A Midnight Call

The shrill ring of a phone pierced through the stillness of the night, jolting me awake. I blinked groggily, my eyes adjusting to the darkness as I turned to look at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 3:00 AM. My heart sank as I realized who was likely on the phone.

Next to me, Leonard was already answering the call, his movements swift and purposeful. I watched as he answered, his voice low and concerned. "Charlotte? What's wrong?"

I didn't need to hear the other side of the conversation to know what was happening. This scene had played out countless times before, always the same. Charlotte, Leonard's childhood friend and a constant thorn in my side, calling in the middle of the night, needing my husband. And Leonard, ever the knight in shining armor, rushing to her side without hesitation.

"I'll be right there," Leonard said, already getting out of bed. I watched as he moved around the room, quickly pulling on clothes.

"Leonard," I said softly, sitting up in bed. "It's pouring outside. The roads might be dangerous. Maybe you could wait until morning? Charlotte has her caretaker and medical staff, doesn't she?"

He fingers froze while buttoning his crisp white shirt, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "Claire, you know Charlotte needs me. How can you be so unsympathetic?"

His words were like a sharp slap, as they always were when it came to Charlotte. I fell silent, watching as he finished dressing and grabbed his keys. Without another word or even a backward glance, he was gone, leaving me alone in our bed, the echo of the slamming door reverberating through the empty house.

Leaning back against the headboard, I wiped at a few traitorous tears that escaped despite my determination to quit allowing this kind of event to bother me. Five years of marriage, and still, I found myself constantly competing with the ghost of Leonard's past. 

Charlotte, the childhood friend who had been in a tragic accident years ago, leaving her unable to walk. Charlotte, who seemed to need Leonard's attention and care at all hours of the day and night. Charlotte, who always came first in Leonard's life, no matter what.

As I listened to the rain pelting against the windows, my hand unconsciously drifted to my stomach. Hidden in the drawer of my nightstand was a report that could change everything - a pregnancy test, positive. I had planned to tell Leonard today, on our fifth wedding anniversary. I had hoped that maybe, just maybe, the news of a baby would be enough to shift Leonard's priorities, to make him want to stay home more.

But now, as I sat alone in our bed, watching the clock tick past 3:30 AM, I wondered if anything would ever be enough to compete with Charlotte's hold on my husband.

I thought back to how Leonard and I had first met. I had hired as a temp to take over for his secretary who was on medical leave. My family was struggling at the time with my brother gambling away his paychecks and my widowed mother who suffered with health problems, every penny I brought in was needed to make ends meet. marrying Leonard had seemed like a fairy tale come true.

When I’d gotten the chance to work for Parker Industries and  then being selected to work directly with the handsome, charismatic CEO, I was determined to be the most efficient and hardworking secretary he’d ever seen. 

Not only had he heaped praise on me for my work, he’d soon begun pursuing me romantically. He poured on the charm and before I knew it, I was head over heels. It wasn’t only his strong jaw, sensual lips, and piercing blue eyes that won me over but his confidence, determination, and his powerful aura. 

Leonard became my everything. When he surprised me with a canary yellow diamond engagement ring after only six months, I was over the moon. Marrying Leonard had seemed like a fairy tale come true.

But in fairy tales, I had quickly learned, the sweetest fruits often contained poisoned apples.

As the night wore on and sleep eluded me, I found myself reflecting on the past five years. The constant interruptions, the missed dinners, the lonely nights. Leonard's devotion to Charlotte had been a shadow over our relationship from the beginning, but I had always told myself it was just friendship, just guilt over the accident that he held some strange guilt over. Now, though, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to it.

I remembered the day Leonard had told me about Charlotte's accident. The pain in his eyes, the tremor in his voice - it had been clear then how much she meant to him. He had explained that he felt responsible for her, that he needed to take care of her. At the time, I had admired his loyalty, his sense of duty. Now, I often wondered if that admiration had blinded me to the reality of what I was getting into.

As the first rays of dawn began to peek through the curtains, I finally drifted off into a fitful sleep. My dreams were a confused jumble of wedding bells and ringing phones, of Leonard's face and Charlotte's voice calling him away.

When I woke again, the sun was high in the sky, and Leonard's side of the bed was still empty. I reached for my phone, my heart heavy as I dialed his number. It rang once, twice, and then -

"Hello?" It wasn't Leonard's voice that answered but a woman’s. Charlotte. A lump immediately formed in my throat that I had to fight to breath around.

"Charlotte," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Is Leonard there? I need to speak with him."

There was a pause, and then Charlotte's voice came again, syrupy with apology. "Oh, Claire. I'm so sorry. Leonard fell asleep here last night. He was so worried about me, you see. He's still sleeping now."

I felt as if I'd been punched in the stomach. Leonard, spending the night in Charlotte's room. On our anniversary. I swallowed hard, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.

"I see," I managed to say. "When he wakes up, could you please ask him to call me? It's... it's our anniversary today."

"Of course," Charlotte replied, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "I'll let him know right away. Happy anniversary, Claire."

The call ended, and I sat there, staring at my phone lying in my limp hand. Part of me wanted to scream, to cry, to demand that Leonard come home right this instant. But I knew it wouldn't do any good. In the tug-of-war between Charlotte and me, I always seemed to lose.