Scream at the drunken moon

Chapter 24

I make us some bowls of cereal and mugs of coffee as Charlie dresses ready for us to visit my mom. I hear her walking down the stairs and turn to smile at her, frowning slightly as I see how stressed she is now looking. I notice she's dressed in her smarter clothes, as she calls them - a black t-shirt with a purple unicorn on it and plain black skinny jeans. No rips going on today. I hold my arms out to her and she walks straight into them, holding herself tight against me. I can hear her heart beating as if it's trying to make it's way out of her chest. I gently lift her face up and kiss her.
"Stop worrying. I'm not going to leave you alone there" I whisper as she attempts a smile. I lead her over to the table where her breakfast is waiting and wait for her to eat before I grab my car keys and Charlie gets the dress that's hanging in it's bag on the back of the door for Becca. I open the door and taking her hand, lead her out to my car. I unlock it and open the door for her, taking the dress off her and laying it across the back seat.
The short ride is silent except for the radio. Charlie is nervously biting at her nails and staring out of the window by the time we pull up and I switch the engine off. I lean over and kiss her again before getting out and grabbing the dress off the back seat. I haven't actually seen it as the bag is one of those professional thick ones to protect what's inside it. I open Charlie's door and take her hand before we walk up the drive. She's squeezing so hard she's hurting my hand but I don't say anything, knowing how unsure she is at the moment.
I knock on my moms front door and after a couple of tense minutes, she opens up. She doesn't look overly impressed that Charlie is with me but motions for us to come in anyway.
I hand her the invite that Charlie was holding and she opens it, looking at the beauty of it. My mom always was a sucker for hand made things and these invites are out of this world. She carefully opens it and reads the words that ask her and Becca to attend. She looks at the front again, smiling for once.
"These are beautiful. Wherever did you get them?"
"Charlie made them mom" I say, pride in my voice. My mom looks at Charlie.
"They are outstanding. You seem to have a hidden talent."
Charlie's eyes fill up with tears as she whispers a thank you. That's about the only compliment my mom has ever given her.
"Is Becca around? Charlie has something for her."
My mom calls up the stairs to Becca, who comes bounding down a few moments later. Charlie stands up and hands her the bag which she draped over the back of the sofa.
"Becca, I would love for you to be one of my bridesmaids. I got you a dress to match the others and if it's not right or you don't want to do it it's fine but please have a look and consider it for me."
My mom looks stunned for the second time and ushers Becca into the kitchen to look at the dress. I hear their voices but not what's being said. I know how much this means to Charlie and I hope Becca says yes.
The kitchen door opens a little while later and they both walk back in, without the dress.
"Charlie, I'd love to be your bridesmaid. I tried the dress on and it's pretty much a perfect fit. And it's so pretty. Thank you so much for asking me. It'll be my first time as a bridesmaid and I'm so excited."
Charlie stands up again and walks over to Becca, embracing her tightly.
"Thank you for saying yes. You have no idea how happy you've made me."
"What would you both like as a wedding gift?" my mom asks.
"Well, we've got everything we need so we were thinking about asking for donations for Alzheimer's research. As a tribute to Charlie's mom. Do you think people are going to be ok with that?"
"It's a wonderful gesture" my mom says, a tear appearing in her eye. She looks at Charlie and holds her hand out to her. Charlie looks at me and stands up, my mom embracing her now.
"I didn't realise that's what your mom had. My own grandmother had it as well and it's a horrendous condition. I think it's a wonderful idea. I'm sure no one will mind that you prefer to do that over having gifts."
Hearing my mom give us her blessing on that makes me smile. I didn't know my great grandmother had Alzheimer's - my mom had never brought it up before.
My mom releases Charlie from her grip and leads her through to the kitchen. Should I be worried? I glance over at Becca who shakes her head, as if telling me not to go in there. I sigh and pull my phone out of my pocket, starting a game I have on there. 10 minutes passes and they're still in there. I haven't heard raised voices or crying but I'm still curious as to what's being said.