The Husband Maker Boxed Set

by White, Karey

  “It looks like we’re having a hard time in here.”

  “It was hard spending Thanksgiving in the hospital. Braxton missed playing with his cousins.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Braxton. Maybe you can have some of them come visit you.”

  Mrs. Chandler shook her head. “They’re in Oklahoma. That’s where we would have gone if we hadn’t been here.”

  “Ah, that’s rough. I’m sorry you missed that.” I touched his arm. I could tell this sadness was different because he didn’t pull away. “Hey, little man, would you mind if I borrowed your mom for a minute?”

  He shook his head. Mrs. Chandler kissed his forehead and followed me into the hall.

  “You don’t have good news for me, do you?” she asked.

  I didn’t beat around the bush. “There’s definite improvement, but he’s going to need four or five more days.”

  She looked like she might cry again, but she nodded.

  It was time to think about someone other than myself and what was easiest for me. “Mrs. Chandler, do you think he’d enjoy something artistic to do? Actually, I guess it’s more crafty,” I said, remembering Charlotte’s explanation.

  “He might.”

  “What if we made it a plea for his help? You know, give him something to think about and work toward?”

  “What do you mean?”

  I explained what I had in mind. Mrs. Chandler smiled and agreed.

  “I think it would be better coming from you,” she said.

  “Let me call my friend and I’ll stop back by later today.”

  ME: CHARLOTTE, COULD YOU GIVE ME A CALL WHEN YOU HAVE A MINUTE?

  She called while I was in the cafeteria eating lunch.

  “Thanks for calling me.”

  “Sorry it wasn’t sooner. I had to wait for my group session to end.”

  I felt a twinge of hypocrisy that I was asking Chuck to help me out when most of what I had done since she arrived was try to get her to go home.

  “I need to ask a favor.”

  “Sure. What do you need?” I felt grateful for Charlotte’s willingness and glad she hadn’t made me feel guilty for enlisting her help.

  “Do you remember Braxton, the boy I told you is in traction?”

  “The six-year-old, right?”

  “He’s having a hard time, and we decided today that he has to be in traction for four or five more days. I was wondering if you’d be willing to come and teach him how to make those rolled paper Christmas trees. I want to give him a job to make one for every patient’s room on his floor. He needs to stay busy, and I want him to feel like he’s doing something important to help other people have a good Christmas. I think that might help him get through the next few days.”

  “That’s a great idea. I’d be happy to.”

  “I’ll pay for the supplies. Just get what you need and let me know how much it is.”

  “Can he have a visitor this evening? I could come by when I get off,” Charlotte said. “There’s a craft store here at the Plaza that I can stop at after work. How many trees do you want him to make?”

  “Let’s get supplies for about fifteen and if he takes to it, we’ll get more.”

  “This will be fun.” Charles sounded genuinely excited and I felt a surge of gratitude for her kindness.

  “Thanks, Chuck.”

  “I can’t wait to meet him. I can be there by about seven. Will you be there or should I just go to his room?”

  “I’m not sure if I’ll be off yet or not. It depends on the emergency room. I’ll let him know you’re coming, and I’ll try to meet you there, but if I can’t, his room is 337.”

  I stopped by Braxton’s room in the afternoon and let him know I had a friend coming by in the evening to see him.

  “She’s been my friend since a long time before you were even born, so please be extra nice to her, okay?”

  “Is she your girlfriend?” Braxton smiled, something I hadn’t seen for a few days.

  “No. She’s just my friend.”

  “She’s a girl and she’s your friend, so she’s your girlfriend.”

  I laughed and his smile widened. His mom grinned at me across the bed.

  “Just be nice to her and tomorrow you have to tell me the names of all your ‘girlfriends’.”

  “I don’t have any. I don’t like girls.”

  “Well, I’ll bet you’ll like Charles.”

  “Charles? Your girlfriend’s name is Charles?”

