Loving Charley

by Casey Peeler

  “I know I don’t, but you need me. I don’t care if you think I’m just tagging along. I’m not. I know you, Charley, and when something’s on your mind, you swim to escape. There’s only one problem. We don’t have a key to get in. Wanna run instead?”

  She’s exactly right, and I don’t have anything to add to her comment. We go back into our rooms and throw on running apparel before exiting the dorm. The air is cool and crisp as we walk outside and to the stoop. We don’t talk as we take a few minutes to stretch and then begin at a slow and steady pace around campus. We spend the next hour running, breathing, and escaping what I have in my future. On the final mile of the run, Georgia breaks the silence.

  “Char, you know I love you, right? I knew from the moment I met you that you’d be my best friend on campus, but this has got to stop. You can’t keep doing this to yourself; it’s not healthy. You can’t worry about everyone else when you’re the one that people should be worrying about.”

  I stop mid-stride. “Huh?”

  “Charley, you are the victim here, and it seems to me every time something goes wrong, you are the one that tries to fix the situation. I know you miss Cash, and you don’t want anything to happen to him, but he made that choice. He has to live with the consequences. Piper and Joe have to deal with that issue as well… alone.” As I start to interrupt her, she holds up her finger. “I know you feel at fault, but you aren’t. Dylan is. You need to accept that he’s the problem, and nothing will be fixed until the judge is done with him.

  I don’t know what to say to her. I’m pissed, scared, happy, sad, and one damn bottle of mixed emotions about to spew like a shaken two-liter. Doing the only thing I know to do, I turn and continue to run. Georgia stays with me, well, maybe a stride or two behind me due to her height deficiency, but she doesn’t leave me alone. Not for one minute.

  When we reach the woods at the edge of campus, I take the path that Joe and I took not too many months before, and when I see the bench in the distance, I slow and then sit without saying a word.

  Georgia doesn’t say a word; she sits beside me and places her hand on my back to comfort me as I let all the emotions leave my body. I’ve said I’m done running, but it took Georgia telling me what everyone else was thinking to realize I’m not okay. I’ve always been one to hide my emotions and only let a few people in, but undoubtedly, the only person I’ve been fooling is myself.

  When I have no more tears to cry, I sit with my head in my hands. She’s right. I never realized that my way of controlling the situation was to control what happened around me, but when in actuality, I was the one that needed saving.

  “Georgia, thanks for saying what needed to be said.”

  “Char, you’re my dearest friend. I knew you wouldn’t like it, but it had to be said. I’m here for you no matter what. No matter what you say about Thursday, it’s gonna be hard; I’m here if you need me.

  I shake my head okay as I stand. Together, we walk back to campus because I’m done running. Georgia goes back to her room to find that Tucker has left. For most people, it would have been a walk of shame, but we all know that he has nothing to be ashamed of as he walks across campus to his dorm. Georgia smiles as she sees her empty room; she knows she’ll see him at Hank’s tonight. Then, we both get ready for the day.

  I spend the remainder of the weekend with the Kluft girls. We pig out, dance our asses off at Hank’s, and sleep until lunch on Sunday.

  When I wake up, I sit up quickly in bed. The first thought that crosses my mind is Piper and Joe. Wondering what happened, I text Joe. My phone rings almost instantly.

  “Hey, is everything okay?” I ask with concern in my voice.

  “Yeah, I’m just now coming home. What are your plans for dinner?”

  “Nothing, I don’t think.”

  “Okay, well, we need to talk. Meet me at my Jeep at five,” he states.

  “Is everything aight?” I ask as my nerves begin to increase.

  “Yeah, it’s gonna be fine. I just want to talk to someone about everything.”

  “Gotcha. Be careful.”

  We disconnect, and I call Piper. I can read her like a book, so I know I’ll be able to tell if something is up. She sounds sleepy, but tells me about their night and about seeing Blanton. She doesn’t hold back anything, and I can see how proud she is that Joe stood up for her, but also that everything is okay. We make a little small talk, and she tells me that she’s coming home for support. I try to argue with her, but it’s no use. She’ll be there when I testify in court, and honestly, I feel relieved.

