Another knock sounded at the door. “I've got to go now, Mother. Goodbye."
"Yes, yes, fine. See you later."
Mary Elizabeth heaved a sigh of relief as she disconnected the call and walked to the door. Looking through the peephole, she was surprised to see Charles standing there. She opened the door and stepped back, allowing him to enter. “What are you doing here?"
Charles indicated the box in his hands. “Since you didn't come to the house and eat, I brought you some food. I have way more than I can eat by myself. I offered to take some around to your parents, but they have just as much food there."
Mary Elizabeth led the way into the kitchen. “Put it down here on the countertop. If your kitchen looks anything like my parents, you have enough food to last a month, if not longer."
"This wasn't the only reason I came. I couldn't take another moment in that house. It's so empty, the memories are getting to me.” He'd changed out of his suit into a pair of snug fitting jeans and white polo shirt that showed off his lean athletic build. Charles was an extremely attractive man, with his golden blonde hair and baby blue eyes.
"I'm sorry, Charles. It's rough for all of us right now, but eventually, it will get better. Let's go into the living room and sit down. Have you eaten? Would you like anything to drink?” Mary Elizabeth put away the food. She'd eat later when she had more of an appetite.
"I don't suppose you have any beer?"
If the smell of his breath was any indicator, Charles had already had enough to drink. “No, sorry. I rarely drink. Your choices are juice, water, milk, or soda."
"I'll take a soda.” She grabbed two sodas out of the fridge and joined him in the living room; glad she'd cleaned up. She definitely wasn't expecting company. She searched for something to say. “The service turned out really nice."
"Yeah, it was more than that bitch deserved."
"Um, excuse me?” Mary Elizabeth's gaze stopped bouncing around the room and locked onto Charles. She couldn't have heard correctly.
"I said it was more than she deserved. The bitch was cheating on me with her boss.” Mary Elizabeth said nothing, though inside, she was shocked. Charles knew about the affair?
When she didn't respond or act surprised, he said, “You knew about it, didn't you? You knew she was cheating on me with that scumbag boss of hers."
Mary Elizabeth debated over what to say. She could admit to knowing the truth, but she'd promised Babs and it would go against every principle she had.
"Don't bother trying to lie. I can see the truth on your face. I should have known she would tell you about it. She's used you for years to cover for her."
"I don't know what to say.” There was a part of Mary Elizabeth that felt guilty. If she'd tried a little harder, would she have been able to talk Babs out of what she was planning? If she had, maybe Babs would be alive today.
Charles left the window he was standing by and sat beside her on the couch, picking up her hands and holding them in his own. “Just tell me, why did she do it? I have to know. What did he have that I didn't? What did I do to make her turn to another man?"
"Charles, Babs didn't give me a reason. She wasn't big on explaining herself or her actions.” Why did Babs do any of the things she did? That was one thing Mary Elizabeth had never been able to figure out.
"I can't believe I wasted so much time with that faithless bitch. You know, she was the reason we never had kids. She didn't want to ruin her figure. Never mind what I wanted. I made a big mistake when I didn't marrying you. I should have known what she was like the night she seduced me, her own sister's fiancé. Instead, I was flattered that she wanted me so much. What a fool! I fell right into her hands."
"Charles, if you'd really loved me, Babs wouldn't have been able to seduce you. We were never more than good friends who happened to become engaged. Didn't it seem strange to you that we never had sex, yet we were planning on getting married? No, you didn't make a mistake. You and Babs were meant to be together. She was a much better wife for you than I would have been.” Mary Elizabeth thought back to a recent conversation she and Babs had concerning kids. Babs had been scared that if she'd given Charles the children he wanted, it would have taken his attention away from her. No sense explaining that to Charles now.
While she was speaking, Charles moved closer, placed his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. “I don't know what I would do without you, Mary Elizabeth. You've always been good to me, even after all that's happened between us. I can always count on your support. Why the hell didn't I marry you? You would have never cheated on me. We could have been happily married with our two-point-five children if it hadn't been for Babs.” Before she could respond, he lowered his head and kissed her. Held securely in his arms, she froze, not knowing what to do. In truth, she was shocked.
When she didn't respond to his kiss, he moved from her mouth and placed kisses all over her face. Turning her head to the side, she tried to get her hands up between them to push him away, but they were trapped by her sides. “Charles, stop."
He began kissing her neck. She wiggled, trying to get away from him. “Charles, stop it! You're not yourself right now. Don't do anything we'll both regret."
He tried to kiss his way down to her chest, but they were pressed too close together. What a time for her not to be wearing a bra! Moving more forcefully, she threw herself back, attempting to break his hold on her. At the same time, he unexpectedly loosed his grip. As a result, all she succeeded in doing was landing flat on her back on the couch. Charles quickly alighted on top of her.
She could feel his erection against her thigh. This couldn't be happening. She was not sitting in her living room fighting off a drunken pass from her sister's husband. Damn, she was getting angry. She didn't need this crap on top of everything else. Granted, the man had just buried his wife and probably wasn't thinking straight, but she was his sister-in-law, not some floozy from a bar.
"Charles,” she said sharply, “let me go! You're drunk. You need to go home."
"I'm not drunk. I know what I'm doing. Let me show you how good it can be between us.” He latched his mouth onto her t-shirt covered breast while trying to pry her legs open with his thigh. Enough was enough. She lifted her leg up, kneeing him in the groin. Not hard enough damage, but definitely hard enough to get his attention.
"I said, NO!” She shoved him and jumped to her feet as he rolled off of her onto the floor, clasping his balls. “You need to go. Now!"
Slowly he got to his feet and hobbled to the door, still clutching himself. When he drew even with her, he stopped. “This isn't over between us. I know you think this is the grief and alcohol talking, but it's not. I've known for a long time now that I made a mistake. Now that Babs is no longer a concern, I intend to have you like I would've if I hadn't been so stupid."
"Goodbye, Charles.” She opened the door wide, a hint for him to leave. Giving her one last look to show how determined he was, he slowly walked out. Closing the door with a thump behind him, she leaned her back against it and closed her eyes, tired beyond belief.
Damn, what a day. First there was the funeral, then the call from mother, and now Charles. She could only hope this Charles thing was temporary. But her mother? That was a different story. Mary Elizabeth always found it difficult to tell her mother no. It was a habit she'd developed as a child when she'd been willing to do anything to gain her mother's attention and approval.
What was she going to do? The picture of herself old and gray, at the beck and call of her demanding mother flashed through her mind, causing her to shudder in fear. Whatever it took, she had to keep that from happening. Like a light bulb going off in her head, she remembered Kiesha's offer. What a godsend! Someone upstairs was looking out for her. Picking up the phone, Mary Elizabeth dialed her number. “Kiesha, it's me. I accept. When do I leave?"