Cruel Trust

Thirty-Eight

We spent the rest of the afternoon floating on our backs in the shallow part of the gulf, swimming out to the sandbar, and dunking each other under the waves. At around 7:30, the sun was setting, and we reluctantly left the water. Andrew sat on a wooden beach chair and held his arms out to his sides. I smiled and nestled myself between his legs while he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and rested his hands right under my chest. I sighed happily as we watched the sun sink under the horizon, the orange and reds fading into pinks and purples.

"We're getting married in two days, Andrew," I said quietly, looking up at him.

"We are? I didn't realize!" he exclaimed. I elbowed him playfully, and he kissed the top of my head. "I'm just kidding, Char. Saturday is going to be the best day of my life."

"Same, babe." I yawned and stretched my arms above my head and around his neck. "I'm tired; let's go to bed."

"All right," he said, sitting up. Getting to my feet, I held my hand out to him, and he took it and pulled himself up. He draped his arm around my shoulder like he used to do in high school when he was trying to stop some douche from flirting with me by pretending to be my boyfriend. The memory of it made me giggle. Andrew looked down at me quizzically.

"I was just remembering the time senior year when Bradley Daniels was hitting on me in the hallway, and you just walked up behind me, draped your arm over my shoulder, and kissed my cheek," I said, reaching up and holding the hand that was grazing my upper arm.

He laughed. "Oh yeah...What was it I said? 'Keep your dirty hands off my girlfriend, Daniels,' and when he said he didn't know we were dating, you spoke up and said, 'Really? We're together 24/7, how could you not know that?'"

"I should've known then that we'd end up together."

"I did know," he confessed. "It was at that moment that I realized for sure that I wanted to be with you."

I stopped walking. "Seriously? Why did you not say something?"

Andrew snorted. "Because a week later, you were dating Noah Steele. I had missed my chance yet again."

I bit my lip and dug my toes into the sand sheepishly. "Oh yeah...he turned out to be almost as big of a dick as Bradley." I thought for a moment. "At least I never slept with any of the losers I dated...only you," I said, bumping him with my hip.

Andrew grinned. "I think we had already slept together at that point, right?"

"Yeah," I said, and then I chuckled. "How did we not realize that we were supposed to be together? What did we think sex was, anyway?"

"We were seventeen. We were both scared to death of losing our virginity—I'll admit it now—and we found each other attractive, so hell—it felt good."

I stuck out my bottom lip and shrugged. "Yeah, that's pretty much it," I agreed.

"But deep down, I knew. Ever since you walked into Ms. Scott's kindergarten class, sat in front of me, and flipped your curls in my face. I fell in love with you right then, and I never stopped."

I smiled, stood on my tiptoes and kissed him gently. "And that right there, the fact that you remember that, is one of the many reasons I'm marrying you."

When we reached the condo, I unlocked the door, dropped my beach bag and rinsed off in the shower. I pulled my cotton and lace nightgown over my head, walked into the bedroom and threw myself into the bed. Andrew had already changed clothes and was fast asleep. I kissed him on the forehead and smoothed his hair out of his face. I propped myself up on my elbow and watched him sleep until my eyelids were so heavy, I couldn't keep them open any longer.

The next day, I waited anxiously for 5:00 to roll around. Andrew and I went swimming, ate lunch at our favorite sandwich shop, did some shopping, and eventually came back to the pool. I kept checking the time on my phone, and finally at around 4:30, when we were sitting by the pool with our feet hanging over the side, Andrew said, "Babe, the time isn't going to pass any faster no matter how many times you check the time."

I rolled my eyes and tossed my phone behind me into the deck chair. "I know, I know," I replied. "I'm just ready for her to get here already."

"I know. Thirty more minutes." He watched my leg shake for a minute, and he asked, "Are you nervous?"

"Yes, oddly."

"It's not really so odd, Charlotte. Within the last year, your life has been turned upside down. And like it or not, Julia played a major part in that," Andrew said matter-of-factly.

I considered this and swished my feet around, watching the ripples flow through the water. "That's true. And even though I'm letting her be in the wedding, I don't think things will ever be the same. I don't know if I can fully forgive her for what happened."

"And no one could blame you for that, Charlotte. You're doing far more than most would by even letting her within 500 miles of your wedding," he said, taking my hand.

I looked at our interlaced fingers, tears filling my eyes. "I don't hate her, and sometimes I feel like I'm wrong for that; I feel like I should hate her. Shouldn't I?" I searched his deep blue eyes for the answers I was so desperately seeking.

His face softened, and he lowered himself into the water and turned to face me, putting his hands on the sides of my thighs. I looked down at him and bit my lip.

"Charlotte. It's okay; you don't have to hate her. Honestly, babe, you really don't want to hate anyone. It takes too much energy. And you have such a big heart. Don't let hate eat away at it," he said, squeezing my thighs gently.

I looked up at the sky and blinked the tears out of my eyes. "All right." I conceded.

He pulled me down into the water and I laughed as I splashed him playfully. I wet my hair again and flipped my hair back over my head in my best Ariel impression. Andrew checked his Apple Watch and grinned.

"It's 5:00," he said, his eyes twinkling.