Hidden Melodies

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Copyright by Joelle Blue ©

Ozzie

"Oh my gosh, beautiful girl, look at you!" Charlie's mother, Elise, blubbers as she gives me a hug that I eagerly reciprocate. "Come in, come in. Charlie, sweetie, would you go get your father? He's in the garage."

"Sure mom," he gives his mom a quick hug and rushes down a hallway to the right of the entryway.

"So, Ellie, how have you been? All Charlie does is talk about you, that boy is so smitten, and I can see why. My gosh, I'm so excited you're here. I tried a new recipe for a rhubarb crisp. Have you ever had that? My rhubarb went crazy this year and I froze a bunch, so I thought, why not?" She giggles. "I made some steaks and some twice baked potatoes, as well as some grilled asparagus. I hope that's okay. I should have asked Charlie what you like, darn it..." I see where Calah gets the rambling.

"That sounds great actually, Elise, thank you."

"Well, tell me, what have you been up to? Are you still friends with sweet Scarlet?"

"Yes, actually we work together in the music industry. We write songs and stuff like that."

"Wonderful! Oh, I'd love to see her sometime. I'm sorry, I can't shut up 'cause I'm so excited."

I chuckle, "I don't mind, I promise. How is Calah?"

"She's doing great, just workin' her little butt off. She loves being a nurse, she said there isn't a department so far that she prefers over another. Ah, there they are," she states after looking over my shoulder. "Don, look who's here," she signs to Charlie's dad.

Don comes right over to me and hugs me tight, and signs quickly while Elise immediately translates for him. "It's wonderful to see you. I'm so happy for you and Charlie."

"Thank you. It's good to see you, too."

Lunch with the Beaumont's is just like how it always used to be. I never feel like an outsider, I feel welcome and loved. Elise fills up most of the quiet moments with more about Calah, her hot doctor, and their business.

Don tells us about the visit he had with my dad and how good it was to see him, and he might one day order a custom car.

We spend a few hours with them, playing cards and laughing. His family has always spent hours playing cribbage with a cribbage board from Elise's great grandparents. I've never been very good, but I got to be on a team with Elise. We won.

By the time we're ready to leave, I've laughed and smiled so much, my face hurts. "You're welcome anytime, sweetie, even without Charlie. In fact, next time don't, I can't afford to feed him anymore."

"Mom, I live here," Charlie deadpans. She just shrugs, making him chuckle.

Once we're in my car, I look over at my old house, and see a realtor sign in the front yard. I strategically avoided looking there when we got here, but I can now see how abandoned it looks. The flowers that normally adorned the front porch are all ripped out, the little signs representing what time of year it was or what holiday in Winnie's attempt to look welcoming are missing. "How long has it been on the market?"

"Just a few weeks. I really don't think anyone has lived there for months though," Charlie quietly replies. I just nod, not feeling any certain way about it. I should feel sad that my childhood home is by all means, gone. I should be sad that the woman that raised me is dead. Not only dead but murdered. I should be sad the man that I thought was my father lied to me my whole life. Maybe two years ago, I would have been sad.