  Looking at the clock, I have a little over four hours to spare before supper with Joe. I shower, look at my syllabi for my classes, and make sure I’m ahead of schedule. I want all my schoolwork done, so I can focus on Thursday. Thinking I should get a five-page paper for biology out of the way, I dive in and finish it within a couple of hours. It feels great to have it finished with time to spare. I send Cash a text to see if they are back yet, and he responds that they should be back late tonight. I let him know what little bit I know about Joe and Piper and that I’m having supper with Joe, and he tells me he will call as soon as they are home and settled. That won’t be a moment to soon.

  Trying to kill a little time, I make my way to Tori’s room. She’s studying for a biochemistry test. Thanks goodness, I’m not a pre-med major! Anna is watching TV in the room, and I make myself at home. After a few minutes, Tori finishes studying, and we watch reruns of 90210.

  “Dylan is so damn hot!” Anna says.

  “Yeah, he is,” Tori agrees, but doesn’t say another word.

  My face must say it all. Just the sound of his name has me motionless.

  “I’m so sorry, Char. Luke Perry is so damn hot!” Anna corrects herself.

  I try to smile, but it’s almost impossible. Never in a million years would I have imagined that I would have reacted that way with just the mention of his name. I really must be losing it.

  “It’s okay. I’m not sure why it bothered me really because he is definitely not that Dylan.”

  After we finish watching the episode, I head to my room to grab my purse to meet Joe.

  Georgia is on her way up the stairs as I make my way down. “Where ya goin’, Char?”

  “Supper with Joe.”

  Her eyes get huge. “Is everything all right?”

  “I think so. I’ve talked to Piper, and she sounded good. I think he just needs to talk about it.”

  “Oh, okay. Well, if you need me, I’ll be here the rest of the night.”

  As I walk out of the dorm, I see Joe already inside his Jeep. Looking both ways, I cross the parking lot and open the passenger side door. He jumps when I open it.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare ya.”

  “It’s fine. I’m just tired and still trying to process this weekend.”

  “I can drive if I need to.”

  “Nah, I’m good. So, how does the BBQ Shack sound?”

  “Fine by me,” I say as I close the door.

  We make our way to the little hole-in-the-wall BBQ place. There aren’t many people here. They probably came for lunch. We find a seat, and the older waitress comes to take our order.

  After she returns with our drinks, Joe takes a deep breath and begins to talk. “So, it went pretty well this weekend.”

  “And…” I know there is more. He wouldn’t have wanted to leave campus without something else on his mind.

  “I confronted Blanton. He was like a little puppy dog with this tail between his legs when I told him about Dylan getting caught. He apologized to Piper and her friends. He also told her to watch out for another group of guys in the area. Undoubtedly, they get their kicks drugging college girls and then leaving them as quickly as they find them.”

  “Great! So, other than that, did things go well?”

  He begins to grin from ear to ear. “Yeah, they went really well. You’re probably gonna think I’m crazy, though.” With that statement, I’m a little
scared to hear what Joe is going to say next. But, he doesn’t talk; he takes something out of his pocket instead. It’s a perfect square velvet box.

  Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!

  “I love her, Charley,” he says as he opens the box, and inside is a stunning emerald cut diamond ring sitting in the center.

  “Joe!” I gasp and put my hand over my mouth. The waitress looks in our direction and has this excited look in her eyes. I hear her holler our way.

  “Well, honey, are you gonna answer that poor boy or what?” Joe and my eyes dart back to each other before we burst out laughing.

  “Ma’am, it’s for my best friend,” I correct her politely.

  “She’s one lucky girl! That is absolutely beautiful!”

  “That she is,” I say as I look at Joe. “So, is this what took you an extra hour to get home?”

  “Guilty. Do you think I’m crazy?”

  “It’s like this. You know when you’ve found your forever. It is soon, but one thing that I’ve learned is that life is too precious to waste. Go after what you want, and live every moment to the fullest.”

