Charlotte McCartney “Why do you stand there looking all sulked up? Lydia asked, turning to face her son, George.“I'm sorry to have interrupted your meal”, George said, modestly. He was usually very jovial and playful but today he wore this look that I was sure even Kelcie would have been shocked to see.“You sure did”, Lydia replied. “You better sit down and get some food into that stomach of yours”, she added and made to go back to the kitchen to get more before George stopped her.“It's okay mom I'm not hungry”, he said, pulling her back. As Josh read through the letter George had handed to him, his grasp tightened the more he read through it until he got to the final point at which he tore the whole thing altogether in a very furious manner. “What does it say?” Lydia asked, looking horrified. Everyone was horrified even Kelcie did not look so comfortable and she obviously wasn't old enough to understand what seemed to be going on.“This obviously is no one's doing other than t
Charlotte McCartney “You are just going to let her win? Just like that” I heard myself say as Josh wheeled off to his gloom. He paused as I spoke.“What in hell do you expect me to do?” he answered, almost yelling. “Do you know the caliber of men that come to these conferences? These board of directors are considered amongst the most powerful men in the world and they match it in all ramifications. These people feast on the weak, that's what they do. Not comfort them like you're trying to do right now”, he said angrily.“I'm not trying to comfort you or do anything of such”, I replied, calmly. “I just feel our situations are just very similar that's all”.“And how is that so? How are our situations the same? How Charlotte? Tell me!” he said, looking at me pointedly.Everyone was still and quietly staring and equally surprised at how and why I would choose to make myself the centre of attraction especially at a time like this.“My sister Whitney”, I said, “used to do about the same th
Charlotte McCartney “Come on Kelcie, let's go get you some chocolates”, I told Kelcie as I lifted her off the bed we shared. “No mommy I can get down by myself, I'm a big girl now”, Kelcie said protesting and I laughed.“Okay my big baby girl. Do you want chocolate or not? Because mommy is going to get some”, I said, smiling broadly. “I want, I want. Mommy I want some too. Can I have some chocolates mommy?” She asked, jumping excitedly and hugging my legs. “Alright , alright. You can have some too”, I said smiling and she screamed, “yayy!!!” almost immediately.“But only if you agree that you're mommy's little baby girl”, I said, smiling cunningly.“Mommy that's not fair”, she said laughing and I immediately carried her back to the bed and began tickling her making her laugh uncontrollably.“Who is mommy's little baby girl?” I asked as I tickled her. “Who is mommy's baby?” I asked again, still tickling her.“Stop mommy… mommy…”, she said laughing and at the same time fighting to f
Charlotte McCartney “Two rooms, don't you think that's too much Josh?" I asked, as I walked him out of our room while Kelcie slept. “I am happy with the gifts and all but still being someone who has learned the hard way to accept things one at a time, I am still rather skeptical with why and what the intentions behind these gifts could be”, I said.“What do you mean Charlotte? What is so strange about me giving Kelcie gifts?” He asked, obviously confused.“It’s not at all strange Josh that you have done this for Kelcie aside from your new found relationship, you are best friends with her great grandfather making you more like a great god father if we choose to see it that way. So in the real sense of it everything seems completely normal. But I still have to be sure, I still need some level of certainty that I haven't been able to wrap my hands around”, I replied defensively.“Charlotte please! it's my property I'll do whatever I want to do with it”, he said, waving me off again. “Pl
Charlotte McCartney “You want to shave?” I asked, surprised. One thing I had not mentioned earlier probably as a result of the fact that I had not exactly considered this man worth reminiscing about in the first place was Josh's beards. They weren't exactly beautiful nor ugly, there were just aspects that had overtime defined his features. It didn't make him ugly and I did not know what ugly in this respect would mean so it's safe to take it out of the conversation. It just made him look like him.he wore it so well with his misery, it almost became attractive and had a thing to it and now hearing him say he's wanting to trim it had something transfiguring about it as well as something very unfamiliar.“You sound as though you're not particularly happy about that”, he said, seeming quite surprised himself.“No it's nothing…it…it's good you cut.. “ , I stuttered, feeling quite embarrassed. “It's just that I don't know what you'll look like underneath”, I said, smiling shyly.He smile
Charlotte McCartney Finding the shaving kit wasn't as difficult as I had expected. It seemed as though he kept them where he could easily reach like he had prepared to do this all along; it was at the top drawer in his room.“You found it?” he asked where he sat waiting for me. Yes it wasn't hidden at all.“I remember the first time I ever shaved my grandfather, I was eleven at the time. I had watched him do this frequently until this particular day he seemed to not be getting it right and then he called me and asked for my help. This was extremely exceptional. He may as well have just gone out to a barber or something but he never did except when he went to cut his hair. To him shaving had become more like a personal ritual, something that only he could do for himself. He used to say his father always warned him”, I told Josh.“Never let another man shave you when you can do it yourself. It could be maiming. That's what Grandfather said his father used to say to him. So it was part
