Charlie
It finally hit me halfway through that following Monday that I’d let Jane go free.
Maybe it was that I’d been distracted at Reese’s all weekend, therefore leaving little to no room for anxious thoughts, or maybe it was that there were two little birds on the shirt of one of my students that day. Whatever the reason, it hit me just after lunch that she was out in the world somewhere, flying free, and I wondered how she was.
I wondered if she was free, if she felt free, if she was soaring high and singing her favorite songs as the sunshine warmed her feathers. I wondered, too, if she was scared, if her little heart beat faster than before, if she was afraid of her future now that it was so far from what she’d always imagined. I wondered if it was a mixture of the two — of excitement and fear.
I wondered if she was okay.
I wondered if she knew I still loved her.
And, more than anything, I wondered if she missed Edward.
Edward had been her partner in everything. They’d been brought together as young little birds, all because of me, and I’d watch them grow in love over the years. They were best friends — no, they were more. They were one in the same, two halves that made a whole.
I understood that, because I’d felt the same way about Cameron.
He’d been gone the morning I’d returned to get my stuff from the house, packing a weekend getaway bag and not staying a second longer. Then, Reese and I had spent the weekend together, exploring each other and avoiding any kind of serious conversations — especially the ones we both knew needed to take place.
But the weekend was over.
It was Monday, and the night of the spring concert. I was watching one of Reese’s fifth graders play Beethoven’s Für Elise from backstage when Reese slid up easily beside me. I felt his energy before I even saw him, that little charge of electricity I felt each time he was near. He stood to my left, his pinky finger brushing mine where our hands hung between us.
“Hi.”
I smiled at the sound of his voice, but didn’t take my eyes off the stage.
“Hi.”
His finger curled around mine for just a moment before letting it loose.
“Benjamin lost his bowtie. Think you could come with me to the costume room to see if we can find a spare?”
My cheeks flamed. “Benjamin already performed.”
At that, Reese turned to me, his voice lower than a whisper when it met my ear.
“Costume room. Now.”
He left before I could answer, and I bit my lip against the smile threatening to break loose. It was easy to forget everything when he was around, when his breath hit my skin, when his fingers touched mine. Reese was sweet amnesia.
I waited a few moments before I quietly excused myself from where a few other teachers watched backstage, my feet carrying me slowly toward the costume room while my heart raced with the speed of a leopard. As soon as I nudged the door open, I was quickly pulled through it with one hand around my wrist, and my back was to the cool metal in the next instant.
“I couldn’t wait any longer to touch you.”
It was completely dark in the small room, but I didn’t need sight, anyway. Touch was the only sense necessary as Reese pinned me against the door, his hands framing my hips first before they slid up my ribcage, palming me through the thin fabric of my dress.
My mouth fell open with a gasp at the overwhelming sensation, but Reese captured that sigh with his own mouth, kissing me like I hadn’t spent all weekend in his bed — like it was the first time he’d touched me all over again.
“You’re insatiable,” I said with a laugh against his bruising kisses.
“You don’t seem mad about it.”
His hand slipped up under my dress, under the tights beneath it, sweeping between my aching thighs with an ease that made my breath catch. My hand flew to his wrist, stopping him.
“We could get caught.”
He grinned against the skin of my neck, sucking it between his teeth in the next instant.
“Guess you’ll just have to be quiet, then.”
He slid his hand higher between my thighs, fingers skating under the lace of my panties before one finger slid easily inside me. I fought the urge to moan, releasing my grasp on his wrist and opting to find grip on the door behind me, instead. My head fell back when Reese added another finger, and it took every ounce of concentration I had to stay quiet.
The more he worked me with his fingers, the harder his lips were on my neck, the closer I was to finding the release I craved. I reached forward for him, but as soon as my hands wrapped around his belt, he jerked away.
“Not now. Just you right now.”
His fingers continued their assault as I whimpered, and he kissed me quickly, muting the sound.
With his lips fused to mine and his fingers picking up speed between my legs, I came for him.
Miraculously, I didn’t make a peep.
He slowed, gently removing his fingers, and as soon as they slipped out I shuddered at the loss. Reese just grinned, his eyes still on mine as he brought his fingers to his lips and sucked them clean.
“You,” I breathed, shaking my head. “Are so, so bad.”
He chuckled, leaning in to kiss me softer, and this time the passion I’d felt before was replaced with a longing, with a disbelief that I was in his arms.
When he pulled away, his forehead stayed pressed against mine, and he let out a long sigh.
“What happens now, Charlie?”
