AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She smiles up at me, grabbing my hand as I help her out of the back seat. It’s then that I notice a stray smear of yogurt on her upper lip and I grab a baby wipe from the backseat, wiping it away before I take her hand and lead her up to the preschool.
I’ve been Charlotte’s legal guardian since she was just over three years old. My brother, Calvin, and his wife, Shelby, were killed in a car accident. They were headed for a short vacation, just an overnight stay, and were killed. It had been the first time they left Charlotte and I had promised to take care of her. I guess I should have been more worried about them.
My brother and I were always super tight. I was his best man at his wedding and the godmother of his kid. He supported me through college and I even moved back to New York and lived near him and Shelby, with my best friends, Sayler and Coraline.
Our parents had both died when I was young and it was just me and Calvin, so when he passed, I was the only option left for Charlotte. My brother was a few years older than me, and he had been the one to care for me when they died. It’s been a few years and I still don’t think I’ve got a handle on this whole parenting thing.
The first few months that I was her legal guardian were rough. We both cried all of the time. It was hard to explain to her what happened and why her mom and dad weren’t coming back. I took her to three different therapists before we found one that seemed to help her, and we did family therapy together, too. I was willing to do anything to help her but she was too young to really grasp the idea that her parents couldn’t come back.
The therapist told me that it would be better for me to wait until she was old enough to understand the concept of death before I brought it up to her again. Until then, I’m her mom.
“We’re painting today, Aunt Caro,” Charlotte tells me as she takes my hand and skips alongside me to the front door.
“What are you going to paint?” I ask her, holding the door open and leading her down the hallway to her classroom.
“Our family! And a castle. Oh! Or maybe a tent. It will be us this weekend when we go camping!” she says excitedly.
I smile down at her, loving her enthusiasm. Her teacher, Ms. Newton, smiles when Charlotte hops into the room, hanging her backpack up and running over to her friends who are already seated on the alphabet rug in the corner.
“Bye, bunny!” I call after her, waving at Ms. Newton before I hurry back out to my car.
Charlotte and I moved to Cherry Falls a few months ago after I bought the town diner. We both needed a change of pace and when I came by to see the Virgin Street Diner, I fell in love with the small town.
Charlotte loves it here, too, and that was the big selling point. I even took her house shopping and she picked out an old Victorian house that was painted a pale pink. There was a white picket fence and some chicken coops in the backyard.
That was another big selling point. Charlotte is obsessed with animals. She wants to adopt every single one that she sees and if she had it her way, we would own a dozen dogs and cats, chickens, geese, a random mean goat, some pigs, and about a hundred bunnies. I’m sure it’s easy to tell which animal is her favorite.
In the end, we just adopted two dogs. We went for one, but they were bonded and I just couldn’t separate them. I try to tell myself that it teaches Charlotte responsibility since she has to help me feed and walk them.
My phone starts to ring as I drive across town to the diner and I smile when I see Sayler’s name on my phone screen.
“Hey!” I answer with a smile.
“Hey, boo! Are you busy?” she asks and I can hear some dishes clinking in the background.
She must be at home with her boyfriend Rooney. I met him when he came to visit with her last month and he seems like a really good guy. He makes Sayler happy and that’s all that matters to me.
“I’m never too busy for you. How are things going?”
“Great! Rooney and I were thinking about taking a trip and renting a cabin somewhere next month. Since I know you could always use a break and Charlotte is obsessed with camping, I thought I would see if you wanted to join us.”
“Oh, I’d love to join you on your couple vacation,” I tease and she laughs.
“It’s not like that! I think Harvey is going to join us and maybe Gray and Nora,” she says, naming two other guys who work at Eye Candy Ink with Rooney.
“Where are you going and when?” I ask, pulling into the parking lot of the diner.
“We don’t know yet. We’re pretty flexible and I know with Charlotte you have more to coordinate, so if you want to come, we can work around you.”
“Can I think about it and get back to you tonight? I need to check our schedules.”
“Of course! I’ll talk to you later, Caro!”
“Bye, Say,” I say with a laugh.
I park in my spot next to the back door of the Virgin Street Diner and hurry inside. My employees, Ezra and David, are already inside, helping the early bird customers. Amelia, my last employee scheduled to come in, should be in just in time for the lunch rush.
“Morning, David!” I call as I head past where he’s busy cooking.
