Page 64 of Live Like There's No Tomorrow
Ben laughed. “Okay, you do what you feel will work for you. I’m going to wait for Charlie to get back and then we’ll come on over.”
“When you see her, you can tell her this was why I wasn’t on very good form this afternoon. We had our meeting, but I wasn’t really able to concentrate. I told her I was having an off day, but now I understand why.”
“I’m sure she’ll understand, too. And I’m sure she’ll want to be there. Good luck, Em. I guess by the time I see you, you’ll be a mama.”
“Ooh. Oh, that hurts. I’m going to hang up now. It’s a … ohh … Contraction. Bye, Ben.”
Ben hung up and stared at his phone for a moment.
“Is she on her way to the hospital?” asked Kenzie.
“Is Jack with her?” asked Chase.
Ben nodded at them. “Yep, Jack’s driving and Emma’s calling around to everyone.”
“That sounds about right,” said Kenzie with a smile. “I love Emma, she’s going to make such a great mom.”
“Are you going to the hospital?” asked Chase. “We can hold the fort here if you want to go.”
Ben smiled at him gratefully. “Thanks. Charlie’s on the way back here and when she arrives I think we’ll go over there.”
“You forget about this place for tonight,” said Kenzie. “We can take care of it.”
“Thanks, Kenzie.” He smiled, but on the inside, part of him wanted to cry. He didn’t want to let his mind go anywhere near thoughts of his own child—the child he and Charlotte had lost all those years ago. He didn’t want to go there, but it was hard to drag his mind away.
“Here she is,” said Eddie.
~ ~ ~
Charlotte was looking forward to an evening at home with Ben. She’d told him she’d come to the restaurant to find him when she got finished with Emma. They were going to get the kitchen to make something for takeout so they could go and relax at her place.
When she walked into the bar, a wave of anxiety swept over her when she saw the look on Ben’s face. He looked as though he’d seen a ghost, and yet the others with him, Kenzie, Chase, and Eddie all looked really happy. Ben was hiding something, she knew it. And she was going to get him to tell her what it was. She went straight to him and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Hey. Do you want to get out of here?” She turned and smiled at Kenzie. “Do you mind if I steal him for the evening?”
Ben took her arm. “Kenzie already offered. I’m ready to leave, if you are?”
Charlotte looked up at him as he led her out of the bar. “What is it, Ben? What’s happened?”
Once they were outside he stopped and turned to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking down into her eyes. “Sorry, baby. I might be overreacting. I should be happy, I am happy for Emma, but it hit me like a ton of bricks.”
“What did? What’s going on?”
“Emma called. They’re on their way to the hospital. She’s gone into labor.”
“Oh. Now it makes sense. She couldn’t focus at all when I was over there this afternoon.”
“Yeah, she said to tell you now she knew why.”
Charlotte closed her eyes for a moment. She, too, was happy for Emma and for Jack; she’d known ever since she came back that being here for the birth of her friend’s child would be difficult. Now the time had come, and in the way Ben had described it, it hit like a ton of bricks. She looked up into his eyes. “I’m with you, I’m happy for her, but it hurt’s like hell. I want to go see and help them welcome the baby, but part of me just wants to go home and curl up and cry.”
“That’s exactly how I feel. Which do you think we should do?”
“What weshoulddo is go over there and hang out and wait with everyone else. I’m not sure I want to, and I’m not sure I can stand it, but that’s what I feel we should do.”
Ben sucked in a deep breath. “That’s the conclusion I reached, too. Are we strong or are we gluttons for punishment?”
Charlotte shrugged. “Maybe a bit of both. I just don’t want to miss out on happy things that are happening in our present, because of sad things that happened in our past.”
Ben wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they walked toward his car. “At least we get to face it together. This would be so much harder if you weren’t here.”
