Charlie closes the front door of her mother's house behind her as she makes her way in on the Sunday afternoon. The family is going to the school picnic at the beach and Patricia is overly enthusiastic about it. As a parent who is very involved in all of her son's school activities, enthusiastic might be too little of a word to describe her. Patricia has always been like this since Charlie was in school and by the look of it, she is not going to stop any time soon. Different kinds of food are lined up on the kitchen counter while a few baskets are already ready on the dining table. Charlie is naturally drawn to those beautiful aromatic things that send her eyes to be greener and fresher.
"Hi, mom." Charlie greets her mom as she opens one of the baskets to take a peek of what is inside. She is now a food thief who will shamelessly take everything and anything she can.
"Hello, Charlotte." Patricia places her hands on her hips as she looks around the kitchen area; just to check if she misses anything or if she should be doing anything more. "Do you have any more baskets at your house? I'm going to need more for these cupcakes."
Charlie thinks for a second and realizes that she does have granny's basket in one of the cupboards at the house. However, she knows that if she says yes, more food will be cooked and more work will be shared to her way. "No. I don't think there is."
"We'll just have to stuff these into the ones we have and just take the whole tray of cupcakes." Patricia slowly gathers the food from the counter and takes them carefully to the dining table where Charlie has already opened the two baskets to welcome more stocks. Patricia watches Charlie helping her put the food into the baskets. Charlie is almost equally involved in Blake's school activities and she is beyond grateful for the love her daughter has for her half-brother. However, that love she has is about to be buried by the storm that she has been building every time Nicole is in sight. "Are you going to pull any stunts today?"
Charlie chuckles nervously as she is caught on. She doesn't blame her mom for the remark. She can't. "No."
"Blake loves hanging out with you. He loves doing things with you, Charlotte."
"Yeah."
"He looks up to you."
"I know, mom."
"If you want to talk about it—"
"I don't." Charlie closes the lid to one basket once it is full of sandwiches and fruit salads. "And I'm trying. Trust me, I really am."
"Alright." Patricia reaches over and caresses her daughter's cheek with all the love in the world. She knows Charlie is suffering. She hadn't got a chance to get over her granny's pass and she had to get through a breakup she thought she never had to have. As a mother, she is more than worried. As a mother, she wishes she could take the pain away.
"Charlie!" Blake greets as soon as he reaches the last step of the stairs. He is in his beach shorts and a t-shirt. He is so ready for any activities that will come his way. But first, the activity he wants to participate in now is hugging his big sister. The siblings don't see each other much during the week although they are not that far away from each other anymore. Charlie has been coming home rather late since she started working at the marketing agency in New Haven so she doesn't have time to spare for Blake who is in his summer break. Weekends are the only time. Weekends are their time until Blake reaches his teenage years.
"Blake." Charlie wraps her one arm around Blake's shoulder and leans down a bit to give him a proper hug. He is one of the loves that is certain and eternal and she would hate if it slips away from her. "Hey, look. I'm sorry about last weekend, alright?"
"It's alright." Blake pulls back and shrugs. He didn't really care then and he doesn't really care now. He still gets to play baseball and that is all that matters to him. "Coach also said that it should have been called ball. He was pissed too."
"Hi, Charlotte." Billy greets as he enters the kitchen area after his mission of getting Blake prepared is accomplished. "Have you decided on the color you want to paint your bedroom?"
"Not yet." Charlie secretly grabs a couple of berries from the basket; one for herself and one for her little brother. They quickly put it in their mouths before their mom would see and they would get into trouble. Billy who witnesses it all smiles and shakes his head a bit at the inseparable duo. He now has a secret to keep; another one on top of the others. "I haven't got enough time to choose the color and everything."
"I want to help you paint." Blake chews his berry thoroughly like he is constantly taught but that gains him no benefit now when that catches Patricia's attention. "Miss Glover said I was good at painting last year."
"What are you eating, Blake?" Patricia asks something she has already known the answer to. They are eating the food that they shouldn't be eating now.
"Let's get these to the car and get ready to leave, shall we?" Billy saves the day before his son would choke on the truth he refuses to tell.