  “Her name is Charlotte, but I call her Charles sometimes. And Charlie and Chuck. Come to think of it, I think you should call her Chuckers when she comes. She’ll like that.”

  “I’m sure she will,” said Mrs. Chandler.

  “Chuck. Chuckers.” Braxton tried out the names.

  My Emergency Room shift was supposed to go from two to eight, but it was so quiet all afternoon that I thought I might be able to sneak out at seven to meet Charlotte. Unfortunately, seven seemed to be the appointed hour for a boy to break his wrist in a basketball game, a woman to cut her head on the corner of a cabinet, and a man to try to pass a marble-sized kidney stone. I couldn’t even leave at eight because of a concussion and a sewing machine needle going through a thumb.

  It was eight-forty when I finally headed to the third floor.

  “Could you hold that, Dr. Barclay?”

  I put my arm out to keep the elevator doors from closing on Mr. and Mrs. Chandler. When they were in the elevator, I pushed the button for the third floor.

  “Your friend is an angel. She insisted we go out to dinner.”

  “Is she still up there with Braxton?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. I was afraid I’d missed her.”

  “It was nice for Shelly to get a little break,” Mr. Chandler said, and Mrs. Chandler nodded.

  As we neared Braxton’s room, we heard him laugh. His parents stopped in the hall and exchanged a look of relief. I paused with them.

  “Dr. Barclay picked the right person for this job,” Charlotte said. “You’re a pro.”

  “Do you think I’ll have time to make one for every room?”

  “I hope so. I feel sorry for any rooms that don’t get a Braxton original Christmas tree. Man, I love this one. Great color choices. If you have time after you make one for each of the hospital rooms, do you think you could make one for me? I’d like to have one of my own for when you’re famous.”

  “Sure. Do you want to pick your favorite colors?”

  “No way. I want you to pick them. You have such good taste.”

  “Thanks, Charlotte.”

  I stepped into the room. “Did I just hear you call her Charlotte? I thought we agreed you’d call her Chuck. Or Chuckers.”

  “She’s too nice to call her those names.”

  “And too pretty,” Mrs. Chandler said. Charles smiled at me from the other side of Braxton’s bed, and I realized Mrs. Chandler was probably right. Charlotte was much too pretty to be called Chuckers. But Chuck would be a hard habit to break.

  “Do you want to show Dr. Barclay what you’re doing?” Charlotte asked Braxton.

  Braxton pointed to a box of supplies on the floor and described the patterned origami paper and the colorful buttons. “Charlotte is bringing some stars tomorrow that look like jewels. She showed me a picture on her phone.”

  “Look how beautiful these two are,” Charlotte said, and Braxton beamed.

  “Those look great,” Mr. Chandler said.

  “He picked out those colors himself. He’s got a good eye.” Charlotte patted his leg.

  “Charlotte said you want me to make one for every room on this floor.”

  “If you have enough time before you leave,” I said. “It will be nice for every room to have a pretty Christmas decoration. It might help some of the patients not be so sad they have to be in the hospital during the holidays.”

  “I’ll have time.” Braxton continued rolling a paper around a pencil while he talked. “Charlotte says I’
ll get faster when I make more. And she said she’ll come help me again after she gets off work tomorrow.”

  “If that’s okay with all of you.” Charlotte looked around at our enthusiastic nods.

  “We should probably let Charlotte go home now,” Mr. Chandler said. “She’s probably pretty tired.”

  “She’s not tired,” Braxton said. “She’s just hungry. Her stomach has been growling like crazy.”

  “Maybe you should take her out to dinner,” Mrs. Chandler said to Angus.

  “Yeah,” Braxton said. “Go get her some chicken nuggets.”

  We laughed.

  “Do you think you can remember how to do this and show your mom?”

  “Sure. But you’ll still come back tomorrow, right?”

  “Of course. I’ll have to stop in to see your masterpieces.”

  Charlotte and I left together. I planned to follow Mrs. Chandler’s advice and take Charles to get something to eat, but I didn’t have a chance.

