Wednesday, November 24, 2004
2.
2.
Colette was sitting in the kitchen when Charlie came bursting through the door. She hadn’t been moping, not really, but she was feeling somewhat out of place at the party. She really didn’t know a lot of the kids that were here, and the people she did know were occupied with other things. So she’d gotten herself a piece of the sweet potato pie that someone had brought, and she was sitting at the center island in the kitchen reading “Pride and Prejudice”. Charlie had a Guinness in his hand.
“Hey! What are you doing in here? Why aren’t you out enjoying the party?” He walked over to the counter and took the book away from her. “Pride and Prejudice? Come on. Vacation just started. You don’t need to read this until next weekend.”
“No, Charlie, it’s okay. Really. You enjoy your party.” She tried to take the book away, but he took off towards the other end of the kitchen. She ran after him, and caught up to him as he reached the door to the butler’s pantry. She grabbed him, but as she did, she slipped, and they both tumbled onto the linoleum floor. Colette ended up on top of Charlie, and the two of them were face to face.
“You okay?” He looked at her eyes. She had beautiful green eyes, he thought. A guy could drown in them. He’d never really looked at her until yesterday, and that had been a shame.
“Yeah. I just lost my footing there for a second.” She started to get up.
“No, wait. I wanna say something to you. He sat up on the floor, and leaned back against the door to the pantry. She sat back down next to him on the floor. He sipped at his Guinness. “Look. About last night...”
“Shh. Don’t say anything. I know that you like me. It’s not hard to figure out. But I’m not Kat, and I’m not some kind of vixen. I’m not going to go and spoil things for you.” She didn’t look at him, instead just staring out across the kitchen. It was quiet there, though they could hear some of the revelry just through the other side of the door. “Last night was last night. I was feeling pretty good, and I wanted to kiss you, and that was it.”
“I know you’re not a vixen, and I’m not a bastard. Kat and I, we’re not really seeing eye to eye right now, you know, and it’s not going to get any better. Particularly if she sees the news report this evening, which I’m sure will happen.” He patted her leg. “You’re a good friend, Colette. These last few months have been great, and my French is certainly not suffering from it.”
“I’ve enjoyed it also.”
He stood up. “Look, what I’m trying to say is this. I like you. A lot, you know? But I’m sort of hung up here. I don’t know what to do.”
She got up and took his hand in hers. It was warm and firm, and she squeezed it lightly. “Trust your heart, Charlie. It’ll never take you down the wrong road.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” They stood there a moment, not saying anything. Charlie was about to open his mouth again when she dropped his hand and smiled.
“Don’t worry about me, Charlie. I’m sure whatever you’re going to do, it will be the right thing.” She took the book out of his hand and walked back over to the counter. “Go back to the party before she misses you. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” She sat down, back to him. He stood there for a second, then walked up to her. He turned her stool around and looked her in the eyes. Then he leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. She was surprised, then happy, then confused. As he broke away, she looked up at him. “Charlie...”
“I, uh...” He stood up, half surprised that he’d done it himself. “Now you know how I feel, I hope.” He walked over to the kitchen door. “We’ll, uh, we’ll talk later.” With that, he was gone, leaving her sitting at the counter, mouth still agape. She turned back to look at the storm still raging outside, and considered her own storm of emotions raging inside.
Back in the living room, Kat was sitting on the couch, watching MTV with a few of the girls. She’d gotten a nice buzz going, and she was checking out some of the guys that were at the party. Charlie had been a bit of a wet blanket when she came over and took the remote out of his hand, but he’d been nice enough to ask if she wanted another drink before storming off to God knows where. Things had changed a lot for them in the three years they’d been dating.
They’d met in grade school, though at first there wasn’t any attraction. Charlie was just the odd kid with the French accent who hung around with Gary Ablett. He and Doug Harris became good friends, and when Doug started to get serious with Kim, Charlie had become a steady presence in the Masters house. He and Doug would play all manner of sports with the girls’ older brother Darrell. She’d only taken an interest in him when the first signs of puberty kicked in and Charlie started getting lean and handsome. Doug and Kim had suggested that she go out with him as a double date just after they’d started going out, and they hit it off like gangbusters. She figured that it probably helped that she’d started hitting puberty pretty hard also, and had developed a fairly womanly body quickly.
Their relationship hadn’t been rocky until the last few months. Charlie had started getting distant, a little at a time. She didn’t like it, because while she thought she loved him, she was also conscious of her status in the twin worlds of Holy Mother and St. Brigid’s. Being a cheerleader kept her floating a bit higher in the pool, but the fact that she was dating the number one hockey player in the state and the most popular guy at Holy Mother meant that she was top girl in the social order.
