The next morning came quickly. After Liza expressed concerns that she should come with them to help, Charles reassured her that they would be fine. In doing so, he was also trying to convince himself, but tried to ignore that and be strong for her. He wanted her to be as far away from this as possible, to have a normal day at the office.
"It's going to be fine," Charles said again, making an assertion he wished to manifest.
Liza kissed him goodbye and her heart immediately felt heavy again as he walked away. It felt like something critical, a missing piece of herself was evaporating when she didn't see him for a while. It occurred to her that she had never let herself love anyone this much. It was dangerous to go there, as she feared being left alone one day.
As Liza strolled down the street, lost in her thoughts, she was shocked to see the advertisement was already out. The shots of her and Josh at the bar had made the final cut, and they were everywhere. After rushing to work, she had Lauren, their PR assistant, call Shelly to see if it could be stopped.
Shelly said it was too late, the ad campaign had gone national. Looking at the pictures, she and Josh appeared that they were sharing a deeply emotional moment of contentment. She knew it would break Charles' heart. She had to find him and explain. Liza remembered what she was thinking about when those photos were taken. How she felt dressing in a youthful way that day, getting people to believe she wasn't just an old has-been divorced mother. The confidence that rediscovery had given her had been present in her mind as she took those pictures. But she shouldn't have let Josh say all that he did at the bar setting, now seeing the way he leaned in closer made her sad. Liza knew Josh still loved her, and it was wrong to never correct him. In her heart, she knew it was selfish, but she lacked confidence after what happened with Pauline. Liza needed a pick-me-up, and feeling young again for an afternoon had done that. Josh thought it was more, and now everyone else would think that too.
She had to call Kelsey, to keep Charles from seeing it. After encouraging Kelsey to dodge any billboards and throw away any newspapers, they made it on the plane and to their meetings.
She received a text from Charles confirming they were leaving soon. "Taking off. Love you and see you soon," it read.
They would be in meetings all day and maybe he wouldn't see the ad.
Meanwhile, Liza scrambled trying to figure out what to do next. Against all reasonable thinking, she decided to book a trip. She had to explain what happened.
….
After a short but expensive flight, she took a cab to Charles' and Kelsey's hotel. It was evening by the time she got there.
He was surprised to see her and shared how their meetings went. They had gotten everything they wanted. Charles shared that everything had gone well and they were celebrating their win. Liza smiled, realizing they might be okay after all.
He offered to get her a drink and she settled in by Kelsey.
At Kelsey's urging, Liza agreed to not bring it up right away. Kelsey was right, they needed to celebrate. Charles needed a break from constant stress and anxiety. Their conversation and celebratory drinks continued, and soon Liza started to forget why she was even there.
Although the ad crisis was in the back of her mind, spending time with Charles always relaxed her. Liza could see it relaxed him too, and she pulled her chair closer to him. Visibly uncomfortable, Kelsey decided to give them their privacy.
Charles turned to her, still grinning. "Hi," he said softly, leaning closer.
"Hi," Liza said back. "I missed you so much. I'm sorry I didn't just come with you this morning."
"Well, you're here now. And that's what matters." He held her hand and looked into her eyes. She could see how much he needed her by his side tonight, and put aside her original reason for being here. Maybe it would all blow over and she had overreacted for nothing. He had moved heaven and earth to keep them afloat, and she needed to give him this one night to be happy without the sky falling again. This was the first time they could be out together as a couple with nothing causing him concern. Liza hadn't seen him this happy in a long time, and she decided not to ruin it.
"Let's go to the room. The night is still young," Liza whispered in his ear. He agreed without hesitation.
They stumbled out of the elevator, into the hallway, tangled in each other's arms as they laughed for no reason at all.
"Wait, your suitcase." Charles grabbed the handle and pulled it behind them. He fumbled around, trying to locate the keycard as she laughed. They finally reached the room, closing the door a little too suddenly and gasping at the slamming noise. They broke back into laughter.
She was surprised they even made it to the bed. All the worries of the past week were put behind them at this moment. That night, lost in each other's presence, they forgot about all of their troubles. Liza wanted to stay like this, in their secluded, private place together as long as possible. Even if it wasn't for long, she didn't plan on bursting their bubble too soon.
