Please Don't Forget About Me

Homeward Bound

"Late as always, daddy's gonna be real mad," Ezra chuckles to himself as he rests his legs up on the dashboard. "Daddy? I'm not five years
old, and this is a brand new car just in case you've forgotten," Charity replies, rolling her eyes as she finally takes her place in the driver's seat and buckles up. For a June day it's pretty cool, the sky is a gorgeous turquoise colour, not a single cloud in sight and the sun is shining down brightly. "Hey, my feet are as clean as a whistle and this is a two-month-old Ford Fusion gifted as a commute car from Mr Becker. It's not exactly a Mercedes Benz or a Porsche. Chill your beans," Ezra jokes, lightly brushing Charity's knee as she puts the car into reverse. He doesn't take his eyes off of her for one second, she's the love of his life and has been since they were teenagers in High School. "Hmm, you're right though. Dad is going to have a field day when I turn up, empty-handed as well as later than I promised," She sighs. "I'm sure he'll forgive ya as soon as he sees your beautiful, radiant face. Who else is going to be there?" He asks softly. "Everyone, it's his big birthday and he wanted to make it extra special, Cece, Allan and their partners will be there too. Mom's not been herself as of late, so I've been told," Charity replies as she checks herself out in the rear-view mirror. "What the hell does that mean?" Ezra snorts in response. "Even I don't know what he means by that. All I know is he's concerned about her wellbeing. He thinks she's going through some kind of midlife crisis," she replies, rolling her eyes. "Well, it's good that he cares so much. Just as much as I love and care about you, missus," he grins as he takes her hand and kisses it tenderly. "I can't believe you still wear that ring, I would of thought that it would have gone out of fashion by now," he continues as he examines the sapphire and diamond eternity ring on her index finger. "You gave it to me. How could I possibly stop wearing it? I was kind of hoping that you'd make an honest woman out of me by now, but I'm still waiting," she mumbles as she playfully taps the steering wheel. "You said that you never believed in marriage and you didn't want to be tied down. I'm not exactly going anywhere, am I?" Ezra shrugs as he looks out the window observing the passing woody area. "I know, I'm only joking, baby. Are you going to make an appearance with me today, or are you going to sit this one out yet again?" She asks, knowing full well what his answer will be. "Doll, you know that I hate the whole family gathering shenanigans. I detest it when my own family all get together for one of their crazy overbearing meetups. I'll be sitting this one out, thank you very much," he replies in haste. Charity sighs heavily, "Suit yourself then. It just would be nice to get a little bit of moral support for a change." Ezra turns back to face his girlfriend and gently caresses the side of her face down to her chin. "If you really need me just call and I'll be there, like I always am," he smiles. "Sure, right so we've got just under two hours to go. If I put my foot down I might just get there before six," Charity says, glancing at the SatNav. "Don't worry if you're not, you can always blame it on the traffic, you got up late, the car wouldn't start. Any excuse in the book and dad will believe you," Ezra yawns. "You can shut up with the sarcasm or you can exit this car right now and I wouldn't miss you," She teases, giving Ezra a cheeky side smile. "Do you remember that time when we were meant to be there for four o'clock for your parents anniversary, what were we doing instead?" He giggles at their shared memory. "You were licking me out in our newly refurbished wet room as I was sucking you off," she replies nostalgically with a smirk. "It was all your idea, wanting to test the waters," he chuckles at his own remark. "Well, I did but not for two and a half hours. You were a bad influence on me back then, sugar," she replies as she turns on the iPod, Don't Speak by No Doubt starts blaring through the speakers. "You and me, we used to be together every day together, always. I really feel like I'm losing my best friend, I can't believe this could be the end," They both sing in unison. "I remember when you used to think you were Gwen Stefani and I was your Tony Kanal. Good times, to have those days back again. I would go back in a heartbeat," Ezra sighs as Charity nods in agreement. "Me too, babe. We could of made it big, but then you decided to split on our band and that was the end of it. You made the right decision though, it wouldn't of been a proper life for either of us," She responds turning the music volume down. "True, but it was your dream though. Still is," he smiles. "You could say that, but that was then and this is now. I have a whole new career and responsibilities, I wouldn't change my life or our relationship for the world," says Charity as she pulls in to the service station and reverses in to the nearest space. "Anyway, I'm parched. A strong coffee should keep me going for the next hour," She says as she stretches and cracks her knuckles. Ezra rolls his eyes in jest and grins, "Remember your dad..."
