In Charlotte's Eyes

ONE: Parker's Old Work Friends

After finally eating breakfast, the pair explored the plethora of water-related activities. Specifically, the surfing simulator. After a fun hour, the two took it easy by dipping their feet in a hot tub. Afterwards, they began wandering to find one more thing to do before eating lunch.

“Parker,” Peni grabbed his arm. “I think I saw a shooting gallery. I've always wanted to try archery.”

Parker felt a little dumbfounded. “Archery..?” He repeated.

“Yeah, c'mon! I wanna try it.”

“Oh. Sure.”

His mind began zoning out as she led him along to the shooting gallery. Archery. Suzuki. His mind wandered. Did Suzuki still hate him? He had to have. He grimaced, suddenly feeling down. He hadn't talked to him since he broke the news about Charlotte.

Suzuki hated him. Parker couldn't be upset about it. To any normal person, it'd make sense. It killed him inside that he couldn't prove the truth. He couldn't control the despairing frown from appearing on his face.

By the time he tuned back into reality, Peni had a bow in hand. “Have you ever done this before?” She asked him, pulling back on the string.

Off guard, his head nod was delayed. “Uhh, yeah. I have a few times before.”

“Cool! Do you have any tips?”

He smiled uncomfortably, still hung up about Suzuki. “Just lock in and hit the target.” He joked lightheartedly.

She rolled her eyes. “Psh. Thanks.”

He chuckled. “Yeah.” He felt slightly disheartened, but he shouldn't let this mental setback ruin his experience.

…

The two ate and were discussing what to do. The two needed to digest, so they wanted to do something that required less movement.

“I don't know, a lot of the stuff I wanna do is more intense.” Parker leaned back in his seat.

Peni looked towards the glistening ocean surface. The skies were clear, and the sun shone down on their table, covering Peni’s fingertips in light. An umbrella over their heads, she let out a drawn out hum in thought.

“We could just chill and watch the scenery.” He suggested, eyes wandering to the side with her. There was a pause. “Maybe we'll see a whale.”

She hummed again. “It's like a scene straight from a painting, isn't it?”

He smiled lightly. “Yeah. I like that comparison.”

Her head darted to him, palms down on the table. “That just gave me an idea, actually.”

“What is it?” He leaned his face on his hand.

“They have an art gallery here. Wanna go see it?”

“Oh, really?” Dumbfounded for words, he shrugged. “Sure.”

“Nice!” She pushed herself out of her seat and stood up. “Come on, let's go.”

“Right.”

…

The art gallery was impressive. It featured so many different artists, with so many unique, stunning styles. Parker and Peni decided to wander and check out the different pieces individually.

He ended up stumbling across a piece that amazed him more than the others.

The painting featured—what Parker assumed was—a bonsai tree with red leaves. There was a small waterfall, and green foliage hugging the lower perimeter. The sky was colored in galactic colors, with many small dots for stars. And behind the tree, a giant orange planet oversaw the whole scene.

Parker couldn't describe what it made him feel, but he was really stunned by it. A price tag of one thousand dollars was its cost. Curious, he turned to see who made this impressive piece.

Aaron Reed.

His heart skipped a beat for a second, thinking that it was the Aaron he knew. But no, it was a different one.

Still, though, it made his mind wander to Aaron. Parker was happy to have him back on his side. It hurt to have all of his friends leave him. Getting Aaron’s trust back alleviated some of that baggage.

If only he could say the same about his other friends.

Parker studied the painting in front of him once more. Up and down, he stared at it. A small huff puffed out through his nose. “He could do it one day.” He whispered to himself, before walking away.

…

After reconvening, the two—funnily enough—agreed to go bowling. Apparently fate was determined to remind Parker of each of his friends.

The two set up a game at the small alley that the cruise had. At around the fifth frame, Parker was sitting back, watching his sister do her turn. His leg crossed over the other and his arm rested on the top of the couch. He began to feel detached from reality as he thought about the last time he went bowling.

It was with Aaron, Suzuki, and Carlos. He had asked them for some money to help Charlotte pay for her mold removal. His face softened regretfully. He wished he could go back. Maybe then he could have done something differently. Maybe Charlotte would still be here today.

Two sets of eyes settled on his disturbed face.

What could he have done? Maybe it was some sort of divine punishment. But what could he have done better? He thought he was doing a good thing for her when he raised all that money. His face scrunched into a depressed grimace, and he uncrossed his legs, leaning forward, curling up a little. Maybe Charlotte was right. He had breached her wishes; disrespected her. This was his punishment to bear. Hopefully wherever she was now, she'd have someone better than him.

“Parker.” He flinched, coming back to reality. He looked ahead at Peni, who was the one that called to him. “It's your turn.”

“Oh.” He put on a smile. “Right, sorry.” He chuckled lightly.

Peni took a seat without another word, and Parker grabbed his ball. He looked up at the scoreboard to see Peni had only knocked down eight pins.

He relaxed his mind and took a deep breath. He stepped forward and took his shot. It rolled down the aisle and struck the pins, slamming down seven of the ten. He nodded, turning back to walk over to the ball returner. As he walked back, he got a glance at Peni’s face.

He averted his eyes quickly. It reminded him of Carlos: the calculating stare, the stern demeanor. It looked exactly the same as when he asked Carlos for his help raising money for Charlotte.

Christ.

Parker took his ball and returned to the aisle. He gulped, an uneasy feeling inside of him. He took the shot. It knocked down two of the three.

“Mm.” He turned back, disappointed. Peni’s gaze softened, and she had a smile as she stood up.

“Nice spare, dude.” She sarcastically commented.

He walked past her. “It was about as good as yours.” He shot back.

Parker sat down and the game continued.