I Knew I Loved You

Chapter Fifteen: Sharing the News

Knocking on the front door of the house, Elise Aldridge pursed her lips as she waited for someone to open the door; she had been hearing a lot of whispers lately and she wanted answers from her daughter. 

It had been a while since Elise had visited and she had heard about the little girl that was staying with Charlene and Manuel; she was rather surprised that they had let her stay for so long. 

Waiting a couple of seconds, Elise checked her watch before banging on the door and clicking her tongue; it was rather chilly that day and she did not wish to catch a cold especially with her plans. 

The door to the house slowly opened and Elise blinked confused when she didn't immediately see someone; her eyes scanned the doorway before she peeked down and spotted a little girl at the door. 

"Who are you?" Abigail asked curiously, she tilted her head at the lady that was outside of her home; she had been watching the television when the lady had knocked and no one had come to answer the door. 

Charlene had gone to wash her hair and Manuel wasn't home since he had a meeting with their lawyer; she had been told not to answer the door but the lady had banged and it sounded too important not to answer it. 

Opening and closing her mouth, Elise tried to wrap her head around the fact that she was looking at a child for a moment; this certainly hadn't been what she had been expecting when Charlene had mentioned that she had taken in a little girl that had no other family. 

Her daughter hadn't told her many details, it was almost impossible to get Charlene on the phone these days and now Elise could see why. 

"Abigail. I told you never to answer the door," Charlene scolded moving towards the door quickly, she never knew who it might be and she didn't wish to take the risk that it was a paparazzi that had jumped the fence and tried the door. 

Charlene moved to usher the little girl back into the house before she realised who was standing before her and she froze in her place. 

"Mum," Charlene greeted surprised, she quickly made sure that her fluffy dressing gown was closed; she hadn't been expecting the visit and she couldn't remember her mother saying that she was coming to visit. 

Allowing Elise to step into the house, Charlene couldn't help but wonder what had made her come to the house without calling first; she always called before she came to visit to make sure that someone was home. 

Peeking up at the woman that Charlene had addressed as her mother, Abigail tilted her head wondering what to make of the woman that was going to be her new grandmother. 

"What are you doing here?" Charlene asked curiously, she had hoped that she would be able to break the news to her soon but she hadn't been expecting such an unexpected visit. 

It had barely been a month since the couple had decided to adopt Abigail, they had been busy trying to organise everything and they needed to find the little girl a school. 

They wanted Abigail to start at the same time as her peers, it would do her some good to have friends her own age and start the process of making her life as normal as possible. 

Abigail had turned six back in March and it was time for her to start school, something that Charlene was eager to make sure happened since she had no prior education experience. 

"I wanted to talk to you," Elise said snapping out of her shock, her eyes continued to drift to the little girl that was standing before her and back to her daughter. 

It was such a strange situation and Elise had not been told that the girl would be staying with them this long, she had thought it would only be a temporary thing.