The Foretelling (Charlotte Bloom #1) (13 page)

"Well, missy, we have a job for you in Tennessee if you want it! We run a for-profit charter school."

"For-profit? I’ve only ever heard of non-profits," Mary asked genuinely.

"Well, we figured if we do really well, which we’re aiming to do next year, all of our employees should reap the benefits, you know?" Lucy said sincerely.

I glanced at Alec, and he gave me a quick smirk before returning to his beer. He might've been a jerk, but at least we both thought that Lucy and Ted were psychos. The waitress came with our food, and I noticed Alec and I had gotten the same thing. He winked at me before beginning to eat.

"Welsh rabbit with potatoes and mushy peas. Enjoy." She brought everyone water.

Lucy and Ted had gotten some sort of stew that they were sharing, as well as a "salad", which I noticed was just a piece of lettuce, some shredded carrots, and a hefty serving of ranch dressing. Mary hadn’t gotten her food yet, so we all sat there awkwardly as she sipped her water.

"Oh, are you waiting for me? Please, don’t! I’m actually having the chef cook up something special for me, and it takes a while because they have to cook it in a separate pot. You know… allergies." We all stared at her, not knowing what to say, but as I eyed her water, and her long, shiny hair, I concluded that she was probably gluten-free. That explained the water and the special food.

"Celiac?" I asked quickly, almost whispering, so that no one else heard.

She stared at me, wide-eyed.

"How did you know?"

"I live in L.A. Everyone there has some sort of Celiac Disease or gluten intolerance."

Mary laughed, and we all ate in silence. Mary’s food was brought shortly after ours, and the waitress winked at her. My welsh rabbit was of course delightful. I didn’t expect anything less than delightful. All of the food here had been amazing.

"Well, we should be heading back," Alec suggested as we finished up our meal. "Charlotte, are you going to be OK riding Bo again, or do you want to ride with me?"

"I think I’ll be fine riding Bo. Thanks." My answer was short and succinct. I knew he was only asking so he could get rid of me. We might've shared a small, friendly smile a few minutes ago, but I knew deep down that he didn't want me riding with him.

"I’ll go get the horses ready." Alec got up, threw his jacket on, and left.

"What’s up with that guy, am I right?" Ted chimed in yet again.

"Give him a break, he works with horses all day long. His human social skills aren’t the best, but at least he saved Charlotte." Lucy was right. He
did
save me.

"I’ve known Alec for a while. He’s a good guy. Trust me. He just needs some time to warm up to new people." Mary smiled. "It was really nice to meet you all." She stood up and gave us all big hugs. "Come back and visit me! Or maybe I’ll come to the Parc. How long are you all staying?"

"We’ll be here for another two days," Lucy answered. "Then, we’re off to Ireland."

"I’m not quite sure how long I’ll be here," I said honestly, because I actually didn't know. I’d only planned on a day, to get settled and figure out where I was going next. But now, a small part of me wanted to stay for a little while. "Probably at least another week."

"It was really nice meeting you," Mary said genuinely.

I gave her a tight squeeze and waved. Mary was someone I would be friends with in real life.

"Thanks again for the clothes…" I tugged on the grey shirt. "This is really comfortable."

"Oh good, I’m glad." She gave me one final hug and then I was on my way out.

Alec handed me my helmet, which was also dry now, and again helped me up on to Bo. My legs were already shaking. This was going to be a long day.

"I’m going to ride next to you, OK?" We started walking forward, and Alec brought his horse next to mine.

"I’ll be fine."

"You’re a liability."

I agreed.

We rode for a few minutes, going back to the main road, presumably taking a different route back to the Parc. Lucy and Ted lagged behind, still grinning at each other sickeningly.

"You need to relax." Alec was watching me on Bo. "You’re not moving with his rhythm, which means sore muscles for you, and sore muscles for Bo."

"Oh." I tried to relax. I let my body sway, but it felt too unnatural. "Like this?"

He smiled that small, lopsided smile again, and this time, he looked at me. Maybe he was a human after all.

"No. Watch me."

I studied him as he rode his horse. It looked completely natural. He didn’t even look like he was moving. But then I saw it. His hips were moving with the horse.
It was all in the hips.
He put his hands on his hips and pointed to me. I mimicked him, letting my hips slide to each side and Bo moved. I was doing it!

"Good. You’ll thank me later. Trust me. So will Bo."

"Ok." I didn’t know what else to say. "Thanks for your help."

We rode most of the way home in silence. Even when my hips were swaying, I realized I was probably not going to be able to walk tomorrow. My legs were still shaking, and I kept my eye out for rogue hawks, just in case. I knew Alec was next to me, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Bo was going to take off like crazy again. But he didn’t, and pretty soon we were back at the beach, close to the Parc, where Bo had run away wildly earlier that day. I knew we only had a mile to go from here, which was a relief.

Alec got off of his horse first, tying the reins around a tree at the edge of the beach. I followed suit, and again I almost fell over because of the excruciating pain running down my inner thighs. I shook it off, and took my parka, boots, socks, and helmet off. It was exceptionally warm now, and it was nice to feel the sun on my skin. Lucy and Ted also tied their horses up, and we all made our way to the shore.

I rolled my pants up to my knees. The sun was on the other side of the hill now, casting a dusky glow over the beach. It was magical. I walked away from everyone, skirting along the shore with my hands in my jean pockets. It felt so good to have the cold ocean water run over my feet. It was nice to be alone in this beautiful place. It was so different from where I had been a little over a week ago, sleeping in a separate bedroom than Harry, sulking whenever we managed to be in the same place, and overall feeling depressed and anxious. This was probably the best thing that I could have done for myself.

