B&B OF LOVE AND FUN-29
Hello everyone. So good to be here again. Thank you for all the reviews after last chapter. We are moving on. Warning about today's chapter- it will be soppy and sentimental. I know, that the story is called the B&B of love and fun, but today it's going to be a little different. Beryl is still on her honeymoon and Chelsie's new guests will strike a chord in them. See for yourself.
"Katie, you did this all by yourself?"
"Yes Mrs Carson. I wanted to prepare a special dinner for you and Mr Carson."
"Sweetie, you shouldn't overwork yourself that hard. You are still very weak after the flu."
"I feel fine now Mrs Carson and cooking for you was not tiring at all. You both took such good care of me, when I was ill and this is my way of saying thank you."
"I'm very touched...You will eat with us of course."
"If you want me there, I can leave you all alone if you prefer...So it could be more romantic.."
"Katie, you are a treasure...You are most welcome to stay...Me and Mr Carson are rarely romantic. In our age it's not so obvious, as with young people.."
"I don't want to sound too cheeky Mrs Carson, but I think that it's necessary in any age and I know, that Mr Carson is very much in love with you, even if he doesn't express it openly..."
"I cannot complain...But let's not show him, that you are aware of that Katie...He would feel embarrassed."
"Of course not Mrs Carson...Shall I tell Mr Carson that the dinner is ready?"-Katie asked, but before Elsie could reply, they both heard a well known baritone voice, coming from the hall:
"Is it Shepperd's Pie I smell?"
Elsie and Katie looked at each other and smiled. Charles's big appetite for food, was already a legend in the B&B and everyone learned to accept it.
"Yes Charles, come to the kitchen, Katie is just serving us dinner..."
"Well, well...It was worth to wait for the dinner all day..It smells delicious..."-Charles was all radiant..
"Katie prepared it for us..."
"She did? I don't often praise people, but you are doing a very good job...Are you strong enough to work? Maybe it will be better, if you will rest for a day or two more?"
"Thank you Mr Carson, but I'm really all right...I prepared everything for the arrival of tomorrow's guests..."
"Thank you...This will be something new here, won't it? So far, we didn't have family with children here before..."
"It's true Charles, we didn't...But we are prepared for those new experiences, aren't we?"
"Well, if you say so..."-Charles was rather reluctant about it..."You know how children can be...They create chaos..."
"We will manage...Katie, did Beryl called today, when we were doing shopping?"
"Yes Mrs Carson...She and Mr Mason are both very happy about their honeymoon..."
"I bet..."-Charles mumbled quietly, just that Elsie could hear him..Their eyes crossed and there were faint smiles on their faces, as they reminded themselves their own honeymoon...
"They were very curious, what was going on in the B&B"-Katie continued.."So I told them, that everything is fine and under control. I didn't even mention that I was ill"
"Very good of you Katie...Beryl would be worried and she should be relaxed and happy now..."-Elsie smiled to Katie..."Are you done yet? Did you have enough to eat?"
"Yes Mrs Carson...Thank you...If I could be excused now...I would like to go to sleep a little earlier... To be well rested for tomorrow."
"Of course Katie...You deserved to have a good rest...Good night and thank you once more.."
"Goodnight Mrs Carson, Mr Carson.."
Katie left and Elsie turned, just to see her husband taking another portion of the Shepherd's Pie...
"Well, well...What do I see here? I asked Katie few moments ago, if she had enough, but I can see that you don't..."
"Well, I can't help it...I've always loved the Shepherd's Pie very much...Especially that good..."
"Yes and unfortunately you did not marry a woman, who can make a prefect one for you..."
"Oh I don't mind, really...I have a wife who does other things perfectly..."-Charles smiled wickedly...
"Charles Carson...I see that you are in the good mood tonight.."
"Well, why shouldn't I be? Everything is going so well recently, let's just hope, that it will stay that way..."
"You are still worried about this family with children?"
"A bit...It's the first time, when we will have guests of that kind...Two children, if I remember correctly?"
"Yes, twins-boy and girl...They are eight...I asked Mrs Johnson and she assured me, that they will not cause any problems..."
"All parents think, that their children are not causing problems, when in reality...Well you know... I don't want our B&B to change into the playground..."
"Back to grumpy Charlie, huh? I preferred your earlier mood..."
"In that case Mrs Carson, I will pour some nice wine for us and I promise, that after that, my mood will be perfect..."
"It's a deal"
Few days later...
Even Charles, with all his earlier reservations, had to admit, that Mrs Johnson was not lying, when she was telling, that their children were well behaved. The 8 year old twins: Louis and Lily, caused no problems at all. They didn't fuss with the meals, they didn't make any noise and even during the afternoon tea, they were sitting quietly with their parents, in the living room, playing with their toys.
Of course for Charles, it was rather shocking, that the children were allowed to stay during the afternoon tea, but Elsie quickly explained him, that with middle class people, the habits were totally different, than in the case of aristocrats and that being a parent meant something else, than the famous "one hour per day".
