Author's note
Thank you very much for all the comments, they mean a lot to me and they are a great encouragement to keep going.
Stay tuned!
Charlie's POV
I sigh as I close the door behind me. I have a whole weekend without Alex ahead of me and I already miss him.
On my way to the living room I grab myself another cup of coffee. Like every morning I glance at the unsigned divorce papers on top of the Living room table and like every morning I can't bring myself to put my signature on the dotted line.
It has been three month and I haven't even taken of my wedding ring, except for work. I guess that part of me is still holding out hope that we can work out our differences, that he will fight for us, but nothing has happened yet and I am unsure if it ever will.
I sigh again and make my way to the couch. It's my day off and I don't know what to do with myself. Just as I get comfortable, my phone rings and I fish it out of my pocket to answer it. "Hello?"
"Hey Charlie, I am sorry to disturb you, but can you come into work? Nigel has called in sick and I can't reach anyone else" Nora Clayton, my best friend and co-worker replies.
"No worries, I am on my way." I assure her, before hanging up. In record time I get dressed for work and I am actually quiet happy to have something to do. I would go stir crazy in this empty house.
I park in the Employees parking lot at Train and Rescue and get out. Nora just stepped out and is greeting me with a big smile. "I am glad you could come in. It has been a crazy day!" She says and lights her cigarettes.
"No worries. Bass has Alex and I have nothing better to do" I answer.
"He is in the city?" Nora questions with a raised eyebrow and a stony face. Nora and Bass never got along and it was mutual dislike on first sight.
"Yeah, he got back yesterday" I reply and make my way towards the front door. "I will see you in there!" I get a nod from her and I enter our office.
Train and Rescue is a company which specializes in rescuing animals and training dogs for the Police. I actually graduated with a Major in Business from the University of Chicago, but couldn't find a job. I had a family to support and we weren't getting by with only Bass' s contractor salary. The owner, Mr. Darren Clayton is my mother's neighbor and Nora's dad. He approached me, asking if I could clean cages for him again every day for a couple of hours. I used to work for him after school and on school holidays too.
Six years down the road I am still here. I slowly moved up the ranks, from cage cleaning to dog training and Animal rescue. I really like the work and don't want to go back into the world of business. I can't imagine being stuck behind a desk for the rest of my working life. This job gets me out and about and Alex loves coming here after school and play with the dogs.
"Hey Charlie" Kayla waves, from her office as I walk past. She is a lovely 53 year old African American woman, who loves fluorescent hair and nail colors. Even though she is the nicest person in the world, she runs this office with a drill sergeants attitude and you really don't want to get on her bad side. We all like to keep her happy, because her angry side is quiet scary.
I wave back at her and make my way to the back yard, where Ninja, a German Sheppard, has her house. Ninja is our office dog. Visiting her is the first thing I do when I get to work, and she knows that I always have treats in my pockets.
Just as I reach her, Mason, a student who works for us part time, shouts "Charlie we have a call!" I nod at him and pat Ninja on her head.
"Sorry girl, duty calls, but you and me will have some one on one time later on" I assure her and throw a dog biscuit in the air. Ninja jumps and catches it. With one last pat on her head I make my way to the Rescue car.
"Hey, we are from Train & Rescue. You called about an escaped snake?" Mason says as we get to the front desk of Tom Neville's Insurance Agency.
"Good that you are here…That thing is a monster... Really big and scary" The blond receptionist informs us and guides us towards the back of the office.
I groan inwardly. Big Snakes and I don't get along that well. Every time I am in the vicinity of one, they seem to get aggressive.
"I will handle it. You just hold the bag" Mason says and I shoot him a grateful look. I was bitten once by a rattlesnake in my own back yard. I didn't see it as I was clearing away weed and it bit into my forearm. Thankfully Bass was home that day and he was able to catch the snake and drive me to the hospital in time.
We walk into the room that the receptionist motioned to and I nearly start to laugh. It is a small Scarlet King snake and isn't big and scary at all. Scarlet Kingsankes are not venomous and get up to 1 meter long, but this one is only about 30 centimeters, far from the monster the secretary described.
We quickly remove the snake and bag it. On our way out of the office someone behind us calls "Charlie?" and I turn around and come face to face with my high school crush Jason Neville. "I thought it was you. What are you doing here?"
"Hey Jason" As he shoots me a smile, I blush a little more. "I rescued a snake from the good people of this office."
