All She Wanted (2) (23 page)

Charlie

Thursday morning I met Tori for coffee
at my favorite used bookstore in the University district. I brought an old pile
of books in with me to sell for store credit while I waited for her to arrive.
It was just after ten when I saw her.

“Good morning!” Tori said as she
approached.

“Good morning to you, too.” I hugged
her.

We ordered our drinks and scones as she
filled me in on the latest wedding drama. There was no stress in her voice when
it came to the wedding, just when it came to the coordinators.

“I swear I might go insane if I have to
be in on one more meeting where I hear about the different uses of chiffon verses
organza, or the argument about twinkle lights verses Chinese lanterns. I don’t
know how else I can possibly say,
I don’t
care,
but I feel I am losing the battle with those three.”

“Three?” I asked her.

“Yes, Mom, Stacie and Betty—the official
coordinator.”

“Yikes, you’re a bit out numbered.”

She laughed and rolled her eyes as we
went found a table to sit down at. “Well I am done talking about all that,” She
waved her hand in front of her face as if to dismiss the conversation. “I will
be so happy when the wedding part is over so I can just focus on being married.”

I smiled at her, thinking of the
perfect match Tori and Kai were.

“Well, I’m very excited for you, Tori,
both for the wedding and for your marriage. Kai seems like such a great guy…you
two are really an inspiration.” My throat grew thick with emotion.

The two of them reminded me why love
was such a gift. I had forgotten that truth over the last six months. I had recently
begun to question if I had even known it at all. There was a dramatic
difference between my relationship with Alex and what I saw between Tori and
Kai.

“Thank you, Charlie. We weren’t always
an inspiration though, I can assure you. In fact, there were many months that I
doubted we would end up together at all. That was a very difficult time…for
both of us.”

My face must have registered a look of
shock, because she smiled sincerely at me before taking another sip of her
coffee. I waited for her to continue; I wanted to hear more.

“There is a long history to our story
that I will have to tell you another time, Charlie, though I promise you I
will. It would likely take up our entire time this morning if I tried to
attempt it now. But yes, in short, there were about three months that I thought
it was over, for good. I was very stubborn,” she said, smiling. “I had actually
made plans to go to Africa for a year with a mobile medical team. Our time
apart was by far the most difficult time in my life…Kai would say the same,”
Tori said.

“But how did it work out? What
happened?” I asked.

“The crux was I had to let go of a lot
before I could let him back in. There wasn’t room for Kai to be in my heart
amidst all the other baggage I carried.”

“I never would have guessed that…” I
said, letting my voice trail off.

“Everyone has a past, Charlie.” She
took another sip as I thought about her words.
 

My mind wandered down a trail leading
to Briggs, and the secrets of his past that he had trusted me with. The
conversation had been a painful one, but it had also filled in a lot of gaps
for me. His honesty had made me respect him even more. Briggs was likely the
most honest man I knew apart from my father. My heart warmed at the thought.

Tori’s voice brought me back to the
present.
       

“So what has it been like—being back
home?”

I bit my lip, thinking. I would have
answered that question so differently a few weeks ago, but now, so much had
changed.

“Surprising,” I said, “I was so angry
when I first got here—broken, but I don’t feel that way anymore.”

“Why is that?” Her smile was
contagious.

I laughed, “Well, it’s multi-faceted,
but yes, I’ll say it…Briggs is one of the reasons.”

As if on cue, her phone buzzed on the
table.

Briggs

Tori laughed, “His ears must have been
burning. Do you mind?”

I shook my head, heat flushing my
cheeks.

Within ten seconds of Tori answering
the phone, she was laughing. I couldn’t help but laugh as well, knowing the man
on the other end like I did. She would listen and gasp and then listen some
more. Finally, I saw her reach for her purse to grab a pen, writing down an
address on her pastry napkin.

