My name is Charlotte (BWWM)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Francine's POV
August 9, 1967

I don't know what is going on with my sister Charlotte. She seems to have changed since she moved back to Lexington. She doesn't talk to me much anymore. She just seems sad. Francine sat in her bedroom with its sky blue wallpaper and her multiple bookshelves. It was a hot summer day and she was wishing that Matthew would call her. He had left a few weeks ago to govisit his cousins in Cleveland, Ohio and Francine missed him terribly. Francine decided that since it was so hot, she would go swimming. She decided to go to Douglass Park. Even though the pools had been integrated for several years now, Douglass Park's pool was the only free city park pool. Francine decided to walk to the pool. She only lived a few minutes from the park. Her parents had moved and had moved to city's West End, although it was more the northwest side of town. During the summer, the humidity made the summer almost unbearable. Francine's hair would often ended become frizzy, due to the humidity. She had decided a few months before that she was going to quit perming her hair, since she felt it was damaging to her hair. Her mother, didn't like the fact that Francine was wearing her in an Afro. Her mother thought that the Afro was a sign of rebellion, since many of the Black Panther members, wore their hair. Francine liked the hairstyle, but she didn't agree with The Black Panther Party viewpoints at all. She felt like that they were going about wanting equal rights for African Americans in a way that were destructive and uneccesary. While she was walking, she saw people that she had gone to high school with. She stopped and talked to them for a few minutes before she heads on her way. When she left home it was around 3:30 pm.

When she got to the pool, it seemed like most of Lexington, had the same idea about going swimming. The pool was full of people and it didn't seem like there were any places to sit down by the pool. Francine surveyed the pool and she decided that she would walk back home. As she walked home, she noticed some children out playing in their front yards. Francine walked up the driveway of her family's house and she noticed that her parent's 1963 Mercury Colony Park station wagon wasn't in the driveway. The station wagon was cream colored, wood panel on each side by the drivers and passengers side and rack on the car to hold things.  She went inside and she called Charlotte and asked if she had seen them. It was about 4:30 pm and Charlotte told her that she just recently had gotten home from work and she hadn't heard from them. "Can I come over and see you and James." Charlotte agreed to let Francine come over but Francine noticed that Charlotte sounded a bit funny on the phone and she was a bit surprised that Charlotte was at home since normally she worked until 5 and went from work to her college classes . Before Francine left she wrote a note to her parents letting them know where she was and she left it on the dining room table. When Francine arrived at James and Charlotte's house she noticed that the radio in the house was on, the door was unlocked and she heard her sister singing along to the radio. It had been awhile since she had heard Charlotte. Charlotte was singing along to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. When Francine walked into the kitchen she noticed an open half empty bottle of Jim Beam whiskey sitting on the kitchen counter. She thought that was odd since she knew that her sister and brother-in-law didn't keep any alcohol in the house. Charlotte didn't even hear walk into the kitchen. Charlotte was washing and peeling carrots and potatoes by the kitchen sink. Francine said her sister's name and Charlotte turned around. Francine noticed that Charlotte's hair was disheveled, her makeup was messed up, Charlotte had red eyes, and she reeked of Jack Daniels. Charlotte staggered over to her sister and started hugging and kissing her. Francine stepped back and she said to her sister "What are you doing? You know that shouldn't be drinking especially since it can mess with your medication."  Charlotte burst into tears and started telling Francine how she was convinced that James was having an affair because she had called his office to ask him if he could pick up some French bread from the store for dinner and she was told he had already left the office. She told her about she found lipstick on his shirt a few weeks ago  and how she thought he had been acting strange.  Charlotte and Francine sat down on the beige striped couch that was in the living room. She told her younger sister that James had told about what it had happened at work with Kimberly. Since Charlotte was drunk, she told Francine all of the things that she was afraid to tell James. She mentioned how inadequate she felt since she was unable to have children, how she felt like she wasn't beautiful anymore because she had gained ten pounds, and she went on and on until Francine noticed that Charlotte had fallen asleep sitting up. Francine got from the couch and went to the hallway closet and grabbed a pillow and a patchwork quilt for her sister. She put the pillow on one end of the couch and she laid her sister on the couch and covered her up. She was surprised when her sister didn't wake up. Francine decided to finish making dinner. At five o'clock she put pork roast with carrots and potatoes in the oven. She also pour the rest of the Jim Beam down the kitchen drain and threw the bottle away. She saw her sister's bottle of Tofranil sitting on the kitchen counter. She decided she would wait until James came home before she would since she was worried about her sister and she needed to talk to James. James arrived home around five forty-five. Francine was sitting on the beige striped loveseat reading TV Guide when James walked into the living room. He had a sack of groceries in his arms and he had gotten French bread. He was surprised to see that Francine sitting in the living room and that Charlotte was sound asleep. Francine followed James into the kitchen as he put away the groceries. As he was putting them away Francine told him that she found Charlotte drunk and that she was trying to fix dinner. She also told him that he needed to talk to Charlotte when she woke up. Francine left and went home around six that night. When she got home, her parents were back home and her mother had fixed chicken and dumplings with macaroni and cheese. Her parents asked how Charlotte and James were and Francine just told them that they were doing well. She didn't feel like telling her parents about Charlotte's drinking because she knew that her mother would worry. After she finished her dinner, she decided that she would start packing. She hadn't mentioned to her parents yet but she was planning on going to Cleveland and surprise Matthew. She had saved her money from her last few babysitting jobs and money that she had received for her birthday. She planned on telling before she left. She would be gone for two weeks. She was scheduled to leave on August 12th. Francine told her parents on the 11th.

James' POV
I was at a loss when it came to Charlotte. It seemed like she was such a different woman than the one that I fell in love with. I had started spending more time away from home because I didn't know how to cope with her unpredictable behavior. I still have flashbacks from Vietnam occasionally and it seems like it nothing compared to seeing Charlotte depressed. I worry about our marriage and how she might behave if we do end up having children. I had thought about having us go to marriage counseling at Immanuel Baptist Church were we members. I wasn't sure if Charlotte would agree to this since she was a private person. When she woke up around 6:30. She had a headache and went into the bathroom to find some aspirin. I reheated her food and I left it on the kitchen table and I went to our study which was off the kitchen. I liked to go there when I needed to think and I also would work on my court cases.  I needed to figure out what I going to say to Charlotte. I sat in my study for about twenty minutes. I got up and I went back into the kitchen where Charlotte was still sitting at the kitchen table. "Charlotte we need to talk."