"For fuck's sake, stop going on about my dad! You would think that he was your father!" Charity exclaims as she goes to exit the car. "I'm sorry, babe, it would have been a year today in case you'd forgotten," Ezra says looking down, hiding the hurt on his face. "Forgotten? What sort of question is that? I live with that every second of every day. Don't try to tell me what I remember or what I feel. It's my body that has suffered!" She hisses in anger. "Okay hun, I'm sorry. Don't mind me, just go on ahead," Ezra replies solemnly. Before she has a chance to apologize for her quick temper and blunt remark Charity's iPhone rings, it's her father. "Uh, hey dad. How's it going?" She answers tentatively, knowing full well that he's not going to be happy with her lateness yet again. "Peachy keen," he mumbles hesitantly. "Listen, dad I'm really sorry but..." He cuts her off before she can explain herself. "This is not the time for excuses, you need to get here as soon as you can. It's your mom, sweetheart," he replies in a softer tone. "Oh no, what's she done now?" Charity asks, expecting another long moaning story from her father. The parking lot is vacant so she puts him on speakerphone. "She's gone missing," he stutters as his voice breaks. "What do you mean she's gone missing? Where could she of gone, she's probably gone to grab a few groceries from the shop?" Charity says getting irritated as she turns away from Ezra and locks the car, a habit she's always had. "I think she's gone to see her ex, Bruce," he coughs. "Bruce? I've never heard of no Bruce before, dad. Are you sure she hasn't just gone to see some friends until I arrive?" She responds, trying to be positive. "I'm trying to be quiet because there's a shit load of people around me. Let me go into the bedroom. No, she's gone to see him I know it. They've been seeing each other for the past couple of weeks, I checked her phone and there are tons of messages back and forth between them both," he confesses. "Dad! For fuck's sake, why would you do that for? What kind of messages are they, do they scream romance to you?" Charity responds angrily as she makes her way towards the entrance to the service station. "He said that he was excited to see her and that she hasn't changed a bit in all these years. I've known that something hasn't been right for a while, me and you we've had conversations about this. I don't know what more I could have done for her. I think she's fallen out of love with me," He cries. "Dad, she loves you more than life itself. I've never known a couple to be more in love than you two, I'll be with you soon and we will straighten this all out. If she is seeing this Bruce fella, then maybe she's got a good reason," She responds as she punches in the numbers on the coffee machine and waits for the cup to fill. "You don't understand, she left him for me all those years ago. Maybe I deserve it, I've lost her for good," he sniffles. "You're talking about Burton, not Bruce!" Charity says through gritted teeth. "Oh yeah, Burton, that's right. I always knew that she regretted leaving him for me and now that she's gone maybe it's for the best. Things haven't been right for months now, she is being so secretive and every time I try to approach the subject she runs out on me or it turns into a massive screaming match between the two of us. It's killing me, Charity. It really is, I don't know if I can take this any longer," he replies, exasperated. "What's turned you into an insecure mess, have you been drinking?" She asks, frustrated. "Me, I'm sober like a Nun. Haven't touched a drop in twenty-four years, since me and your mom got together," He replies honestly. Charity stirs one shot of cream into her coffee and adds two spoonfuls of Splenda. Her mother has spoken of this screenwriter ex called Burton before, but if anyone was to take Anna away from her father, it definitely wouldn't be someone like him. Apparently accordingly to Anna, Charity's mother, life with Burton was joyless and dismal. She was considering breaking up with him for ages even before she met Pale, their illicit affair just sped things up a little quicker. Pale came along shortly after the death of her best friend Robbie, who also happened to be Pale's younger brother, they instantly bonded over their shared grief and before they knew what they were doing they fell hard and passionately in love with each other. "No one has left anybody, I will be with you within the next hour. Trust me, she hasn't gone anywhere," Charity says firmly as she wraps her coat tightly and reties the silk scarf around her neck. "You really think so, doll?" Her father Pale asks urgently. "Of course, dad. Listen, I've got to pay for my gas and coffee, I'll be back on the road again shortly. I love you dad, see you soon," She says, hanging up without giving him a chance to respond. Just when she thought she had enough problems, now her mom's disappeared and is apparently shacked up with some old ex lover of hers. "Keep the change," She says as she hands a twenty dollar note to the young, blonde Justin Bieber lookalike behind the counter. Standing by the window she looks out and sees her boyfriend Ezra in the car, legs still stretched out on the dashboard, smiling to himself without a care in the world. Her heart sinks right down to the pit of her stomach, with an extreme amount of emptiness and sorrow. Gosh, I wish things were different she thinks to herself as she wipes the tears from her cheeks. It's not only my mom and dad that have issues, they have no idea what I'm going through myself at the moment, not even one single fucking clue.