Then she stood in front of me. Like I was in some dream, she captivated me, her beauty leaving me speechless.
“Oh hey, Alex. You OK? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Hi, Charlotte... I uh...” Fuck, I had nothing to say. Now was not the time to be giddy. Man up. OK, so I want to see her naked, every inch of her spread out in front of me. OK, shit, no more manning up.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the living room where her parents sat. She introduced me to her father who simply said hello. Her mother stood up and walked over to me, then she placed her hand on my cheek. How odd, I thought to myself.
“Un ángel camina entre nosotros,” she chanted as she touched my face.
An angel walks amongst us? What an odd thing to say. I replied in Spanish, saying ‘thank you.’ Thank God I understood and didn’t look like a complete moron in front of her.
“You understand Spanish?” Charlotte asked with a wide grin on her face.
“Yes, it’s what happens when you’d rather study than play dolls with your sister.”
She laughed and led me to her room where we found Adriana on her cell with some sort of party emergency. “Hey, Alex.” Adriana said, then turned to Charlotte. “Sorry I have to love you and leave you. The caterer needs me to pick the final menu.”
“Adriana, you can’t just leave your brother here,” Charlotte answered in a panic.
“Sure I can. He is the computer geek. My Mac is doing some weird cross-eyed guy warning thingamajig. All my songs are on there and I need them for the party.” Without any time for either of us to respond, Adriana vanished through the door like Superman on crack.
“I’m not a computer geek, just FYI,” I told Charlotte.
“You don’t look like a geek,” she said. “Far from it.”
“What do I look like?”
“Alex...please, you know. You’d be blind not to see it.”
“Well call me blind.”
“You know you’re hot. You’re smart. I mean, you’re a doctor! You’re the whole package.”
“The whole package? Obviously you don’t know me well. I’m not perfect, Charlotte.” How could I even begin to explain how imperfect I was?
“Maybe not, but you’re pretty damn close.”
It dawned on me that her words were sincere and I had never heard anyone use the words ‘perfect’ and ‘Alex’ in the same sentence, except for my mother. But the thing that amazed me was how confident she was when she said it, that it was nothing but the truth. As the minutes passed, I found myself unable to look away, caught in the dilemma of wanting her innocence, her purity, but my words came out unexpected.
“What did your mom mean back there?”
“That angel stuff? Long story. Just this legend she believes in. Don’t worry, she’s always trying to bestow her wisdom upon me. I’m eighteen. Isn’t this the time of my life to go wild? You know, get drunk and tattoo some random guy’s name on my ass?”
“You’re not like that,” I answered at ease.
“No, I’m not.” She hesitated, distracted by a loud yell that echoed throughout the house. The voices were muffled but soon I realized it was her parents arguing. “Alex, you should probably go. This isn’t something you want to hear,” she whispered softly, her voice saddened by the excessive yelling. She sat on her bed, a tear escaping her eye. Without thinking, I sat beside her and placed my arm around her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“You wouldn’t understand. Hell, even I don’t understand.”
“No, but I’ll listen. That’s the least I can offer.”
She wiped her sleeve across her cheek. With her head down she began to speak. “You think I would be used to it by now, you know, my parents being separated. Mom’s here visiting and I should be grateful they are able to sit in the same room together.” She paused, as if she was trying to find the right words. “I just don’t understand how you promise that in sickness and health, till death do you part that you will be with one person. How do you hurt someone you’re supposed to love? He’s hurting, I know he is, but he’s too proud to show it. My mom doesn’t understand. He still loves her, though he has a crappy way of showing it. She doesn’t look at him the way she used to, or maybe she never did. All she talks about is Dark Angels, how they come into your life and steal what’s yours, your heart and soul. I figured out a long time ago it wasn’t my dad. He didn’t steal her heart – someone else did. She never let it go and now, my poor dad—” Her voice faded as her words sunk in.
“Charlotte, if it’s not meant to be then maybe your dad is
better off. Give him the chance to find someone who will love him the way he deserves to be loved.”