Something Special

Chapter 13

Charlie woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed and well-rested. And she awoke by herself, rather than by an alarm clock. She figured it was probably because she had slept on the bed this time instead of on the couch, cause the bed was definitely more comfortable. She sat up in bed, stretched her arms, and glanced over at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

9:00 AM.

"Oh no!" She gasped, now wide-awake. "I overslept! The kids! They've missed the bus!"

She jumped out of bed and rushed over to her closet to grab a robe but when she opened the door, she found a note posted there.

Decided to let you sleep in today, you need a day off. I got the kids ready and took them to school.  I'll take care of the cooking and cleaning today, I just need to finish a few things up at work. You just relax.

Alastor.

Charlie smiled at the note. Finally a break. She thought that she would never get one. Though to be honest, doing housework wasn't as difficult as it used to be. In fact, Charlie was starting to enjoy it. She found herself feeling quite pleased with taking care of the children and making a nice, clean, decent home for them to live in. It gave her such a great feeling of accomplishment and purpose.

Still, she wasn't one to turn down a well-deserved day off.

"Hmm..." She wondered as she got dressed. "What should I do today? What did I normally do on my days off? Did I read? Did I got out with friends? Did I even have friends?"

As if on cue, there came a knock at the door. Charlie went to answer it and the other side there stood Vaggie.

"Hello, can I help you?" Charlie asked.

Vaggie looked as nervous as a worm in a hen house. Alastor had asked her to see Charlie today and try to take her out on her day off but the problem was, Vaggie wasn't sure if she could keep up the charade. She wasn't as good at lying as Angel and Alastor were, especially when it came to lying to people that she cared about. Part of her felt the agonizing urge to confess the whole truth to Charlie right then and there. But then she reminded herself that Charlie was essential to Alastor keeping his kids. That was the only reason she was going along with this.

"Hi." Vaggie said smiling anxiously. "I'm Vaggie, you don't remember me but we used to be best friends. Here, I brought pictures."

She opened her purse and showed Charlie photographs of them together as kids and teenagers.

"I'm sorry that I didn't visit sooner, but you had amnesia and I didn't want you to have to remember so many things so fast until you had adjusted."

"Thank you for being so considerate." Charlie said.

"Alastor told me how hard you had been working lately and that you probably needed a break, so he asked me this morning if I could invite out for the day. Maybe we could go get some lunch? Or visit some shops? If you're comfortable hanging out with me that is. If it's too weird, I completely understand."

"No. No. I think I would like that." Charlie smiled. "I need a change of scenery and I would for you to fill me in on what I've forgotten. Just let me fix my hair and we'll go."

New Orleans was definitely a perfect place for a day of getting out of the house. Vaggie decided to take her on a grand tour, she would show her the cities, the rural plantations, the historical sites, even the bayou. The bayou was their first stop actually because there was one place that Vaggie thought was mandatory that Charlie see again.

"It's very close." Vaggie said leading the way. "We don't even have to drive."

"What is it?" Charlie asked.