"Charlotte, what did you get your brother?"
"Charlotte, take this to the car. Blake, this one is quite light." Billy ignores the interrogation his wife wanting to initiate with her daughter and assigns her to the job that will get her away with stealing. "Honey, you get the cupcakes, alright?"
"You are spoiling them." Patricia complains although she loves the fact that Billy treats Charlie like his own. Charlie deserves this. Charlie deserves to have a father figure that loves her unconditionally. She has never had that and she needs that more than ever now that her granny is gone.
"They are my kids." Billy gets the last basket from the dining table before approaching Patricia with a kiss. "What else would I do?"
"Blake, don't run." Charlie says calmly as soon as Blake is about to take off like a sprinter who is completing in the last round of the Olympics across the parking lots to the beach. With a basket in her hand and shades on her eyes, she takes the paper bag Blake has been assigned to hold and makes sure that there are no other cars driving in before giving Blake a go. "Alright."
"Do you want me to get that?" Billy asks while closing the trunk with a couple things already taking space in his hands.
"I got it, Billy. Thanks." Charlie smiles politely as she waits for her mom and starts walking with her. She steals a couple glances at the cupcakes on the tray that her mom is trying her very best to balance in her hand. They are the best cupcakes in the world and the world will fall into pieces if she doesn't get a piece of it.
"Is Nicole taking that boy she is dating?" Patricia finally lets the question that has been wandering on her mind the whole ride out in the open. She doesn't want to hurt Charlie's feeling but she wants to be prepared for whatever that might happen.
"Yes." Charlie answers along with the sigh. "I met him."
"You did?" Patricia can't quite believe what she has heard as she pauses her steps to review the information. Her pause almost causes havoc when Billy doesn't get the stop signal and gently bumps into her. The tray of cupcakes in Patricia's hand almost faces the end of its fate as she stumbles. Charlie quickly swoops close to help her mother find the balance that has been knocked out. One of the cupcakes make its grand escape from the tray and Charlie goes the extra mile to get it back in custody. She will be shattered if it goes to waste. She holds up the basket in her hand and uses it to catch the cupcake. As soon as it falls safely on the basket, she smiles with such relief.
"Ah. Thanks, granny." Charlie mumbles and grabs the cupcake from on top of the basket. She takes a bite and soars straight to heaven.
"What is he like?" Patricia steps over the gap that separates the concrete ground from the sand as she raises another difficult question.
Charlie looks at her mom to make sure that the balance doesn't get away from her again before looking ahead to the crowds. She takes a second before pointing to one specific spot; to the tall man with a handsome posture. He effortlessly stands out and rightfully stands by Nicole. "Like that."
Shawn is standing with Nicole with such adorable height difference. There is a parent talking to him and Nicole is just there; looking at him as if the sound of his voice is the only song she wants to listen to. His eyes are locked at the parent as he attentively listens to whatever she is trying to explain to him. His hand is in his pocket while another finds Nicole's like it is his anchor. Charlie looks long enough but not long enough for either of them to feel her eyes on them. She adjusts the shades on her face and clears her throat lightly.
"Shawn Stefanelli. He is very American though. There is probably 10 percent of Italianness in his blood. An entrepreneur turns restaurateur. He drives a Tesla." Charlie explains while taking bites of the cupcake in her mouth. She tries to act like nothing about Shawn bothering her when everything about Shawn feeling like a pain in the butt. She is even a bit bothered to be breathing the same air as him. "I wouldn't even be surprised if he has a spaceship in his backyard."
"You're exaggerating." It is not that Patricia doesn't believe Charlie. It is just that the story Charlie has told has too much bias sprinkling all over it.
"Mom, I could do better if I wanted to be exaggerated."
"That's true." Billy backs Charlie up as he also pauses his steps to listen to the story.
"Thank you."
"Oh, they are coming this way." Patricia quickly looks away when she meets Nicole's eyes and unintentionally invites them their way. She turns left and right awkwardly. It is a fight-or-flight situation for Charlie but she is taking all those feelings from her daughter into her own hands.