Kim had accused her of being shallow on more then one occasion, and she knew that she really couldn’t dispute the claim, as much as it hurt. But she wasn’t the egghead that Kim was, and she saw Charlie as her ticket out of New Haven. He was going to be a huge superstar, and she was going to go along for the ride. So when he started seeming less interested, she’d turned up the charm in an attempt to keep him around. It had worked intermittently, but as the end of the season approached, he’d become even more distant. She wondered if being around that French girl was causing the ripples. She made up her mind to talk to Audra about it. If anyone knew what was going on, she would. Bill Ryan came in and sat down at the far end of the couch. Kat liked him. He was a party animal, and always knew how to have a good time.
“Hey, Kat. How’s it goin?”
“Oh, fine, Bill. How about you?”
“You know. Same old thing. How’s that beer treating you?”
“Okay, why?”
He pulled a rolled up bag out of his pocket. He flipped it open to show her a half dozen joints inside. “You wanna go blaze one up with me? I got some really good stuff for the party, and I don’t have to play for a while yet.”
She thought about it. Getting baked seemed like a good idea. Charlie wouldn’t like it, but at this point, she didn’t think she cared. Besides, it was nice to have a guy who was actually interested in her directly. “Sure, that’d be cool.”
He offered her his hand, and they got up together. She knew of a few safe and quiet places in the house where they could go and smoke up. They headed off to the second floor, headed towards Gary’s library, where she figured no one would be. As they headed down the hall towards the library, though, they didn’t notice Gary and Audra coming out of his bedroom behind them. Gary was about to say something, when Audra nudged him and pulled him back into the bedroom quietly.
“Did you see that?” Gary was surprised, but not shocked. He’d always known that Bill was hot for Kat.
“I didn’t see anything yet,” said Audra, “but it’s something to keep in mind.” She’d been talking a lot to Colette, and she wasn’t any fan of Kat Masters. She knew that Colette wanted Charlie, and in her mind, she’d been working on a way to get them together for a couple of weeks now. This was a bonus, though. It was a golden opportunity, she thought as she poked her head back into the hallway. The coast was clear, so she and Gary headed back down to the party.
Colette was sitting in the kitchen when Charlie came bursting through the door. She hadn’t been moping, not really, but she was feeling somewhat out of place at the party. She really didn’t know a lot of the kids that were here, and the people she did know were occupied with other things. So she’d gotten herself a piece of the sweet potato pie that someone had brought, and she was sitting at the center island in the kitchen reading “Pride and Prejudice”. Charlie had a Guinness in his hand.
“Hey! What are you doing in here? Why aren’t you out enjoying the party?” He walked over to the counter and took the book away from her. “Pride and Prejudice? Come on. Vacation just started. You don’t need to read this until next weekend.”
“No, Charlie, it’s okay. Really. You enjoy your party.” She tried to take the book away, but he took off towards the other end of the kitchen. She ran after him, and caught up to him as he reached the door to the butler’s pantry. She grabbed him, but as she did, she slipped, and they both tumbled onto the linoleum floor. Colette ended up on top of Charlie, and the two of them were face to face.
“You okay?” He looked at her eyes. She had beautiful green eyes, he thought. A guy could drown in them. He’d never really looked at her until yesterday, and that had been a shame.
“Yeah. I just lost my footing there for a second.” She started to get up.
“No, wait. I wanna say something to you. He sat up on the floor, and leaned back against the door to the pantry. She sat back down next to him on the floor. He sipped at his Guinness. “Look. About last night...”
“Shh. Don’t say anything. I know that you like me. It’s not hard to figure out. But I’m not Kat, and I’m not some kind of vixen. I’m not going to go and spoil things for you.” She didn’t look at him, instead just staring out across the kitchen. It was quiet there, though they could hear some of the revelry just through the other side of the door. “Last night was last night. I was feeling pretty good, and I wanted to kiss you, and that was it.”
“I know you’re not a vixen, and I’m not a bastard. Kat and I, we’re not really seeing eye to eye right now, you know, and it’s not going to get any better. Particularly if she sees the news report this evening, which I’m sure will happen.” He patted her leg. “You’re a good friend, Colette. These last few months have been great, and my French is certainly not suffering from it.”
“I’ve enjoyed it also.”
He stood up. “Look, what I’m trying to say is this. I like you. A lot, you know? But I’m sort of hung up here. I don’t know what to do.”