Elsie was enjoying this visit too. Mr and Mrs Johnson were nice, not very demanding guests and the last one, which they were hosting without Beryl's presence, so Elsie was happy, that she and Katie were able to serve the guests on their own. She loved watching this family, their interactions with children. It was so different from Downton habits and it was enjoyable, to watch them together.
On one afternoon, when Katie after serving lunch to the guests, went to the village, to buy some things for herself, knowing, that she will not be needed for few hours, Elsie went to the bedroom, wanting to have a moment of peace for herself, enjoying the fact, that Charles was so nice, to wash the dishes after lunch. It was truly amazing, how sometimes he could transfer into a helping, warm man...
She stood by the window, enjoying the beautiful colors of an early fall, when she saw the whole Johnson family, leaving for a walk, that they intended to have after lunch. Elsie stood, watching how the father was tidying little Louis hat, making sure, that he was warm and how the mother interacted with her daughter holding her by her hand and laughing together about something...
Elsie was watching all this and suddenly she felt a well known rush of emotions, the emotions that she rarely let herself feel anymore...Because there was no use to regret long lost chances. Chances for having what the Johnsons were having...A family, children...Happiness...Even though Elsie never talked about it, deep down inside, sometimes she was still wishing, that it was something that she could have experienced...
She stood there, mesmerized by the sight, imagining, that instead of the Johnsons, she, Charles and there little ones were there, outside...She was so lost in that moment, that she didn't notice Charles coming to the room.
When he entered and saw what Elsie was looking at through the window, he swiftly understood the sadness on her face...After all, they knew each other so well, they could easily guess their own thoughts, they knew their best hidden secrets...It wasn't different this time...
One look was enough for Charles, to know why Elsie was sad and once again, he felt guilty...It was only his fault and his decision, to not marrying Elsie earlier, when there was still a chance to have all this...
He hated seeing this kind of sadness in Elsie's eyes, so he was immediately with her and when she noticed him, he simply took her in his arms and he was holding her tightly...Very tightly... At the moment, no words were needed...She was hurting and he was hurting and they both knew the cause of it...
His heart almost broke, when he felt, that she was shedding tears and even though it was not typical for him, he soon joined her...And they were both crying together, for the lost possibilities, that could never come back...They were standing like this for a longer while, not wanting to be apart, on the contrary, Charles was holding her closer and closer and she clung to him, with her whole body, that they seemed to be one...
Charles was the one who spoke first...
"I'm sorry Elsie, I'm so very sorry..."
"For what?"
"For depriving us of that...It could have been us...We could have had children, if only I decided to marry you earlier..."
"But back then, you weren't sure..."
"I was...From day one I was sure, but I was too stupid to realize it...I wasted my life, worrying about some insignificant things, like perfectly served dinner, while we could have it all"
"It's too late to change it now Charlie...It's not too late for you, but for me.."
"If it's too late for you, then it's also too late for me...We are one Elsie...And that's how it always will be..."
"Oh Charles...Did you ever imagine how it would be like? How our children would look like?"
"Yes...Many times...Especially late at night, when I couldn't fall asleep...Then I was imagining everything, every little detail-how many children we would have, what sex would they be, how would they look like, what their names would be...Everything..."
"It was the same for me Charlie...We will never know now how it would be, but there is one thing, that I was always certain of...That only you could be the father of my children...Nobody else, only you..."
Charles wiped her tears, which were streaming gently on her face and kissed both of her cheeks...She was touching his face with love...In this moment, they've shared sadness, regret, but they also felt very grateful, for having each other...
The emotions were so strong, that not knowing when, this tender moment transferred to their bed, when without any hesitation, or without reservations, about doing it in the middle of the day, they started to make love...
Their love making was extremely emotional, in many ways even more emotional, than it was during their wedding night...Charles was kissing and caressing Elsie, in the most tender way, that she could ever imagine, like he wanted to say "I'm sorry" with his kisses and touches, instead of his word.
Elsie was loving him passionately, like she wanted to pour all the emotions, buried so deep in her soul, into this moment...Like she wanted to forget that this dream was impossible to realize it, like she could imagine, that this love making will let them create a baby...
When they finished, he held her in his arms, still showering her with kisses and she felt, like he partly took away that inner pain from her...But not entirely...The sadness still didn't disappear from her face and it was visible...
"Elsie...My heart...Are you all right?"
"Yes Charlie...And if I'm not totally all right, I will be, because I have you...And that is the most precious treasure, that I've been given in life..."
Charles kissed her face...He would have given her the whole world if he could, so it caused a lot of pain to know that there was one thing that he was no longer able to give her...
"Elsie...I'm thanking God for you each day...We will never have children, but we do have each other and this is something that nobody can take away from us...I love you Els..."
"I love you too Charlie..."
Didn't I tell you? Soppy and sentimental...Ouch, but that's how my weekend is, so expect more of that tomorrow ;-) Elsie and Charles had their regrets, after seeing two lovely children-of course it had to be twins. I have a strange twins obsession and those of you, who read my other Chelsie stories, know that by now ;-) Anyway, I hope that you liked this chapter a bit and if so, your opinion is always welcome. Have a wonderful weekend!