"Oh, there are food over there. Yum." Charlie hands everything in her hands to Billy and chooses the flight option. She leaves the scene a few steps before Nicole and Shawn reaches them. She doesn't care if it appears rude. She doesn't care if it appears to be an ass of her. She has the option right here and she is going to take the one that finds peace for her mind.
"Nicole. Hello, dear." Patricia inevitably greets the pair who approach her and her husband. Introductions are made and handshakes are shared. "Nice to meet you, Shawn."
Charlie who has successfully fled what feels like a threat makes her way to the tables that are occupied with fancy-looking food. However, it is not the food that draws her here and becomes her refuge. It is the girl who stands right by it; the one in over-sized shirt and denim shorts with sunglasses on her face and summer breeze in her hair. She is making sure that the food she has brought to the picnic is nice and interesting enough to get people talking and buzzing.
"Chef." Charlie gets her attention as she reaches another side of the table.
Emilia looks up from the trays of food to find the one who calls her by something she has heard million times before. Then, she breaks into a tiny smile and raises her eyebrow when her eyes meet the sight of the girl in Hawaiian shirt that has too many buttons undone. "Miss PR person."
Charlie chuckles amusingly at the nickname she has got. No one has ever called her that but she doesn't mind being called that now. "We see each other a lot for someone who agreed to not see each other again."
Emilia hands a paper food box that she has prepared to Charlie instead of any responses. She is not exactly sure when or whether she would see Charlie but at the same time, she doesn't really care. If the day ended without her seeing Charlie, she would just take it home and finish it on her own.
"What is this?" Charlie takes the box and makes sure that her question has enough confusion peeking through.
"Meatballs." Emilia cures Charlie's curiosity with a word and a smile. It is not a big deal for her but from what has appeared on Charlie's face, she can sense the sense of surprise coming out of her. "Minus pine nuts and currants."
"Thank you." Charlie opens the box to let out the aroma of deliciousness that she can say immediately that it is million times better than what she could make. Then, she closes the lid back and moves her eyes to Emilia. She narrows her eyes and acts so suspiciously. "Are you hitting on me?"
"No." Emilia answers without taking her green eyes away from Charlie. "You're not my type."
"Too bad." Charlie expresses her pretended disappointment underneath her breath. "You're mine."
"I thought your type is my brother's girlfriend." Emilia responds with such a poker face while keeping her hand on her chin as if she is analyzing every piece and every clue she has.
"That's funny."
"Charlie." Blake, out of nowhere, pulls the hem of Charlie's shirt without really caring that his sister is in the middle of something. "Charlie."
"Yes, Blake?" Charlie showers her brother with the attention that used to be on Emilia. She places her hand on his shoulder and waits patiently for whatever he has to say. "Where is your hat?"
"They are doing a four-legged race and I want in." Blake ignores the question about his missing hat and proceeds to the thing he is here for. "We'll get the medals and everything."
"Isn't it three-legged?" Charlie asks when four-legged feels a bit unusual.
"Four." Blake emphasizes what he has said eagerly.
"Umm." Charlie doesn't want to participate in anything that will drain her energy. It is Sunday and Sunday is a rest day; according to the world and God. However, she doesn't have that kind of nerve to say no to Blake. As her mind processes the four-legged event, her eyes remember the presence of Emilia. "This is my brother, Blake. Blake, this is Emilia. Say hi."
"Hi, Emilia." Blake says it so fast and so recklessly as if he just wants to get the greeting to be over with so that his sister can focus on the real matter at hand; the four-legged race.
"Blake." With just a slight movement of the head, Charlie slows down Blake's hype and gets him to walk around the table to Emilia.
"Hi, Emilia. I'm Blake." Blake, this time around, extends his hand and introduces himself more properly and more politely.
Emilia watches Charlie being so strict with her brother and shakes her head a bit along with a smile. Instead of shaking the polite hand that is awaiting, Emilia bends down to give Blake a hug. "Hello, Blake. Nice to meet you."
"Would you like to be in the four-legged race, Emilia?" Blake asks as soon as Emilia pulls away. His energy is through the roof.
"Blake." Charlie tries to stop him although she knows she will find no success.
