The Space Between Us(81)

When I woke the next morning it was past noon. I rubbed my face with my hands and tried to remember the last time I slept for more than four or five hours at a time. I still felt a little groggy, but it was a good feeling, a feeling like my body was finally relaxing. I felt loose.

As if the universe knew exactly how I was feeling and how to ruin it, I heard the doorbell ring again. My instincts told me it wasn’t Asher, not after the fight we had yesterday. I couldn’t imagine he was in a hurry to talk to me. I pulled on my bathrobe and walked to the front door and opened it, not really caring that my hair was most likely doing its best impression of Medusa.

A man stood on my porch holding a very large and beautiful arrangement of roses.

“Charlie McBride?”

“That’s me,” I said, a little baffled at the beautiful sight.

“These are for you. Have a nice day.” He handed the flowers off to me and I carried them into the kitchen, kicking the door closed.

The roses were all different shades of yellow – light yellow like you might find in a baby’s nursery, buttery yellow, darker shades that remind me of sunlight; they were all beautiful. I spotted a card mixed in with the flowers and pulled it out.

Dear Charlie,

Despite everything that’s happened between us, I cannot forget that at first, in the very beginning, we were friends. Best friends. Yellow roses signify friendship and I very much still want to be friends with you. Please don’t push me away.

My mom and dad are having a dinner tonight and I would like for you to come. Reeve and her family will be there. My mom would love to see you, as would I. Please consider coming. Six pm. You know the place.

~Asher

Perhaps it was the full night’s sleep or the fact that, in the end, I could always use a true friend, but I found myself softening to his invitation. I could be friends with him, couldn’t I? Besides the appeal of having him back in my life, in any capacity, the idea of seeing his parents, especially his mother, made my heart clench a little. I could use a little Mrs. Carmichael love at the moment.

I grabbed my cell phone and called Reeve.

“Hey, how are you?” She answered. I could hear her children in the background, her house filled with sounds of happy and loud kids.

“Better, thanks.” I paused, wondering how to best broach the topic. “So you spoke with Asher?”

“Yeah. A few times. He is worried about you. We all are.”

“Are you going to dinner at the Carmichael’s tonight?”

“Are you?” She retorted.

“I want to. But I don’t think I can go alone.”

“Well, you won’t have to. Riley, the kids, and I will be there.”

I smiled hearing that, glad that I hadn’t pushed Reeve so far away that she was completely out of reach.

“What are you going to wear? I didn’t bring anything that doesn’t scream “I’m in mourning”.

“Sounds like you need to go shopping. I’ll be there in an hour!” I heard the line go dead and I knew that in sixty minutes or less Reeve would be here to help me. I smiled, my mood lightened by how even though things were so drastically different than they were in college, some things were still the same. It was remarkably comforting.





Chapter Ten


Charlie


Reeve and I sifted through a few racks at a boutique downtown. Turns out that Reeve’s husband, Riley, was home on vacation and Reeve was looking for the perfect reason to get out of her house. Who’d have thought that being home with your husband and children could be stressful? She showed up to my dad’s house with two coffee drinks, a smile, and an excitement she attributed to being “child-free” and given a valid reason to shop. I was more than happy to supply her a reason to escape her house.

“So what’s it like living the exciting life in New York City?” Reeve asked with sparkling eyes.

I shrugged my shoulders. “It’s different. Exciting. Fast. But it’s also normal and boring. I don’t know; you get used to it I suppose.”

“Do you see many famous people?”

“I spend a lot of time in my studio, drawing. But a few smaller celebrities have come to my shows before. No one huge though.” I found it funny that she was so enraptured by my life. To me, my life back in NYC was a bandage. Something I used to cover up my painful past. I didn’t really enjoy being there, but it was better than being here. Well, it used to be, anyway.

“That’s really great that you’ve been able to do your art in New York. You are so talented. Once I graduated from college I just took the first job I was offered.” She shrugged her shoulders, like it was something she’d thought about before but decided it wasn’t worth the effort to worry about it.

“Where do you work?” I asked, casually flipping through some dresses, trying to hide my shame that I didn’t even know what Reeve did for a living, let alone what she’d ended up getting her degree in. I was a terrible friend.

“Well, I started working for a PR firm. You know, started at the bottom and was trying to work my way up when I met Riley. We dated for three years before we got married and when I had Chey, I decided to be a stay-at-home mom.”

“Chey? That’s an interesting name.”

“It’s short for Cheyanne,” she said with a smile, thinking fondly of her oldest. It was a dreamy look that obviously alluded to the deep and immeasurable love Reeve had for her. “Cheyanne is three and Ryder, my son, is just one.”