Don't Marry Your Contractor*

Chapter 6 - The North End

Twenty Years Earlier:

Charlotte was much happier after getting her things settled in the guest room on the main floor of the old house. She decided that the attic would be a nice place later, but just not for now. She left her two boxes of books, laptop and printer on the old desk her grandfather had placed in the attic and then did her best to make the main floor guestroom hers. Around 3 PM that warm Sunday afternoon, Charlotte found her way into the kitchen. It was exactly as she had remembered it. Even the smells of the old wood floor and grandmother's plants on the window sill brought back fond memories. She poured a glass of ice water, sat down at the old kitchen table and stared out of the window. The trees were in full bloom as were the dandelions in the lawn. Bushy-tailed red tree squirrels jumped back and forth amongst the branches and ran up and down the tree trunks seemingly in defiance of gravity. Charlotte laughed to herself as she thought that her dad always called them tree rats.

Charlotte sat in silence for a few more minutes until her tall grandfather came into the kitchen. He smiled at her as best as he could manage. "Is your new room more to your liking Ms. Janssen?"

Charlotte nodded and had a more serious look on her face then she meant to. "Yes, I hope that it is okay..."

Her grandfather smiled and gently touched her shoulder. "More than okay. You know that you can always talk to me about anything, okay?"

The young girl nodded. "Okay."

Carl also filled a tall glass of water, drank deeply and sighed. "Char, why don't we let Gram rest for a bit longer and you and I will take a walk around the neighborhood?"

She nodded and managed to smile a bit. "Okay, sounds good Gramps."

After a twenty-minute walk under the shade of the trees down several blocks and over to the next street parallel to theirs, Charlotte and her grandfather stopped at a small, but immaculate Craftsman bungalow. The house was about two blocks south of the Janssen home. Carl looked at his granddaughter and smiled. "This is the home of Mr. and Mrs. Crawford. They have a son who is seven and a daughter, her name is Lena and if I remember correctly, she will be in the same grade as you."

After observing visitors on the sidewalk, Jacqueline Crawford came through the front door, walked over to the white picket fence and opened the gate. She smiled broadly. "Colonel Janssen, it's good to see you, all things considered. This must be your granddaughter."

"Yes, thank you, Jackie. Do you remember Charlotte, it has been, oh, a year or so since she last visited?"

Sensing the awkwardness of the adults, Charlotte stepped forward and offered her small hand. "It's nice to see you again Mrs. Crawford. If you hadn't heard, I'll be living here now."

The attractive mother of two turned away to compose herself and wipe a bit of moisture from her eye. Must be the pollen she thought to herself before returning her gaze to the old man now responsible for his granddaughter as well as his wife who was battling cancer so bravely. "Yes Charlotte, your grandfather informed us of the situation. You are a very brave girl."

Carl nodded and before he could speak, two children, a boy of seven and a girl who was indeed almost the same age as Charlotte dashed to the front yard from the house. Mrs. Crawford smiled. "Almost like they planned it. Charlotte, do you remember my daughter Lena? She's in the same grade as you are, and this is her brother Justin, he's just turned seven."

The two Crawford children stood nervously behind their mother before the cute blonde girl stepped forward. "Hi Charlotte, I'm Lena. I think that we can be friends."

Charlotte smiled and looked up at her grandfather. He smiled and nodded and she offered her hand to the other girl. "Hi Lena, I'm Charlotte, but my friends call me Char."

Lena's brother Justin was shy at first, but if his older sister could meet the new girl and so could he. He stepped forward and stared a moment. He could not help but notice the color of her blue-grey eyes. He stared into them a moment before also holding out his hand. "Hi, I'm Justin."

Charlotte smiled and held out her hand to the cute boy who was at least six inches shorter than she. "Hi Justin, I'm Charlotte and I live up the street..." Charlotte paused a moment more and added, "... now."

Justin squeezed her hand for a moment, stared briefly at her face and managed to say. "You have very pretty eyes Charlotte."

The boy then turned and dashed around the house and into the backyard.