Falling For Charlie

Part 18- Friends, Lovers & Happy Endings

Mary Anne had just picked her coffee back up again when the sounds of the footsteps quieted and she heard the friendly voice behind her say "You are drinking coffee? Now I KNOW things are messed up, big time!" Kendra said worriedly and took the seat next to Mary Anne.

Without any words Mary Anne collapsed into Kendra's arms, grateful to have her best friend here to lean on. Just sobbing and focusing on the warmth of the hug for a few minutes, Mary Anne relaxed. "Let's go for a walk, I got a lot to tell you."

A little over an hour later Mary Anne walked back in the room and looked at Charlie who was scanning the morning paper absently. Mary Anne's confidence was built up and her resolve unbreakable now.

Charlie looked up hearing the front door open, feeling wordless, wondering if she was imagining that glint of something that looked like forgiveness in Mary Anne's eyes. Charlie begged her brain to think of something to say, finally forming a few words she said. "Hey, did you have a nice walk? Where is Kendra?" Charlie said quietly.

"I don't want to talk about Kendra, I want to talk about us and where we go from here." Mary Anne said with a nervous smile.

Charlie felt encouraged by the use of the word "us" but scared to get her hopes up too much, so she put her hands in her trouser pockets and with a heavy heart pleaded "Can you forgive me, I feel like that is too much to ask." Charlie said shyly and looked down so depressed and feeling pathetic, which she had gotten use to out here, this was home where she was only valuable when she was being used. She longed to be back in New York where she felt more like she was actually worth something, more than just an accomplice to unmoral and sometimes even illegal activities.

"Can I just ask you one thing ? Why did you come back ? I already had told you no but you came back and asked me to reconsider hiring you,  well actually you demanded it, after you already had found a job at Briana's, so, just why?" Mary said putting her hands on her hips looking classically beautiful  with the sun streaming in framing her face, putting a golden glow around it.

Caught off guard by the question, Charlie spoke without thinking about it "I felt something I couldn't explain to myself when I looked into your eyes. I thought of it as an adventure, like lets find out what is going to happen here."

This was not exactly the words Mary Anne had wanted to hear and she frowned "Oh, I see. You wanted to pretend to be a man, see how long I would fall for it, stupid me. It was just an Adventure to you." Tears gleamed in the back of her eyes threatening to fall at any moment. 

"What? No that is not it at all!" Charlie said with a hint of anger in her voice. Mary Anne was getting it all wrong. "I hated pretending to be a man, I don't want to be a man, I just want to be myself." The anger quieting down "It's just when I am myself usually that is when I all the bad things happen, so when you mistook me for something I wasn't I felt that maybe I shouldn't rock the boat and risk drowning so I decided to let you keep thinking it." Charlie put her hand up to stop Mary Anne from interrupting her when she seen her mouth open, Charlie had to finish first "I was stupid and I was so wrong all cause I was scared that I would never find out what that look in your eyes meant and the honest truth was I did not care what we did as long as I got to see you again." Charlie blushed a little at that last part.

Mary Anne looked at Charlie and how she seemed smaller and fragile now. Seeing her in this new aura she also seen from the corner of her eye an image of Jeremy pop up beside Charlie and he was smiling, shaking his head in agreement and then he was gone as fast as he appeared. Without any doubts she walked over to Charlie and put her arms around her holding her tight, ready to start over again.

...........................................................................................

Two years later

Charlie held the keys in her fingers and shook Mr. Patrick's hand with a firm but kind grip. "We got out all the stuff last night, so she is all yours."

Mr. Patrick smiled "Thank you Charlie, I look forward to turning this place into my dream. Give my thanks to Mary Anne also, I know this must be hard for her, having the business for so long and all."

Charlie thought about Mary Anne and smiled thinking that it was probably harder for her than Mary Anne. Staring at the building and the first place she had seen her soul mate, where she had fallen in love for the first and only time in her life, the lump was bigger than ever in her throat. She shook her head at getting sentimental over a building and thought about the ginger hair and beautiful smile that awaited her at Jasmine's, perking up.

"It's time to let the past go and focus on a bright new future." Charlie smiled big and bright.

Mr. Patrick chuckled gleefully "That it is Charlie, that it is!"

Thirty minutes later Charlie walked into Jasmine's with a whistle stopping to see his best friend in the beautiful gown of beige and holding the pink flowers that were her favorite ones. "Brianna you are a gorgeous bride."

"Hold these, I gotta puke" Brianna told her with a pale greenish face

Mary Anne walked up to Charlie and put her arms around her, nuzzling her neck and sniffing the flowers in Charlie's hands. Watching Brianna head for the bathroom. "that is the third time this morning."

"Wedding nerves?" Charlie asked confused.

"Umm I don't think its just nerves and pointed to Kendra's swollen stomach "Kendra acted the same way, before she went to the doctor." Smiling knowingly.

"You mean, I am going to be an aunt?" Charlie said in the room with a waiting preacher upfront and all there friends gathered around missing one person, the groom who was impatiently waiting outside with the ring bearer, the furry ring bearer, Butterscotch whom held the rings in his doggie vest.

"shhhh, Don't tell Daniel. Brianna wants to surprise him on their honeymoon." Mary Anne said softly.

Charlie overwhelmed with emotions let the happy tears roll down her face and kissed Mary Anne's soft lips getting lost in the moment and for the first time not scared of a thing, looking forward, ahead with nothing but love.