Therapy
“Can I ask you something? Something personal?” he asked, his green eyes seeming to peer right through her.
“You can ask me anything.” Her voice was a whisper fluttering on the wind.
His lips didn’t move for a long while, as if he still wasn’t sure whether or not he should ask. Eventually, he said, “When I kiss you, when I touch you… is it… difficult?”
Her answer came quickly. “Not at all,” she replied, and she could see surprise in his eyes at first but then acceptance that she was being honest. She broke the trance and looked away. “I thought at first it would be. That is… for all of those years, I thought I would never be able to be intimate with anyone. But then, as you know, there was Ezra. And that was not at all what I was expecting either. But it wasn’t the same as… before.” The box was attempting to open, and she needed to find a way to slam it shut and still assure him that she was not uneasy about his caresses. She turned to look at him. “Charlie, when you hold my hand, when you kiss me, it comes from a place of love. That’s something I’ve never experienced before. I don’t know what it might be like later—when we are married. But for now, I can tell you not to be concerned about that.”
“Good,” he said, and she realized he was much closer than he had been, much closer than she expected. “If it ever becomes a problem, you’ll let me know, won’t you?”
“Yes, of course.” It was barely audible, but his lips were on hers, and she felt a longing in his kiss that echoed through her every fiber. He ran his hand through her hair as her lips parted, and breathing escaped her. She needed to feel his strong arms around her, feel his hands on her body reminding her that they were still alive, that they were still together.
Charlie pulled back, not just from her kiss, but his entire body shifted, and he suddenly slid nearly a foot away from her on the bench, leaving her staring after him, one hand still in the air, her eyes half closed. “My apologies,” he said. “I shouldn’t have…. That’s not why I asked you here.”
Meg put her hand down and adjusted her coat. Of course, she knew that, and Carrie’s words rang in her mind. “I know it’s not,” she agreed.
“It’s only… I discovered this evening at dinner—when I’m kissing you, I don’t notice the noise so much.”
She turned to look at him, certain her eyes were double their normal size. “Is that so?”
“I suppose it’s because I’m so lost in you, I don’t hear them as prominently.”
Spinning around so that her knees were nearly pointed at him, Meg said, “Well, then I guess Jonathan and your mother, and whoever else has an opinion, will simply have to put their thoughts aside.”
Charlie tilted his head so that he was almost looking up at her, despite the fact that he was over a foot taller than her. “What’s that now?”
“If kissing me makes the voices stop, then you will have to kiss me much more frequently.”
A grin spread across his handsome face. “While I’m all for it, I don’t think I can kiss you all day and all night.”
“No, I suppose you won’t get much work done that way, but I’m willing to sacrifice as much of my day as necessary to help you with the situation.” She let out a loud, fake sigh. “If I must.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Charlie said, “Meg, you are something else.”
“I love you, Charlie,” she reminded him. “It took me way too long to realize that, but now that I do, it’s not an idea I’ll be letting go of anytime soon.”
He scooted back over so that he was next to her and fished her hands out of her pockets. “I love you, too, Meg. With all of my heart.”
“Good. Then, it’s settled. We shall make kissing sessions part of your health regimen.”
“Very well. But I will need to explain this to Jonathan tomorrow. Otherwise, he’s liable to fall out of the second story window trying to prevent me from taking part in a therapy session.”
Meg looked up to where his eyes now fell and saw a shadow looming in the window. “Does he sleep in that hat?” she asked.
Charlie broke into a resounding laugh that echoed through the garden. “I don’t know, but quite possibly.”
“All right. I’ll give you until tomorrow to explain, but it doesn’t matter what Mr. Lane says. If it helps, it must be done.”
He was still laughing as he turned to face her. “I concur.”
She was tempted to lean in and kiss him again, partially just to see if Jonathan would open the window and shout at them, but she could see Charlie was fighting it and decided to honor his wishes.
“Would you like to go pay Kelly a visit tomorrow?” he asked, changing the subject before she could give try to persuade him further to ignore the liegeman.
“I’d love to,” Meg said, smiling. She hadn’t seen Kelly at all since Carpathia. While it hadn’t been all that long, it seemed like an eternity.
“Good. I’ll arrange to take you over in the morning.”
“What about the lawyers?” Meg asked, remembering the conversation from earlier.
“They don’t come until the afternoon.”
“You’ll go with me?”
“Yes, of course. I need to see the girls.”
Thoughts of Ruth and Baby Lizzy warmed her heart. “They will be so excited to see you.”
She thought from his expression he might be remembering how darling Ruth had been when they were looking for dolphins and octopuses on the ship. “I’ll have to stop by and get them a gift before we go.”
“Perhaps a doll with real eyes?” Meg suggested, referring to the old doll she’d given Ruth when she was a toddler that now had marbles for eyes
“Not a bad idea. Dolly New Eyes almost cost us dearly.”
“You don’t have to remind me.” It had been leaving that doll behind that caused Ruth to go back into the depths of Titanic and almost lost all three of them their lives.
“I suppose we should go in now before Jonathan comes out to check on us.” He gave Jonathan a little wave, but there was no gesture in return, an indication that the chaperone wasn’t happy at their sneakiness.
“It might be entertaining to see him traipse all the way down here,” Meg noted, but she was already standing, knowing she should go back inside and try to sleep again if she was going to be visiting friends the next day.
Charlie rose as well, and turning to face her, he made a big show of extending his hand. “Lovely to see you again, Miss Westmoreland.”
Laughing, she shook his hand with as much animation as she could muster so that Jonathan could clearly see their antics. “Likewise, Mr. Ashton.”
“I shall call upon you on the morrow.” He continued to pump her arm.
“Very good then.”
“Sweet dreams.’
“And to you.”
He finally released her, and she turned to go, giggling. A few steps away, she spun to see if he was still watching her. He was, but he was also backing slowly toward the door. Glancing up at the window, she saw Jonathan still standing there sentient, and burying her hands deep in her coat pockets, she rushed toward the apartment, wondering why she suddenly felt the tables were turned and the servant was such an influence over their decisions.
As she approached the stairs, she took a chance and looked up at the heavens. She knew Charlie was doubting God’s existence, but when she looked up at the sky, there was no doubt in her mind He was there. Despite all that she’d gone through, she finally felt she had found favor in His eyes. None of this had happened by chance.
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