“Okay, so you’ll text me about an hour
before to make sure? Alright, but you think roughly around noon? Sure, yeah.
Well…I will not be held responsible for any part of this, but I am more than
happy to watch! See ya then. Bye.”

She hung up, shaking her head, a look
of mischief in her eyes.

“Dare I ask?” I laughed.

“Charlie, what are you doing around
noon on Saturday?” She raised her eyebrows in expectation.

“Is the right answer, whatever you’re
doing?”

“Yes. I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

Briggs

I hadn’t seen Charlie since Tuesday at
lunch, and I was certain I was starting to lose my mind. The weekend had been
reserved for Kai’s bachelor party, but I had a hard time justifying why I shouldn’t
be able to see her today—Friday. The line between friendship and
more than friendship
needed to be redrawn
for me. Everything I thought or did in regard to Charlie now had a new tag line
attached to it, “
Is that what a friend
would do?”

Charlie texted me before I could
answer.

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake:
Did
you fall off the face of the earth? Should I call out a search party? If so,
you’ll want to remove any traces of bacon from your clothing. I hear the dogs
can get pretty vicious, and I’ve seen the way you eat breakfast.

Me
: Thanks for the warning, though I
can’t help but feel insulted—I eat breakfast just fine, thank you very much. What
are you up to?

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake:
 
Just finished practicing and had to reply to a
few emails from my professors—big day so far!
Haha
!
I’m starting to go a little stir crazy.

I felt myself twitch with indecision. I
did have to pick a few things up to take with me to the cabin Saturday night.
Would running errands together be okay?
Is
that what a friend would do?
I hated that question.

I picked my phone back up, ignoring the
whisper of caution in my head.

Me
: Feel like going on a covert mission
for bachelor party supplies?

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake:
Do I
get to wear
camo
and combat boots?

Me
: No.

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake
: Geesh,
grumpy much?

Me
: I have a feeling that your version of
camo
and combat boots wouldn’t quite be up to
military standards, Shortcake. I’m banning whatever plan you have for a
camo
mini-skirt comeback right now.

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake:
You
have no vision when it comes to fashion. And for the record, it wasn’t going to
be that mini.

Me:
Do you need my definition on the
purpose of pants again? See ya in an hour?

Miss
Strawberry Shortcake:
No,
once was enough!
 
An hour is good.

I smiled at her cheekiness. Charlie was
many things, but dull would never be one of them.

I stopped at the bank before picking
her up. I hoped that I wasn’t making a mistake by spending a few hours with her
today, but it had to be better than the alternative.

At least, that’s what I told myself on
the drive over.

Charlie

I took a deep breath. The worry I had
been feeling for the last two days was finally dissipating as I exhaled. These
texts today had finally felt like
us
again. He had barely texted with me on Wednesday, and Thursday his funk had
still not lifted entirely. I was starting to wonder if I had done something
wrong, but a flood of relief filled me when I saw his truck pull up out front.

Things
are normal; we are normal. Whatever that means.

He came inside and gave my mom a hug as
I headed to meet him at the front door.

“Briggs, it’s so nice to see you. Max
said he thanked you for us both at the station the other day, for staying here
while we were away?” Mom asked him.

Just briefly I saw a look of surprise pass
over his face, but it vanished quickly. He raked a hand through his hair, and
cleared his throat.

“It was my pleasure, Mrs. Julie,”
Briggs said, glancing in my direction.

“Good…well, don’t make yourself a
stranger around here. Charlie told me what a great chef you are,” she
continued.

I felt myself flush.
Thanks, Mom. Why don’t you just tell him
that I talk about him non-stop while you’re at
it.

“Well, growing up around your kitchen,
I’ll take that as a high compliment,” Briggs said.

“You’re too kind. She also said-”

“Okay…thanks Mom. We
gotta
run,” I interrupted.

Mom smiled at us and nodded. Briggs
laughed as he waited for me to step outside, shutting the door behind us.

“Glad to see you’re in jeans. Makes my
heart happy,” he said, tapping his chest dramatically.