"The four-legged race?" Emilia bends down to be in the same height level as the boy as she talks to him. She can see a little bit of Charlie's personality in Blake but as far as the resemblance can be, she doesn't see it as much.
"If we win, we will get the medals." Blake makes the tempting offer that he trusts with all his heart that will be hard to deny.
"Wow." Emilia turns to Charlie who has her arms across her chest and secretly shakes her head; signaling for Emilia to say no. "Let's do it then."
"Yes!" Blake holds up his fists and quickly runs to his sister. "I'll tell them."
"Alright." Charlie is left with no choice but to agree to it now. Charlie watches Blake run to Travis who volunteers to be a judge for the little races they are holding before turning back to Emilia. "Thank you."
"I'm sure the medal will make the restaurant look more legit."
"I'm sure." Charlie chuckles and starts walking with Emilia towards the crowd of people who don't care much about food. For them, the picnic is all about the activities and the fun they can have. It is a summer fun that some of them have been waiting for the whole school year. It is a summer fun that they can talk about in the next school year when summer is over. Blake loves it. He loves doing all the activities with all of his friends. He is such an outgoing young man who has a lot more to offer as the years pass. Charlie couldn't be prouder.
"Charlie." Travis walks towards her in his black-and-white stripes and a whistle around his neck. He smiles and nods at the girl who appears as a stranger before making his announcement. "You need 3 people for the race."
"Yes. One. Two. Three." Charlie points at Blake, Emilia and herself in order to confirm the requirement.
"The rule says that the three participants need to have some sort of a relationship." Travis recites the rules that he holds as strictly as a bible. "Blake said he has just met this young lady. Hi."
"What rules?" Charlie's irritation reaches the limit in the matter of seconds. It is almost like her walk in the park is suddenly turned into the walk on the exploding volcano. "This is absurd. Okay. Fine. She's my girlfriend."
"She is not your girlfriend." Travis scoffs amusingly. "Look, it is just a rule to keep the activity fun within the community, Charlie. Besides, you can't be mad at me. I didn't make the rule."
"Who did? Dale Bishop? Is this one of his glorious legacies?" Charlie bickers and she bickers in a full-stream so that defeat will not be what she needs to accept.
"For fuck's sake." Emilia whispers so low that no one can hears and sighs so light that it could barely be felt. She has no idea if this is normal for Charlie to be like this. She has no idea how long this bickering will last. She does know that these are very much ridiculous; both Charlie and the absurd rule. Therefore, she grabs Charlie's arm and pulls her to face her. Charlie's lips are still moving into words when she presses hers against them. Then, they stop. They stop forming words and keep still for a second. Right when Emilia is pulling back, she can feel that the lips that were so stunned by the unexpected encounter are about to return what they were given. "Is that good enough? Shall we start?"
Charlie takes a moment to bring herself back to earth. She unconsciously purses her lips again and that same exact taste that has left a mark on her lips is as sweet as the first time she was introduced to it.
"Sure." Travis shrugs awkwardly. He didn't expect that and he wasn't that mean to kick Blake out of the race just because of the stupid rule. His intention was just messing with Charlie like he always does but what he has got was beyond that. "Let's."
"Yeah." Charlie clears her throat and suddenly doesn't know exactly what to do next. So she passes on the box of meatballs in her hand to Travis. "Hold this."
It wasn't a big kiss that lasted long and passionate. It was only just a short kiss that probably meant nothing. Still, it was a kiss and it was powerful enough to cause some feelings inside Nicole when she accidentally caught it. She begins to understand why Charlie feels like everything she lets her know about Shawn is a rub in the face. If it is hard enough for her to see Charlie kissing someone else, it is hard enough for Charlie to hear her be with someone else.
"Are you alright?" Shawn asks when he sees how Nicole's soul doesn't seem to be where it is supposed to. He looks where Nicole is looking and he sees what his sister has warned him. It's Charlie who has taken Nicole's soul and he becomes convinced. They have something else that is far more than high school friends.
"Yeah." Nicole is taken back by the simple touch on her back. She smiles to chase off the worry on Shawn's face. "Have you tried one of these cupcakes? Mrs. Hale does the best ones."
