Shattered Hearts

Chapter 39

"Oh my god, he gave you a ring," Darlene said gasping. "This changes everything."

Charlotte held back a sigh, twirling the telephone cord around her fingers, grateful that Darlene couldn't see her. "I think he was saying goodbye until I told him about the whole pregnancy thing. He told me how he felt, what his perspective was, but the impression I got was that he was drawing a line under our relationship."

There was a long silence from Darlene. "No, you're wrong. He loves you. He told you that right?"

"Yeah but-"

"There's no but about 'I love you.' If he said it, he meant it."

"You're such a romantic," she said indulgently. "If you'd been there, you'd have realised it was a goodbye."

"He wouldn't have met up with you to say goodbye," Darlene insisted. "Guys don't waste their time on shit like that. They move on."

"So maybe he's different."

"No, I don't think he is." Darelene let out an excited sigh. "Oh god Lottie, if only you were more receptive. I think he would have proposed to you, he pretty much did."

"What?"

"He already had the ring." She made an exasperated sound. "For a smart girl, you can be kinda dumb sometimes. I understand why he wanted to clear the air but once you told him you were pregnant, he pretty much proposed."

"No he didn't," she said shaking her head although Darlene couldn't see. "We were talking about the baby..." She inhaled sharply, it was the first time she'd called it that. "And then he suggested getting married cos what else would he say? He was trying to do the right thing."

Darlene groaned. "You're making it so hard for him, and yourself."

"I'm trying to make it easier, I don't want him to feel like his options are limited."

"Don't martyr yourself, baby or no baby, he wants to be with you."

"Maybe," she said refusing to give too much credence to Darlene's words. "Look I'll have to go, I'm meeting my mom at two."

There was a pause on the line. "So is she going to get the big reveal?" Darlene asked.

Charlotte gulped. "Yes, I can't avoid her for much longer. She kept making comments about how well I looked at thanksgiving, and I know that was her way of saying I'd put on weight. By Christmas, I don't think I'll be able to get away with saying I've had too many cookies."

Darlene laughed. "I wish you the best of luck."

"Thanks, I'm going to need it."

                                  ~~~

Charlotte took a seat in her mother's living room, keeping her coat on while her mom made them drinks in the kitchen. She glanced around the room that hadn't changed since her childhood and felt stifled by it. Even the pictures in the photo frames were outdated, she thought, looking at a gap-toothed version of herself. It was almost like her mom had tried to suspend time, not moving on from when Charlotte's father had had a stroke.

"And how is Jamie?" her mom asked startling her as she came back into the room. She sat down and placed two drinks on the coffee table. "You should have brought him with you."

"Sam's taking him to the movies," she said unbuttoning the top of her coat. "Jamie misses spending time with him."

"He's had a lot of adjustments to make." Her mom made the slightest of tutting sounds which Charlotte did not miss. "I do worry, he's barely reacted to you divorcing his father."