good excuse to end this phone call.
Smothering a sigh, she pinched the bridge of her nose and prayed for patience. “Mom, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself about Ben, and that you had to hear about it when you called the restaurant,” she apologized. Again. “As soon as I got home, I rushed him to the emergency room. But I promise I would’ve called you this morning.”
“It was just so humiliating and hurtful to find out from an employee, instead of my daughter, that my grandson was sick,” Cherise Jarrett harped. Only the genuine hurt in her mother’s voice kept Charlotte from snapping back in irritation. “I know we’ve...had our differences in the past few years, Charlotte, but we love Ben, and when we couldn’t reach you...”
Had our differences. What a nice way of saying “estranged because you got knocked up and had a kid out of wedlock.”
But she clenched her teeth, locking the sarcastic words down. Wasn’t this part of the reason she’d returned to Royal? To try to heal the fractured relationship between her and her parents? She’d disappointed them three years ago when she’d called with the news that she was pregnant, but they’d also disappointed her with their reaction.
Brian and Cherise Jarrett had always been strict, conservative but loving parents. Charlotte had expected them to be worried and upset by her news, but not to practically disown her. Nor for them to be relieved that she moved to California so they could avoid gossip about their daughter having an illegitimate child. If not for her sister, brother-in-law and niece in California, Charlotte would’ve been all alone in the world. Her parents’ rejection and disapproval had been like a dagger to the chest, and for months she’d felt adrift, no longer anchored by their love and friendship.
But Charlotte had to give her parents credit. Once Ben was born, their cold demeanor had thawed. Her son and their love for him had helped bridge the divide that had sprung up between them seven months prior. Even if they allowed people to assume that she’d married and divorced while in California, and Ben was the child of that union. Yeah, that continued to sting. Still, now that she’d moved back to Royal with Ben so they could be closer to her parents, she hoped that distance, and the hurt, would disappear altogether.
Then there were days like today...
“They made me shut off my cell phone at the hospital, and it was after 2:00 a.m. when we arrived home. I didn’t want to wake you and Dad. Especially when Ben was fine. If it’d been more serious, I would’ve found a way to contact you guys. But his fever broke while we were there, and the doctor said it’s likely nothing more than a twenty-four-hour bug. So please don’t worry.”
“Still—”
“What was so important you had to call me at the restaurant?” Charlotte interrupted, hopefully diverting the subject. She had to try before she opened the cabinet where she hid the emergency bourbon and poured it into her coffee.
“Well, it doesn’t seem such an emergency now, but...” Her mom paused, and Charlotte’s stomach clamped down tight on the unease twisting through her. Silly to feel this way. And at one time in their relationship, she wouldn’t have. Instead, she would’ve teased her mother about being dramatic. But that wasn’t their relationship anymore. Now Charlotte tensed, unsure what to expect, bracing herself against what was possibly to come. “But the caterer for the church’s Women’s Day celebration backed out at the last minute. The event is in two weeks, and I wanted to see if you could step in with small appetizers and finger foods. Nothing too fancy, since I know this is short notice...”
“Sure, Mom,” Charlotte murmured, even as Are you out of your mind? rang in her head. She already had so much on her plate, yet she didn’t rescind her agreement. Her parents had always supported her dream of being a chef even though they’d envisioned her following in the footsteps of her father and sister as an attorney.
And when was the last time her mother had asked anything from her?
No, that part of her that still longed to please her parents, and hungered for their smiles of approval and love, couldn’t turn her mom down. “Send me a list of the food you were thinking of, the place and time of the event, and when you need me there to set up.”
“Thank you, Charlotte,” her mother breathed, relief