Charlotte McCartney “Mommy the blue one it matches with your eyes”, Kelcie called out like a hungry spectator.“That's nice honey, but let the stylist do her job, I'm sure she knows this better than we all do”, I answered. “Actually she's absolutely correct”, the stylist replied to me. “I was going to go for the blue one, but hearing her say it made it even more sensible. “How old is she?” She asked turning to have a look at Kelcie.“I'm five years old," Kelcie replied.“Wow… hi Kelcie”, the stylist said, acknowledging her name. “She sure is a smart one”, she said. “Very sharp and observant”.“Oh she is”, I confessed, smiling proudly. “A little too observant for her age”, I added with a frown.“No it's a good thing, very artistic in my opinion”, she argued.This morning I had awoken to incessant knocks on my room door when I finally managed to get up and open the door, Lydia and Kelcie rushed past me into the room.“Mommy you're awake!” Kelcie said in excitement “You're even still
Charlotte McCartney Everyone seemed to pause as Josh wheeled into the room, as though they were all expecting what he had to say, everyone including me.He seemed to be looking around until he caught sight of me and paused. He looked flustered and confused as though the person who stood in front of him was someone he could not exactly recognize.“Josh it's mommy”, Kelcie called out from where she was as though she noticed his confusion. “She looks so beautiful doesn't she?”Kelcie sai“It's me”, I said, feeling somehow elated by his obvious surprise.“Yes I see”, he said regaining his composure “You look… well absolutely amazing, I literally almost thought it was someone else”, Josh said smiling broadly.“I must say Maria really did a good Job”, Lydia added clapping.“Oh I did nothing, trust me, my usual clients take three hours or more to style but she, right here, did not even take that much time. That's because she's a beauty. In this field we create beauty but we also need beauty
Whitney McCartney For the first time in my life I feel so insignificant. This house, this mansion where I was born, where I have always called home feels like a strange land to me. “What is this?” I asked rhetorically, noticing a fading drawing on a small part of the mansion’s entrance. I walked closer to see what it was. “What is this? Why am I just seeing this?” I asked myself as I stared at the fading image of a lion. “Oh it's probably Grandfather's lion painting, the one mother was planning to have redrawn. So this is where it was?” I thought. I had not noticed it in all the years I had walked past that entrance.“Everything feels so unfamiliar. This unusual silence that is screaming so loudly only began after Charlotte’s uninvited and unwelcome visitation. Why did she have to come here anyway? Why could she not stay where she was? Why did she come here? She should have stayed there, where she belongs, with that broken piece of shit that calls himself Josh”, I thought, angrily.
Charlotte McCartney“Weeeeeeee! That's how the plane goes mommy, weeeee!” Kelcie said completely ecstatic. I wondered how it was possible to not have been infected by this cheerfulness. Evidently Josh had made it happen. Her dream of flying was finally coming through and yet I couldn't find it in me to be happy because I knew what happened and certainly what lay ahead may only have looked good but was not at all. “Before I forget, your friend Maddie will be joining you two at the resort”, Lydia informed me. “She will be coming with a couple visitors”, she added.“Which visitors?” I asked, a little worried. I did not mind Maddie joining us at all. She would even be good companion. “But who else would she bring?” I asked myself, not wanting strangers. “It would be easy to face my embarrassment with Maddie and Kelcie alone. Maddie could even defend me if the need arises” I thought.“Don't worry, it's not too many people. She will be coming along with her sister and her sister's daughter
Charlotte McCartney“Mommy! mommy! Get off the bed, we are already late”, Kelcie said, shaking me from my sleep.“I must have fallen asleep again”, I thought, recalling I wanted to shower earlier.“Late for what?” I asked, still very much asleep. Apparently, her shakes were courtesy of the fact that her baby strength had very little impact in doing what she had intended to do.“Come on now Charlotte, you can't still be this sleepy”, Lydia said. I hadn't even noticed she was also here too.“I'm really having a hard time knowing what I'll be late for”, I answered her.“Oh so you really have forgotten then?” she replied even in my daze I could hear the mild surprise in her voice.“Mommy, we're supposed to go and see the dressers today”, Kelcie replied this time.“Oh yes Charlotte”, Lydia joined in,”Your appointment was set for this date, today”.“Oh that”, I recalled loudly. “Is that even still happening?" I thought to myself. Today I was supposed to go to check out my wedding dress, fin