My hands threaded around the back of his neck, and I mirrored his sigh. “I don’t know. I have to talk to him,” I said softly. “We both know that.”
Reese nodded, pulling me closer. “So, you’ll go home tonight?”
“I have to.”
He blew out a more frustrating breath, squeezing his eyes closed. “I know. I know, but I hate it.”
Something about the casual way we talked about Cameron in that moment, about the nonchalant way I discussed throwing away everything I’d cherished for the past decade of my life — it stirred a poison that had been stagnant inside me. I felt it spring to life, crawling through my veins, and my chest ached with the attempt to beat through the grip of it.
“There’s so much more to think about, Reese. Cameron… he’s my husband. This isn’t just going to hurt him, it’s going to kill him. And then there are our families, and the vows we made.” I paused, knowing just hearing the words alone were hurting Reese. “I just need some time, okay? I need a little time.”
His grip tightened around me again, and he pulled me into his chest, resting his chin on my head. The emotion that poured out of his body into mine with that grasp was enough to make my knees hit the ground.
“I’ll wait. I’d wait forever for you.”
Mr. Henderson’s muffled voice coming from the stage brought me back to reality, and I kissed Reese’s chest before putting distance between us. “We should get back out there.”
“Yeah,” he agreed, but he didn’t let me go for a moment. “You first. I’ll wait a few minutes.”
I slipped back out the door, smoothing my hands over my dress and tucking the fallen strands of my hair behind my ears as I made my way back to the stage. They’d be inviting the teachers out soon who helped organize the event, so I took my place behind Miss Maggert, hoping like hell I didn’t look like I’d just been finger-banged in the costume room.
I was in the process of calming my racing heart when it stopped altogether at the sight of an unexpected guest on stage with Mr. Henderson.
“Now, before we bring out the staff who helped plan this amazing concert for you tonight, I have the distinct honor of introducing you to a very special surprise guest this evening,” Mr. Henderson said, his cheeks rosy and high on his face as he squeezed Cameron’s shoulder.
No one would have noticed other than me, but I could tell Cameron hadn’t slept all weekend. To the untrained eye, he looked dapper in his beige suit with baby blue and dark brown accents. But I saw the faint bags under his eyes, the downturn in his smile, the crease between his brows.
It was then that I realized it didn’t matter how angry I was, or how much I knew we weren’t meant to be together anymore — I still didn’t want to hurt him.
It was going to kill me to do it.
But I couldn’t focus on that for long before the more pressing question forced its way to the forefront of my mind.
Why is he here?
“Please join me in welcoming Senior Project Manager at Reid’s Energy Solutions and husband to our very own Mrs. Charlie Pierce. Here with a very special announcement that I know will end this beautiful concert on the highest of notes.” He paused there, hoping the crowd would catch his intentional pun, and though he only earned a few chuckles, he seemed proud. “Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Cameron Pierce.”
There was a warm welcome of applause as Mr. Henderson shook Cameron’s hand and exited the stage, joining the rest of us behind the curtain at stage left. He smiled at me with a raise of his eyebrows, as if I was in on the secret, but I had no idea why my husband was on stage, or what his “special announcement” was.
Reese reached my side as soon as Cameron started talking, casting a questioning glance in my direction. His eyes asked me why Cameron was there, and I could only answer with a blink.
“Thank you, Mr. Henderson,” Cameron said as the crowd quieted. “And thank you, parents, faculty, staff, and students of Westchester for allowing me to interrupt the end of your much anticipated spring concert. You’ll have to forgive me for my nerves, public speaking is far from my forte.”
He smiled a little then.
“My wife is almost as shy as I am, but she still manages to talk to a crowd full of people like they’re her best friends. I’ve always envied that about her. And no, don’t worry, I’m not picturing anyone in their underwear — although I did have a nightmare last night that you all would see me in mine.”
The crowd laughed, and under my aching chest, my heart surged with an unwelcome warmth.
“Speaking of my wife, I’m not sure if all of you know her personally, but for those of you who do, you know that she’s the most kind-hearted woman who ever existed.” There were smiles and nods of encouragement from the crowd, and Cameron kept their attention as he continued. “She’s taught some of your children, and from what I’ve gathered, many of them remember her long after they leave kindergarten — which speaks more highly of her than I ever could.”
“We love you, Mrs. Pierce!” a student yelled from the crowd, and everyone laughed and clapped to mirror his sentiment, which made Cameron’s smile grow even wider.
“Yes, she’s pretty amazing, which is why I have to tell you that my heart was broken when she came home from school last Friday with tears streaming down her face. As I’m sure you can agree, when we see those we love the most hurting, all we want to do is make whatever the source of that pain is go away. We want to make everything better.” He swallowed. “I have to admit to you all that I failed at that, but I’m here to try again.”
