Light in the darkness

18. When we first met

Alice squeezed Charlie's hand comfortingly while they were walking down Elm street. The closer they were to the Andrews household, the tenser he became. It was obvious, that meeting his dad for the very first time was stressful and even confusing.

Thankfully, Fred offered to organize the meeting in his house – a neutral ground that both Alice with Charlie and FP were familiar with. He also volunteered to be there for his friends in case they would need support. They agreed that it was the best way to solve it and set the meeting.

Fred was well aware, that the situation FP, Alice, and Charles had to face wasn't comfortable and they would rather skip this stage, but there was no other way. FP would say, that if Alice would've told him sooner, they wouldn't have to do it now, but crying over spilled milk wasn't the right thing to do now.

As soon as Charles saw the familiar house, he stopped in the dead tracks and let go of his mom's hand. When Alice felt, Charlie's hand slipped out of her gentle grip, she turned to face the boy, who was shyly standing in the middle of the footpath.

"You're nervous, aren't you?" Alice kneeled to face her son and grabbed his hands back into hers, gently stroking his wrists with her thumbs. She caught his eyes and sent him a warm smile.

Charlie stayed silent. Being scared wasn't the bad thing, right? But why did he feel like it was something he should be ashamed of? Every other kid wasn't freaking out in such a situation. It should be a casual thing for Charles too. But it wasn't.

"I'm nervous too, baby. But your father is a good guy and I'm sure you two will get along." She assured him, her eyes not leaving his sparkling blue ones.

Alice rand her fingers along Charlie's jawline and stroked his beard right before placing a conforming kiss on the top of his nose. He chuckled a little and glanced at her thankfully, being sure everything will be good. There was no other way anyway, right?

"I love you, honey." She teared up and got up from the ground to finally make the last few steps towards Andrew's house.

***

"FP, man. Calm down." Fred chuckled while watching his best friend walking back and forth the deck in the backyard. They had been silently sitting there for some time now since they had prepared everything for Alice's and Charlie's visit earlier.

It was obvious, that FP was stressed to meet his son, but by the way, his boy was slightly shaking and his mind was somewhere else, Fred knew he was freaking out inside.

"What if they won't show up?" FP's voice filled with worriedness and concern. He knew, that it was hard for the three of them, but deep down he hoped, neither Charlie nor Alice jammed out in the nick of time.

"They're only 5 minutes late, stop being dramatic." Fred grabbed him by his shoulders and squeezed them comfortingly, assuring him that everything will be fine.

Right after Fred let go of FP's arms, they heard a knock on the door. Both of them turned to the side of the front door and glanced back at each other.

"See, I told you." Fred rolled his eyes and walked towards the front door to let the guests in. He understood FP's nervousness since he was a little bit excited to see how things will go as well.

"Come on in." Fred smiled widely once he opened the door and saw the familiar faces. He glanced down at Charles and ran his hand through his hair to give him the slightest bit of comfort.

As soon as Fred gestured at the kitchen and rubbed Alice's back gently, she took one last deep breath and made her way towards the room. The heart was pounding in her chest. Although she knew, there was nothing to worry about, her motherly instinct was stronger than her mind.