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Chapter Seven:
Horse Pills
When I found Charlie, he was in a rocking chair next to a window, staring out with a smile that felt far away like he was currently reminiscing about something I could never understand. My presence felt intruding, yet I still felt drawn to him and the empty chair next to him that I assumed was his late wife’s. “Good morning, Charlie. Coffee?” I asked, purposefully not sitting in the rocking chair next to him as I handed it over.
“Yes, thank you.” He reached out a shaky hand and took it, then inhaled the scent deeply through the small hole in the top. “You can sit if you’d like. She won’t bite.”
“She?” I asked softly, prompting him to continue as I moved toward it.
He patted the armrest of the empty rocker. “My Ellie. She’d like you. And your name.”
I smiled. “Ellie, such a pretty name ... with good taste in music.” I relaxed in the chair and sipped my coffee. “Can you tell me about her?”
“She was a real spitfire,” he started, eyes lighting up and wrinkles deepening. “Always bossing me around. It’s no wonder Sterling turned out the way he did.”
I couldn’t fight my laugh, because even in my short time with Sterling, I could see it. “And Oliver? Is he just as bossy?”
“No, no. Nothing like Sterling. My boys couldn’t be more different.” He took a sip of that coffee and spilled some down his chin, but luckily for us, I planned ahead.
“Here.” I handed him a napkin, then reached down to pet Carl’s ears. “I saw them together the other night. They look alike.”
“They do, until you get close. Ollie’s face is softer, his hair is lighter. He’s got my Ellie’s eyes. He’s carefree where Sterling is rigid, reckless where Sterling is responsible.”
I nodded, glancing over at an old, faded photo of Charlie and Ellie. “May I?” He leaned in a little to look at it with me when I picked it up, and I could see the love in his eyes still clear as day. “She’s beautiful, Charlie. How old were you guys here?”
He blinked, seemingly taken aback by the question. “How old? I don’t know. Let’s see ... I came back from the war in ‘72, she came back in ‘73 ... this was about a year or two later, so ... I’d say I was twenty-nine? She’d have been ... oh, twenty-two or so.”
I set the picture back and grabbed one of the boys. There was no way either of them were over ten and both of them had their shirts off and were flexing their muscles. “Were they always close?”
“They were once, yes. N-Not so much now. Both busy, you see. Very busy.”
The sadness in his eyes told me there was more to both stories, but I wasn’t going to push. I already felt like I was being nosey. “I don’t mean to press, but will you tell me how you met Ellie? I feel like you’ve lived such a fascinating life. I’d love to hear your story.”
“One day. For today, you may want to get those meds before my eldest throws you out,” he warned, suddenly adopting a more playful expression. “It’s nearly seven.”
“Shit!” I jumped up and darted to the kitchen with a giant dog on my heels, rushing back with a fresh glass of water and his medicine. “Sorry, Charlie. Here.” I pulled out my phone to set reminders five minutes ahead and then sent Sterling a text. I decided to use emojis instead of words, and grinned down as I imagined his face when he saw it.
Charlie coughed quietly and used the napkin I’d given him to wipe his face again. “Stupid horse pills. My blood pressure would be fine if I didn’t have to ch-choke myself half to death twice a day.”
I didn’t know how to help with that, but I could imagine it was rough. “Can I get you anything else? Are you comfortable here, or would you like to go downstairs?”
“I’m comfortable here for now. I’d like to hear about you, if it’s not too much trouble?”
“Me? Really?” I blushed. “I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell. I’m twenty-eight and I lived in one town my entire life until recently.”
Charlie nodded and hummed quietly, then reached over to tap my hand. “I read your resume, Zeppelin. I wasn’t asking about that.”
“Oh,” I sat back in the chair and stared out the window. “I was engaged to someone. David. We lived together and everything and then he dumped me out of nowhere. I was devastated. Even now that I’m not in love with him anymore, I think he kind of ... took something from me. Like I’ll never love that deep again? I don’t know. Anyway, that was years ago and then he showed up at my job as my new boss and I just ... left. I feel different here, too. Free, almost.” I glanced back at him and my eyes widened when my brain caught up with my mouth. “Shit. Did you mean family and childhood? Jeeze. I must sound like a bummer, huh?”
His cool, soft fingers brushed mine as he leaned in and whispered, “He sounds like a cuck.”
I snorted — outright snorted. “He was. He is. He tried to call my best friend and say he wanted my number and that he took the job to be close to me. The nerve, right? Gods, it felt so good to quit right in his face.”
“Screw him, then. His loss was my gain.”
The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Charlie had a nap soon after lunch and I took the downtime to take Carl for a walk and snoop through old photos. They looked so happy, especially the ones with Ellie in them. Sterling seemed close to his mother; he always seemed to be reaching for her in some way, just like Ollie seemed to be reaching for his father. It made me wonder where he was and why he wouldn’t come by more often. I was sure some of their stories I’d never know, which was their right as a family, but it didn’t stop the questions from swirling around in my mind.
By the time dinner time came around, I was feeling much more comfortable. I put on some oldies for Charlie and danced around his kitchen making a fool of myself, but the adorable old man seemed to really enjoy watching me make myself at home.