  Letting out a huge breath of air, he responds, “Shewwww… I just knew you were going to tell me I was rushing things.” The waitress returns with our food.

  Choosing my words carefully, I reply, “I’m not saying I’d propose right now, but you will know when it’s right… and when you ask her daddy.”

  Joe’s eyes bug out of his head. “Ask her daddy?”

  “Joe, you’re wanting to marry a Southern Belle. Rule number one is to get her daddy’s permission.”

  Joe looks a little pale. “I’ve only met him once. He’ll think I’m crazy.”

  “Well, you are… for his daughter. He loves you. It will be aight,” I tell him as I begin to eat my food.

  “Squirrel, really? I have to ask him?”

  “If you want her to say yes, you have to ask.”

  “Alright.”

  I laugh as I watch Joe try to eat. “It won’t be that bad, I promise.”

  “I just don’t know when I’d be able to do that.”

  “When the situation arises, you will know. Does she have a clue?”

  “Nope. I mean, I know she feels the same way, and she mentions me when we talk about after college. This dad thing has me messed up. We don’t do that up North.”

  “Welcome to the South, where the tea is sweet, and the girls are sweeter,” I say in a thicker Southern accent.

  He shakes his head as he takes another bite. Once we finish, we make our way back to campus. I’m glad that things went well this weekend. Joe informs me that he is coming to the hearing with Piper. I tell him he doesn’t have to, but he insists, and says that she is picking him up on the way home late Wednesday night. I’m thankful for the support, but I’m not sure how I feel about it.

  As I make my way upstairs, I’m so excited for Piper. Honestly, I have no idea how I’m going to keep my mouth shut about this, but I have to! When I arrive back to Kluft, everyone is watching a movie in Tori’s room, so I join them. After it’s over, we sit and talk about plain old stuff, and that’s when Tori tells me that they are all coming Thursday.

  “Um, y’all, I appreciate it, but I think I’d be better off with just the bare minimum. I don’t want to sound rude, but it’s gonna be hard enough with the people that have to be there. Plus, Joe said he and Piper are coming.”

  “Oh, so they can come, but we can’t?” Tori smarts back.

  I’m a little speechless. “It’s just that I know my parents are going to be in a tizzy, and I don’t want Mama to have to worry about anything.”

  “Charley! Did you think we were coming home with you?” Caroline exclaims.

  “Well, yeah… isn’t that what you were plannin’?”

  “No, we are leaving early Thursday. We have better manners than that. We just want to be there to support you and Cash,” Caroline continues.

  “Oh, well then, I’d love for y’all to be there, but I don’t know how much I will actually get to talk to you.”

  “We know, and that’s okay,” Tori says. “We love you, and we want to be there for you.”

  I nod in agreement and am embraced in a group hug. We watch a little more TV before heading back to our rooms. I’m on the edge of my seat waiting on Cash Money to call. When the clock approaches eleven, he texts and says he will call me around midnight, and that’s not soon enough.

  Doing anything to pass the time for the next hour, I go ahead and start to pack my clothes for my trip home. I stare at the closet. What does someone wear for court? Never in a million years did I picture myself walking into a courtroom, let alone testifying. After what feels like an hour, I finally begin to rummage through the closet. Starting with the essentials, I take a few everyday clothes, pajamas, and decide on two outfits for court. The first one is a pair of black dress pants paired with a baby blue blouse, and the other is an A-line back dress with the right accessories to match.

  Glancing at my watch, I realize it has been all of twenty minutes. Ugh! What to do now? I pop in a movie and try to relax until I hear from him. Finally, a few minutes after midnight, my phone begins to blare “Crash My Party,” and boy, do I wish he was crashing my party right now.

  “Hey!” I say a little too excited.

  “Hey, Char-coal,” he says with enthusiasm, but I can hear the tiredness in his voice.

  “How was it?”

  “Good. We made a lot of money today, but I’m worn out. That traveling will kill ya,” he says with a yawn.

  “It probably didn’t help that you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “True, but it was totally worth it.”

