Page 25 of Consumed By Fire
"Let's go inside. It's freezing here," the woman says, looking at me and we go inside. I take off my jacket and also take Charlotte's, feeling eyes on me.
"Henry, Zelda, this is Dylan, my boyfriend."
"Good evening, nice to meet you,” I say, extending my hand.
"Welcome to the Beckett Estate, young man. You and I need to have a chat," Henry says in a tone that sounds threatening but really isn't.
"Oh, stop it, Henry, he was a Marine. You can't scare him!" Charlotte scolds him.
"In which division?"
"For the past four years of service, I served in the ARFF Specialists, sir." I’m proud of my years in the Marines, despite their having marked me.
Henry pulls up the sleeve of his sweater, showing me the tattoo of the second Reconnaissance Battalion.
"Semper fidelis, sir," I say, standing to attention.
"Semper fidelis," he replies, patting me on the back. "Eh, Charlie, finally someone worthy of you.” He looks at her and I see her blush.
"Welcome to the family, Dylan,” the woman says.
"Thank you, ma’am."
“Zelda,” she corrects me and I apologize, making her smile.
"Come, dinner is almost ready and I want to be updated on everything that has happened to you,” says Zelda, pulling Charlie as Henry walks me to our room.
"You know, when Mrs. Lucy told us that she called our Charlie home, we couldn't believe it."
"I can imagine," I reply.
"This is Charlie's room," he says as he opens the door to a huge room. Everything is perfectly in order. On the shelves are various prizes, from writing to skating. I lose myself looking at that side that I still don't know so well about the woman I love. On the wall above the desk are lots of photos of her and a gentleman, a debutante ball, travel photos, happy and carefree moments. There are few photos of her and her parents, mostly with her father but maybe three with her mother.
“Charlie is a diamond, Dylan. And I know that many say the same things about their daughters." I turn to look at him and he laughs. "Zelda and I have seen her grow up and become a wonderful girl. It’s as if she’s our daughter, too.”
"I understand."
“I don't need to threaten you. You can imagine that if you make her suffer, I’ll hunt you down. She has already been through a lot for her age.”
“That won't be necessary, Henry. I love Charlotte. I’ll protect her as if my life depended on it. She means the world to me.”
"Good,” he says, patting me on the back. "Let's go downstairs, then. If we’re late, Zelda gets mad. She's very strict on meal times."
"Yeah, my mother is too." We laugh as we go down to the kitchen.
Charlotte comes to hug me and I kiss her head. "I thought he got rid of you!"
“I thought about it,” Henry says with a laugh as he takes a slap from Zelda.
"Nobody can keep me away from you, baby," I say, stroking her cheek. God, how I want to kiss her but I don't know if I can. I don't want to make her uncomfortable.
We sat at the table, enjoying a really good dinner. Zelda tells me about all the troubles Charlie got into as a child, when she climbed a tree because she didn't want to go to the dentist and they had to call the firemen to get her down. I can imagine the scene and I laugh. Charlie is blushing, and seeing her laugh is really nice. I pull her to me, kissing her head.
Zelda tells us about the divorce of Charlie's parents. She doesn’t mention the reason but I get the impression that they are omitting the details to not hurt her.
After dinner, Charlie gives me the tour of the house, and then we go to her room. After a quick shower, we go to bed and talk. She tells me about her travels with her grandfather, showing me the long list they had made of the countries they wanted to visit. Unfortunately, they didn't make it in time. I’ll make sure to complete the list with her. I want to give her the world. I cuddle her, holding her to me until she falls asleep.
The next morning, I wake up early. Charlie is still asleep so I take the opportunity to call Dad and use the gym. I haven't been running for days and I miss keeping active.