by Lee, Kimball
“Don’t say that my love, I need you to understand why I’m doing this. Unthinkable atrocities are happening every minute of every day, Charlotte, I’m doing this for our children. What I do is necessary, it keeps some of the chaos in check.”
“Fuck that shit, it’s just your testosterone-fueled need to justify your obsession. Get out of this bedroom, if you’re going, leave now and don’t bring the kids into this. I told you long ago, I won’t sleep in the same room with a ghost. That’s what you want to be evidently, a fucking ghost, an assassin. You really love it, putting your own life on the line and feeling some sick thrill when you barely escape death. I should’ve known you would get bored with the whole ‘happy little family’ thing. You’re not at all the man I thought you were. Fuck fuck fuck, I was so fucking stupid!” Charlotte was screaming then, she’d totally lost control, he had pushed her past some boundary and he knew it. She ran from the bedroom, out the front door and locked the car doors before he could stop her. As she drove away she rolled the window down just a crack and shouted back at him. “Don’t be here when I get back, I mean it, Finn.”
*
Charles sat on the edge of Charlotte’s bed and watched her stare off into space. He and Belinda had stayed at the McCall House in the week since Finn left and they were leaving for New Orleans the next day. Charles held Charlotte’s hand in his own and felt powerless to help her. She had been in her room for days, crying, sometimes screaming, and she was only calm when her children climbed in bed with her to snuggle. Hadley would ask Charlotte to read a story but Charlotte would be overcome with tears before she could finish. Atticus would take the book from her then and lay beside his mother and sister and read to them.
Belinda tapped on the door and glanced at Charles then knelt down and held Charlotte’s hand. “Charlotte, honey, let me and your daddy take the children back to Texas with us for a while. Just to give you time to collect your thoughts. I have two suites booked on the Disney Wonder next week. It sails out of Galveston, the children will love the ship and my nannie, Josepha, and her teenage daughter are coming with us to watch the kids. After that we’ll go down to my ranch south of San Antone, Atticus and Hadley will be in heaven. They can ride horses and we have lots of exotic game roaming the pastures. Giraffes and zebras and buffalo, Matilda and Cuatro would be so happy if you say yes, and so would your Daddy and I,” Belinda said, she really was the most sincere, down to earth woman, and Charlotte knew the kids would love to go on a cruise and to a real Texas ranch.
“I wanna go, Mom. I need to get used to big ships cuz I’m gonna be a Navy SEAL like Dad,” Atticus said, he had climbed up on the foot of the bed and gave Charlotte a very determined look.
“Don’t say that, Atti. You will not be a SEAL, that’s way too dangerous, and your dad doesn’t do that anymore,” Charlotte said. She pulled him close to her and smoothed the strands of hair away from his forehead. His hair was as black as Charlotte’s and his eyes were just as blue, but the rest of him was Bly. The same steely determination and oddly enough, the chunk of hair that he was constantly pushing out of his eyes.
“Mom, I’m too big for you to call me Atti, so please stop it. I am too gonna be a special Navy man so get used to it. Granddaddy says if I go to the Naval ‘Cademy first then I can be the boss of all the SEALs. I wanna be the best, just exactly like my dad,” Atticus said, and as he stared at Charlotte with such a look of longing on his small face, she began to cry. He looked so much like Alexander Bly with his wide eyes and dimpled chin and unbearably beautiful face that she felt her heart and her life shattering into a million tiny pieces.
“Academy,” she said through her tears, “the Naval Academy. Oh Atticus, my precious boy.”
“I wanna ride a zebra with Cuatro, pleeeezzz Mommy!” Hadley chirped as she plopped down beside her brother on the bed, and it was all decided. They would go with their Granddaddy and Belinda, and Finn was gone. Charlotte was on her own.
*
Charlotte drove to New Orleans with Charles, Belinda and the children and she checked into the Royal Sonesta for the night. Her dad wanted her to stay at his house until they all went to the airport the next day, but Charlotte said no.
“I don’t want you to be alone right now, darlin’” Charles said as they stopped in front of the hotel.