"I have. It is really good." Shawn takes another one that Nicole gets from the tray. Although there is so many home-cooked food by the parents, his food still gets a handful of fans. People would come to him and want to talk about it; comparing it to their food or comparing it to the ones they have had. Nicole rarely leaves his side and he can imagine how bored it would be; having to listen to something that doesn't really concern her over and over again. So he tries to lead some conversations to Nicole's direction. He tries to talk about the school, the atmosphere at the beach and the students; anything at all that would include her into the conversations and anything at all that would make him know more about her. Then, after pieces things together, he realizes how Emilia's observation is rather on point or if not, it must be very close to it. "You seem to be very close to the Hales?"
"Yeah. Blake was in my class." Nicole explains the universal truth that has been repeated more than once now. She takes a seat on the empty picnic table facing towards the exciting four-legged race that is the center of all attention. From where she sits, she barely sees anything as the crowds blocking her sights but from where she sits, she can clearly hear how fun everything is. Shawn occupies the space next to her and takes a bite into the cupcake Nicole has named the one to die for. He doesn't push for more. He doesn't force her into things she doesn't want to talk about. It doesn't really matter to him anyway. Everyone has their own pasts. Everyone has their own paths. What matters to him is now and the now that Nicole is sharing with him is nice enough. "Charlie and I dated."
Shawn nods.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." Nicole feels like she has done something terribly wrong and this is some sort of a confession that will spare her from the cruel punishment. She wishes this doesn't become a fight. She doesn't want it. She doesn't want any more as she already has too many to spare every time she sees Charlie.
"What? What are you sorry for?" Shawn rests his arm on the table and scooches in a little closer to Nicole so that it will become an embrace that protects her from whatever she thinks she has to shield herself from. "I mean I'm sorry if I make you feel like you need to tell me. I was just a bit curious."
"Well." Nicole takes a deep breath as she is going for more since she has already started it. "You don't have to worry about anything. Charlie barely speaks to me anymore."
"I'm not worried." Shawn looks at Nicole with a warm smile on his face. "For one thing, we dated other people before and those are things in the past now. For another, I can see that Charlotte has a lot of respect for you. She had her chance of bringing this up but she chose to leave it on you... whether you wanted to tell me or not. I admire that."
"That's how she is... sometimes."
"So. You don't have to be sorry because I'm not worried." Shawn whispers to send both of them into their own little world. He wraps his arm around Nicole and leans in for his words to echo all over her. "And you don't have to be worried that I'd drag her name through the mud or confront her or anything at all. I'll probably save those for Emi's ex."
"How is she holding up?" Nicole asks with so much sympathy in her voice that Shawn can feel how empathic she is towards others. It gets him wonder why Charlie let this amazing girl go.
"She doesn't want to talk about it. I don't know how to help her if she doesn't talk to me."
Nicole was there before. She was in Shawn's shoes so she understands what he is going through. She knows it's hard for him to sit around and waits for Emilia to come around but forcing words out of someone's mouth doesn't always yield the best result. "Maybe she just needs time to process."
"Yeah, maybe."
"I can talk to her?" Nicole places her hand on Shawn's thigh and turns to face him whose face is barely inches away from her. His smile is just a delightful sight and his brown eyes feel like those trees in her hike; so peaceful and so solid. She hasn't found one thing that she doesn't like about him and she hasn't found one flaw that is powerful enough to ruin it all. It is scary how perfect he seems to be for her. It is scary how she wishes Charlie was a bit like this. "Girl to girl?"
"Oh, trust me." Shawn chuckles. "You would need a wrench to open her mouth."
Charlie walks back to the playground on the beach with two cans of beer she has got from the shop nearby. The kids and the parents have already been on their ways to wherever they need to be after the picnic. The beach is left with a few joggers who feel the need to fill their systems with the adrenaline before the working days start again. Also, there is this girl who has a chocolate medal hanging from her neck. She sits on a swing waiting for her refreshment to arrive as promised. Her dark hair is still swayed by the breeze while her eyes are fixed on the unknown on the ground. Charlie lets the can opening sound mark her return as she sits down on another swing next to Emilia before handing the can over.
