Chapter 156 Waiting for Him
"My wife probably wouldn't be okay with me going to a bar," Charles said.
Janice looked up at him with those almond-shaped eyes. "Newlywed, huh? She looks pretty young."
Janice was only a year younger than Charles. He was thirty-seven now, which made her thirty-six. Her years as a celebrity had left their mark—she still maintained her figure and skin beautifully. At thirty-six, she looked good, though time had etched itself into her features. But there was also something serene about her now, a certain lightness.
"We've been married for two months. This is our honeymoon," Charles said.
Janice glanced around the lobby. The hotel had decent facilities, but the lobby itself was cramped. Staff bustled about nearby, and a couple was checking in at the desk. Definitely not the place for a private conversation.
"Come on, just one drink? I promise it's a quiet lounge bar, nothing crazy. Ten-minute drive, that's it," Janice said.
Charles figured, well, Zoey had already agreed. What difference would half an hour versus an hour make? He said yes.
...
Charles got into Janice's car. Old memories came flooding back. He'd been the one who taught Janice to drive. Since he'd gotten his license a year earlier, he used to take her to practice in the estate grounds. She'd constantly mix up left and right, crashed into trees more than once, and nearly drove straight into the pool that one time.
Maybe Janice was remembering the same things. Neither of them spoke.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at a bar. Just a drinking spot. Charles ordered the house special. "I'll have the same," Janice said.
Charles shot her a surprised look. "Can you even drink?"
She'd always been allergic to alcohol—couldn't handle even a drop.
"It's rare that you're here. A little bit won't hurt. I had to drink plenty when I was in the industry," Janice said.
Charles let it go.
The bar was indeed quieter than most. This area was already low on foot traffic, and with the cold weather today, there weren't many customers. Usually there'd be a live band performing, but not tonight.
"Have you been doing okay all these years?" Janice asked Charles.
"Not bad. You?"
"I've been good. Got married, got divorced. You met my daughter—she's five now."
"Why the divorce?" Charles asked.
"We were attracted to each other at first, obviously, or we wouldn't have gotten together. Then the feelings faded, so we split." Janice smiled. "I run a flower shop here now. Business is decent."
"That's good," Charles said, taking a sip of his drink.
Janice took a sip too, then continued. "I actually wanted to drop everything and go back home to find you a few times. But then I'd remember all the things I did, and I'd chicken out."
"So you'd rather shoulder everything alone than come back to me?" Charles asked.
Janice smiled. "Yeah. But seeing you today, I'm really happy. I thought as long as I didn't go back home, we'd never see each other again in this lifetime."
Charles glanced at Janice's hand wrapped around her glass. Her hands used to be soft and delicate, but now they were dry and cracked. Probably from the demanding work at the flower shop.
"If things aren't going well, you should come home," Charles said.
"And then what? You're going to arrange the rest of my life for me?" Janice asked with a smile.
Charles thought of Zoey. If he arranged all that for Janice, Zoey would definitely read too much into it.
Janice downed the rest of her drink in one gulp.
"By the way, that dog I left at your place—how is he?"
"Doing great," Charles said.
He pulled out his phone and showed Janice photos of the husky. Janice scrolled through them, laughing. "You really did take good care of him. Look how buff he is. Are those abs?"
"Yep. He loves to run around."
"Do you walk him every day?"
"Whenever I have time."
"You really are a good man. Even your dog has it made." Janice started out smiling, but then she felt tears sliding down her cheeks without warning.
A man like this—she'd let him slip away.
"Your daughter's pretty cute too," Charles said.
At the mention of her daughter, Janice's expression darkened. "She's adorable, but she has autism."
Charles's eyes widened in surprise. "What caused it?"
"Not sure. Could be because her dad and I fought all the time after she was born. Or maybe it's God punishing me," she said.
"Why not come back home and get her treatment there?" Charles suggested.
Janice shook her head. "Treatment for autism might actually be better here. She's improved a lot recently. I don't want to risk changing her environment."
Charles nodded. "Well, if you need anything, just let me know."
"Thanks."
As she spoke, Janice started scratching her arm.
Charles noticed immediately. "Having an allergic reaction?"
Janice looked a bit embarrassed. "Probably, yeah."
"We need to get you to a hospital."
"At this hour? I'd never get a doctor's appointment."
"Then at least let's find somewhere to get you some medicine."
Whenever she had an allergic reaction to alcohol, if she didn't take medication quickly, she'd break out in a rash and be itching for a week.
...
Zoey sat in the hotel lobby in a daze. It had already been half an hour. Charles still wasn't back.
She told herself if Charles came back within an hour, she'd pretend nothing had happened.
An hour passed. "If he comes back in the next half hour, I'll pretend nothing happened," Zoey thought.
Another half hour went by.
Zoey stared at her watch, her heart racing with anxiety and unease. She sat there another half hour. Still no Charles.
Heartbroken and devastated, she went back upstairs, packed her suitcase, and called a car to take her to the airport.
...
Charles went to Janice's place to make sure she took her medication. Janice's daughter stood beside him, clutching a stuffed bear. Her bright blue eyes gazed up at him like a porcelain doll's.
She didn't speak, but the way she looked at him—her eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words. She could sense he was a good person.
When he started to leave, she grabbed his hand.
"Sunny, let the nice man go. He has things to do," Janice said.
But the little girl pulled out a picture book, wanting Charles to look at it with her.
Charles wanted to text Zoey and tell her he'd be back a bit later, but her phone wouldn't go through. He figured Zoey would understand. So he sat down and looked at the picture book with Sunny.
The little girl didn't speak, but she had a real gift for drawing. After looking at something, she could capture her feelings about it on paper. She clung to Charles, refusing to let him leave, until finally she wore herself out and fell asleep.
"Sorry you got roped into all this. You should head back now—your wife's waiting for you at the hotel," Janice said.
Charles was worried about Zoey too. She'd always been so understanding, always accommodating, but when it came to ex-girlfriends, she had to be upset.
He quickly called a cab back to the hotel.
"Sir, your wife waited here for you for three hours. I tried to get her to go back to the room, but she wouldn't," the hotel clerk said.