybe he should just start listening to her and stop being so apathetic?

But deep down Charles was certain that despite his best efforts, he could never convince himself to surrender his naïve hopes of idyllic future even if those dreams would in turn prevent him to do anything other than waiting for them to happen. But how could he ever admit to himself that there might never be a little red-haired girl at the end of the road, that he might just never kick the ball?

Charles then stepped into his car and drove to his small apartment, bracing himself for one of his final nights alone as he knew that Marcie would certainly move in with him as soon as she could and there would be nothing he could do to prevent her from doing just that. Besides did he want her not to move with him? At least his life would be less lonely.