Chapter Eight
Ruby had told Joey that she just wanted her to be happy. With Charlie having informed her that she was about to sign up for a dating app too, there seemed to be no reasons left to not accept Chloe's invitation for dinner. So, why was she getting heading for the gallows? Chloe had been charming and funny. Not to mention gorgeous. She was everything someone could want in a woman. She had had an interesting life. They'd had lots to talk about. She just wasn't… Charlie.
At the front door, she hesitated, wondering if she should just cancel. Was it even fair to go on a date with someone when her head was such a mess? She closed her eyes. She thought all the way back to her first kiss with Charlie and everything it had meant. Taking a deep breath, she scolded herself, telling herself to pull herself together. She left her apartment and headed down to Salt to meet Chloe.
Ruby wasn't surprised to find the house empty when she arrived home, despite the fact that she had gone to a friend's house for dinner after school. Her family was breaking apart and yet her mother was nowhere to be seen. The whole issue was that she was so engrossed in work, she had completely checked out. She was absent from their family. And now, she was doing nothing to change anything. She was doing nothing to make anything better. She was doing nothing to restore their family, their happiness.
"You look beautiful," Chloe said, when she and Joey were seated.
Joey thanked her and returned the sentiment. Just like the other day, she felt nervous and on display. Mac was working and her boyfriend, Colby, a colleague of Charlie's was at the bar, talking to her. Alex and Willow also happened to be having dinner together on the other side of the restaurant and they kept looking at her. For the first time since her childhood, she wished she didn't live in such a small town.
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked. "You seem distracted."
"Just a little nervous," Joey replied honestly.
Chloe reached out a hand, reassuring her. Joey smiled, forcing herself to focus and have a good time.
"So," she said. "Tell me more about yourself."
"Well, I live in a small town called Erinsborough," Chloe said. "Not dissimilar to this really, except there's no beach on our doorstep. It's kind of the same vibe though – everyone knows each other, we're all good neighbours, that sort of thing. And you know what they say – everyone needs good neighbours!"
"That's true!" Joey agreed. "And you have a big family?"
"I do," Chloe confirmed. "I have three brothers. Two of them live away in Adelaide. One's married with a couple of kids. The other one lives with his girlfriend. And my other brother is local to me. Like, we live on the same street. His lives with his husband and their daughter."
Joey smiled, appreciating Chloe's rainbow family.
"And their surrogate," Chloe added. "Who is my ex-girlfriend."
Joey chuckled.
"Wow," she commented. "Erinsborough really is like Summer Bay!"
Chloe grinned and sipped the glass of wine that Mac had brought over with the menus.
"Is this the date that Charlie was telling you about?" Alex asked her partner.
Willow frowned, hardly able to take her eyes off Joey and the blonde she was having dinner with. Alex reached a gentle hand across the table. Willow accepted her touch, still frowning.
"I feel like I gave Charlie bad advice," she fretted. "I told her that I didn't think Joey was ready to move on and now there she is, chatting away like she doesn't have a care in the world. I mean, what's going on, Alex? A couple of days ago, she was saying she wanted to be with Charlie. Why is she on a date?"
"I don't know, darling," Alex said patiently. "But it's nothing to do with us."
Willow looked frustrated.
"They're our friends!" she said quickly.
"They are," Alex agreed. "And we will love them and support them, no matter what. But if this is what Joey wants, to move on, we have to support her. And if that hurts Charlie, we will support her too."
Willow sighed heavily. Alex lifted her girlfriend's hand and kissed it.
"I love that you're so reasonable but it's kind of annoying too," Willow complained.
Alex laughed.
"And I love how deeply you care," she replied. "Even if it makes you a little reactive."
Charlie was sat in her car in the dark. She had been busy all day. Her heart was racing with anxiety and anticipation. Her mind was racing too, trying to work out everything she needed to do next. She tried to imagine everything and how it would play out. She was terrified that it was all going to go wrong. Taking a deep breath, she exited the car and let herself into the house.
"Ruby!" she called up the stairs.
She heard her daughter switch off her music and come stomping down the stairs.
"Rough day at work?" the teenager asked sarcastically.
"We need to talk," Charlie said, gesturing for her to sit.
Joey excused herself to the bathroom. She wasn't surprised when Willow joined her immediately.
"So, what's going on?" her friend asked urgently.
"Well, I was planning on peeing," Joey said, deliberately ignorant.
Willow folded her arms, waiting impatiently.
"It's one date, Will," Joey told.
"Two dates," Willow corrected. "I heard about your little drink yesterday."
"From who?" Joey asked.
"Charlie," her friend informed her. "She was pretty heartbroken."
Joey paused, a strange stabbing feeling in her chest at the news.
"She was?"
Willow nodded.
