Sanditon Melodies

Chapter 21: A late dinner

Charlotte was exhausted. She'd just got back from her Friday night shift at the bar following an intense week which had mainly centred around preparations for Mrs Denham's garden party tomorrow, although she'd also squeezed in a couple of recording sessions in Bristol at James' recording studios. Charlotte flopped down onto the sofa and kicked off her pumps as she felt her stomach rumble uncomfortably. She'd had to rush to work without eating dinner and she knew there was very little to eat in the kitchenette in the Annex. She wondered if Mary had put any leftovers for her in the fridge for she was known to do that. The need for food winning over the need for sleep, Charlotte quietly meandered out of the Annex door and into the main house to sneak into the kitchen. As she made it out into the hallway she noticed that someone had left the light on in the kitchen which was odd because Tom was very particular about this. Hesitantly she walked in and jumped in shock.

"Shit!" Charlotte exclaimed, her hand on her heart which felt like it had leapt out of her chest.

"Nice to see you too." Sidney said his face breaking into a wide smile and his eyes sparkling. He was stood by the kitchen counter making a hot drink looking as handsome as ever even though he was dressed casually in a t-shirt and shorts, his perfectly sculpted forearms and the hint of biceps showing from his sleeves.

Despite the shock, Charlotte couldn't help but smile in return, for she was delighted to see him and her heart started to beat fast. She tried, but failed miserably, to stop smiling and act annoyed with him for startling her "Why do you always do this?" Charlotte asked.

"Do what?"

"Frighten the life out of me whenever you visit?"

"It's not intentional. Maybe you shouldn't be so jittery." He teased, smirking at her. Charlotte frowned at him. She didn't think she was jittery. She was only jittery around him. "What are you doing in here anyway?" Sidney asked her, but in curious, not accusatory manner.

"I was hungry. I didn't get to have dinner before my shift started." She explained as somehow her legs, which had gone wobbly, managed to move towards the fridge to see what was in there. As Charlotte stood looking at the fridge's contents, she was aware of Sidney's eyes on her and the fact he was only a couple of metres away made her shiver slightly. "When did you get here?" She asked him.

"About an hour ago."

"So you didn't get to see the kids?" Charlotte asked taking out a tub of leftover pasta bake.

"No."

"I haven't seen much of them either this week." She said standing awkwardly with the pasta bake in hand as Sidney was in front of the microwave. "Do you mind if I...?" She started as she pointed to the microwave.

"Sure." Sidney said, moving out the way.

"How's recording going?" He asked, not wanting to go yet as he wanted to enjoy this moment alone with her.

"Good. I was at the studios today actually. James and I got so carried away that I missed my train back and had to wait for the next one. Hence why there wasn't time for dinner."

Sidney was slightly perturbed by her statement about getting carried away with James and he wasn't sure why. He tried to ignore it. "You're not good with trains are you?"

"No, it would appear not." Charlotte admitted.

There was a pause in conversation while Charlotte waited for the microwave to reheat her dinner and Sidney took the chance to take her in properly. She was still in her work clothes, a simple white blouse and black skirt which stopped just above the knee. Charlotte's style was modest as usual and Sidney admired her for it. Her hair was tied back in a neat plait and she wore minimal make up which therefore didn't cover up dark rings round her eyes. She was clearly shattered and he wondered if perhaps she was overdoing it.