“Whatever I can do to make your life
easier,” I laughed.

“If only…” He mumbled something under
his breath as he opened my door.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, ready for the errand run of
your life time, Shortcake?”

“You
betcha
.”

Briggs

My rules for maintaining a
friendship-only status with Charlie:

1.
     
Stay in DENIAL of all non-friendship
feelings. If it doesn’t fit into the platonic box, it doesn’t belong in my
head.

2.
     
Do not make eye contact for longer than
5 seconds at a time.

3.
     
Do not breathe through nose when she is
near—peaches are a powerful scent.

4.
     
Never get closer than six inches in
proximity to her, but twelve is preferable. This will help with #3.

5.
     
If
any of these are broken…retreat immediately.

The day went smoothly as long as I kept
my list at the forefront of my mind. Only once did I inhale too deeply, her
scent carving into my heart like a knife, but I recovered by sticking my head
into the dairy freezer.

We filled up several carts of groceries
and supplies for the cabin at Lake Owens. The chief had offered it to me with
no questions asked, of course this meant he was also extended an invite, but he
would have been invited regardless. Over half of his men would be attending and
he wouldn’t want to miss out on at least a couple of the activities Jack and I
had planned. I was in charge of
part one
of the
weekend
, while Jack was in charge of the second
half.

I smiled as I headed down an aisle
looking for a blindfold.

“What is this for?” Charlie asked,
holding up the bandana I had thrown in the cart.

I grinned.

“You know you look creepy when you do
that, right?”

“Yep.”

She laughed and threw it back into the
cart again. The damage at the register was high, but oh, it was going to be so worth
it. Kai was only getting married once, so it had to be done right. There
wouldn’t be a second chance.

Tori had given me her permission, I
needed nothing more.

As we made our way through the parking
lot, Charlie turned to me, “I’ve been thinking about when I came to see you at
the station on Tuesday.”

I stopped dead, suddenly giving her all
my attention. “Yeah?”

She smiled faintly, “I think you should
teach self-defense.”

“What?” I laughed, jumpstarting my
heart again.

“I’m serious, Briggs. You’re really
skilled. I know you gave up fighting, but you don’t have to throw away all your
years of training, too. What would you say if I told you I was going to give up
my music?”

I stopped laughing. “Don’t ever give up
your music, Charlie. Not for anything.”

She pushed my arm, “It was just an
example
—relax, but I do think you should
really consider it.”

“Consider
what
, exactly?” I said, opening the tailgate of my truck.

She huffed, “Teaching self-defense
classes. Think about a room filled with women like your sister…you could really
help people, Briggs.”

I looked at her, breaking rule #2 as
the seconds ticked by, “You’ve really put some thought into this, haven’t you?”

She nodded, her eyes bright with
enthusiasm, “I may have even found you a class that needs a new instructor at
the Women’s University.” She shrugged, tilting her head.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I tossed
another package of water bottles into the back, “You might have been given a
little too much ambition.”

“So? Will you do it?”

“I’ll look into it, Charlie…it sounds
like something I should consider.”

She jumped up, clapping her hands as if
she had just won The Price Is Right.

“Good, ‘cause there’s just one more
thing?”

“What’s that?” I said before I grabbed
a bottle from the last pack and uncapped it, pouring it into my mouth.

“I want you to teach me, too.”

I spit the contents onto the asphalt,
narrowly avoiding Charlie’s shoes.

I
hope she’s joking.
But her
look told me otherwise—she was serious.

**********

As
we drove back to her house I had hoped the conversation had ended with my
volcanic eruption of water in the parking lot, but no such luck. Charlie was
convinced she wanted to learn a few moves—from me.

“Why
are you being so obnoxious about this? I’m not asking you for a new pony, I’m
asking you to show me a couple of moves…for just in case.”

