Page 36 of When People Leave

Charlie

C harlie’s stomach had been in knots since Rick asked her to marry him or, rather, told her they were going to get married.

The thought of marrying him is worse than a pocket-size alien coming from a far-off galaxy, shooting me with a freeze ray, and enslaving me on his planet .

Morgan and Abby will kill me for letting things get this far.

Tonight was Charlie’s turn to cook dinner, so she decided to make spaghetti. Something she could make in her sleep— and thank goodness, because she felt like a walking zombie.

She poured what she thought was spaghetti sauce into a pan but then discovered it was BBQ sauce.

She dumped the pan out in the sink, washed it, and started over.

This time, she made sure to use spaghetti sauce and put the burner on to simmer.

Next, she grabbed what she thought were mushrooms and threw them in the sauce—then realized they were carrots.

She stuck her fingers into the pan and tossed one carrot at a time, into the sink. She caught herself before she substituted matzo meal for spaghetti.

Charlie forced herself to concentrate on her cooking; she wanted to offer her sisters a good meal before they murdered her.

She split open a baguette, slathered it with garlic, butter, and parmesan cheese, then put it in the oven and made a salad.

When everything was ready, she called Morgan and Abby to the table.

“Everything smells good,” Abby said, as they all sat down.

Morgan and Abby dug into the meal, but Charlie didn’t lift her fork.

“I hope the reason you aren’t eating isn’t because you’re trying to poison us,” Morgan smirked.

“Wait, what?” Abby said with her mouth full.

“I’m not trying to poison you. Although, depending on how you react to what I’m about to say, you may have given me a good idea.”

“Just say it,” Morgan said.

Charlie cleared her throat. “I’m trying to figure out how to tell you something and not get blasted for it.” She took a bite of garlic bread.

“Well, swallow first,” Abby said.

“Rick wants to get married.”

“To whom?” Morgan said.

“To me, you idiot.” Charlie’s leg bounced nervously under the table.

“After all these years?” Abby said, her eyes wide.

“You can’t marry him,” Morgan said. “Tell me you aren’t considering it.”

Charlie put her garlic bread down. “I’m not… I won’t… but I have to think about it.”

“Did you just hear yourself?” Abby asked.

“I’m trying not to listen,” Charlie said.

“You have to break up with him,” Morgan said meeting Charlie’s eyes. “You’ve known that for a long time.”

“We’ve been together for eleven years and I’ve been waiting for him to propose,” Charlie said.

“Did he take you someplace romantic and get down on one? Did he say he can’t live without you and wants to be with you forever?” Abby asked.

“Or did he propose in a text with the hug emoji,” Morgan said.

“Alex proposed to me in a cabin in front of a roaring fire, with snow falling quietly from the heavens. He gave me one red rose and he had champagne on ice,” Abby said.

Charlie began scratching her arm. A tic she picked up in middle school when she knew she was about to do something wrong. When it got really bad, Carla would wrap Charlie’s arm with gauze so no one would think she’d gotten in a fight with a feral cat.

Morgan got up from the table and crossed over to Charlie.

“Look what you’re doing,” Morgan said. She gently pried Charlie’s fingers off her arm so she’d have to stop scratching. As soon as Morgan returned to her seat, Charlie unconsciously began to scratch again.

“Drawing blood is not a sign that you want to get married to the love of your life,” Abby said.

“Okay, so it wasn’t a romantic proposal, but does that matter?”

“Yes,” Abby and Morgan said simultaneously.

“Think hard. Do you want to marry him?” Abby asked. “If the answer is a definite yes, then we’ll try to support you.”

“If the answer is no, we’ll throw a party,” Morgan said.

“I don’t know. It would be easier than starting over with someone else,” Charlie said.

“That’s not a yes,” Abby said.

“Fine, I don’t want to marry him,” Charlie exclaimed. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”

“And you stopped scratching,” Morgan said.

Charlie looked down at her arms. “I’ll break up with him.

I’d rather be alone than trapped in a marriage with no skin left.

” As soon as the words were out of Charlie’s mouth, she felt her shoulders relaxing.

She knew she was about to jump out of the way of a runaway boulder.

A boulder that wouldn’t have just crushed her; it would’ve decimated her future. “I’ll call him tomorrow,” she said.

“Call him tonight,” Abby said.

“I’ll call him tonight ,” Charlie said. Her heart skipped a beat.

After dinner, while Morgan and Abby relaxed, Charlie closed the door to her bedroom and picked up her phone.

“Hey, there,” Rick said. “I told my parents we’re getting married.”

“You what?” Charlie said, lying down next to Albert on the soft down comforter. She wished she could disappear into it.

“I said we didn’t know when, but just that we’d decided.”

“Rick…I don’t want to get married.”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

“I don’t either. I thought that was what you wanted.”

“Years ago, it was, but not anymore.”

“That’s great. Then we can keep everything the same.”

“Not exactly.” Charlie sat up, bracing herself. “I want to break up,” she said.

“Very funny.”

“It’s not a joke. I know it’s not ideal to do this over the phone, but I need to tell you today. You said yourself, our relationship has been lacking.”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to end it.”

“We’ve both been going through the motions because we’re scared to let go.”

“I’m not scared, I love you.”

“I love you too, but this relationship isn’t right for me anymore.”

“Is this coming from your sisters?”

“No. Both of us have changed.”

“I haven’t.”

“Well, I have.”

“You’ll be back, you need me,” Rick said.

“Rick, you need me .” Charlie could imagine him shaking his head in denial. “Before I get back in town, please get anything of yours from my apartment and leave the key on the coffee table.”

“Wow. You’re serious.”

“It’s best that we don’t have to see each other right now.”

“So, that’s it? After eleven years, you never want to talk again?”

“I don’t know. Maybe after we each have time away for a while, we can be friends.”

“I don’t need a friend,” he said.

“Take care of yourself.” Charlie hung up before she changed her mind or let him try to change hers.

“I did it!” she yelled loudly. “Goodbye, Rick!” Albert sensed her excitement and thought she was offering to take him for a walk. He jumped up and down and ran around the room.

“Aren’t you proud of me, Albert?” Charlie danced to a rhythm she’d created in her head. “We’re free, we’re free, no more boyfriend!” Then, suddenly she froze. “No more boyfriend. I’m all alone now. Who am I going to go out with on a Saturday night? Who’s going to be my emergency contact?”

She sat on the floor and cuddled with Albert, who licked her cheek. After a few minutes, Charlie stood up. “I can do this. I’ve helped clients get through break-ups. I’ll be okay.” She hoped that would be true.