The crowd was silent, completely rapt, hanging on to every word Cameron said.
I hung on with them.
“You see, there is a student in her class this semester who she has really connected with. We all know that a teacher doesn’t become everyone’s favorite and stay in the hearts of students without being more than just their teacher. Charlie is a friend to her students, and I know she has been a very good friend to one student in particular this year.” He paused. “Jeremiah Lawrence.”
My heart kicked, the force of it so hard that my hand found my chest as if to stop it from escaping altogether.
“Some of you may already know, but Jeremiah and his family suffered a horrible tragedy last week during the snow days. While the rest of us were thankful for mornings spent sleeping in and afternoons building snowmen, they were struggling to find hope after they lost their home and all the belongings inside it to a fire.”
There was a wave of gasps and sympathetic whispers from the crowd, and Cameron shook his head, his hands gripping the edge of the podium where he stood.
“I can’t imagine what they’ve gone through over the past week, and I know there is no way to ever truly replace all that they lost — not just their sentimental belongings and the home where so many memories had been made, but their sense of peace and comfort, too. To have something you love so much ripped away from you like that,” he said, and I heard the underlying implications behind it. “It’s something no one should have to live through.”
I swallowed, my eyes filling with tears. Reese glanced at me but I couldn’t meet his gaze, couldn’t look anywhere but at my husband as he poured his heart out on stage.
“But, one thing I’ve come to learn the past eight years that I’ve been married to one of the finest teachers at Westchester is that this isn’t just a school,” Cameron said. “This is a family. We all go through challenges that hurt us, but they strengthen us, too. Sometimes we get hurt.” His voice caught, and for the first time, he found my eyes backstage. He held my gaze as his own eyes glossed over. “And sometimes we even hurt each other. But at the end of the day, we’re a family — and that will never change.”
Someone started a slow clap in the crowd, and everyone joined in slowly. I didn’t have to look to know mine and Cameron’s eyes weren’t the only wet ones in the house.
He tore his gaze away from mine and sniffed, shaking the emotion from his features as he addressed the crowd again. “And so, as a part of the Westchester family, I’d like to invite Jeremiah and his family up to the stage at this time.”
It was quiet a moment before the crowd began clapping again, and slowly, Jeremiah, his mother, his father, and his grandparents emerged, slowly parting the sea as they made their way to the stage. They stood next to Cameron, all of them wearing sad, worn smiles and eyes heavy with exhaustion just like Cameron’s.
Cameron pulled the microphone from the podium and bent to Jeremiah’s level, squeezing his shoulder. “Jeremiah, I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through. And I know how scary it’s been, losing your home, and then hearing the possibility that you might lose your school, too. But, Reid’s Energy Solutions isn’t going to let that happen.”
Jeremiah’s eyes widened as his parents looked to each other in confusion, questioning Cameron in their next glance.
“I’m so honored to be the one to tell you that we are going to sponsor a new home being built for you and your family, right on the same lot where your old one existed. You can have it built the way it was or with whatever upgrades you want — just say the word. And,” he added over the commotion of the crowd. “The next three years of your tuition is on us, too.” His eyes found the parents then. “We hope this will help you find comfort again, and allow you plenty of time to get back on your feet without any worry that Westchester won’t be your home anymore. Once a family, always a family.”
He went to say something else, but was cut off by Jeremiah throwing his little arms around his neck and hugging him tight as he sobbed. The crowd erupted into a thunderous applause, everyone coming to their feet, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Cameron’s face as Jeremiah hugged him.
Because I knew he was thinking about our son.
I blinked, opening the floodgates on the tears I’d been holding back as my hands covered my mouth. I couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything but stand there in the eye of the emotional tornado sweeping through everything I thought I knew and completely destroying it.
Reese wouldn’t take his eyes off me, and when I finally allowed myself to return his gaze, I knew he’d ask the question I couldn’t answer.
“Charlie.”
His hand reached for me but he stopped himself, letting it fall back to his side as the crowd continued to cheer. He glanced at Cameron on stage, and when his eyes found mine again, I saw the absolute terror behind them. I saw the same fear I felt, the same shock and confusion.
“Charlie,” he repeated. “Don’t look at me like that. Don’t… you can’t…” He shook his head, stepping just an inch closer. “You have to tell me. I have to know. What does this mean? What are you thinking?”
But I couldn’t answer.
The crowd’s cheers morphed into a loud siren, the stage lights blinding me in a flash before everything went dark.