Page 18 of Second Chances

Now everything was beginning to make about why Henry and DD seemed so close. Suddenly, Charlotte’s appetite perked up, and she poured maple syrup on her pancakes and dug into her eggs with renewed vigor. As Sissy brought around coffee refills for them, Henry re-entered the diner, and Charlotte’s pulse raced accordingly.

Ruth lifted a strawberry-blonde eyebrow at Charlotte. “So…back to Henry. Do you know him?”

She stammered, “Well, I…I…I’m not sure if know is the right word, but we have met a few times.” She would definitely like to get to know him, very much.

“Ah, I see.” With her eyebrow raised, Ruth wore a small smile. “You know…he’s single. And just about the sweetest man in the entire world, including my husband and dad. And Josh, of course, who’s grown sweeter with Effie in the picture.”

Charlotte remarked, “Henry and DD looked pretty close before you came in, like they were having a moment.”

“Yeah, she’s quite upset about Burnside. Sounds like he’s going to make a full recovery, though. Henry was probably just comforting her. That’s how he is, and they go back a long way.”

Heart sinking, Charlotte said, “Yeah, I heard they went to school together.”

Ruth lowered her voice. “Effie once mentioned to me that, according to Diadema, she and Henry almost dated as teenagers. Other sources, though, say that dating is an exaggeration and that he just had a crush on Diadema. And it sounds like she was kind of a…bitch, for lack of a better word.” Ruth wrinkled her nose. “Have you met Cait yet?” Charlotte shook her head. “Okay, Cait is one of Josh’s cousins, and she told me that Diadema broke Henry’s heart. She said something about using him as a date for prom to make her ex-boyfriend jealous, then she dumped him the day after. And Cait should know, because her mom is BFFs with Diadema.”

“Oh, you mean Nora?”

“Yeah, Nora. Around here, who you know is not seven degrees of separation, more like three.” Ruth leaned forward with her elbows on the table. “I will say that Henry is a catch, and there are plenty of women in this town who tried to date him after his wife left.” Charlotte cast a glance at Henry, who looked like he was in a serious conversation with DD. Was there anything deeper there than friendship?

“Can I ask you something? Tell me if I’m out of line, though.”

Ruth gave a giggle. “If you knew the number of times I was out of line with people, you wouldn’t even have to ask. Fire away—I live for the free exchange of information.”

Should she ask? Maybe it was too personal? But curiosity prompted her. “I don’t really know anything about his wife—what happened?”

Ruth became somber. “She left Henry and Josh when Josh was twelve. Just out of the blue one day. This was when they still lived in Clover Lake. A couple of years later, they moved here to Beverley. That’s when Tess and I met Josh. The thing is, it totally messed them up because both Henry and Josh let everyone in Beverley believe Melanie died. I guess Henry thought people would ask less questions about a wife who died instead of one who abandoned them.”

Charlotte couldn’t imagine the pain Henry must have experienced. And then having to explain it to his son must have been a double punch. “That’s terrible. And Josh never saw his mom again?”

Ruth shook her head. “No—never heard from her either. Tess and I didn’t even know that Josh’s mom was alive until this past summer, actually. It was part of how he grew emotionally after Tess broke up with him. Effie helped him face the pain from his past.”

“Poor Henry. And poor Josh, too.” Stoic, careful, thoughtful Henry. How did someone leave a man like that? And how was he still alone? He was the kind of man who burned, silently, and Charlotte imagined that deep down, he was passionate, intense…erotic.

“Yeah, out of all the men out there, Henry did not need or deserve that kind of torment. I mean, the man makes the best coffee in town. So yummy.” Yes, yummy was one way Charlotte would describe Henry, studying him over her own cup of less-than-stellar coffee, but now she had other adjectives as well: tragic, steadfast, survivor. His underlying strength was what had drawn her in from the beginning.

“Ruth!” someone called from the front counter.

“Oh, there’s my order. Better get home before my in-laws get restless.” With a wave, Ruth was off.

Henry, Henry, Henry. What was she going to do, after discovering the pain that life had caused? As empathetic as she was, his past made things more difficult for her pursuit of him, though. His complicated history with DD could prove too powerful, worrisome even, not to mention what happened with his ex-wife. How does one recover from that? Once again, her eyes sought Henry, and to her astonishment, he was gazing intently at her while tracing his lower lip with his finger. Desire unlike any she had experienced before blazed through her, burning her nerves. What would it be like to have his mouth on hers, his hands stroking her, his body pinning hers? Sex with Brady had ceased being exciting once they were married, when the taboo of teenagers sneaking around had worn off. How would it be with a man who aroused her across a restaurant? Her ringing cell phone broke into her fantasy, and when she saw the caller, she landed harshly back into reality.

“Merry Christmas, Brady,” she greeted her ex-husband. “I’m sorry we didn’t see each other when I was there.”

“Me, too, Char. Harmony was looking forward to meeting you.”

Charlotte’s eyes still on Henry, she replied, “I guess that makes us thoroughly modern, huh, meeting new partners.”

“I’m glad you brought that up, actually. What’s this I hear about some guy from an auto shop?”

Dropping her gaze, she asked, “Excuse me? What are you talking about?”

“Well, our daughter informed me that you’re interested in some mechanic there? That you took your vehicle to him a couple of months ago? “

Annoyed, she snapped, “I’m sorry, but how is this any of your business?”

“I would just hate to see you move too fast into anything. Plus, a mechanic is the kind of guy who might take advantage of a single woman. These guys tell women they need all kinds of work done on their cars, but in the end, they’re just racking up a bigger bill.” Confused, she wondered if Brady cared about her personal life or her wallet? Neither was any of his business. “Didn’t you have the Jeep checked out before you moved?”

“I did,” Charlotte informed him with exaggerated calmness. “It wasn’t my Jeep, it was the Tempest.”