Just us.

20. But...

"You know what Charlotte? Either you keep your mouth shut or I'll take the girls and you'll never see them again!" Nathan shouts down the phone. He can't do that.
"You can't do that Nathan! If you want to see the girls then be there to see them. We agreed that Ashley wasn't to be around them!"
"Yeah well Ashley's a better mother than you"
"Excuse me? The girls don't even like her!" I shout back
"Whatever Charlotte" he hangs up and I throw my phone onto the counter. He's not doing that. He won't take my girls away from me. I thought he was better than that.

...

After gathering myself together I made my way to work. I honestly would much rather call in sick but that would mean I have to speak to Marjorie. Who hates me.

As long as I can keep my head down, get through work while keeping the smile painted on my face, I'll be okay.

Summer walks in just as I'm helping a little girl with her coat,
"Hi summer, I'll be with you in one minute" I smile at her.
"Fine, latrine, why don't you just run over to Carly in the meantime" he runs over to see Carly, while another parent greets summer.

"Oh my god!" She gasps, "did you hear about Eloise's parents?" I couldn't help but overhear, summer asks what about and is replied with the news that they separated. "And they were together like, 10 years" that sounds awful, I hope they're okay.

"Why did they separate?" Summer asks. Eloise's mum did call in to say she was sick today, I hope she's okay
"Nobody knows. It's so out of the blue. I didn't know they were having any problems with the marriage, did you?" Well sometimes it's just not that easy to tell. Doesn't mean they should be talking about someone else's business though.
"No. It always looked like they had the perfect marriage"
"Well it just goes to show, just because someone looks like they have the perfect marriage, they don't" not everything is perfect all the time. What's it matter to them anyway? I try to focus on the kids in front of me, until I hear summer,
"She just walked out on her marriage?"
"Yeah! How selfish is that?" Selfish?
"So selfish. I could never. She's just thrown like 10 years down the train" how is that selfish? "And considering nobody even knew they were having problems, maybe they weren't. Maybe she just got bored and walked out" I smile at the kids and tell them to run over to Carly, as I take in a deep breathe. This gossiping is annoying me now. Leaving your husband isn't selfish. Walking out on a long marriage isn't selfish. It's brave. And it takes a lot of guts to. As well as it being no one else's business.

"I bet you're right. It makes me sick that she wouldn't even try and stay and make it work. She just left"
"Obviously just thinking of herself" summer agrees. Herself? Seriously? "It sounds like the first sight of trouble and she just left"
"Mhm. And seeing that she's the mother. She should at least try and make it work" because it's so easy?!
"Carly, would you mind just taking this group down to soft play just, take all the children out the room"
"Okayy" she smiles but I can tell she's confused.

"To be perfectly honest, as a fellow mum, if she was having problems with her marriage, she should have seen a counsellor not leave her husband"
"Oh my god summer shut up!" I snap. A littler louder than expected.
"Excuse me?!"
"Charlotte!"
"You have no idea if Eloise's parents had problems in their marriage. Just because they didn't tell you about them doesn't mean they didn't have them!" I explain
"It wasn't just me. She didn't tell anyone" summer replies
"That's right. She didn't tell anyone"
"Probably because she was surrounded by a load of gossips. And as for your comment saying that she's selfish for leaving her husband, do you have any idea how much courage that takes? How many years of debating with yourself whether you have the strength to do that! To walk away from something you have built and invested in over years and years!" My voice raised, but not completely shouting because the kids were next door,
"You seriously think leaving your husband is brave?"
"Of course it is!" I reply, "You have to have a lot of courage to do that because look at the judgement you get if you did!"
"Personally I think that's the easy route. Staying with your husband and making things work is what takes courage. Plus your chiming in on something you've got absolutely no idea about" she snickers. "Carly's taken latrine to soft play so I'm gonna go" she turns around to leave while I get a smug shrug from the other parent before she follows her like some sidekick from a 2000s high school movie.

"Did you just shout at a parent to 'shut up'?" Marjorie comes closer, her arms folded across her chest and not looking impressed at all. I didn't even notice she had come in the room. This is just great.

I roll my eyes and reframe myself from completely breaking down
"Yeah" I confirm.
"Charlotte I think you need to take the rest of the day off. And from tomorrow you'll be working at Reece's nursery for a while. Maybe you'll turn up there with a better attitude" I can't do this anymore. I can't argue. I can't fight. I just want to go home and never come back.
"Fine"

...

I'm collecting my stuff from the staff room when I get a call from an unknown number, which I ignored. And then an email from Nate's lawyer. I don't know what to do anymore. I won't let him take the girls. But I have no one to go to. And my closest friend hates me.

"Charlotte?" The low voice brings me out of my thoughts,
"Oh. Autumn, hi"
"Marjorie said you were taking the rest of the day off?"
"What? Yeah." I wipe the tears away from my face, which causes her to raise a concerning brow "I, uh, I'm fine" I smile at the woman
"Charlotte" the women walk closer to me, "I will admit I'm not very good with,... emotions. Especially other people's. But if you would like to talk, I can listen" Autumn and I have never really been friends. I mean, we get along. But she's not the type to open up much. So we don't usually talk.

"Thank you. I'm okay, really. It's just this whole thing with Marjorie" I know she must have heard all about it by now, so I can play it off as that.
"Yes I have heard some things" she loos right at me, clearly seeing through my attempts at putting on a brave face, "Marjorie can be a little... harsh. But she does care about you Charlotte" not anymore...
"I don't think she does anymore. She hates me" I sigh
"Charlotte, Marjorie could never really hate you. She may not agree with you, but not everyone can be happy all the time. That's just life"
"Yeah well, I should have just kept quiet. Then none of this would have happened"

"Charlotte, not everyone will agree with you on everything you say. I may not like what you have to say, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said" well she's right about one thing. She wouldn't like what I have to say. Especially about someone...
"I don't think anyone would like what I have to say Autumn..."
"Then stop caring about what everything else thinks"
"It's not that easy" I reply.
"Charlotte, you are in control of your own life. If you want something, go and get it. Stop thinking about what everyone else wants. Think about what you want. The people who really care about you will stand beside you no matter what"
"Thank you Autumn. It means a lot" I just wonder if her point would change if she knew what I really thought. I'm not sure how she really feels, but it must be easier for her to just not care after doing it for so long. I however, I care about what people think of me. My friend's opinions matter to me.
"Well, as I said, I don't really care much for this type of talk. So I'll see you soon" she stands up and gets ready to leave again, "Charlotte," she stops, "don't tell her I said this, but Marjorie feels just as awful as you do. She's just too stubborn to admit that" I catch the smallest smile tug at her lips before she leaves the room.

...

I'm sat at home scrolling on my phone. I have a few missed calls that I don't plan on returning just yet. Not until I can find out how to get my girls back permanently.

As I scroll along my contacts, my finger hovers above a particular name. I haven't messages or heard from her since she told me everything in the hallway.

Without giving it a second thought, I press the little button,
"Hello?" Something about her voice is so calm and inviting. It's sweet and naturally a little flirty. "Hello? Is someone there because I can hear you breathing" crap. I hang up. What am I thinking? Am I trying to make everything worse? I just need to stop thinking about her. It can't be that hard. Just stop. But...