"I thought she didn't care," Joey said. "She said she was going on Tinder."
"She is so far from Tinder, Jo."
Joey sighed heavily, leaning against the sinks.
"Who is this girl, Joey?" Willow asked, leaning beside her. "Are you really ready to move on?"
Joey shrugged, admitting that she didn't know.
"She's nice. She asked me out. Ruby said she didn't mind. I thought I might as well."
She looked at her friend.
"You obviously object," she added.
Willow put her arm around her, plastering a smile on her face.
"I don't object," she promised. "I want you to be happy. I'm just not sure you are."
"I don't know what I am," Joey admitted. "Although I am still busting for the loo!"
"Go!" Willow said urgently, laughing. "Go!"
Ruby stared at her mother for several moments, unsure of what to say.
"Well?" Charlie said. "I mean, what do you think?"
"I don't know…" Ruby said. "I mean, you're changing everything…"
"Everything's changed already," Charlie pointed out. "This is just… permanent."
"And big," Ruby said. "It's really big."
"I don't want us all to keep hurting anymore," Charlie told her.
"I get it," Ruby said. "I get it."
She reached out and hugged her mother for the first time in too long.
Willow returned to her table. Alex immediately wanted to know what she and Joey had been discussing in the toilets. Willow took a long sip of her cocktail and glanced back over to where Joey had resumed her dinner with Chloe.
"I don't think she's into her," she confirmed.
"You don't?" Alex asked.
Willow shook her head.
"I think she'd like to be but…"
"It's Charlie," Alex understood.
"It's Charlie," Willow agreed.
Across the room, Joey was feeling more confused than ever. The conversation with Willow had not helped.
"So, those are your friends, right?" Chloe asked. "The one who dashed into the bathroom right after you and the other one who kept looking over here?"
Joey laughed, blushing shyly.
"Yeah, they're two of my best friends – Willow and Alex," she explained.
She looked over and waved. The couple waved back, a little embarrassed at having been caught looking over again.
"They're protective?" Chloe asked.
"Things have been a little… raw… lately," Joey revealed hesitantly.
"Because of your breakup?"
Joey nodded.
"We've been together so long, it's almost been like the whole town has needed counselling because we've split!" she tried to joke.
She sighed heavily and sipped her drink.
"It's been hard. I've moved out. We're co-parenting our daughter. She's struggling with us being apart. Our friends are trying to be fair to us both. We're trying to be civil to each other but it's awkward."
"You still love each other?" Chloe said.
The question caught Joey off guard. Her silence was interrupted by WhatsApp, her phone beeping in her pocket. It was from Charlie:
My darling Joey. Please come home. I need to ask you something. And it needs to be face to face. I want to make this work and I will do anything to make that happen. If you don't feel the same way, I will understand. But I needed to know I had tried. I am sorry if I am too late. All my love, Charlie xxxx
Joey stared at the message for several moments, hardly able to process the words. She looked up at Chloe, who was waiting expectantly. She looked back down at the message.
"I'm really sorry," she said. "I've got to go."
"Is something wrong?" Chloe asked.
"No, I just… I just shouldn't be here," Joey said, standing up. "Please let me pay for dinner."
"Don't worry about it," Chloe said. "I can put it on hotel expenses."
"No, please…"
Chloe caught hold of her hand.
"Go and get the love of your life back," she told her.
Joey smiled gratefully and left. Willow and Alex watched her go, exchanging concerned glances.
Charlie was pacing the lounge anxiously. Joey had read her message immediately and then gone on and offline constantly and she didn't know what that meant.
"Mum, you're going to exceed your daily step target in just in the next few minutes!" Ruby said. "Would you sit down?"
"What if she doesn't come?" Charlie said, sinking onto the sofa.
Ruby reached out and held her mother's hands.
"She's going to come," she said, more confidently than she felt. "She loves you. She never wanted to leave us. Now you're giving her a reason, she's going to come back."
Charlie took a deep breath, watching the clock and the door. She just hoped that Joey would return sometime soon.
Ten minutes later, Joey was outside the place she still called home. In the taxi, she had read and reread Charlie's message over and over again. Her heart was threatening to escape her chest. She didn't know what to expect. What was it that Charlie wanted to ask her? The message indicated that it was something good, that she wanted to try again. But Joey was frightened of all the obstacles. Charlie had become so stubborn in recent years, not the soft, gentle woman that she had fallen in love with. She didn't want to fight. She just wanted to fall in love. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, not wanting to barge into a place she didn't live anymore. She heard hurried movement on the other side before Ruby quickly opened up.
"Mum-J!" her daughter greeted happily, pulling her into a tight hug.
"Hi, darling," Joey said, kissing the top of her head. "Your Mum sent me a text."
