The sky was darkening, changing from a beautiful blue color to a mixture of orange, yellow and pink as the sun disappeared. Things were winding down; everyone was full and lethargic, not quite ready to call it a night. Citronella candles were placed strategically between the remaining groups of people, aiding in keeping the bugs away as well as illuminating the darkening surroundings. There was a soft, quiet murmur amongst the group, each to their own quiet conversations as the few remaining children played before us.
Mrs. Hitchkins, from the fifth floor, came around with a basket of muffins, trying desperately to keep them from going to waste.
"Jenna, Phoebe, could you please take these muffins? I know you've had your fair share of food today, but Mrs. Ellen McPherson was kind enough to bake these, even though she's suffering with a touch of the flu." Beside us, I could see Rainey shiver. "I wouldn't want her efforts to go unnoticed."
"Mrs. Hitchkins, Mrs. McPherson baked like four dozen muffins," Rainey stated with a wrinkle in her brow. "There are six muffins left. I hardly think her efforts have gone unnoticed."
"And I couldn't possibly eat another thing," Jenna said, patting her stomach for emphasis.
Mrs. Hitchkins cut her eye at Rainey, granting her a disapproving look before giving a terse nod and turning her back to leave.
"Wait, Mrs. Hitchkins," a little voice called, a voice I'd finally come to feel comfortable around. Jenna, Rainey, Mrs. Hitchkins and I turned in the direction of the voice, and I could help but smile as Charlie ran over to us wearing a pair of Elmo pajamas with matching slippers. In her arms, she carried a little tray.
Finally reaching where we sat, she took a second to catch her breath before speaking. "I have something to give you." Walking over to me, Charlie placed the tray on my lap, gracing me with a little smile before uncovering a tray of brownies. "I baked these myself, but I guess I baked too many because there were some left over from the barbeque. If you could give this to Mrs. McPherson for me, that would make me very happy. And then I can take her muffins so that they won't go to waste."
Looking quizzically at the child, Mrs. Hitchkins spoke. "Hon, I would be happy to give Mrs. McPherson your brownies, and in return, I'll give you two muffins. That should be enough for such a little girl."
I noticed that the questioning look remained on the older lady's face as Charlie handed her the tray of brownies and reached for two muffins in return. Her gaze was chilled, making me shudder with its intensity. It seemed as if Mrs. Hitchkins were staring at some abhorred thing that had suddenly caught her curiosity. It made me wonder why, exactly, such a look was directed at such a sweet little girl.
"Thank you, Mrs. Hitchkins," Charlie said with a slight smile, but I could tell the gaze the lady gave her made her feel uncomfortable. With her eyes still on Mrs. Hitchkins, Charlie slid into my lap, her back coming to rest against my chest as she cradled the two muffins in her hands.
Rainey took notice of the awkward situation, glaring at Mrs. Hitchkins for making Charlie feel so uncomfortable.
With a huff, Rainey stood, grabbing the basket of muffins from Mrs. Hitchkins' hands, snapping the old woman's attention away from the squirming kid on my lap.
"Why don't I try and get rid of these while you go ahead and give those to Mrs. McPherson," Rainey said, nodding her head in the directions of the brownies.
With a nod, and one last glance at Charlie, Mrs. Hitchkins left.
I could feel Charlie's weight sag against me as she let out a sigh of relief.
"What did I do?" she asked, her voice so soft and broken, it tore at my heart.
My arms instinctively wrapped around her, cradling her small body to me as my lips pressed against her temple.
"You didn't do anything, sweetie," I whispered, kissing her again as I swept the curly hair from her cheek.
"Then, why did she look at me like that? I just wanted to be nice. I just wanted to share my brownies."
"Aww, angel, you were very nice," Jenna spoke, reaching over to wipe the tears from Charlie's cheek. Charlie shied away from Jenna's touch, cuddling closer to me. Jenna took no notice of the behavior as she continued with a smile. "I think mean old Mrs. Hitchkins is just tired from today's activities."
Charlie stared in the direction the lady had walked, her eyes glazed over as I imagined she was lost in her own little thoughts. Rainey stepped toward us, turning her head left and right before spotting what she was looking for.
"Here," she spoke softly, gently taking the two muffins from Charlie. "I'll take these. If Mrs. McPherson has the flu, I doubt we'd want you eating them. I've seen that lady cook before, and it's disgusting when she isn't even sick." Shuddering, Rainey walked over to the trash bin, tossing the remaining muffins into the receptacle.
Charlie turned sideways on my lap, leaning to rest her head against my chest. Again, as if by instinct, my hands smoothed over her curly hair as my lips kissed her forehead. I could feel relaxing, her body losing some of its tension.
"You okay?" I whispered, leaning slightly to view her face. Her eyes still had an eerie glaze to them, and I could feel my heart beat quicken. "Charlie?"
"I'm okay, Phoebe," she spoke softly, her little arms holding me tightly. "…I guess."
"It's all right. It's like Jenna said – Mrs. Hitchkins is just sleepy."
"And mean," Rainey provided, patting Charlie's leg with a grin. "Don't let her bother you, kid."
Charlie smiled slightly, her eyes sliding closed.
We all sat in silence for awhile, listening to the quiet murmurs, the teenagers playing cards, the old men getting drunk off of homemade liquor. Jenna and Rainey spoke quietly, including me into their conversation once in awhile, though I wasn't really paying attention.
