A Day at a Time / G-Eazy

Twenty Three

Charlie's phone sounds from her bedside table. Begrudgingly she opens her eyes, groaning when she sees its pitch blackout beyond her windows.

"Hello?" She answers quickly, praying for the obnoxious noise to stop.

"Hey," Geralds's voice comes through her phone. He sounds more relaxed than usual, his tone is flat and quiet and she can't make out any noise other than his voice.

"What do you want, Ger?" She questions, closing her eyes again.

"There's a party tomorrow night for Halloween.  I host these events at a few clubs every year, I was thinking you could come."

"I could probably, yeah," Charlie mumbles into the phone, trying to stay awake long enough to hear more.

"It's going to be crazy. I'll be really busy but you could bring a friend, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay," She agrees and that's the last thing she remembers before she falls back asleep.

What feels like a few minutes passes before her phone sounds again, signaling the start of her day and her first day back at work since her bereavement period.

When she steps foot into the staff lounge she is greeted by Jules, whose pace quickens to meet her as if she'll up and walk away at any moment. She takes Charlie into a warm comforting hug, which reminds her of her mother for a brief moment.

"How are you doing, dear?" Jules asks as she parts from Charlie. "I wanted to check in on you but no one had your number, your a hard woman to reach."

Charlie nods with a small polite smile. It's true, Charlie hasn't made much of an effort to make friends when she came to town. She was busy with her family but she also wasn't happy and she certainly was not looking to make the move permanent. Is she now, she wonders briefly. Truthfully, probably not but the opportunity exists and she hasn't had the chance to give it much thought recently.

"I'm sorry, Jules. I just needed a moment to myself. Thank you for thinking of me and my family. It's never easy, is it?"

Jules shakes her head and gives Charlie a soft smile, "Well, I'm here if you need anything. Now, let's get this shift done so we can go home."

When Charlie arrives back to her apartment around 5 PM, Gerald has already let himself in using the key that sits above the doors molding. While she's not surprised to see him sitting in a bar stool in her small kitchen, she is surprised to see he's accompanied by a woman she hasn't met. She's tall, tan, and slim with brunette hair that's pin-straight and runs down her upper back. She stands in the middle of Charlie's kitchen holding a binder open and flipping through it, captivating Gerald's attention.

He pays no mind to Charlie when she closes the door behind her or sets her purse on the counter rather loudly, hoping to get his attention. She clears her throat in a last attempt for his attention.

"What are you doing here?" She asks when his eyes finally look up towards her.

"Hi," he smiles and motions to the woman who is now also focused on Charlie. "This is Jess. I hope you don't mind. I brought her here to do your makeup for tonight. You fell asleep last night before I could tell you it's a costume event."

Charlie's brow raises, he's joking, right? She briefly remembers speaking to him last night and although she knows she agreed to a party she was not aware of what she was actually attending.

She glances over to Jess, who is now standing in her kitchen rather awkwardly, then back to Gerald. "Can we talk outside for a second?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand what we're doing here." She says once the two of them stand out on the balcony alone.