I heard Lucy and Ted laughing behind me, and as I looked, I noticed Alec behind them. He was watching me. It startled me, and the sun shining down on him made him seem like some kind of statue. I waved at him, and he looked away. Typical.

I kept walking, trying to ignore the hyena-pitched laughing behind me. I’d been that happy once, and it had failed. Now, I was just Charlotte, single and thirty, watching two guests frolic blissfully. That wasn’t me anymore. I wasn’t that girl anymore, and Harry wasn’t that guy anymore. I wondered if I would ever have that again. I wondered if I would ever be like Lucy again.

I decided that I would call Harry and Amara when I got back to my room. I couldn’t put if off any longer. They both deserved to know that I was at least alive, if nothing else. I pondered what Harry could have wanted to talk about last week, when I threw my phone in the puddle. Had he wanted to reconcile? If so, did I want that? I didn’t think so, but I couldn’t be sure. I needed to talk to him. All in all, I was pretty certain the rest of my life was not going to be spent with Harry at this point, but I needed to see what he was going to say.

I walked back towards the group, who were all now sitting on the sand and talking. Lucy and Ted were laughing together. Even Alec had a smile on his face. I could tell he was happy. Even though he was a grump, he’d saved my life. A warm, tingly feeling spread up and down my arms and legs, almost taking my breath away as I walked up to them.
Happiness.
That’s what I was feeling right now.

I hadn’t realized it, but being here, even if only for a week, had changed something inside of me. I hadn’t felt this much elation in a long time. Discovering a new place, meeting new people, seeing new sights – that’s what life was all about. I was beginning to realize that my globetrotting was not even close to being done. I couldn’t imagine going back to my life in L.A. now that the travel bug had been awakened again. I wanted this, all of this: the mistakes, confusion, new food, new people, new adventures, and new countries. I wanted to pursue my new life here, maybe not specifically in Wales, but somewhere new. I owed it to myself, and, at thirty, who knew when I’d get another chance.

We got back to Parc-Le-Bouveret a couple of hours before dinner. I thanked Alec for helping me, and he gruffly nodded and muttered something about how it was his job. I went inside without talking to anyone, and closed my room door behind me. I just wanted to talk to Harry, and to put everything behind me for good. I quickly looked at the pamphlet with instructions on how to make international calls from my room phone, and sat down on the bed, breathing in and out to calm myself. It was morning for him, and I hoped I would be able to reach him. I picked up the receiver, dialed a bunch of numbers that called the operator, who then connected me to Harry’s cell phone. It rang three times before he picked up.

"Hello?"

"It’s me."

"Charlotte?
Where
are you? I’ve been trying to reach you all week! I traced your phone through that program you bought a few years ago, and it was in some ditch in Sherman Oaks. Are you OK?"

I sighed. I’d forgotten about that.

"I’m OK. After we talked… I didn’t know what to do. I panicked and, well…"

"Amara said you’re in
Europe?
"

"Yeah. Swansea, Wales."

"What the hell, Charlotte? What were you thinking?"

"I guess I just wanted to run away. Today I went horseback riding. I’ve never done that."

"You can go horseback riding in L.A."

"Harry…
you
left
me
. Why do you care where I am? I thought we were taking some time."

"I know, but you’re still my wife, Charlotte. I deserve to know that you’re OK, at the very least."

"I know. I’m sorry. I just had to find my happiness again, you know?"

"I know."

We sat there silently for a minute, and I didn’t really know what else to say.

"How are you?" I had to know that he was at least handling this as well as I was. Or not, depending on how you looked at my situation. Either I was super cool for trekking off to Europe right after my husband left me, or I was the sad, desperate woman who ran away after my husband left me.

"I’ve been better." He sounded OK. Sad, like me, but OK.

"Yeah. Me too."

"When do you think you’ll be back?"

I thought about this for a second. I hadn’t really planned this very well. I hadn’t gotten a return ticket, and there was more of Europe that I wanted to see while I was here.

"I don’t know."

"Well, when you figure it out, let me know. We need to talk."

"About what? Did you change your mind?"

"No. I haven’t changed my mind."

"OK. Well, I think we’ve said everything that needs to be said, then."

"I still think we should take some time."

"That’s fine. But I’m going to do it here." I knew I sounded like a petulant child, but if he wasn’t changing his mind, I didn’t see why it mattered where we respectively "thought things out".

"Fine, Charlotte." He sighed. "Just keep me updated, OK?"

"I will."

"Bye. Be safe."

He hung up. I sat on the line for a minute before hanging up, and then picked the receiver back up to call Amara. I hoped that she would answer. It rang once.

"Charlotte, is that you?"

I had to give it to her – she was very intuitive.

"Yes. Hi!"

"Thank god, I was worried! Where are you? Harry’s been calling me nonstop."

"I’m OK. I’m in Wales."

"
Wales?
What the fuck? I thought you were headed to Barcelona or something. Why Wales?"

"It was the first flight out."

"Ah, I see."

"How’s the honeymoon?"

"It’s good! We’re just about to each lunch on the balcony of our villa. Char, if you make it to Portugal, you have to come to Lisbon."

"Lunch? Isn’t it late there too?"

"Yeah," she snickered. "But they eat so late here. Breakfast is around noon, and lunch is at six. You don’t even want to know when they eat dinner. Sam and I are having so much fun."

"I’m so glad. Look… I’m really sorry for being such a burden on your wedding day. I hope you’ll forgive me."

"For what? You didn’t burden anyone! Your marriage fell apart, Charlotte! You’re allowed to check out for a bit. I’m just so glad you were there for part of it. I know how hard that must’ve been. Have you talked to Harry?"

"Yeah. I just called him. He wasn’t too pleased with me running away."