My name is Charlotte (BWWM)

What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

Charlotte went back to work. This time, she worked at as a maid for a wealthy elderly woman Mrs. Dewey. Her claim to fame was that she had ancestors on The Mayflower. Charlotte did not like her employer very much. One day she was exhausted from work and she decided to take a nap. As she started to drift off she heard rain in the background. She started to dream about her unborn child that had died. She walked into the room that was going to be used as a nursery. Charlotte heard a noise coming from where the crib was located. When she got to the crib she noticed that it was a baby crying in the crib. As she walked over to the crib, the crib started to disappear into the carpet. Charlotte started to run towards but she couldn't get to in time. "Charlotte, wake up! You are having another bad dream, said her husband. Charlotte woke up and turned over and went back to sleep. About a week later Charlotte went to work. When she got to Mrs. Dewey's mansion she noticed a different car in her driveway. She walked into her house and as she went around a corner, she saw a familiar face. It was her former classmate Phillip McFarland. He looked up when she walked into the room and he smiled.

  "How are you doing Charlotte? It has been a long time since I have seen you." He proceeded to tell her how Mrs. Dewey was his great aunt and how she had asked him to come and live with her. Phillip also told her that he had gone to the police academy after getting out of Vietnam. She was sitting down when Mrs. Dewey walked in. "I have told about not fraternizing with the help. Mrs. Williamson has work that needs to be done." Charlotte started working and few hours went by and she decided to a short break from cleaning the silverware. She walked into the kitchen and sat down and started to eat her lunch. While she was eating her lunch; which was a grilled sandwich with ham and tomato on it and a Granny Smith apple. All of the sudden Philip walked into the kitchen. It was a little bit unusual because usually, guests did not associate with help. "You seemed to have disappeared after high school. I tried to find you after high school." Charlotte was surprised that he had looked for her since they weren't friends in school. She started to tell him about her life for the last few years. Phillip sat there and listened to all she had to say. Charlotte went back to work and she was working when Mrs. Dewey came into the dining room.

  "Charlotte, have you finished cleaning the silver? I am going to need it for the Governor's ball." She started to tell Charlotte how her family had hosted the Governor's ball since Salmon P. Chase was the governor of Ohio. She also told Charlotte that she would have to serve at the Governor's ball as well. Charlotte tried to explain to her employer that she couldn't work that day since it was James's birthday. "You will be here to work that night or you can find yourself another employer." The African- American young woman thought about it for a few seconds and decided that needed the job. The night of the Governor's ball, there was a lot of important people attending. Governor Jim Rhodes and his wife Helen was one of the people attending. Charlotte went around filling up people's champagne glasses. By the end the night several of the guests were intoxicated. Phillip was one the few that was not intoxicated. Charlotte was walking back to the kitchen when she ran into him. She continued to walk into the kitchen when Phillip followed her in the kitchen. "What are you doing in here Phillip, you know you can't be in here." Phillip looked at her and just smiled. "I don't really like dinner parties much and my great aunt is trying to find me a suitable girlfriend and I don't really like for anyone to play matchmaker. But I have my eye on a young lady that I know and I am just waiting for the right time to tell her." Charlotte continued to work for a few hours and after she was done working , she decided to leave and go home. As she passed the spiral staircase Mrs. Dewey was waiting for her.

"Here is your weekly paycheck Charlotte, thank you for your help. I will see you in two days." As Charlotte was walking away Mrs.Dewey decided to give Charlotte some advice. "I know we don't get along very well but I thought you should know this. My great nephew Phillip is not what all he seems to be. He may be charming but he has an evil streak. I would hate for anything to happen to you." Charlotte thanked her for her advice and walked home, as she was walking she thought about what Mrs. Dewey had told her about Phillip. She decided to keep her distance from him. When she got home James was already home. He looked exhausted from a hard day's work. " I heard from Jack and Sasha today, they sent us a letter. They got married a few months after we left and they are expecting." He got up from the red rocking chair that he was sitting and handed his wife the letter. Charlotte sat reading the letter and although she was happy for her friends, she was homesick. 

She missed her parents and her sisters and her niece Jennifer. How she wished that she could go home and see for a few days, but she did not want to risk get caught and getting arrested again. She went back to work the next day. Since that day that Mrs. Dewey had talked to her, her employer seemed to be in a better mood. "Charlotte I am having another dinner party today and I wondered if you and the other help could everything finished in such short notice?" Charlotte looked at her employer for a brief moment and told her it could be done. She rushed to the kitchen and told the kitchen staff what was going on. A few hours later everything had been accomplished. Charlotte started setting up the dining room table and putting napkins on the table. A few hours went by and she decided to take a break. Lydia Simmons was one of the help and one of Charlotte's good friends. "Charlotte, there is a young man looking for you. He is waiting for in the sitting room. " Charlotte assumed it her husband and left to go find him. When she got to the sitting room, she noticed it was not her husband but instead it was Phillip. She started to walk away but he grabbed her by her elbow. "I have been wanting to see you all night and you have been avoiding me." Charlotte tried to convince him that she had been very busy. She noticed that he had been drinking. She tried to distance herself from him. But before she could leave the room, Phillip kissed her.