“There
won’t be a
just in case
, Charlie...I
wouldn’t let anything happen to you—ever. Just stay out of those stupid clubs
you love and you’ll be fine!”

“You
won’t always be with me, Briggs! Think about what you’re saying…”

I
looked at her, knowing my arguments were dying a slow and painful death. I
wanted her to be safe—more than anything, I just didn’t know if I could handle
being that close to her…touching her. But she was right. I wouldn’t always be
with her. I
hated
that thought.

“Your
wrist, Charlie-”

“Is
fine!” She said bending it in an exaggerated fashion to prove her point.

I
sighed heavily as she grinned in the seat next to me, “Fine.”

“Is
that a promise?” She asked, holding out her hand to me.

“It’s
a promise.” With one hand on the steering wheel, I shook her hand, breaking
rule #4.

And
despite her gloating face, I was reminded of a question I wanted to ask her
earlier.

“Hey…so how is everything back at
school?”

She narrowed her eyes at me in
suspicion.

I laughed. “
What’s
that
look
for? You said you were
returning emails to your professors earlier, is everything okay?”

She shrugged, taking an extra few
seconds before replying—which made
me
suspicious. “Yeah…things are fine.”

I glanced at her out of the corner of
my eye, “Why do I get the feeling that there’s something you’re not saying?”

“Why do you
always
suspect that’s the case?”

“Because I’m usually right.”

She sighed, “Jessica
McClaren’s
brother just passed away from cancer, and she
was the lead pianist for the University’s summer music tour…they’ve asked me to
replace her.”

My stomach dropped, twisting itself
into a knot. I was not prepared for that.

You’re
not suppose to leave me yet…

But as soon as the thought crossed my
mind, I gave myself a mental kick. I wasn’t guaranteed anything when it came to
Charlie.
 

“What are you gonna do?” I asked,
refusing to look her way this time. I focused only on the road ahead.

“I don’t know yet. To be honest, I’m
surprised by the invite. I didn’t exactly leave on good terms, but Professor
Wade loves me...I think I could set the dorms on fire and he would still hold a
place for me in his classroom.”

I nodded. I knew the feeling.

“The tour starts June first—it’s six
weeks long. They go through ten states on a charter bus and perform at all sorts
of venues. If I did it, it would help me make up a lot of the credits I missed
in this last term…”

Is
it getting warm in here?
I
turned up the a/c. I needed air—I suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“And then what?” I asked, “You would stay
until fall term starts?”

“Well…I’d probably just stay on campus,
yes. Fall term would start just five weeks after I got back from the tour. I
could probably make up the rest of my work in that time—Lord knows I have
plenty to do.”

The internal battle within me was
waging war. I told myself to be a grown up—to remember the resolve I had made
for Charlie’s sake, pouting was not an attractive behavior on a twenty-six
year-old man. But I couldn’t even comprehend how it would feel for her to leave
so soon…
  

I pulled into her driveway as dusk had
begun to settle in for the evening.

“Aren’t you going to tell me your
thoughts on any of this?” She asked after a bout of silence.

No.
I’m about the least objective person in the world at the moment.

Tightening my hands on the steering
wheel I broke rule #2 again, and looked into her Caribbean-blue eyes. I
remembered instantly why that rule had been so important, only now I didn’t care.
That was the danger in creating your own rules; they were easy to break.

I knew she would hate me for my answer,
but there was nothing else I could say.

“I think you should talk to your
parents about it.”

I saw her visibly stiffen, as if a
metal rod had just been shoved down her spine.

“Do you really think I’m that much of a
child? I wasn’t asking you as the manny, Briggs…I was asking you as my…
friend
. Of course I was planning on
talking to them about it, but I hoped their opinion wasn’t the only one that
mattered,” she said, opening her door and stepping out into the driveway. Her
next words were spoken softly, but their blow was as crushing as if she had
screamed them, “Apparently, I was wrong.”

I was out of the driveway before the
front door closed behind her.

Rules or no rules…this sucked.