Charlotte McCartney By the time I came out of the bathroom my baby was no longer sleeping. She had turned on the bedroom light and was already out of the room as she usually did in the mornings. I looked up at the antique wall clock in our bedroom, “7:41am”, I said. “Kelcie must be having her milkshakes by now or just talking to Lydia”, I thought, then it hit me like a blow.“Lydia knows”, I said out loud. “She knows. There is no way she doesn't know. She was the one who called Josh to come and conduct the wine tasting. We were supposed to do it together but she excused herself. I'm sure she would have expected me to do the same as soon as Josh arrived but I stayed, foolishly”, I thought.“That's what mother always talked about. This is the same thing mother always said about me, the same reason she's always complaining. I'm so stupid. I never think before I act. I'm just so stupid. I could have left. There was nothing stopping me from leaving. But I stayed. Why? I could have left it
Charlotte McCartney “Baby”, I said as I stretched my hand to reach my baby. “Oh she's out already”, I concluded to myself as my outstretched hand met an empty bed. “She's probably watching the sunrise now”, I added, as I tried to sit up in bed. “There is something hard about this bed”, I thought, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand. “Did someone replace the bed when I was out?” I asked myself.I yawned and laid back down to sleep but my eyes flew open almost immediately and I sat up at about the same instance. “Where am I?” I asked myself, looking round to check my surroundings. “Where am…” I was going to repeat the question again, when realization dawned me. “This is Josh's room. How did I get here?” I questioned, quite confused.“Oh my God! No! No! It did not happen again”, I said, wrapping my hand around my naked body, as I realized I was lying naked under Josh's sheets. My clothes were folded neatly at the foot of the bed.“Oh God please! This did not happen. How could I ha
Charlotte McCartneyThe sound of his name had butterflies swimming around my stomach all of a sudden. I had deliberately avoided talking about him all morning and had tried my best to not spend my whole day thinking as well as talking about him but he was everywhere nonetheless.“What Is that?” Lydia teased. “You think I'm going to be carrying you around afterwards?” She asked, pausing dramatically. “No young lady, not when you have a loving husband”.I bowed my head feeling slightly embarrassed and mildly amused. “Lydia and her mean little humour could somehow take one off guard like that. But it's alright the lady means no harm”, I said to myself.“Don't you worry though? I'll go call him for you. I bet he's still in his room but definitely awake by now. Come on I bet it'll be fun too”, she said assuringly.As she hurried off, thoughts of the last night we were together filled my mind. I yearned so much for his presence but yet was still shy and scared to admit it. It just felt too
Charlotte McCartney “The sugar is literally making me drunk”, Lydia exclaimed “It's too much don't you think?” she asked. “I love it Mommy”, Kelcie said to me. “Ms Lydia, why do you not like it?” Kelcie asked, turning to Lydia. Then, she chattered on and on as though the sugar was really getting her excited as Lydia had complained.“Too much sugar like this baby will have me living in the toilet for a couple days or weeks maybe”, she said, squinting her face. A proper look at the lady and you'd know that she had been a beauty in her youthful days and still, till this day gave off the impression of a beautiful aged lady.Kelcie laughed, “Ms Lydia you're saying the cake is going to make you poo poo?” She asked, amused. “Oh lots of poo poo I'm afraid”, she said, still squinting up her face.“But they do taste creamy as well”, I said. I personally thought it tasted quite good, heavenly to be exact, everything felt heavenly right now.“Yeah there's cream but there's sugar as well but p
Josh Xavier “Come on, go and get your things!” Ashley McCartney yelled again, louder this time.“Please mother! I don't want to leave”, Charlotte said, pleading.“Get out of the way sister!. We are getting you out of here. You can't live with this cripple”,Whitney said, pushing Charlotte out of the way finally. “Josh talk to Grandma, she'll listen to you”, Kelcie said to me with tears in her eyes. It broke my heart to see my little Princess cry.“Ashley, listen to me. Let's talk about this. Don't do this, remember our agreement”, I said, trying to reason with her.“There is nothing to talk about Josh. I have told you what I had to tell you. There is nothing to discuss. The agreement is over. You cannot have her anymore. She's going home”, Ashley replied, stamping her feet on the ground.“Have you finished packing Whitney?”. She questioned, sidelining me.“Almost mother, just a few more things and we'll be out of here”, Whitney screamed from inside. “Josh do something please”, Charl
Josh Xavier If she did not kiss me back, I'm not sure what it would have done to me, to my fragile heart. It's not like I've never been heart broken in the past. Because I have. I'm an old man, I've lived through different experiences with women. Good and bad ones I must say. But mostly good ones. The good ones were in my hay days. The days of my youth, when nothing could stop me. The days when I could have all the women I wanted, yet I rejected them all. I have been with women and I have had my fun with them. That's all I ever wanted from them. Fun. Nothing else. It changed over the years though. I changed. It's probably something that comes with age maybe. The desire to be stable, have a family and build a legacy. I already had one, one that was built by my father and his father before him and even before him. So all I needed to do was continue. Keep the legacy on. You don't want your family legacy to end because of you. “No, noone wants that” , I thought out loudThat's when my