by Corey Colombin
Recap of Chapter 6: Having left without word, Charlotte was settling in at her sister’s house but still felt the need to let someone know she was safe, however cryptic the message. Josie and Marianne were making snarky guesses as to why Frank couldn’t get hold of Charlotte. And they with their husbands were gossiping about Callie hooking up with her ex and what it could mean.
“It must be a full moon,” Miriam mumbled, shaking her head. Her phone had been buzzing from messages all morning. Here it was a month out from the river cruise and both companions had tracked her down, eager to meet. They were nice enough and she had to admit that she had been charmed by both during the cruise, but meeting? It just didn’t fit into her normal, non-cruising life. At home, she was Mom and Gramma and Gramma Great. She didn’t think there was room to also be anyone’s… what? Girlfriend? Absurd. And how would she narrow it down to one? Shaking her head, Miriam put her cellphone face down on the counter and picked up tonight’s menu plan. Between kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, only 15 were coming tonight. That was normal for the first summer family dinner. Miriam’s family was in perpetual motion, all over the place in stages of life. The little ones were out from various grades of preschool and elementary school; the older grands were planning college and starting their lives; the kids were looking at empty nests and planning trips to colleges or throwing weddings and baby showers. It was a lot to keep track of. Miriam firmly believed it kept her young, but the reality was that without help, she could never host these family dinners. God bless her housekeeper, Emma.
The dinner menu included a variety of barbecued meats, which they were bringing in, but the side dishes would be made in-house. Miriam would be making a batch of her sought-after baked beans recipe, and macaroni and cheese. There would be potato salad, corn on the cob, and cornbread that Emma would put together, and the kids would bring desserts, so there would be a variety of homemade and store-bought delights on the table. Miriam always liked to have something special for the little ones, so she ordered cookie pops decorated in summer themes from a local bakery. Emma would handle the shopping and they would cook together. With the weather being so nice, they planned to eat outside, picnic-style.
“Miriam knew they were hiding something.”
Hours later, Miriam was surprised to see Callie and the boys arrive ahead of everyone else. That was a first. She was equally surprised to see Troy in the mix. He hadn’t been to one of these dinners since the divorce. Embracing him, she shot Callie a questioning look and received a shrug in response. Next to come through the front door was Josie and her family. They tumbled into the foyer in good humor, jostling desserts and outdoor games. Miriam whispered to the great-grands as they ran through. “Life is short; have dessert first.” And she pointed to the basket with the cookie pops. Marianne’s family arrived just in time for the giggling hoard of kids to run past, holding cookie pops. “It’s a good thing we only have these dinners once a month,” she said, hugging Miriam. “You spoil them, Mom.” To which Miriam replied, “It’s my right as the matriarch of this family to spoil my family. There are goodies for you too,” she said, pointing to the dispenser of sangria. Miriam looked outside, thinking she’d see Frank, Jr. and Charlotte pull up, but there was no sign of them. She poked her head out back where the children were gathered around the dads and granddads setting up corn hole and horseshoes. She made her way into the kitchen where her daughters and granddaughters were setting out the desserts and nosing around the rest of the food. The sound of easy banter, laughing and playful teasing was a welcome sound. Miriam couldn’t help but smile. She loved it best when her large family gathered. “Has anyone heard from Frankie today? He and Charlotte are usually the first to arrive. It’s not like them to be late,” she said to the room. Her daughters exchanged looks and the room became immediately and suspiciously quiet. Miriam knew they were hiding something. “Okay,” she said. “Out with it. What’s going on that you’re not telling me?”
After days in the dark, Frank figured out Charlotte’s location by tracking her phone. Since she wouldn’t answer his texts or calls, and her sister pointedly refused to relay any messages, he had no choice but to show up unannounced. It was a long, nerve-racking flight into Portland. Booking a last-minute flight put him in the back row middle seat, regrettably between two toddlers amped up on sugar. Their squirming only exacerbated his own nervous energy, and he found himself twitching in his seat, his leg bouncing. His head was spinning, thoughts running wild. Could his wife have found out about his affair? He racked his brain. He had been so careful. Who could have told her? Accusing his girlfriend proved to be a mistake. Now she wasn’t talking to him either.
Charlotte was feeling fenced in. Frank was stirring up trouble from all sides, and the blowback was landing on her. Her daughter was being harassed, so she kept calling and texting; Sharon’s patience was wearing thin from his daily pleadings; he’d even put his office staff on finding out her location, masked as trying to find a location to send flowers. This hiding thing wasn’t going to work for much longer. There was too much backlash. She sighed with the realization that it was time to go home and confront Frank. The problem was, she didn’t know what to do about Frank. The hurt, the betrayal, the pure meanness of his cheating had left her at a loss for what action to take. If his reaction was any indication, he would either deny the affair altogether or acknowledge his mistake and beg for forgiveness. She would never believe his lies. He’d learn that was a non-starter immediately, which left him pressing for her forgiveness. Did she have it in her? She swiped at her bangs and exhaled, resigned to the necessity of going home to find out. It was time to pack and get out of her sister’s space. Besides, she had the whole flight home to ponder the big questions.
While Frank stood in line at the Portland airport car rental counter, he tapped his fingers impatiently. He couldn’t get his hands on the keys quickly enough. The sooner he could get there, the sooner he could convince his wife to come home. So focused on his mission, he didn’t notice Charlotte rush by on long strides heading to the gate. In a matter of minutes, she would be boarding a plane back to DIA, ultimately to arrive home to an empty house. And by the time Frank arrived at his sister-in-law’s house, his wife would be long gone.
