Page 32 of When People Leave

Charlie

W henever Charlie had a problem, her favorite place to think—or not think—was the bathtub.

If she couldn’t figure something out, she’d turn on the water and throw in a few capfuls of bubble bath.

This morning was no exception. After a half hour of soaking, when the water had gotten cold enough to be uncomfortable, Charlie got out, wrapping a towel around herself.

At least the muscles in her back felt a little less tight, although she still hadn’t decided if it was a good idea to call those men.

Could their father have been alive all this time? And if so, no matter how her mother felt about him, they should’ve been allowed to decide if they wanted to get to know him. Mom, you’ve shattered our lives in countless ways. How can I grieve you when all I feel right now is anger?

“It’s addictive, isn’t it?” Abby said.

“Unfortunately,” Charlie said. “Where’s Morgan?”

“In Mom’s office. I have no idea what she’s doing, but she said not to interrupt her.”

Charlie barged into Carla’s office. Every book from the bookcase had been stacked on the floor like a tower of Lincoln Logs.

The closet door stood open. A broom, wrapping paper, an extra-long extension cord, a mouse trap, and a vacuum were strewn across the floor.

Morgan sat in the middle of the mess with her head in her hands.

“Didn’t Abby tell you I didn’t want to be interrupted,” she said, her voice muffled by her fingers.

“Yep, but I never listen to her. It looks like you’re planning to strangle a mouse, then gift wrap it after you clean up the mess.”

Morgan raised her head. “Either help or get out.”

“I’d help if I knew what you were looking for.”

Abby marched in. “If Charlie’s coming in, so am I,” she said.

“I see you’ve both learned boundaries,” Morgan said.

“Our boundaries are lost amongst all this junk,” Abby said.

Morgan stood up, kicked some junk out of her way, and headed out the door. Charlie gestured with her head to Abby to follow her.

“Morgan, you can’t leave all this stuff here,” Charlie called after her.

“Mom left us with a mess. Why can’t I leave her with one,” Morgan said over her shoulder.

“You know she’s dead, right?” Charlie said as they all arrived in the kitchen.

“She’d better be,” Abby said. “If she’s not, she’s going to get mad that you left her office like that.”

Morgan began to chuckle, and then Charlie and Abby followed suit. The chuckling turned into guffaws, which turned into hysterics, and then uncontrollable tears of laughter ran down their cheeks.

“We’ve gone over the edge, haven’t we?” Morgan said.

“Yes, we’re in this together,” Charlie said.

“You know, I wouldn’t have made it through the last few weeks without you both,” Abby said.

“Me either,” Charlie said, and Morgan agreed.

“I’m starving,” Morgan said. “We can clean that mess up later.”

“You mean you can clean it up later,” Charlie said.

“I thought we were in this together,” Morgan said.

“Hey, we’re not attached at the hip,” Charlie said.

“I’ll make some waffles,” Abby said, heading to the kitchen.

“I have to call Rick; he’s been texting me since last night,” Charlie said.

“We’ll call you when breakfast is ready,” Abby said, getting eggs, milk, and the batter out of the refrigerator. “Wait, where’s the waffle iron?”

“I’ll get it,” Morgan said, reaching into a cabinet above the refrigerator.

Charlie picked up her phone and went into her bedroom.

“Hi,” Rick said. “Why haven’t you texted me back?”

“I was asleep,” Charlie got on her bed and leaned against the headboard.

“I want to talk to you about something,” he said.

“Okay…”

Charlie could hear him take a breath. “While you’ve been gone, it’s given me a lot of time to think about our relationship,” he said. “Things haven’t been as good as they used to be.”

Charlie got up and began pacing around the room. She wondered if he was about to break up with her. “Do you agree?” Rick asked.

She started to cough as though a bug had blown into her throat. “Uh, uh…I guess so,” she finally got a few words out.

“Good, then we’re on the same page,” Rick said.

Charlie felt dampness spreading across the back of her neck, and she put her hand up to her heart, which felt like it was skipping beats. If anyone’s going to break up, it should be me, she thought. I need to beat him to the punch.

“I’ve been trying to understand where things went wrong,” Rick said. “All I can figure out is the excitement is gone.”

Speak, Charlie, damn it! Break up with him before he does it. Get the upper hand.

“So, I’ve decided we need to get married,” Rick said as if he was ordering a plain turkey sandwich from a deli counter.

Charlie stopped pacing. What? she screamed, then realized she had only said it in her head.

“I know you’re surprised, but I think it’s the only thing that’ll save our relationship,” he said. “We can find a ring at some point, and we don’t even have to set a date. We can just be engaged to be engaged. Okay, I’ve got to run to a meeting. I’ll talk to you later.” He hung up.

What have I done? Charlie kicked the bedpost, then ground her teeth so hard her jaw hurt.