Charlotte couldnt believe what was happening to her. Her husbandher rock, her one true lovehad just told her, “I dont love you anymore.” The shock froze her in place, her body stiff as he darted around the house, gathering his things, keys jangling.
As if she needed this now. Her father had passed suddenly not long ago, and shed had to push aside her own grief to care for her greying mother and younger sister, whod been left disabled after a traumatic brain injury at eighteen. They lived in a nearby town. Her son, Alfie, had just started primary school. In June, the company she worked for shut down. No job. And now, no husband.
Charlotte clutched her head, sank into a chair, and sobbed. “God, what do I do? How do I go on?” Then”Oh! Alfie! I have to fetch him from school!” The grind of daily life forced her to move.
“Mum, were you crying?”
“No, Alfie, no.”
“Are you sad about Grandad? I miss him so much.”
“Me too, love. But we have to be strong. Grandad always was. Hes at peace now, dont you worry. He earned his restnever stopped working while he was here.”
“Wheres Dad?”
“Dad? Oh, probably off on another business trip. How was school?”
She had to keep going. He didnt love her? Fine. Cant force these things. Maybe shed missed the signs in the whirlwind of it all.
While Alfie ate lunch and played with his toy soldiers, Charlotte crept onto her ex-husbands abandoned laptop. Shed never snooped before, but his email was right there in the corner. He hadnt deleted his latest messages. A full-blown affair. And here she wasunloved. For ten years, shed been his “sunshine,” and after eight years of struggling to conceive, shed become “our darling mum.” Now, everything had changed. Shed have to adjust.
First, she needed a job. No one cared about her degrees. The pittance from unemployment benefits solved nothing.
What had happened? How had her steady, reliable, decent husband turned into a stranger overnight? Only one explanation made sensehed lost his mind. Their half-built dream home stood unfinished. At least the roof held, and one room was livable.
“WorkGod, I need work!” She nearly burst into tears again, but there was no time. She needed a job.
Days of searching turned up nothing. A child in Year One and her sudden loneliness narrowed her chances to zero. Then, one evening, her cousin-in-law, Tom, rang.
“Charlotte, still no word from him?”
“No.”
“Fancy a warehouse job?”
“Are you serious?”
“I know its not ideal, especially after what Dannys done. But its part-time. You could pick up your godson or sort after-school care. Pays £25K. Not much, but better than nothing. Well bring you potatoes, onions, and a chicken tomorrow.”
“Tom, Ive got hens. They keep us fed with eggs.”
“Good. Dont slaughter them.”
“Thanks. Hows Emily?”
“Managing. Shes a fighter.”
That was Tomhis wife Emily had battled through surgery and chemo, yet he never complained. Always said everything was fine. Charlotte sighed. A chance to survive. Thank GodHe never failed.
The job was straightforward, and she stole moments alone to cry, to wonderwhat had gone wrong?
Days blurred into weeks, then months. A year later, Charlotte realised she could eat again, sleep, laugh at Alfies little victories. The pain of betrayal flared when Danny came to take him for weekends. She never interferedtheir issues shouldnt hurt Alfie. She ached to ask what shed done wrong, though she knew the truth. Danny had simply fallen for someone else.
A line from some film floated back: “Love lasts till the first bend in the road, then life begins.” For her, love and life had been one. For him?
Autumn lingered like summers ghostwarm, leaves still green, childrens laughter in the streets, chrysanthemums blazing in the garden. The day Michael first held her gaze was no different, except maybe the sun shone brighter, music spilled louder from a neighbours window, or fate had simply decided two lonely souls should meet.
“Miss, let me help. You shouldnt carry all that.”
“Im used to it.”
“Shame. A beauty like you shouldnt be hauling loads.”
“Do you help all pretty women? Stationed by the shop, are you?”
“Waited ages. Finally spotted you.”
She couldnt help but laugh. They cackled until tears came.
“Michael.” He extended a hand, mirth still dancing in his eyes.
“Charlotte.”
“Charlotte, my darling, strangers wife”know that song?”
“No. But Im not married.”
“Lucky me. Found the woman of my dreams, and shes free. Is everyone else blind or mad?”
“Youve got humour. What about seriousness?”
“Plenty of that too. Charlotte, how about cinema tonight? Talk, get to know each other.”
“Cant. Need to fetch my son from after-school club.”
“Youve a son?! You look twenty. What after-school club?”
“Im thirty-five.”
“Me too. Funny. But truly, I thought you were younger.”
“And now?”
“Just thinking. Every man dreams of a son. Yet here you are, unmarriedwheres the father?”
“Id rather not say.”
“Fair. Weekend, then. A kids matinee?”
“Weekends, hes with his dad.”
“Charlotte, I dont want to pressure you. But if youve a free hour, call.” He handed her a card. “Im a doctor. Paediatric haematologist.”
“Serious work.”
“No time to chase beauties.”
“Ill call,” she said simply.
“Ill wait.”
What a glorious autumn. Like a gift just for them. Golden light turned leaves into fire. Warm days led them through every park in town. And thentheir tenderness, piercing past pain, spinning them into an autumn dance under falling leaves. They inched closer, and to her own surprise, Charlotte felt drawn to this strange, kind man.
Six weeks after they met, she shyly invited him for tea.
“Charlotte, dont take this wrongI wont come to yours. This matters too much. Ill arrange everything. Trust me?”
The next weekend, they drove to a nature reserve where Michael had rented a cottage like a tiny castle. Inside was cosy, but Charlotte saw nothing but his warm brown eyes, drowning in his embrace. She hadnt known intimacy could be so sweet.
“Michael, where am I? Whats happening? I think Im dying. I love you. How did I live without you?”
“Youre perfect. Im the luckiest man.”
Months passed. Goodbyes grew harder.
“Marry me.”
“Michael, my divorce isnt final till months end.”
“Then marry me right after. Before someone steals you.”
“This girl doesnt stray. Shes yours. Butno fuss. Just sign the papers, then take me back to that cottage where I became your wife.”
“Whatever you want.”
Tom and Emily were their only witnesses. Mum and sis sent a joyous telegram. Soon, they moved into a two-bed flat Michael had rented, painting and furnishing it together.
Michael took special care with Alfies room. Theyd met before, but Alfie, who saw his parents as two halves of an apple, was slow to warm to him.
“Charlotte, dont panic, but lets test Alfies blood. Hes too pale.”
“Michael, hes just upset. The divorce hit him hard. I read its worse than losing a parent.”
“Youre right. I lived through my parents splitfelt like the world ending. But well test him, alright, champ?”
The day Michael returned, head low, Charlotte knew.
“Charlotte, dont panic. Alfies blood results my instinct was right. Ill take him to hospital tomorrow.”
It wasnt fair. As if happiness had to be paid for. And what a price. Leukaemia. A monstrous word.
A new life began. Charlotte took unpaid leaveAlfie needed her through needles, drips, tests. She held his hand. “Stay strong, love. Youre my brave boy. Weve never been apart. Well get through this.”
When exhaustion won, Michael sent her to sleep, staying with Alfie. Rest rarely came. She stared at the ceiling.
Then Danny calledhe wanted her off the house deeds.
“Ill see my son. Hell come to my place.”
“You should visit him.”
“Cant. Business trip.”
Michael so
