Safe Haven

The Thing with Love

Charlie sat at her desk and did her homework. At least she tried. She really could not concentrate. Again and again she read the same task and still did not know what to do. She was completely lost in thought. Again and again she had to think about what her friends said about being in love.

Jay stuck his head into the room to see if Charlie slept when he realized that she was still busy at her desk.

"You're doing your homework at this hour?" He wondered and Charlie just shrugged helplessly. Actually, she would have been ready for an hour or so, if she could finally concentrate. She felt her father's hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, you go to bed now," Jay said.

"I wasn't done yet," Charlie said.

"You can do your homework tomorrow," Jay said. Charlie nodded and entrenched herself in her cuddly warm bed.

"Dad?" Charlie asked, "I think I'm in love with you."

"Yeah?" Jay asked, raising his eyebrow, "And I love you so much, too," he said, spreading his arms, hugging Charlie.

"And in Adam, Kim, Hailey, Kevin, Toni, Uncle Will..." Charlie said wonderingly, "Daddy, being in love means you love somebody, isn't it?"

"Yeah, that's right," Jay nodded. "Being in love, though, is a very special kind of love."

"What kind?" the 7-year-old asked.

"If I really like somebody, I love him, but I'm not always in love with him," Jay explained, considering how he explained it to children, "When you're in love, you're very excited. You always think about this one person and you are happy when the person is around. Anyway, you want to be close to the person - holding hands and kissing."

"And how do I realize that I'm in love?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, you realize that. Then you have such a tingling in the tummy." Jay replied.

"Tingle in the tummy? Like when the foot has fallen asleep?" She looked at her dad in horror.

"No. It's a nice tingle." Jay laughed and winked, "You'll see."

"Did you have such a tingling?" Charlie asked curiously.

"Yeah," he breathed out.

"Who was your first love?" Charlie asked curiously and looked him in the emerald colored eyes.

"You don't know her, but she was beautiful with her brown hazel eyes," Jay smiled. He remembered Erin and their time together.

"Dad? Can you tell me how you met Mom? Why don't I know her?" Charlie asked cautiously.

"It's getting late, Charlie. You should sleep now." Jay averted the question, "Sleep well honey."

The moment he pulled her door shut, he slid down on the floor. Of course, Charlie would one day ask about her mother, but tonight he had not been prepared. How should he explain to a 7-year-old girl that she was adopted? He did not know her mom. Jay sighed. He just made it worse the longer he put it off. Only he did not feel ready to explain the truth to her. His relationship with Charlie was so wonderful.

The next day, Charlie took a small saucepan out of the cupboard and grabbed the big spoon. Now she only needed seven red things and the love potion is ready. She asked Google how to make a love drink, because she finally wanted to fall in love. She wanted to know why everyone likes it so much.

First came a spoonful of raspberry jam in the pot, then a small tomato, a glass of red wine. Charlie rubbed her hands contentedly: that's three red things. Charlie found a red rubber box in the candy jar. Then she went in the fridge and found a bag of frozen strawberries. In the pantry she found another bottle of ketchup. She just needed one more red thing and the potion was ready. Charlie looked around desperately in the kitchen. There was nothing left. Her eyes fell on the spice rack. In the top compartment was a glass of small red pods. Charlie climbed on the kitchen counter and fished the glass off the shelf - Chili. Charlie hesitated: Is not that the sharp stuff? Charlie looked at the clock: is it so late? She could not waste any more time searching. After all, her father does not jog all evening.

Charlie took a pod from the glass. Charlie turned on the stove. As soon as the first bubbles rose, she stirred her love potion with the spoon: seven times she moved to the left, then seven times to the right. Then Charlie searched for a wine glass and poured her brew into the glass. She hesitated. At first, she held her nose and found that it did not even smell so bad. When she heard a rustling at the door, Charlie swallowed everything down. Immediately she became blast. Her mouth and throat burned like fire. Is this the love or the chili? Anyway, Charlie rushed into the bathroom. She was still under the tap when Jay knocked on the door, "Charlie, everything good?"

"Yes." Charlie croaked and took another big swig of tap water before trudging back into the kitchen.

"Did you try to cook?" Jay asked curiously. Charlie nodded.

"Looks interesting," Jay said, looking at the viscous red stuff.

"Doesn't taste good," Charlie said.

"Don't worry. I also don't want to try it." Jay said disgusted as he glances at the ingredients used by Charlie.

"You didn't use the red wine, did you?" Jay asked horrified. The wine bottle was a good old vintage that he had been given for a celebration. Slightly, Charlie nodded.

"You know you're not allowed to drink alcohol," Jay said, "Do I really need to ask why you're cooking such a thing?"

Charlie shook her head, "No. Fathers don't have to know everything their children do," she explained. She noticed his worried looks. To be honest, her dad was always worried about her.

"Okay. I don't question it, but you know that you can always come to me?" He said. Annoyed, Charlie rolled her eyes. That was her father's standard phrase. No matter on what occasion, he emphasized it over and over again.

Charlie sighed, "I want to be in love."

"Uh and this stuff is what?" Jay asked irritated.

"It should become a love potion so I can fall in love." She replied.

He stared wide-eyed at his little girl. On the one hand, he found her way of falling in love cute. On the other hand, he does not like the idea of his little girl getting a boyfriend.

"One day you will meet your great love," Jay said.

"Why can not one day be now?" Charlie asked sadly, "Anna is with Tom. Zoey is with Brandon and Emily is with Ian."

"Wow, okay," Jay said. He wondered if he already had a relationship in the 2nd class. He knew that kids like to make such jokes. But he could not remember having a girlfriend in the 2nd class.

"Do you seriously think your friends are having a proper love relationship?" Jay asked curiously. Charlie nodded. He ran his hand through his hair, "Charlie, at that age, relationships are just for fun. The right one to be in love comes much later."

"But they kiss and hold hands," Charlie said.

"All right. It seems like I do not understand the generation of today. When I was your age, I did not like girls."

"Why?" Charlie asked indignantly.

"Well girls do other things than boys. They don't play soccer but with dolls," Jay said.

"You've played dolls with me, too." Charlie smiled.

"Yes, but I'm an adult," Jay said. "Parents like to play with their kids no matter what."

Jay sighed and looked at his little girl, "Enjoy your childhood Charlie. The whole love drama comes soon enough."