“We thought you’d be pretty excited,” Charlotte told him.
“Excited isn’t even the word,” he said, keying in the last of his message. “I’m ecstatic and thrilled out of my mind.”
Curtis laughed. “We’re glad, son. You’re a good kid, and you deserve it.”
“So, can we go get them tomorrow?” Matthew asked his dad.
“Yeah, I suppose we could. Although, I have to say, that day-after-Christmas shopping traffic is going to be a monster.”
“Maybe, but I doubt the auto shops are going to be crowded,” Matthew said.
“I doubt it, too. So yes, we’ll head there first thing in the morning.”
Matthew smiled and then scooped up his baby sister, who squealed with total joy, the same as she always did whenever her bigbrother gave her his undivided attention.
It was enough to make Charlotte ill. She hated the fact that Matthew loved Curtina as much as he did, and what she loathedeven more was the brightness she saw in Curtis’s eyes as he watched both of his children. He seemed so relieved and so atpeace seeing them together and living as what appeared to be the perfect American family. But what he didn’t know was thatCharlotte hoped, wished, and prayed every chance she got that Tabitha would be healed. She prayed that, if nothing else, Tabithawould live at least for the next sixteen years, so she could raise her own child and keep primary custody of her until shegraduated high school. Charlotte wanted this so desperately that she asked God for this very thing every night before goingto bed and then again each morning as soon as she woke up. It was the first thought in her mind, once she opened her eyesand realized her nightmare was reality.
But no matter how much she prayed, for some reason God just didn’t seem to be hearing her because instead of Curtina spendingless time in their household, her visits had only become more frequent. So much so that she was making Charlotte’s life unbearable.This little girl that Curtis loved with his entire being was ruining the wonderful life Charlotte had worked so hard to createfor herself and Matthew. Curtina was destroying everything, but Charlotte could tell Curtis had no idea how strongly she feltabout this. Not to mention, she did feel somewhat guilty—not much, but somewhat guilty—about once having an affair herselfand then having a child by her lover. Needless to say, this was the real reason Charlotte couldn’t be as verbally outragedas she wanted to be when it came to Curtina and the reason she had at least tried to love her and forget that she was a product of Curtis’s extramarital philandering. But the truth was, she couldn’t forget.She didn’t want to, and instead she longed for the opportunity to speak her mind, loudly and forcefully. However, she knewCurtis would quickly remind her of her own sins. He would toss all her past mistakes right back in her face, and she wouldn’thave any ground to stand on.
Charlotte lifted a cup of the hot cinnamon apple tea she’d made earlier, sipped some of it, and admired the beautiful twelve-footChristmas tree. It was stunningly adorned with velvet bows as well as crystal and gold ornaments, and the woman she’d beenhiring to decorate for the last two years had completely outdone herself. One year ago, the main color scheme had been purpleand white, but this year she’d chosen the traditional red and green and it was fabulous. Even the wreaths layered across thefireplace mantel and those circling all three levels of the staircase couldn’t have been more striking, and Charlotte wasgoing to make sure to call Lettie before the day was over to thank her.
Charlotte looked up when she saw Curtis walking toward her with a tiny little turquoise bag swinging from his hand.
“Oh my God,” she said, thinking how she’d already opened five other very expensive gifts from him. “You got me something else?”
“That I did,” he said, leaning down and kissing her.
Matthew walked over with his little sister in tow. “We both know what that is, don’t we, Curtina?”
Curtina clapped her hands, acting as though she fully understood that Charlotte was obviously in for a pleasant surprise.
“Now I’m almost afraid to open it,” Charlotte said.
Curtis reached his hand out. “Okay, then, I’ll just take it back.”
“No,” Charlotte said, quickly pulling out the container, unwrapping the white satin bow, and pulling out the jewelry box.When she opened it, her heart skipped a beat, and all she could do was place her hand over her mouth. What she saw was atminimum a six-carat diamond, with the center diamond alone being no less than three carats.
“Wow, Dad, that ring looks even bigger than when we saw it at the store. I mean, talk about bling-bling, Mom.”
They all laughed, and Charlotte stood up and hugged her husband. “I don’t believe you did this.”
“Why not? Because it’s not like you don’t deserve it, and I just wanted you to know how much I love you and how much I appreciatethe way you’ve supported me and stood by my side, no matter what.”
“I love you, too, baby,” she said as Curtis slipped the monstrous rock on her finger. Then, the two of them held each otherand gazed into each other’s eyes. This was by far one of the best moments they’d shared together in recent months, and Charlottedidn’t want it to end. She wanted them to be happy and content, and after what Curtis had just done for her, she was goingto work harder on her feelings toward Curtina. She would never accept her, but what she would do is learn to tolerate hermore than she had and focus more on the bond she and Curtis shared as man and wife.
After a few minutes passed, Charlotte realized what time
