Chapter 3: The Bracelet
Charlie woke up early the next morning and had cold, left over pizza for breakfast. He got dressed and left a note for Jody on the kitchen counter.
Jody and Cooper,
Hey. I've gone out for a while, so don't worry. I'm fine. I'll be back after lunch sometime. See you then, bye.
~Charlie
He put on his coat, grabbed his wallet, and walked out the door. He went down to the first floor and walked out of the building. He hailed a cab and told the driver to take him to a small jewelry store, next to a park about a half-hour away.
When he got dropped off, he went into the small jewelry store, Aldin's Jewel Shop, and looked around. He saw a bunch of bracelets with names engraved on them. He looked at them and saw EVA on one of them. He hadn't seen Eva in more than a year. He'd have to get together with her once he got his own apartment. He looked around more and saw a beautiful one with JODY engraved on the gold nameplate. It cost $197, but he bought it anyway. He only had $40 left over for lunch and the cabs, so he went to the small playground park next door.
He sat down on one of the three benches and looked at the bracelet in the leather box he received free from the cute saleswoman. He tried to figure out how he would give it to her. He couldn't even look at her now that he had told her his big secret. He didn't even know how Jody felt about him. He didn't know how she felt about the way he felt about her. He looked at the bracelet again, snapped the box shut, and put it in his coat pocket.
He sighed and went over to the empty swing set. He sat there remembering the day in the park with the gang when he was kissing Jody. He still had the picture Eva had given him of that day. He wondered if Jody still had it, but decided she probably ripped it up and threw it away when she broke up with Charlie. That break up was the second hardest thing in the world for Charlie to get over. His love for Jody and this move was the hardest thing.
A bunch of little kids ran out of a van and attacked Charlie when he stood up. He picked on of them up and whirled him around, until he was laughing so hard he almost dropped him. All the kids wanted to be twirled around, so her had to pick up and twirl 24 kids before he could leave the park.
He wasn't very dizzy, so he hailed a cab and went to a coffee shop and had a salad for lunch. After lunch he hailed yet another cab and went back to Jody's apartment.
When he walked in (Jody had given him a key), he saw Jody asleep on the couch. She looked so peaceful and happy there. Charlie smiled and just looked at her for a while. When she blinked and looked up at Charlie, he immediately ran into his room and locked the door.
He sat down on the floor by his bed and waited for Jody to do something, anything.
She knocked on his door. He just sat there, completely silent. She knocked again and tried to open the door, but found it was locked. Charlie could hear her footsteps walking away, and then back to his door. She put a key in the keyhole and turned the door knob. She walked in and found Charlie sitting crossed legged on the floor by his bed.
"Hello Charlie." Jody said.
Charlie smiled and stood up. "I'm surprised you're talking to me."
"How could I not? You're like my best friend. You have no idea how much I've missed you." Jody said.
Charlie's smile grew bigger, and then went away completely. "No offence, but I have a feeling I missed you more."
Jody nodded. "I think you probably did. Come here." She said.
Charlie walked over to Jody, who was beginning to cry and she hugged him. They hugged for almost 5 minutes until Jody pulled away from his grip. She whipped the tears from her face and smiled at Charlie. He didn't smile back, and Jody looked into his deep eyes. She searched them for something, and found fear and uncertainty. She hugged him again and said, "Charlie, I love Cooper. You know that. I have loved him for more than a year. But I have also missed you. I've missed you for more than a year. I thought it was impossible being away from Cooper, but compared to being away from you, it's nothing. I have missed you more than I ever knew I could miss anything or anyone. Last night you told me how you really feel. At first I was, well, I don't know. I just couldn't think right. And then I got mad at my self. I was so mad at myself for ever breaking up with you. I blamed myself. I'm sorry I hurt you Charlie. I can't stand to see you so hurt. Please forgive me."
Charlie took this all in very slowly, and eventually said, "I love you Jody. I have missed you too. You don't need to blame yourself, you really shouldn't. It's not your fault. And Jody, yes. I forgive you." He said.
Jody smiled and kissed him on the check. "Thank you." She said, and walked out of the room.
Charlie followed her. "Wait! Jody, I need to know something."
Jody turned around and cautiously said, "Yes?"
"I need to know how you feel. How you feel about me. How you feel about the way I feel about you. I just, I need to know." Charlie said
Jody gulped. "Charlie, to be perfectly honest, I don't know. I don't know how I feel about you. Or how I feel about the way you feel about me. I need some time. Ok?"
"Ok." Charlie said, coolly, trying not to show his anger, sadness, excitement, and everything else he was feeling right then. He turned around, went back into his room, and fell asleep on the bed, dreaming about how wonderful it would be if she loved him too, though he knew that would never happen.
Jody went into her room and locked the door. She plopped down on the bed and thought about the whole Charlie thing for a while. Pretty soon, she fell asleep.
When Cooper got home, he found Charlie sleeping on the bed in his room, wearing only boxers, with Jody snuggled up in his arms, wearing only a bra, Charlie's boxers, and a bracelet that said JODY on it.