Mrs. Hitchkins may very well have been tired – everyone that participated in the cookout was a bit lethargic – but that didn't explain the crazy look she gave Charlie. For that glare to have made me, an adult, feel a bit unnerved, I could only imagined what a child Charlie's age must have felt to have such a look directed at her.
She was a just little girl.
Charlie's weight sagged against me, and I knew she'd fallen asleep. What I didn't know was where this child lived or where her parents were. Glancing at my watch told me it was nearly eleven p.m. and not a parent came down to see if their beautiful little girl was ready for bed.
I regretted having to wake her, but I needed to find out where she lived so that I could at least carry her to her apartment.
"Charlie?" I whispered, smoothing a finger down her petal-soft cheek. She squirmed a little, burrowing further into the cradle of my arms.
"I'm beat," Rainey said around a yawn, leaning her head against Jenna's shoulder.
"Phoebe, where does Charlysia live? I know we've gone over this before, but I honestly haven't seen her before today." Jenna frowned, studying the face of the child sleeping in my lap.
Call it protective, but my hold tightened slightly, even though I knew Jenna would never hurt her. Something in me just wanted to do everything I could to protect Charlie, to make sure that she would never feel fear or face harm, at least in my presence.
"I don't know where she lives, Jen. I was just thinking about why her parents haven't come to look for her yet."
With another yawn, Rainey looked up at me from her position on her sister's shoulder. "Should we start knocking on doors or something?" she asked softly.
Jenna shook her head. "Why don't we start by asking her where she lives?"
"But some kids are wary of that," Rainey spoke, lifting her head to look at Jenna. "You're a stranger asking her where she lives. That's like some guy off the street asking her to help him find his lost puppy."
Another shudder ran through me.
My arms, once again, tighten around Charlie at the thought.
"But if you think about it, this little girl has been with us all day. She's been clinging to Phoebe's side since the beginning of this barbeque. Phoebe has no idea who this kid is or where she came from, so technically, Charlysia's been hanging around strangers all day."
"And she changed into her pajamas," Rainey stated, drawing out attention to the Elmo attire. "She has to live in one of these apartment units."
I sighed as worry started to sear through my stomach.
"Charlie," I tried again, this time a little firmer. "Wake up, sweetie."
Her eyes fluttered open as she searched for my face. "What's wrong?" she asked, her baby voice hoarse with sleep.
"Sweetie, I need to know where to take you so that you can sleep in your bed."
"Why can't I sleep here? With you?"
"Charlie, we can't sleep outside all night," I said with a smile.
"I know that, silly. I just want to stay the night with you. My parents won't mind."
I looked to Jenna and Rainey, seeing them both give me a guarded look.
"Well, Charlie, I would need to speak to them. They need to know where you are."
"No, they don't."
"Yes, they do," Rainey added. "You're like three-years-old. There's no way they'd let their baby stay over someone's house without them knowing."
"Actually, I'm four-and-a-half, and they wouldn't mind at all if I stayed over Phoebe's house." Her eyes found mine, that firm gaze back as she held contact. "And besides, my parents aren't home right now. My nanny is here, but I can just relieve her for the night so that I could stay with you."
My eyes looked to Jenna as I silently asked her what to do.
I knew I was being foolish. This four-year-old child needed to be with her parents and I, as a complete stranger, had no right to even consider keeping her for the night. That action would be considered kidnapping, and the last thing I needed was something else added to my already-tarnished record.
The irrational side of me, however, wanted this little girl to stay with me. I was drawn to her, like she was my little girl. I didn't want to send her off to a nanny when I could take care of her, at least for the night. Her imploring eyes wanted this of me, and I'm sure my face showed I wanted it just as badly.
"Maybe… you could talk to her nanny? Have her nanny call her parents and speak to you," Jenna offered.
Charlie screamed 'don't!' at the same time Rainey yelled 'are you crazy!' making both Jenna and me jump at their abruptness.
"Why would her parents give their permission… over the phone… for a stranger to watch their kid? What's wrong with you guys? Have you been drinking Mert's homemade liquor or something?" Rainey asked indignantly as she nodded in the direction of the inebriated old men. "Charlysia should just go home to her nanny, wait for her parents to get home, and when they're able to meet Phoebe face-to-face, maybe then you should ask if you could baby-sit their kid."
Charlie looked up at me, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"No, Phoebe, please. They won't have a problem with me staying with you. Trust me. I know my parents; Rainey doesn't." Her eyes shot an angry glance in her direction before returning to their softness as she looked at me. "I wanna stay with you," she said, her arms wrapping around my neck as her head fell to my shoulder.
I felt torn.
I wanted her with me… but Rainey was right.
Just as I was about to agree with Rainey, Charlie's head rose as she yelled "Daddy's home! Be right back!"
Charlie ran around the corner, into the building; Jenna, Rainey and I traded puzzled looks. Finally, Rainey jumped up, running in the direction in which Charlie had gone, Jenna and I following behind her.
We could hear Charlie speaking to someone as we raced in that direction. His voice was deep, smooth, almost making me feel calm in the anticipation of meeting him.
'Go ahead, baby, and tell Phoebe I said 'thank you,'' was all we heard before the ding of the elevator signaled the closing door.
Charlie raced around the corner, nearly bumping into us as her excitement bubbled over.
"He said it's okay!"
Charlie jumped up and down before hugging me.
With a briefly shared look, Jenna, Rainey and I looked in the direction of the elevator.