The right time

Chapter four

James settles down on the couch with a glass of whiskey in his left hand and his phone in his right hand. He looks at the photo's that the children took last night and shared on their social media platforms.
"How was last night?" Emma asks and takes a seat next to him. Throwing herself back, she rests her feet on his lap and throws her arms behind her head.
"Great," he replies and shows her a picture of his children. She looks at it and smiles. He shows her the next picture of Nadine standing with Charlotte. "That's their mother."
"She was there?" Emma asks. James nods and brings the phone back to his face, looking at the picture. "She's the ex-wife?"
"Hmmm-mmm," he nods and puts his phone away. "That's the ex-wife."
"She's beautiful," Emma mutters a little worried and looks at him. "Did you two talk or anything?"
"We had a little argument," he tells her honestly and shrugs his shoulders. "You have no idea how lucky you are with my mother. Charlotte has never gotten that much of a mother-in-law like you do. My mom hates her."
"But why?" Emma asks.
"I have no idea," James replies and sighs. "Anyway. Nadine invited us for dinner. Would you like to come along?"
"Will she be there?" Emma asks and sits up straight. James raises an eyebrow at her and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay, I'll come. I'd like to meet her."
"That's easy," he laughs and touches her feet. "Good, I'll let Nadine know. Mom asked me to fetch her from the mechanics at twelve. Her car is giving a lot of problems."
"Okay," Emma nods and closes her eyes. James looks at her and smiles to himself. Emma will never be like Charlotte, and for some reason, he's made peace with that. Now, all he has to do is stop looking for his ex in his wife.

Nadine runs down the stairs to her mother, who picked up the last trash in the living room. Dressed in a white dress with flowers on and hair resting loose over her shoulders, she sways along with the music swinging the trash bag before putting it with the other.
"Someone's in a good mood," Nadine laughs. Charlotte giggles and grabs her daughter's hands, starting to dance around wildly. Nadine laughs embarrassed before escaping her mom. "I'm taking out the trash."
The girl grabbed the two bags and left through to the garage where she kept the trash until she could put them out.
Charlotte enjoys herself and starts dancing around, jumping around when a weird yet satisfying old song begins to play. With laughter over her own silliness, she spins, and to her surprise stands two people watching her. James smiles at her and folds his arms. Tina, who stood next to him, is trying her best to hide a smile.
"This is the only reason why divorces should be illegal," Tina mutters to James. He looks surprised at his mother, then back to Charlotte, who cleared her throat in embarrassment.
"Hi," Nadine greets them, surprised when she came back into the house. "What are you doing here?"
"We just thought we'd drop by and say hello," Tina tells her granddaughter and turns to face her.
"And that we will be seeing you tonight," James adds, finally taking his eyes off Charlotte. "Emma wants to meet your mother."
"Me?" Charlotte asks shyly. James nods and looks at his mother, who glares at him.
"Is that even a good idea?" Tina asks a little worried. Charlotte covers her red cheeks, only letting the moment sink in now. She really made a fool of herself. "I mean, Charlotte surely wouldn't want to meet Emma, right?"
Tina looks at Charlotte, and for the first time, there's no hate or offense in her eyes. Charlotte hugs herself and inhales deeply.
"I'd love to meet her," she replies with an uncomfortable giggle. "If that's what she wishes."
"Are you sure?" Tina asks. Charlotte nods, allowing her red cheeks to break through the surface of her skin.
"Gran can have dinner with us as well," Nadine tells her grandmother and folds her arms. "We're going to Barkleys."
"I'm in," Tina nods happily and goes to the young girl. She put her arm around her and started talking to her as they walked out.
James watch them leave, and with an odd smile, he looks back at Charlotte, who finally managed to calm down.
"Are you good?" He asks her. She nods and looks down at her feet. James takes a few steps closer to face her properly. A little uncomfortable, Charlotte put her hands on her hips and looked at him. "How long are you staying here?"
"Only a week," she says. He nods slowly and can't help but let his eyes drown in hers. She bites her lip and smiles awkwardly at him. "I hope we can find closure and make peace in this week that I'm here."
"About last night," he sighs and looks behind him to see where his mother is then back at her. "I realized something, and it kept me up the whole night."
"What?"
"I just... may I take you out for dinner sometime?" He asks, breathing nervously. She looks surprised at him as if she can't believe her ears. When last have they gone out for dinner? "Just the two of us. There's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Alright," she nods and closes her mouth, just staring at him. The air escapes from her nose, and her eyes burn through his.
"How is Thursday night?" He asks. She nods her head and brings her arms up to hug herself. "I'll see you tonight, okay?"
"Okay," she takes a deep breath in. He turns around and slowly starts walking away to go find his mother.