The Other Woman |Charlie Barber x Reader|

~The Only Woman~

| Many Months Later|

Car doors slam shut noisily, putting a momentary pause on the sound of birds singing in the trees. An engine rumbles past a few streets down, loud but not quite enough to drown out the lawn mower roaring in the yard next door. Shoes scuff against pavement, keys jingle in pockets, and a helicopter flies overhead. The perfect day in fall.

The sun was slowly starting to make its descent, basking the pleasant neighborhood in warm golden light. A soft breeze rustles through the trees and rattles the leaves that were slowly starting to die and change to shades of rust. The faux spiderwebs that had been strung across the bushes wave their polyester tendrils in the air, glimmering in the light like the little gnats and mosquitoes that lazily glide by, unbothered by the plastic skeletons hanging from roofs and stuffed witches on their brooms.

Children in vibrant costumes run back and forth across the empty street. Their small, sticky fists clutch bags and plastic pumpkins filled to the brim with taffies, chocolates, lollipops, and gummies of all kinds. Exhausted parents pursue close by, leisurely chatting with their friends while keeping a sharp eye on their children.

In the midst of it all, Charlie's gray-blue car quietly pulls up to the side of the road across from the house, its driveway too overcrowded to park on. The gears click as the car is set to park and the engine is killed. In the driver's seat, Charlie takes a deep breath and lets his eyes close for a moment.

"And you're sure nobody has any allergies?"

His eyes open, coaxing a smile to his lips. Charlie looks over at you while you glance at the backseat anxiously, where you had set a tray of pumpkin-shaped cookies covered in clingy Saran wrap. Despite his best efforts to get you to relax, you had insisted upon baking at least a dozen for the friends and family members invading Nicole's house. Though you wouldn't say it, Charlie suspected that you were still trying to get on his ex-wife's good side.

"I'm sure, Sweetheart." Charlie reaches down and across his lap to unclip his seat belt. It whirs and whines back into place on the left hand side of the driver's seat.

"Should I even go in?" You bite your bottom lip, eyebrows knitting together. "Maybe I'm overstepping."

"You've met most of them already." He reminds you kindly, reaching across the console to unclip your seat belt before you could insist on just staying put.

Your fingers lift as you count them one by one. "Henry, Nicole, her mother, her sister, her boyfriend, one cousin-"

"It's a good track record." Charlie interrupts kindly. "They don't dislike you."

"And if they invite us to go Trick-or-Treating?"

"They already went."

"Okay. Okay, we can go." You decide, pulling on the door handle to make your abrupt exit.

Charlie chuckles to himself before following suit and climbing out of the small vehicle. His eyes train on the beautiful beige house his wife lived in, scanning for any signs of his son running past the windows. That laser focus is torn away when you join him at his side, now tightly clutching that delicious tray of cookies.

The entire apartment smelled of baked goods the entire day while you were cooking up a storm and making a mess of his kitchen. You had had to chase after Charlie with a dishrag after you caught him swiping some cookie dough and frosting with his finger. Once you got home after this, you were sure he would be pleased to find that you had left extra cookies in a tin on the counter.