  “Just in case you’re wondering how to get out of taking me out for chicken nuggets, you can rest easy. I’m exhausted and there’s plenty of turkey and rolls left. I’m just going to eat some leftovers and go to bed.

  Since we had split the leftovers the night before, there wasn’t even a reason to eat leftovers together.

  Her dismissal left me feeling unmoored.

  Charlotte

  “Come in, Charlotte.” Warren Osnes met me at the door of his office and shook my hand. “Have a seat. Thanks for making time to come see me before you leave town.”

  Mr. Osnes was a Staypuff Marshmallow of a man who worked in Human Resources at Hallmark. His office was in the Hallmark Building, walking distance from Imaginarium. His secretary had called yesterday to set up an appointment. Was it possible something had opened up in the design studio? Today had been my last day at Imaginarium. Tomorrow I would be flying home to spend Christmas with my family.

  I superstitiously crossed my fingers. It would be wonderful to have a job with Hallmark to come back to instead of nothing but Creative Resource Solutions temporary positions.

  “Cassie tells me you’ve done an outstanding job at Imaginarium.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It takes a special kind of person to work with so many children.”

  “I’ve enjoyed it.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been looking over your application. It looks like you originally applied to work in our design department.”

  “That’s where most of my experience is. In San Francisco, I was designing souvenirs.”

  “Interesting. It looks like you’re certainly qualified. The only problem is...”

  My heart fell. I didn’t want to hear about problems. I wanted good news. I didn’t want to have to sugarcoat my situation to everyone at home.

  “...we don’t have any openings in the design department at the moment.”

  I tried to cover my disappointment with a smile, but it felt fake.

  “I think that’s why Bambie hired you for the temporary spot at Imaginarium. I think she wanted to keep you busy until a position opened up.”

  “It was definitely good to have a job through the holidays.”

  “Yes. Well, if you’re interested, we’d like to have you come back to Imaginarium when you return in January. We’re losing Crystal who is headed for Oklahoma State. Or is it The University of Oklahoma? I’m not sure. Oh well. It’s one of those Oklahoma schools, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t Oral Roberts. Anyway, she’s leaving, and we need to fill her position. Cassie recommended we offer the position to you.”

  “Would I still be considered for a design job when one comes available?”

  “Oh, yes.” His laugh filled his office. “That’s part of our cunning plan.”

  I laughed with him.

  “My first love is design, so I’m crossing my fingers”—I showed him my crossed fingers—“for something there, but I’ve enjoyed Imaginarium. Thank you for the offer.”

  We discussed when I’d return from California, and he shook my hand as I left.

  It wasn’t what I had hoped for, but I left smiling anyway. At least I was coming back to a job.

  The sidewalk between my apartment and Angus’s was treacherous. A three-day snowstorm had ended yesterday. Maintenance had shoveled the walks from doorways to the parking lot, but no one had shoveled the sidewalks through the courtyard. Snowshoes would have been ideal, but I didn’t even own any snow boots. Hopefully my short Christmas list would remedy that.

  “Oh, my goodness,” Janice said when she opened the door. “Get in here and give me a hug.”

  Janice pulled me into Angus’s apartment and hugged me tightly, swaying back and forth.

  “How was your trip?”

  “Easy peasy. They kept announcing delayed and canceled flights, and I thought for sure we’d be stuck somewhere because of the storm, but we had no problem at all. In fact, we landed fifteen minutes before we were scheduled to.” I followed her to the living room. “Dave, look who’s here.”

  “Charlie-girl. Good to see you.” He hugged me, then held me at arm’s length and winked at me. “You’re a girl of surprises, aren’t you?” I wondered what Angus had told them. Were they glad I was here or did they find it strange?

  “I like to keep you on your toes, Dave.”

  “Come sit down,” Janice said. She and Dave sat on the couch and I took the chair opposite them.