“I need to sleep here, it’s were my mom and I had the best time of our lives when I was a girl. Besides, they have great room service and all the kids are going to stay with me tonight. What do you think Atticus, are you up for build-your-own-ice-cream-sundaes at midnight and pay-per-view Disney movies? Come on Matilda, you and Cuatro too, we’ll have an up all night slumber party before you go to Texas,” Charlotte said, trying to make her voice sound more cheerful than she felt.
“Me too, me too!” Hadley squealed and jumped up and down.
“Let’s go,” Charlotte said, “follow me like ducks in a row, this is gonna be great big fun!”
*
Charlotte said goodbye to the children at the airport, they were wound up with the excitement of boarding a cruise ship the next day. Charles kissed his daughter and hugged her tightly and whispered to her to stay strong, that all things happened for a reason. She smiled and told her father not to worry, but she wondered what good could come from her husband lying to her and risking his life.
She sat in the first class airline lounge and waited for her flight home and began talking to a young man at the bar. He was young and handsome and on his way to San Diego to begin his first job as an attorney with Sheppard and Sheridan. His name was Graham something-or-other, Charlotte wasn’t really listening and didn’t really care. She didn’t bother to tell him she worked at the same law firm and it was possible that they would end up trying cases together. She politely moved his hand off her thigh and left him with a cool smile, then she exchanged her ticket for a flight leaving immediately for New York.
At the Plaza hotel Charlotte requested a room overlooking Central Park and asked to speak to the concierge. He arrived at her door within minutes and asked what he could do to make her stay a memorable one.
“What I want is a martini, a massage, and a facial, but what I need is the greatest haircut in the world,” she told Lyman, the concierge.
“Well I’m pleased to say I can adequately provide for all your wants and needs,” Lyman said, smiling and speaking a few words into the phone while Charlotte gazed out at the lush beautiful expanse of Central Park. There was a tap on the door a few minutes later and a server handed Charlotte a martini.
“Oh, you are good,” she told the concierge, and he motioned for her to follow him to the elevator and he said she hadn’t seen anything yet.
*
A vintage Rolls Royce dropped her off in front of the Sherry-Netherland hotel and she was escorted to the Garren salon. A beautiful young man handed her another martini and Garren himself, who only did the hair of celebrities and super-models, worked his magic. He barely touched the length of her hair but he razor cut angles and hidden layers. Then he used a flat iron and fluffed the shining mass so that Charlotte was an even more alluring version of herself.
“You’re a genius and I needed a genius’ touch, thank you without end,” she said, and he smiled and turned to kiss Meg Ryan’s cheek as she walked by with her hair wrapped in a towel.
Charlotte went shopping even as the sun began to set over the towers and spires of the Manhattan skyline. She went to Henri Bendel and as she had done at the hair salon, she paid with her ‘only for serious emergencies’ American Express card. It had an unlimited line of credit and she had only used it once before, but she decided she would live the American dream and indulge in some heavy duty retail therapy.
She bought new makeup and clothes and way too many shoes before taking a cab back to the hotel. As she walked across the lobby of the Plaza, Lyman walked beside her.
“Mrs. Hale, you have half an hour to relax in a warm tub of scented water. I’m sending the most incredible massage therapis
t in the city to your room and you can thank me later. By the way, your hair is pure glory!” Lyman said, and before she could thank him the elevator doors closed and she was whisked away.
She answered the door swathed in a plush Plaza bathrobe and she had to keep her mouth from dropping open when she saw the beautiful man standing there. She had a flashback to a day when she had thought of just such a man coming to her loft to give her a massage. It was the day she saw Bly at the red light, she realized, the day that changed her life forever.
“Mrs. Hale? I’m Ben, may I come in and set up?”
“Yes, certainly, absolutely come in. Sorry, I’m sure you get the surprised look all the time, Ben. Call me Charlotte, set up wherever you like.”
Ben wore a black t-shirt and sweatpants and he was so handsome that Charlotte knew he was probably an aspiring actor. Whatever he was, he was polite and professional and when he finished the massage all her muscles felt like jelly. She shrugged into the whisper soft robe as he folded the massage table into a neat parcel and her phone rang for the first time in days.
