Chapter 76

Charlie sat at the dinner table tapping his foot uncontrollably. He felt his palms beginning to become warm and moist, though the early winter air was chilling, even inside his home. He realized this as a chill ran down his back, though he wasn't quite sure if it was the cold or his nerves. Sue was on her way, so despite his efforts to save money on the electric bill, he turned up the heat to seventy degrees.

The dinner he had prepared was nearly done, with only about eight minutes left on the lasagna Bella had helped him put together earlier in the day. She had been surprised by his willingness to go out of the box of his typical meal preparations, but thought it was simply a nice gesture for Sue. A large bowl of freshly made salad and home made garlic bread sat on the counter, awaiting the lasagna's completion.

Charlie took in a deep breath a threw two wine glasses on the table, placing a bottle Sue's favorite wine in the middle of them. He glanced briefly into a small mirror thatching on the wall in the living room before returning to the kitchen to wait some more. The clock ticked slowly, each one digging deeper into his mind. He found himself biting his fingernails and cracking his knuckles compulsively.

Finally, a sound of squeaking breaks and tires coming to a hault in the dirt caught his attention. Charlie's stomach tightened and he cleared his throat. Sue entered a moment later, immediately smelling the dinner he had prepared for her.

"Charlie, wow!" Sue exclaimed, "That smells delicious."

He smiled, "Well, I know it's one of your favorites."

Sue hugged him and gave him a kiss before throwing her jacket neatly over the back of the couch.

The two of them headed into the kitchen, where Charlie pulled her seat out and went to the counter, " Salad?" he asked.

"Please," she said.

" Lasagna just has a minute to go," he told her.

"This is so nice, Charlie," Sue said, "You didn't have to make all this."

He shrugged, " I figured you were sick of Friday night pizza."

She smiled, "I like our Friday night pizza dates."

Charlie smiled and placed the salad in front of Sue, giving her several dressing options. She helped herself to Italian.

The oven beeped and Charlie quickly grabbed a pair of oven mitts and placed the lasagna on a pair of square hot plates, before helping himself to a plate of salad. He joined Sue at the table.

"Charlie, I didn't know you were secretly a chef," she joked, "You've been holding out on me."

He laughed, " Bella helped me."

"She loves you very much."

He nodded and took a bite of his salad, then looked at their empty glasses. "Oh, the wine..." Charlie stood up and poured each of them a half of a glass of Cabernet.

"So, the Mariners tickets went on sale the other day," Sue told him, "I got us tickets to a game in May."

Charlie grinned, "Thanks. I hope you didn't spend too much."

Sue shook her head, "I don't know how good the seats will be, but I thought it would be fun. I haven't been to a professional ball game since I was a little girl."

"Well, the hot dogs are about eight dollars more than they were years ago."

Sue laughed, "I guess we'll have to eat before we go then." She continued to eat her salad until only a few stray pieces of lettuce were on her plate.

Charlie left his half eaten, eager for the real meal. He stood up to clear their salad bowls.

"I can get it, Charlie," Sue offered.

"It's fine," he said, "Did you want more salad?"

"I think I'm ready for a hunk of that lasagna."

"Well, I hope it's good," Charlie laughed, "This is the first time I've made it."

"I have faith," she smiled.

"If not, then we'll get pizza." He cut out a large slice for Sue, and them himself, decorating the edge of each of their plates with a slice of garlic bread that had been smothered in cheese.

Sue used her fork to cut off a piece, "The moment of truth," she said with a smile.

Charlie watched eagerly as Sue took a bite of the first piece. She chewed and swallowed, giving an approving thumbs up as she did so, which made Charlie smile. "Excellent," she told him.

"Good," he said, "Now I at least know it's not going to kill us."

Sue laughed and took a small sip of wine. "You know, Charlie. I'm really happy you decided to let Billy bring you into the Quileutes."

"I think it's probably best for both us, and the situation."

"Are you happy about it?"

"Yeah. I feel like I'll belong somewhere... finally."

Sue touched his hand, "You've always belonged."

Charlie let a small smile creep onto his face. He patted Sue's hand with his other one, always feeling a little awkward when trying to show his affection, though that didn't mean he enjoyed it any less.

The rest of the dinner went as planned, with lots of conversation, a few laughs and to Charlie's satisfaction, empty dishes and full stomachs.

"What a meal," Sue said, "Thank you so much. You really didn't have to cook for me."

Charlie smiled shyly and placed the dirty dishes and silverwear into the sink. He began to feel the same heart palpatations as before, and his palms had gotten increasingly sweaty again.

Sue sat smiling at him and brought her empty wine glass to the sink as she finished the last drop. "What?" She asked, sensing Charlie was a little off.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat again, "Well, Sue..." He wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead, "I just, well..."

Sue waited to hear what he was going to say, now overly curious at his nervousness.

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box before getting down on one knee, "I never planned on getting remarried, but I do intend to spend the rest of my days here with you," he looked down at the floor for a moment, "If you'd like that."

Sue stared at him with wide eyes.

"So, I guess what I'm asking is," Charlie opened the box and inside sat an elegant diamond ring, "Will you marry me?"