  “I’m glad you got here before I leave tomorrow. I was hoping I’d be able to see you.”

  “We were too. And thank you for letting us stay in your apartment.”

  “Really, I don’t mind if you come over tonight. I can sleep on the couch for one night.”

  “Not a chance,” Dave said. “We’re kicking Angus out to the couch for one night.”

  “You look good,” I said to Dave. “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling good. Saw the doctor earlier this month and for now I’m cancer free.”

  “That’s great news. I hope it stays that way. Have you seen Angus yet?”

  “No. He had to work, so we took a cab from the airport,” Janice said. “Angus hid the key for us.”

  “You should have said something. I could have come and picked you up.”

  “I’m sure you had plenty to do to get ready for your trip. I’ll bet you’re excited to see your family.”

  We caught up for a while. It made me even more excited to get home and see my family. It also reminded me how much I love Dave and Janice. At the moment, I loved them more than I loved Angus.

  We had talked for over an hour and I knew Angus would be getting home soon. I didn’t want to intrude on their reunion, so I stood to leave.

  “I’m so glad I got to see you. I hope you have a great time.”

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Dave said. “We’re all going to dinner.”

  “We are?”

  “That boy.” Janice shook her head. “He was supposed to let you know we wanted to take you out to dinner tonight. We asked him to make a reservation at that restaurant where you worked.”

  I felt the color rise in my cheeks. Janice thought Angus had forgotten to tell me. I knew that was a possibility, but I also knew maybe he didn’t want me to join them.

  “Maybe we should call and check on the reservation,” Dave said.

  I pulled up the number on my phone and recited it to Janice so she could call. If he had made reservations for three, there was no way I would be joining them. If he had made them for four, then I would give him the benefit of the doubt.

  I had trouble breathing as Janice dialed the number. I knew I was letting too much ride on this reservation, but ridiculously, I felt like my future was riding on the number Angus had given them. It would serve me right if he hadn’t made any reservation at all, and here I was getting worked up about whether he had included me or not.

  “Yes, hello,” Janice said. “I was calling to check on a dinner reservation for tonight.�
�� She paused. “The last name is Barclay. I’m not sure if he made it under Dave or Angus.” She paused again. “Oh good. Yes, seven-fifty is great. And how many do you have us down for? Yes, four is right. Thank you.”

  A little bubble of elation popped in my chest and warmed my insides.

  It was a small thing, but Angus had made a reservation for four.

  “I’m going to head home and finish packing,” I said. “And if we’re going to Escape, I should probably change out of sweats.”

  “Come back whenever you’re ready,” Janice said.

  “Or if you’re busy, we can give you a call when we’re leaving,” Dave added.

  My phone rang a little after six. It was Angus.

  “Hi.”

  “Chuck. Sorry. Charles, I think I messed up.” I smiled. Ever since the Chandlers had said I was too nice and too pretty to call Chuck, Angus had tried to avoid the nickname. I thought it was funny that he found Charles so much more acceptable, but hey, baby steps.

  “You sure did.”

  “I forgot to tell you, didn’t I?” He sounded contrite.

  “Yes. But your parents told me, so you’re off the hook. I even had time to come home and shower and change out of my sweats.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  It often felt like I was on a teeter totter with Angus and today seemed to be teeter totter on steroids. He was sorry. He had meant to tell me.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re just lucky you made the reservation.”

  “Whew. At least I didn’t forget that.”

  “And you’re lucky you made it for four.”

  “What else would I have made it for?” I collapsed onto my bed and smiled. Teeter totter up. “Mom would have killed me if you couldn’t come.” Teeter totter down.

  I sighed. How many times did I have to be put in my place and reminded that Angus wasn’t budging on the whole “friend” thing? Of course it would have been his parents who insisted I be included.

  “Don’t let me forget,” he said. “I’ve got a Christmas present for you.” Teeter totter up.

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. I saw the Chandlers today and they asked me to make sure you got it.”