“Hey darlin’,” her dad said when she answered, “I’m just checking on my best girl. How are you Charlotte, I’ve been worried about you?”
“I’m alright Dad, how are the kids? They’re driving you crazy I’ll bet,” Charlotte said, and she could see that Ben was lingering by the door even though she’d already paid him and given him an overly generous tip.
“Sweetheart, have you had any word from Finn?” Charles asked.
“No, Dad. I doubt that I will, he’s gone, he decided what was most important,” she said and a searing pain stabbed her heart.
“Charlotte, don’t do anything foolish, Finn is the best man I know. You two can work things out when he comes home. Anyway, the kids are just great, we just boarded the cruise ship. Don’t worry about them, they’re having fun with Matilda and Cuatro. I’ll call when we get back to Texas next week, you take care, you hear me? Do something fun while you’re on your own, something just for Charlotte. I love you darlin’, don’t give up on your marriage,” he said and Charlotte said she loved him too and hung up.
“That was an incredible massage Ben,” Charlotte said, turning to look at Ben. “If I need you again I’ll let Lyman know.”
“Do you need me Charlotte? I can stay if you like,” he said, taking a few steps toward her.
She smiled and told him thank you, but she was going to bed alone, what she needed was sleep.
After Ben reluctantly left, Charlotte crawled into bed and scrolled through the text messages on her phone. There were several from Amanda asking how she was holding up and two from Georgina saying she missed the kids. The message she was hoping for wasn’t there, no word at all from Finn. Deep inside she had been certain he would change his mind, that he wouldn’t go away and risk his life and their marriage. He had gone and he hadn’t looked back, safe, predictable Finn, had chosen what was most important to him after all. Over the years as he had sworn his love and called her ‘my love’ he had lived with a secret. Just like JP and Lizzie, Finn had a mistress, his lover was the dangerous call of the assassin inside him. He had answered that call, not once but many times, kissing Charlotte and their children each time he walked out the door to kill or be killed. Finn was everything that was solid and dependable and unchanging in Charlotte’s heart and mind. She knew that his love for her was true, but it just wasn’t enough for him, and that truth had set her adrift in her own life. She curled her body around a feather pillow and cried until it was soaked in her tears and sometime in the still hours of the morning, she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Two
Charlotte walked down Fifth Avenue the next morning, stopping into boutiques and grabbing a coffee at one of the Starbucks that stood on every street corner in Manhattan. At the Prada store a paper-thin woman with a mane of shining walnut colored hair stopped Charlotte and said, “I see that Garren has had his way with your hair. Isn’t he a miracle worker? I have a standing appointment and he never disappoints. Well, your hair is perfection, did he do your color as well? My God it’s so black and glossy, I’m going to have him go darker with my color next time.”
“No no, the color is all mine, but the cut is remarkable. All I had to do wash, dry, and go this morning, and yet it’s so full and wonderful. Thanks for the compliment, I think he did an excellent job,” Charlotte said, and indeed the exorbitant price she’d paid at the salon was well worth it. Her hair floated past her shoulders and the hair products he’d recommended made it feel like silk.
She stopped for a bite of lunch at the David Burke Café at Bloomingdales, then caught a cab to Louis Vuitton to look at purses. The store stood at the corner of East 57th Street and Fifth Avenue and it smelled like leather and luxury and money. Charlotte strolled among the beautiful clothes and signature bags that boasted classic style and astronomical price tags.
“Do you see anything you can afford, or are you just window shopping and wishing?” the voice was ice cold and vaguely familiar. Charlotte turned and met Sylvie Moore’s shark-like eyes and wicked smile. “I haven’t seen you since your unfortunate disappearing act in Las Vegas, Charlotte. How are getting along since you stupidly ran out on Alexander Bly and married that… what is he, a sailor?”
“Great to see you haven’t lost your bitter edge, Sylvie. What happened to you after Bly fired you, were you able to find work in the food service industry? The drive-up window at McDonalds perhaps?” Charlotte said, and was shocked at herself for sounding so catty.
