His Heart

Chapter thirty-seven: Charlie

How had this happened to two people I love?

I could see it now, a small part of her that held back watching, as the rest of her walked through this with me.

Was that what would happen to Maddie? Would a part of her always hold back from relationships because she couldn't stop thinking about him?

Was there nothing I could do to stop it?

I tried to push the thoughts out of my mind temporarily. I entered the pub Josh had suggested and looked out for him. Lizzie said he had distinctive blue eyes identical to the twins and she was right. I spotted him from the doorway.

I approached him tentatively. "Josh?"

He smiled at me. "You must be Charlie."

He held out his hand and I shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"You too."

"Lizzie thinks the world of you, d'you know?" He asked.

"That's always nice to hear." I smiled, filing the fact away for later, taking a seat next to him.

"She hasn't told you yet?"

"Not yet." I grinned.

"Crap. I'm a dead man for telling you that." He grimaced. "May as well draw up my will now."

I laughed.

We ordered some drinks and Josh took a drink before turning to me.

"When did you meet the boys?" He asked, taking another sip of his drink.

"A couple weeks ago. We met at the park and I brought my son along. Did Lizzie tell you I had two kids?"

"Yeah, a boy and a girl?" He asked.

"Yep."

I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture.

"That's Maddie and Leo." I said.

"How old?" He asked.

"Maddie's fifteen and Leo's seven."

He looked at the picture with a smile. "Leo looks just like you."

"That's what Maddie says."

"Lizzie said your wife passed away when they were small. I'm sorry to hear that."

I smiled. "She made me promise to move on. I'm trying my best."

I paused. "Lizzie's helped massively. More than she knows. She's really something."

"I know."

We shared a smile and drank in companionable silence for a moment or two.

"Did Lizzie mention I recently got a new girlfriend?" Josh asked.

"No I don't think so." I said.

"We recently introduced Tessa to the boys and they're getting used to her." He said. "Don't worry too much about our boys. They're really adaptable and I'm sure they'll love you."

I smiled. "I hope so."

Josh nodded. "And I hope we can be friends. I think Liz and the boys would like that."

"I would too."

Josh smiled.

"How are your children coping with you dating?" He asked. "Sorry if that's an invasive question—"

"Don't worry about it." I said. "They're handling it much better than I thought. I think I have more doubts than they do."

He smiled. "Such is the life of a parent, isn't it? Your kids always think you're doing better than you do. They think we hung the moon and we play our part secretly waiting for them to realise the truth."