"How did you know?" Charlie who also has a chocolate medal hanging from her neck asks before taking a sip of the iced-cold beer.
"Know?" Emilia notices how the beer in her hand and Charlie's are different. Charlie got her the same beer she had that night at the bar when they met. "Why are these different?"
Charlie swallows a good chug of beer as if she has been travelling through a desert and looks at the can in her hands although she already knows that they are from different brands. "We can switch."
"I don't want to switch." Emilia opens her can and starts sipping the familiar taste that fights off the summer heat. "It is just a bit strange that you actually reached for different cans of beer from different shelves."
"It's not when you have two hands." Charlie turns and leans against the swing chain comfortably as she faces her with a smirk. She starts demonstrating what she has done at the store. "You can basically reach out to get different things."
"Oh, really?" Emilia pretends to be shocked at Charlie's ability. "Wow. Who would have thought?"
"Yeah, I know." Charlie giggles at how Emilia plays along and doesn't care how silly it is. But another matter is still buried itself on her mind amid the laughter. She doesn't want to let it go. She wants to know. "So how did you know... about me and Nicole? She told you?"
"It was written all over your faces." Emilia says quietly and swings the swing gently with her feet. "She kept looking at you as if she wanted to make sure that you were alright. You kept looking away as if the tiny glance of her would break you."
"You are a body language expert I see." Charlie nods along the words Emilia lays out. She doesn't want to say that they are accurate. She doesn't want to admit that she would break just by a single sight of Nicole.
"I am a chef." Emilia tries to lean against the swing chain like Charlie but it is not something she is best at. It is not as easy as Charlie makes it to be. A slightest false move could knock her on her butt and make her look so stupid in front of the one who looks rather cool. "Sometimes people don't actually say it out loud that my food is bad but they can't hide their expression."
"Fair enough."
"I'm sorry it hurts." Emilia whispers and suddenly softens down like cheddar touches the oven's heat.
Charlie shakes her head with a faint smile as her eyes find the beer can in her hand the most interesting thing in the whole wide world. Then, she looks up. She looks up to see Emilia look so attentively into the sand. It's almost like she is so determined that if she stares long enough, the core of the Earth will appear before her eyes so that she could twist and bend it just to turn back time. Charlie watches Emilia and lets the sound of the wave touching the shore play loudly in their silence. Whatever it is that takes Emilia away from the moment, it must have shattered her into millions of pieces and now; at the end of the day, she is too tired to hold them together and act like it is in one undamaged piece. "I'm sorry it hurts."
Emilia is brought back by a single line that is overflown by sincerity. She clears her throat awkwardly and sips her beer hoping that Charlie won't ask for more details of her temporary absence. She can feel Charlie's eyes on her so she takes another sip and another sip. Charlie refuses to take her eyes away and refuses to break the barricade that stands between her thought and her mouth. Emilia sighs deeply before setting her goal of finishing a sentence in one breath. "My girlfriend cheated on me."
"I'm sorry."
"I flew there... to Toronto last week to surprise her because, you know, we were apart for a month now." Emilia lets her story flow like a river after a frozen winter. It is cold and it is unstoppable. "Well, I guess I wasn't the only one with a surprise. So. Yeah. I guess I know what it is like to see someone you love kind of love someone else."
"What a dumbass." Charlie says underneath her breath between her sips of beer. "They don't deserve you."
"Who does?" Emilia lets out another sigh and wipes the tears that reminds her how much it still hurts when the scene is replayed in her brain.
"Someone better. A lot better than that cheating shit. You know what? I don't think we need to switch beer. I think you need more beer." Charlie tries to crack a joke to at least get a smile from the broken girl. She doesn't know what is the right thing to do or what is the right thing to say if she cries. She isn't exactly walking around with comforting words in her pockets.
"This is enough beer for me. Besides, I have this chocolate which according to your brother, tastes like victory." Emilia holds up her chocolate medal before sitting up straight on the swing and raising her can towards Charlie. "To the love that failed?"
Charlie smirks and brings her can to Emilia's. "To the love that you deserve."