“I happen to be the manager here, it’s an extremely coveted job really, managing the Fifth Avenue boutique,” Sylvie said and flashed Charlotte the most pompous smile she could muster.
“Well aren’t you special,” Charlotte said, and continued walking through the store stopping in front of a perfectly arranged display of luggage sporting the LV logo.
“Beautiful pieces, aren’t they? Of course they’re outrageously expensive, why don’t I show you something you can afford? We have coin purses and key rings that might fit your budget,” Sylvie said, twisting a hand in her overly bleached hair and cocking her head to the side waiting for Charlotte to reply. When Charlotte stared back at her silently she went on, “Alex Bly stopped by earlier, oh, does that shock you? He bought every imaginable piece of luggage for the strikingly beautiful woman he was with. She looked quite a bit like you now that I think of it, obviously he didn’t have a problem moving past his infatuation with sweet Charlotte.”
“Sylvie you really are living in the past, I’ve been happily married with two children for years. Move on for God’s sake, I have. Now, why don’t you scurry off and fetch your sales book. I happen to be in need of luggage… lots of luggage,” Charlotte said, and regretted the words the minute they left her mouth, but the look on Sylvie’s face was worth the price.
*
Charlotte stepped out of the cab in front of the Plaza and called a bellman to unload her packages and precious cargo. She was already regretting her mad spending spree, she had done it to put that bitch Sylvie in her place. Now she was contemplating the astronomical AmEx bill and suffering serious buyer’s remorse. Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks as she looked once more at the receipt for her new luggage. Fuck, she thought, she’d spent enough to buy a brand new luxury car. Stupid stupid stupid…
“Can I help with those packages?” a deep, sexy voice asked and she turned and looked up into his sea-glass colored eyes.
“No,” she stammered, caught completely off guard, “the bellman can handle them. Hi… hello, Bly what are you doing here?”
He smiled and took her by the arms and pulled her close to him, “I guess I’m just lucky, and I happened to be at the right place at the right time.” He kissed her then, not caring if her husband or the tourists passing by on the street or anyone else in the world saw them. When she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back he felt as if he’d been given a miraculous gift, and he wouldn’t have let her go if his mot
her hadn’t spoken up.
“Alexander, have you taken leave of your senses? Honestly, you were brought up better than to carry on in public like a smitten school boy. What is it that the young people say these days? Oh yes… ‘Get a room’,” Evangeline said with complete distaste, until Charlotte stepped back and blushed furiously. “My God, is this Charlotte? Dear girl you are stunning! You’ll have to explain why you let her slip away, Alexander, it seems to me that was an insanely foolish decision. Have them take my new luggage to my suite. Come and have a drink with me, Charlotte. If you haven’t had a Manhattan at the Oak Bar you simply haven’t lived. Honestly, you truly are breathtaking, and you can certainly believe me when I say that.” Evangeline said as she swept through the lobby toward the elegant oak-paneled bar arm in arm with Charlotte, “Join us for drinks and dinner, won’t you? Freddie the bartender concocts the absolute best Manhattan cocktail in… well, in Manhattan.”
Bly and West followed behind the two women and West said quietly, “Charlotte looks more like Evangeline’s daughter than Amanda ever will. You do see that, don’t you Alex?”
“No,” Bly said bluntly, as he watched hotel guests, both men and women, stop and stare at the pair of statuesque beauties as they passed by. Charlotte and Evangeline were oblivious to the eyes that turned their way. He did see it of course, without a doubt.
*
“We’re meeting Amanda and that tribe of preschoolers she’s raising tomorrow to collect Beau and return to Paris,” Evangeline said, as she and Charlotte sat side by side and they both tossed back the potent cocktails like they were going out of style. “Then Alexander’s two heathens will stay with us for the rest of the month. They’re in school in Switzerland, you know, so we may as well have them entertain Beau. Alexander is trying to force the whole grandmother persona down my throat, actually it’s not that bad. I insist that they call me Auntie, I quite like it.”