"I know," Ruby said, welcoming her inside. "I'll um… I'll get you both some drinks. Let you talk."
She scuttled off into the kitchen, leaving them alone. Joey closed the front door, coming face to face with Charlie, who looked sick with nerves.
"Hi," Joey said.
"Hi," Charlie replied.
"I got your message."
"Thank you for coming," Charlie said. "I wasn't sure if…"
"I'd have to be a real bitch not to come after words that heartfelt," Joey replied.
Charlie looked down, twisting her hands together. Joey recognised it as her most nervous habit. She stepped forward, rescuing Charlie's fingers.
"What did you want to ask me?" she asked.
"Well, first I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry," Charlie said. "I dropped the ball. I took you for granted. I got my promotion and I started to think too much of myself. I thought I was so important, going to work and solving crimes that I didn't think I needed to put in any effort at home. I forgot about what was really important – you, us, Ruby. You were working so hard and yet you were always here, keeping the house going, keeping Ruby going, keeping me going and I never even noticed. I never thanked you for it. It suddenly became like it was my right, rather than the privilege it actually was. I got complacent and I am so truly sorry for all of it."
"I forgive you," Joey said. "And thank you for acknowledging it. And I'm sorry too. I could have and should have handled things better."
"It's not your fault. You tried. I know you tried. So, really the other thing I wanted to say was that I love you," Charlie continued. "I have loved you every single day of my life since we were teenagers. You and Ruby are the best things to ever have happened to me. You're my soul mate. You've made my life complete."
"I love you too, Charlie," Joey said honestly. "I've missed you so much these past few weeks. I didn't want to leave and I wish I had been able to find a way to stay."
"I understand," Charlie said. "I didn't because I was being stubborn and angry but I do now. I understand why you left. And I'm sorry I put you in that position."
They were holding hands now and standing close together.
"So, my question…" Charlie said, her nerves intensifying.
She glanced towards the kitchen. She couldn't see her but she knew Ruby was hovering in there, listening in. Taking a deep breath, she bent down onto one knee, reaching for the ring box in her box.
"Joey Collins, will you marry me?"
Joey stared at her. Charlie felt like hours, days and weeks were passing with no answer.
"Just say yes, Mum-J!" Ruby squeaked from the kitchen.
It startled Joey into life. She shook her head. For a moment, Charlie thought it was a rejection.
"I mean, yes!" she said. "Of course I'll marry you but…. But I thought you didn't want to get married?"
Charlie stood up. She was trembling.
"I was just being lazy," she apologised. "I don't want to be like that anymore, Joey. I just thought before that we'd been together for so long, what was the point? But there is a point. It's me and you..."
"And me!" Ruby interjected.
"And Ruby," Charlie agreed. "We're a family. We're… we're us. Why wouldn't we get married? Why wouldn't we have the most amazing day, celebrating our love, our relationship, our family?"
Joey didn't bother to wipe her tears away.
"So, this is really what you want?" she asked. "Me? Us?"
"Forever," Charlie promised.
"Then let's do this," Joey said.
Charlie slipped the beautiful, diamond ring on Joey's finger. Then she pulled her close, kissing her more passionately than they had kissed in over a year. Ruby jolted them apart by setting off a party popper.
"Sorry!" the teenager apologised. "Please continue."
Joey chuckled, wrapping her arms around Charlie's neck. She wondered how she had survived so long without the love of her life, both before and after she had left her.
"I have another surprise," Charlie said.
"Seriously, what have you guys been cooking up?" Joey asked.
"I'm not in on this one," Ruby said honestly.
Charlie gestured for them to join her on the sofa. She pulled out an envelope from her bag and handed it to Joey, who opened it cautiously. Her mouth hung open before she handed it silently to Ruby, who stared at and then screamed.
"Are you serious?" she said repeatedly, making Charlie laugh.
"Charlie, have you really booked this?"
Charlie had not only spent the afternoon choosing an engagement ring for Joey but she had had booked a three week holiday for the three of them to the UK.
"We said we'd do this trip two years ago," Charlie confirmed. "It's overdue, isn't it? And it seems like the perfect time for the three of us to have a well earned break."
Joey hugged her. Ruby joined them.
"I swear, this is the best day of my life!" she declared.
Joey rested against Charlie's chest, feeling her heart beating. She thought it was probably the best day of hers as well.
"I love you," she whispered.
"I love you too," Charlie whispered back.
THE END
Thank you so much to each and every one of you for reading and reviewing this story. I really appreciate your support and your feedback. I am in the middle of writing another story – Charlie/Joey and Willow/Alex based. It will take a little while to post, as I am only on chapter six and I like to be a little way ahead before I start posting but it's called Unravelling so look out for it! Love, IJKS xxx