She got up and took his hand in hers. It was warm and firm, and she squeezed it lightly. “Trust your heart, Charlie. It’ll never take you down the wrong road.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” They stood there a moment, not saying anything. Charlie was about to open his mouth again when she dropped his hand and smiled.
“Don’t worry about me, Charlie. I’m sure whatever you’re going to do, it will be the right thing.” She took the book out of his hand and walked back over to the counter. “Go back to the party before she misses you. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” She sat down, back to him. He stood there for a second, then walked up to her. He turned her stool around and looked her in the eyes. Then he leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. She was surprised, then happy, then confused. As he broke away, she looked up at him. “Charlie...”
“I, uh...” He stood up, half surprised that he’d done it himself. “Now you know how I feel, I hope.” He walked over to the kitchen door. “We’ll, uh, we’ll talk later.” With that, he was gone, leaving her sitting at the counter, mouth still agape. She turned back to look at the storm still raging outside, and considered her own storm of emotions raging inside.
Back in the living room, Kat was sitting on the couch, watching MTV with a few of the girls. She’d gotten a nice buzz going, and she was checking out some of the guys that were at the party. Charlie had been a bit of a wet blanket when she came over and took the remote out of his hand, but he’d been nice enough to ask if she wanted another drink before storming off to God knows where. Things had changed a lot for them in the three years they’d been dating.
They’d met in grade school, though at first there wasn’t any attraction. Charlie was just the odd kid with the French accent who hung around with Gary Ablett. He and Doug Harris became good friends, and when Doug started to get serious with Kim, Charlie had become a steady presence in the Masters house. He and Doug would play all manner of sports with the girls’ older brother Darrell. She’d only taken an interest in him when the first signs of puberty kicked in and Charlie started getting lean and handsome. Doug and Kim had suggested that she go out with him as a double date just after they’d started going out, and they hit it off like gangbusters. She figured that it probably helped that she’d started hitting puberty pretty hard also, and had developed a fairly womanly body quickly.
Their relationship hadn’t been rocky until the last few months. Charlie had started getting distant, a little at a time. She didn’t like it, because while she thought she loved him, she was also conscious of her status in the twin worlds of Holy Mother and St. Brigid’s. Being a cheerleader kept her floating a bit higher in the pool, but the fact that she was dating the number one hockey player in the state and the most popular guy at Holy Mother meant that she was top girl in the social order.
Kim had accused her of being shallow on more then one occasion, and she knew that she really couldn’t dispute the claim, as much as it hurt. But she wasn’t the egghead that Kim was, and she saw Charlie as her ticket out of New Haven. He was going to be a huge superstar, and she was going to go along for the ride. So when he started seeming less interested, she’d turned up the charm in an attempt to keep him around. It had worked intermittently, but as the end of the season approached, he’d become even more distant. She wondered if being around that French girl was causing the ripples. She made up her mind to talk to Audra about it. If anyone knew what was going on, she would. Bill Ryan came in and sat down at the far end of the couch. Kat liked him. He was a party animal, and always knew how to have a good time.
“Hey, Kat. How’s it goin?”
“Oh, fine, Bill. How about you?”
“You know. Same old thing. How’s that beer treating you?”
“Okay, why?”
He pulled a rolled up bag out of his pocket. He flipped it open to show her a half dozen joints inside. “You wanna go blaze one up with me? I got some really good stuff for the party, and I don’t have to play for a while yet.”
She thought about it. Getting baked seemed like a good idea. Charlie wouldn’t like it, but at this point, she didn’t think she cared. Besides, it was nice to have a guy who was actually interested in her directly. “Sure, that’d be cool.”
He offered her his hand, and they got up together. She knew of a few safe and quiet places in the house where they could go and smoke up. They headed off to the second floor, headed towards Gary’s library, where she figured no one would be. As they headed down the hall towards the library, though, they didn’t notice Gary and Audra coming out of his bedroom behind them. Gary was about to say something, when Audra nudged him and pulled him back into the bedroom quietly.
“Did you see that?” Gary was surprised, but not shocked. He’d always known that Bill was hot for Kat.
“I didn’t see anything yet,” said Audra, “but it’s something to keep in mind.” She’d been talking a lot to Colette, and she wasn’t any fan of Kat Masters. She knew that Colette wanted Charlie, and in her mind, she’d been working on a way to get them together for a couple of weeks now. This was a bonus, though. It was a golden opportunity, she thought as she poked her head back into the hallway. The coast was clear, so she and Gary headed back down to the party.