"I needed saving…" I hear the secretary mumble, before she makes her way back to the front desk.
"That snake must have been bored to death with all that insurance talk!" Jason replies with a small smirk.
"JASON" I hear a voice shout from another office and seconds later Tom Neville comes through the door. "You got those files?"
"Yes, dad!" Jason looks at his dad before looking back at me. "Dad, this is Charlie Matheson, we went to high school together."
"Ahh you are the Ben's kid, right?" Tom questions.
"Yes I am" I have to wince slightly at my maiden name. And I feel a pang of guilt that I didn't correct him.
"Ah how is he?" the older Neville probes further.
"Actually he died a few years back." I look over my shoulder and see Mason waiting for me. "I am sorry but I have to go. It was nice to meet you Mr. Neville; good to see you Jason." I shake hands with both and then walk out.
I don't really like talking about my father's death. I was at school when it happened. My Dad had worked the whole night through and was just on his way home, when his car was high-jacked and he was shot. First responders didn't get there quickly enough and he died on the way to the hospital.
They found the high-jacker a couple of months later and he is now serving life sentence without parole. I was 15 and the last thing I told my Dad that he was ruining my life, because he didn't want to let me go to a Party that was happening that weekend.
"Hey Charlie" Jason calls after me and as I turn around I see him coming with long strides towards me.
"Yeah?" I question.
"Uhm… Are you free tomorrow night? If so, would you maybe want to get some dinner with me to catch up?" He asks and my heart stops. Jason Neville is asking me out!
"Uhm… Can I call you?" I say and he immediately hands me his card.
"My private mobile number is on the back." Jason replies and then turns around to walk back inside.
The rest of our shift is very busy. We go from one call to the next and don't catch a break. 10 hours later I finally get to go home and fall straight into bed.
"Hey mom" Alex says as he calls me the next morning.
"Hey… How are you?" I question and push myself further up in bed. A look at the clock tells me it's 10.30 am and I groan. I slept 12 hours and only woke because my phone was ringing. Today is Sunday and I planned on doing some yard work and get the washing done.
"I am good. Guess what?" Alex replies enthusiastically.
"What darling?" What ever he has to tell me it must big something good.
"We are going to the Comic and Games convention today. Tyler and Darryl are coming too, even Uncle Miles said he will join us" I can almost hear him bouncing up and down of excitement and smile. I wanted to take him, but since this is the only weekend Bass is home, I wanted Alex to spend some time with his father.
"Wow, that is great. Are you excited?" I question.
"Yeahhhhhhhh I am" He replies in a loud scream that I have to hold the phone away from my ear. "Oh…wait Mom. Dad wants to talk to you!"
"Okay darling" I tell him.
"Charlie?" Bass's rough voice comes through the speaker.
"Yeah?" I say, trying to get my heart rate back under control. My stupid body betrays me every time I talk to him. I feel like I am 18 again, getting a phone call from the guy I am head over heels for. I still love him and I miss him, but I just cannot continue the way it has been.
"I hope it is okay that I take him, instead of you. He really wanted to go" Bass says in a quiet voice.
"No worries, that is fine. Have fun" I reply.
"Yeah…ughh thanks" He answers and then hangs up. Leaving me looking at the phone in confusion. I didn't even get a 'See ya'.
I go through my morning routine and then gather all the dirty clothes to put them in to the washing machine. As I go through my work pants pockets, I find Jason's card. I totally forgot that he gave this to me.
After debating with myself weather to call him or not, for the better half of an hour, I finally pick up the phone and dial his number.
"Hey Jason?" I question as he picks up "Uhhh… This is Charlotte…uhm Charlie."
"Hey Charlie, here I thought you weren't going to call and I had to track you down." Jason answers and makes me smile.
"Well…sorry about the long wait" I reply, not knowing what else to say.
"So dinner?" He questions.
"You are very persistent…how do you know I am not calling to tell you I can't make it?" I answer in a teasing tone, before I can catch myself.
"You could have easily not called and left me wondering if I lost my charm!" He replies without missing a beat.
I have to laugh out loud at that. "Actually… Can we do Lunch instead?" Lunch isn't as formal as Dinner. And in my head I keep repeating 'It is just a meeting between old friends. It is not a date.'
"Lunch it is. I will pick you up at 12.30. Can you give me your address?" Jason replies and I rattle of my address before hanging up.
Love it? Hated it? Leave a comment!