  “Agree. Hey, Cash Money?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too. I don’t want to bring it up, but what happened with Piper and Joe?”

  “It went well, but ohmygawsh, you’re never gonna guess what happened when Joe and I went to eat supper… he’s got a freakin’ diamond for her!”

  “He’s what?! They haven’t even been dating a month,” Cash says with jealousy in his voice.

  “I know, but you know as well as I do that you just know. When I told him he had to ask her daddy, he about died! I told him that it was the Southern thing to do.”

  “Yeah, when’s he gonna do that?”

  “I don’t know, but I told him that he would know when the time was right.”

  Cash doesn’t really respond. Instead, he talks about what he has planned for the next couple of days and asks when I will be home Wednesday. I inform him that I will be home by supper Wednesday at the latest, and he promises to meet me as soon as I hit the gravel. We exchange goodbyes and disconnect.

  That night I toss and turn. I think about Cash and me, what this week will bring, and try to imagine what it will be like to face Dylan. Needless to say, I finally fall asleep as I see the sun beginning to rise. Just great.

  At eight forty-five, I pull myself from my slumber and manage to get to class with a few minutes to spare. There’s nothing like going to class in pajamas and a ball cap. I follow my normal routine to a tee, and by two, I’m ready to crash. I let Georgia know I’m going to take a nap, but I need her to make sure I make it to the café on time.

  At exactly five, Georgia knocks on my door and then comes on in. “Hey, Char, it’s time to eat.” I mumble a response. “Char, come on.”

  Tossing back my covers, I take a second to look at myself in the mirror. Ohmygawsh! “Did I look this bad this mornin’?” I ask her. She just smiles. “Crap! Why didn’t someone tell me? I mean, at least by noon anyways!”

  “Char, I’m sure you didn’t sleep well. It’s no big deal. We all look like crap from time to time.” She laughs. “Now let’s go. I’m starving, and everyone’s waiting on us.”

  “Give me just a sec, okay?” I say still half asleep.

  “Sure. I’ll be in the hall,” she says as she exits.

  Looking in the mirror, I
rub my hands over my eyes and yawn trying to wake up. I brush my hair into a ponytail and add a little blush and lip-gloss. Looking at my attire, I decide I might need something besides pajamas. Grabbing a pair of semi-clean jeans from the floor and a long- sleeved T-shirt, I change quickly and then slide on my Ariats and walk out the door.

  “Girl! If only I could do that!” Georgia exclaims.

  “Do what?”

  “Throw something on and still look hot.”

  “Whatever. I just didn’t think pajamas were appropriate supper attire,” I say as we walk to meet the rest of the Kluft girls and eat.

  Tuesday and Wednesday are typical school days except for the fact that I’m on the countdown to facing my nightmare. I meet the Kluft girls on Wednesday for lunch. We eat and laugh, but don’t talk about tomorrow. Afterward, we all go our separate ways to finish our classes.

  At two, I make my way back to the dorm to pack the last few items before I leave for Grassy Pond. When I get to the top step, I sense that something is off, but in a good way. Turning to look down the hallway, I notice that it has been decorated from end to end with random shit, and my door looks plum gaudy. That’s when I hear music playing, and I see Caroline appear from her room. She is dressed in something that came from the thrift store or her grandma’s closet, and she’s singing “Don’t Drop That Thun Thun” while dancing a little too crazy. I laugh as Georgia appears along with all the other Kluft girls. By the time the song ends, I’m in tears from laughing so hard.

  “Y’all are too much!” I say.

  “Hey, it’s like this. We had to see a smile on that face of yours before you left,” Anna states.

  “Mission accomplished,” I reply. “I love y’all!” We meet for a group hug.

  “We love you too, Char! Now, go home to your Cash Money, and we’ll see you in the morning when you take that SOB down!” Tori says firmly. Nothing like her keeping it real.

  Georgia helps me finish getting the last minute items together, and I text Piper, Tessa, and Cash to let them know I’m leaving. As I walk down the hallway, my eyes begin to fill with tears. Stop it! Everyone walks me to the stoop, and I tell them bye.