Throwing Shadows (A Mialotte Story)

Chapter Six

After a few weeks in the Mia bubble, reality hits Charlotte like a cartoon anvil as she opens her calendar on Monday morning.

Parents evening. 4.30.

It's the first time she and Ben will have to spend a significant portion of time together since he moved out. It's the first time the four of them will be together in public in just as long. But, for the girls' sake, they've agreed to do it. No separate appointments, no doubling up. They can be grown up and tolerate each other for an hour or so.

The day drags as she focuses on getting out of work on time. She's short and snappy and not exactly in the most flexible of mindsets, but Marjorie backs her up and keeps and eye out for her. Plus, everyone kind of expects her to be a bit off now that they know what's been going on.

Before Charlotte knows it, she's standing in the school hall with both girls beside her, watching Ben wander in from the car park.

"Hi."

He greets her first, then offers the girls a hug.

"Who are we seeing first?"

"Mrs Bevan for Maisie first."

Ben nods shyly and takes a seat on her opposite side. "So, I was thinking. If the girls have done well- which I'm pretty sure they have- would it be OK to take them for McDonalds? As a treat?"

This is the side of Ben Charlotte misses. The thoughtfulness. The way he puts the girls first.

She only wishes he could have done more of that for her. Still, she takes a breath and nods her head.

"Sounds good." Charlotte pauses. "You do mean all of us, right?"

"Yeah. Of course. Just... I thought it would be nice."

"Cool."

It's no surprise that both girls' parent's evenings are fine. Charlotte can't help but smile as Maisie's teacher talks in euphemisms about how 'enthusiastic' and 'confident' she is. Ava's classwork is- as always- exemplary, but the main point Charlotte takes away is how kind she has been to her friends. At the end of the day, that's the thing she cares about most.

"And, of course," Ava's teacher had said to them both, a pitying look on her face, "she's coped so well with all the... changes at home. I know things haven't been easy but she is a real credit to you."

Charlotte thinks of Mia, of all the times she had to suppress her emotions to get by. It forces her to sit up in her chair. "Sorry. I... I would just like to ask whether there's anyone in school Ava can talk to? It's all well and good to praise her for getting on and being resilient, but she has been through an awful lot recently and I don't want her to think that the right way to deal with it is to swallow down her feelings and nod and smile. It's not healthy."

Without looking, Charlotte can feel Ben's eyes watching her quizzically.

"I'll have a chat with Miss Plummett in the Rainbow Room. I'm sure she would be the best person to figure something out".

"Thank you." Charlotte breathes. "That's one less thing for me to worry about."

There are several more pitying looks from parents between them leaving the classroom and getting to the car park. Charlotte tries her best to rise above it, to focus on why they're here and what's important.

"So," Ben is the one to broach it with the girls, "since your teachers have told us how wonderfully you're getting on, and since me and mummy are so proud of you, what do you say to McDonald's for dinner?" Maisie looks like she's about to burst with excitement.

"Awesome. Well, I'm parked down the road so if you both jump in mummy's car, I'll meet you there".

The drive doesn't take long, although two overexcited children doesn't do much for focusing on the road. They pull into the car park and Charlotte takes the girls inside to find a table and wait for Ben. McDonald's is something she knows they can navigate; their routine has been the same for years and she knows Ben will want to order on his phone when he arrives.

As the girls find colouring sheets and crayons, Charlotte takes a moment to pull out her phone and check her messages. There's a couple on the nursery group chat and one from a mum friend checking in, but nothing more exciting.

Nothing from Mia.

Still, Charlotte focuses on the girls and- when Ben arrives- she lets herself live in the moment and enjoy the silly jokes the two of them come up with over their chicken nuggets and fruit shoots.

Suddenly, she catches her phone screen light up. She isn't sure how much Ben sees, but she snatches it up and opens the message.

A glass of red wine, being held out against the backdrop of a beautiful beach sunset.

I only need one person here to make this perfect.

Charlotte has never been the best actor, so she does the next best thing and slips her phone into her pocket. As she refocuses, Ben is looking straight at her, an expression on his face she hasn't seen for a long time.

Jealousy.

"Do... do we need to talk about us seeing other people?"

He's deliberately quiet, but Charlotte isn't taking any risks. She's also not entirely sure that that can of worms is quite ready to be spilled. Not when Mia isn't anything more than an acquaintance, and she hasn't got any words to describe how or why she has the reaction she does every time her name flashes up on her phone.

"Not yet." Charlotte returns her comment in a whisper. "And not here."

It's all she can do to put off the inevitable. Charlotte can only hope that the next time it comes up, she has a little more confidence in her answers.