“Sean, it’s been a minute. What’s up?”
“Listen, I was wondering if you could spot me a space on your couch for a while, until I find a place of my own. Shouldn’t be more than a few weeks. My apartment got flooded, and I need a place to crash.”
“I wish I could, but Manny’s brother is staying with us, and he’s sleeping there.”
Dammit.
“Okay, thanks.”
“Sorry, bro.”
Similar stories followed from the next six friends he called. Everyone had an excuse, and Sean was getting desperate. He lived paycheck to paycheck, and though his apartment was crummy, he’d been able to afford it and even have a bit left over at the end of the month. The tips he made on the extras, like birthday parties, where he’d sing special requests, brought him that little cushion. He had some savings, but only enough to last a few months, tops.
Charlotte walked into the kitchen at the tail end of his last phone call and poured herself a cup of coffee.
“You know you can stay here as long as you want. I love having you here, and so do the kids. You’re their favorite uncle.”
“Helped by the fact that I’m their only uncle,” he tried to joke, but he wasn’t in the mood for laughing. “I have to get a new place, and on top of that, plead with my boss to give me my shifts back. When is Ray supposed to get home?” He couldn’t believe none of his so-called friends could help him out. He shouldn’t be surprised. People let you down eventually.
“In a couple of weeks. I tried to do it all, but I had to hire someone to help me. I couldn’t take care of the house and the kids by myself.”
“You did the right thing. It’s not like I could do much.”
She cackled with glee. “The look of horror on your face that morning was a picture.”
He grimaced despite himself. “Yeah, well, I’m not used to the poopy diapers and spit up, so…” He shuddered, and she sighed.
“Such is my life now.”
“I think you did okay. Considering.”
Dreamy-eyed, she smiled. “Yeah, thank God I decided to work that night and met Ray. Aside from finding you, he’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Even though his mother didn’t agree at first.”
“Iris still giving you trouble?” The one time he’d met Charlotte’s mother-in-law was one time too many. Her darling son marrying a cocktail waitress wasn’t what she had planned. But Ray had put his foot down—either Iris respected his wife, or she wouldn’t see him or the grandchildren.
Charlotte’s eyes twinkled. “She basically ignores me for the most part, but at least she’s polite. And she does love the kids.”
“I’m glad Ray sees that.”
“He does.” She winked and put a hand over his. He tensed, knowing what was coming. “Sean—”
“Don’t. I’m good.”
“If I thought that was the case, I wouldn’t be so worried about you. All I hear is you talking about the different guys you’ve been with. I want you to find someone who’ll love you to the ends of the earth because you’re worth it. Our parents gave you up, but they were the ones who lost out because you’re an amazing person.”
With his hookups, Sean knew he was wanted. At least for the night.
His parents? Well, that was another story. His mother turning him over to foster care when he was only three because he was “too much to handle” didn’t make him the most trusting person in the world. Charlotte had burst into his life a few years ago. She’d only found out Sean existed after their parents moved to Florida.
He hadn’t known she existed at all.
Charlotte had kept their parents’ boxes of old papers and photographs in a closet, but after she and Ray got married and moved from the city to their big home in Long Island, she went through them and discovered Sean’s birth certificate, a picture of him when he was born, and the legal papers her mother signed, relinquishing parental rights. When she confronted them with the truth, they confessed the whole story—how they’d split up after Sean was born, then got back together after his mother gave him up; then they’d gotten married and had Charlotte, but never tried to find Sean.
Charlotte had immediately commenced a search to find him. She’d confided to him that she’d always had a rocky relationship with their parents and hadn’t spoken to them since discovering they’d given him up and hidden his existence.
Once Sean accepted she wasn’t there to seek forgiveness for his parents, he allowed himself to trust her. Charlotte seemed to be the only person who loved him for…him.
She loved him more than he loved himself.
