Hiraeth

4.

4.

"Hi, Charlie."

"Hey, so I just parked the car. Where are you?" He asks over the phone.

"We're kinda in the middle on the big platform by the slides," I say as we walk down the stairs, and I look in the direction of the street where Charlie has parked the car. He isn't hard to miss, and I soon spot his mop of curls coming in our direction. Seeing him instantly makes me smile, and I look down at Jamie holding his hand tightly, knowing he'll easily run off if I let him go.

Charlie hangs up when he spots us, I guess my dress is hard to miss. However the small scarf I'm wearing to hide the marks on my neck is killing me. Maybe I could take it off, but I really don't want Charlie's constant stares on me. I'm also sporting two bruises on my hips, but at least they can't be seen. I put my phone back inside my purse. "Look, buddy, Emma's friend is meeting us." I look down at Jamie before looking over at Charlie, "Hey," I say as Charlie reaches us. I don't know why he decided to spend his Saturday in our company, but I'm pretty glad I'm not going to babysit for 12 hours on my own. At least Charlie doesn't mind spending time with children, unlike Dylan, or perhaps Charlie just wants to spend time with me, even if that includes a toddler.

"Hi," he says with a smile matching my own.

"Jamie, say hi," I say, but Jamie turns so he's facing me and let's go of my hand only to stretch out his arms, and I pick him up. "I guess, he's gone shy."

"Well, hi, Jamie, I'm Charlie. It's very nice to meet you, little man," he says, and my heart melts at his words.

Can he get any cuter?

"Could you get his stroller?" I ask as we walk over to where I left it. "I think he might be hungry. Let's go sit in the shade," I say, pointing to the other end of the playground, and Charlie grabs the stroller and walks with us. "You know, Charlie here is a lot of fun. I'm sure he runs much faster than I do," I say, trying to encourage Jamie to open up to him. So far he hasn't said a word while Charlie's been here, and normally he's very talkative.

We sit down on an empty bench, and Charlie grabs the bag and opens it. "What do we have down here?" Charlie says with lifted eyebrows, getting the snack box, and Jamie reaches forward, wanting to see what's inside although he's not letting me go. I grab the package of wipes and clean his hands as he watches Charlie carefully.

"Oh, is this a cream cheese sandwich?" Charlie asks rhetorically, grabbing the sandwich. "Would you like that?" Charlie asks, and Jamie shakes his head.

"He's not impressed, apparently," I say with a chuckle, pulling some of his hair behind his ear as it's all sticking to his skin underneath his hat. His hair is getting long too, but it looks so cute on him.

Charlie smiles at me, "would you like some grapes then?" Charlie asks, getting a small box out with grapes. Jamie doesn't reply, and I reach over to the stroller and grab his water bottle.

"Here buddy, have some water," I say, and Jamie takes several large chugs of water. "Perhaps you were just thirsty, huh buddy? Would you like some grapes?" I ask him and grab the box from Charlie.

"Yes," Jamie now says, and I give Charlie an apologetic look. Perhaps he is making sure whether or not Charlie is to be trusted.

I open the small box, and Jamie grabs a grape. "Can Charlie have one too?" I ask, and Charlie holds his hand out.

"Emma," Jamie says, and I giggle. Poor Charlie. I then place my palm in front of him, and Jamie hands me a grape.

"Thank you, buddy, but what about Charlie? Now, he doesn't have any." I say, and Jamie looks up at me with his big blue eyes. "It's okay, you can give him one," I say, and Jamie hesitantly gives Charlie one.