shaven, there would be no evidence that he’d used the bathroom sink; Dennis was as immaculate as she. She couldn’t have asked for a better night’s sleep, all her worries and anxieties put to rest by the best companion of her life.
Yes, it was probably about time.
Three
When Charlene entered her office, Pam London was taken aback. “Wow,” she said, her mouth dropping open in surprise. “Look at you.”
“What?” Charlene asked, but she smiled because she knew what Pam saw. She’d seen it herself in the mirror that very morning.
“You look ravishing. You haven’t looked this good since you got back from Mazatlan.”
“Ravishing?”
“My, my, yes.” Pam squinted a bit, studying Charlene’s face. “What is it? New makeup?”
“Not exactly. Come into my office, will you?” Pam followed, notepad in hand, and shut the door behind her. “Dennis and I have decided to get married,” Charlene said, skipping any preamble.
Pam didn’t make it very far into the spacious office before she sank into a deep and comfy leather chair. Speechless.
“This can’t possibly be a surprise,” Charlene said.
“Can’t it be…?”
Charlene, businesslike, began taking papers out of her briefcase and placing them in separate stacks on the desktop. “To the contrary. Some would even say this is way overdue, that we should have done it years ago. After five years, it seems almost like a mere formality.” Indeed, on the very night they had made the decision, nothing special set it apart from any other night they spent together. Except maybe the changing of a tire in the rain, which Dennis accomplished while Charlene held the flashlight.
“I guess I thought—” Pam didn’t finish.
“You thought we didn’t need marriage?”
“Well…that’s what you always said.”
“And it’s still true. We don’t need marriage, but wanting it is a different story. To make our commitment complete.”
“That’s lovely.”
“You are the absolute first to know. I haven’t even told Stephanie yet, or my mother. Lois thinks I’m completely hopeless, so she’s going to flip, and Stephanie…Well, I haven’t talked to her since yesterday.” And in thinking about that conversation some of the glow threatened to fade from Charlene’s features. She would have to call Stephanie and tell her about her grandmother; they were very close. But as for the marriage plans, she could wait. In fact, Charlene was still smarting a little from Stephanie’s words and didn’t look forward to calling her at all. “But I wanted to tell you immediately,” Charlene said to Pam. “Because I’d like you to stand up for me, if you will.”
“If? Of course I will! But what about Stephanie and Lois? Won’t they get their noses out of joint if I—”
“No, no, no,” Charlene insisted. “This is all going to work out fine. And I want you with me on this. Like you’ve been with me on everything. I couldn’t have built this practice without you, Pam.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you will.”
“Of course,” she said, flattered. “When is this going to happen?”
“I don’t know. In a few weeks. I have about four major crises to work out before I can think about the actual event, but once I get things under control, I’ll make some arrangements. Something very small, very quiet, very quick.”
Pam smiled lazily. “Quick? Are you pregnant?”
“Ha-ha.”
“And you are doing this quickly because…?”
Charlene stopped shuffling papers, put her briefcase under her desk and took a seat. “Now that we’ve decided, we’re anxious to have the formalities out of the way. But there is another matter that concerns me. My mother is experiencing some memory problems. Some confusion. I’d hate to call it dementia, but until she sees a doctor, I have no other terminology.”
“So the call from the grocer was the real McCoy,” Pam observed.
“I didn’t want to admit it. I was hoping he was just overreacting, but she was confused. It’s possible she really couldn’t find her way home from the store and had to be rescued by a bag boy. I have no better explanation because she can’t remember much about the incident.”
“My goodness, how scary,” Pam replied, as surprised now as Charlene had been yesterday.
She nodded. “I owe Mr. Fulbright an apology. And a debt of gratitude. I hope these aren’t the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s.”
“And that’s why you’re going to hurry and—”
“That’s a factor, not a reason. My mom has a problem, and I don’t know how serious it is, but before things get any worse, if they’re destined to get worse, and while everyone in my family and in Dennis’s family are all relatively healthy and alert, we’re going to have a small, pleasant ceremony.”
“Well, this must be the right decision, it sure has worked wonders on you. You look positively radiant. How do you feel?”
Charlene folded her hands together on top of her desk. “I can’t explain it, but if I’d known I was going to feel this great, I’d have accepted Dennis’s proposal years ago. I’ve never felt so comfortable…so serene. I have total peace of mind.”
Pam leaned back into the folds of the chair, stretched her long legs out in front of her and admired Charlene’s shimmer. “You’re glowing. It’s amazing.”
“I can feel it.”
“You and Dennis must have had some romantic night last night—the sparkles are still floating all around your aura.” Pam’s eyes became moist. “I’m so happy for you, Char. No one deserves this more than you. I’d be honored to witness for you.”
Pam stood, dropped her notebook on the ottoman and moved toward Charlene. She opened her arms to embrace her, tears glittering in her eyes.
But Charlene didn’t cry. She was a little embarrassed by what Pam had said…and its contrast with the truth. There were no sparkles of romance glittering around her, but rather the warm glow of complete contentment. There had been no sex, no breathless passion in the wake of a profession of the truest love, but rather the intimate dialogue of close friends as they comforted each other after their terrible day.
But wasn’t that what true love really was? Friendship and trust? Knowing the person you counted on was there? And being there for him?
So, Charlene asked herself, what exactly was she glowing about? She frowned over Pam’s shoulder as she admitted to herself that it felt vaguely like relief.
Charlene patted Pam’s back and said, “There, there.” Then she handed Pam a tissue and said, “High on my list of priorities, after a nice little wedding, is a week off. Not a honeymoon, but rather a vacation. Sometime later this spring possibly, after we’ve tied the knot, had Peaches to the doctor, cleared some time from our schedules and have things under control. We’re talking about a cruise. Dennis and I have both been under so much pressure lately, I’m surprised we even have the energy to get married. To that end, I’d like to make a dent in the ‘pending’ list and clear some time.”
“When are you going to tell Stephanie and your mom?”
“Well…”
“That’s not much of an answer,” Pam said. “What’s going on?”
“To tell the truth, I’m a little miffed at them both. Peaches knows she has a problem that could be serious, and she