Shattered Hearts

Chapter 2

Charlotte watched Louis as she tried to still her racing heart, never had she felt more like a rabbit caught in the headlights. "You look well," she said trying not to stumble over the words.

"Yeah? You look different." He frowned momentarily. "Your hair, it's lighter."

She laughed, some of the tension leaving her. "Once I got away from my mom I dyed it, I'd had enough of mousey brown."

"It suits you."

"Thanks," she said as her fingers idly played with the beads on her bracelet. "I hate to be rude but I really must be going."

"Oh, right." He gave her a crooked smile. "And it's been so long since we've seen each other."

She frowned, detecting a note of sarcasm in his voice. "Yes it has," she said choosing not to react. "I don't think I've seen you since Christmas at Macey's."

His eyebrows furrowed. "No, I last saw you at Judy's house. Remember you guys were travelling back to college together and we all hung out there before her dad gave you a ride to the bus station?"

Charlotte grimaced, her lips pursed. Yeah, she did remember, however, she most clearly recalled seeing him in Macey's ice cream parlour whenever she thought back to Christmas in 1961.

"Louis isn't here," Mrs Kinsella said as she hovered in the hallway, her older son Mark standing behind her.

"Oh, okay," Charlotte said feeling deflated. So much for surprising him.

"I think he went to Macey's Icecream Parlour. He only left an hour ago, you can probably catch him there."

Mark shook his head. "I'm don't think he's there, he mentioned something about going to the movies. You don't want to have a wasted journey, Lottie."

His mother frowned at him. "No, he definitely said he was going to Macey's."

"Well, I might head to Macey's anyway," Charlotte said trying to hide her disappointment. "I'm sure there'll be someone I can hang out with if he's not there."

"Exactly," Mrs Kinsella said showing her out. "You should do that, don't let your evening go to waste."

"Bye Lottie," Mark said shooting his mother an irritated look that Charlotte didn't understand.

She shrugged her shoulders and walked briskly away, hoping that Mark had got it wrong. She guessed it served her right for wanting to surprise Louis, he was bound to go out on a Friday night. As she approached the ice cream parlour she felt inexplicably nervous. What if he wasn't as pleased to see her as she was hoping?

Getting a grip on her nerves she strode forward, pushing open the candy pink door of the ice cream parlour. Immediately her ears were assaulted by a Chubby Checker song that was blasting from the jukebox while her eyes scanned the room. It took her no more than a few seconds to locate Louis sat a table with Brad and two girls. The smile on her face faded as she watched one of the girls shuffle closer to Louis, their heads bent down together as they studied the menu she was holding. Feeling her eyes well up Charlotte quickly stepped back through the door, ignoring the protests from a couple she pushed past. Out of sight, she leaned against the wall of Macey's, her humiliation complete.

"Yes, you're right," Charlotte said when she realised Louis was waiting for her to speak. "I'm getting mixed up."

"I guess I'm not that unforgettable," Louis said and again she could not tell how to take his comment.

"It's been a long time." She looked at a point past his shoulder, conscious that Darlene was gawping at them both.

Louis shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "So what are you doing back here? I thought you were living out west with your husband?"