Unmasking Charlotte (a Taboo Love series) (25 page)

Chapter Eleven

Charlotte

Let’s just say that being the maid-of-honor is not all that it’s cracked up to be. I have a huge list of responsibilities – make sure the guests are taken care of, get Delilah dressed, make sure she doesn’t freak out, make sure Nick arrives on time, get the rings to Calvin, deliver the corsages, keep Delilah calm, and, oh yeah, make sure Delilah doesn’t freak the hell out!

Being pregnant, feeling like crap, and thinking that I look like a whale is not helping. I’ve just started showing, my boobs have blown up to twice their normal size, and so has my ass. When
smells aren’t making me retch, and I’m not barfing from morning sickness, I’m shoveling food in my face. Why the hell it’s called morning sickness I will never understand because I am throwing up morning, noon, and night. Add to that this strapless red lace and chiffon number Delilah guilted me into…this is going to be an interesting wedding.

I haven’t had one minute to relax. Delilah and I spend most of the morning at the salon getting our hair and make-up done. She goes for a beautiful updo with pearls weaving through the intricate knots. Her make-up is subtle, but with bright red lipstick. I leave my hair down and curled to the max, then pinned to the side, sweeping over one shoulder. Perfect for a strapless dress. My make-up is a little more dramatic, but
I leave my lips bare, with just a little gloss.

Next we head to Club M, so I can help get her into her wedding dress. We use Nick and Delilah’s special VIP room upstairs as the bridal suite,
and thankfully, Calvin had the forethought to remove the sex swing. Thank god because that would be pretty awkward if her father came to visit us in here. It has turned into a very emotional time – our make-up be damned - as Delilah decided to wear her mother’s original wedding dress as a tribute to her. It hasn’t been that long since her passing and emotions are still raw. It is a beautiful mermaid, bateau neckline, wedding gown with a romantic lace overlay, and she looks absolutely perfect in it. I help her slip on her red lace shoes, Nick’s idea of course, and I turn her around so she can look at herself in the mirror. Breathtaking.

The ceremony is pretty short and sweet and absolutely perfect. “Doll, life with you is like dreaming with my eyes open…” Nick starts. He gets a bit choked up as he continues his vows, which almost makes my overly emotional pregnant self burst into tears, but ultimately, I hold it together. They decided to write their own vows and I really like the extra touch that the personal thoughts bring. Who really agrees to honor and obey in this century anyway? It’s so archaic. Calvin, who looks incredibly handsome in his tuxedo with the red vest and tie, stood proud
ly at Nick’s side, a stupid happy grin on his face the entire time. I just want to jump him looking so scrumptious over there. Did I mention what a horndog this pregnancy has turned me into?

After the ceremony is the cocktai
l hour for the guests with pass-around hors d’oeuvres, a carving station, and a beautiful ice sculpture. And an open bar, of course. I don’t get to see – or eat - much of it because we are taking pictures for what seems like forever. We are taking pictures of all of the different family combinations and whatnot, and it briefly saddens me, as it is a reminder that my parents weren’t able to make it to my best friend’s wedding. But I understand, my great aunt is ill, and they needed to travel to help her. Family first. Still, I miss them and wish they were here. Anyway, once pictures wrap up, I need to take Delilah back to the suite to help her freshen up, in preparation for the reception. As I begin my ascent up the stairs, my attention is waylaid as Calvin is walking toward me with his parents. Shit! I don’t want to meet them all frazzled like this, plus I need to attend to Delilah. Maid of honor duties and all that jazz. I hug and kiss them both, but very graciously ask if we could chat later, as I know Delilah is waiting for me in the suite. Of course, they are polite and understanding, and shoo me up the steps, smiling all the while.

The reception! Calvin and I – the only wedding party members - are introduced into the ballroom first, and then their fathers, Anthony and Rick. They are both in a great mood and acting silly, walking in arm and arm like they are each other’s date. The guests have a good laugh at their expense, but they don’t mind. Nick and Delilah dance their first dance to…what else? None other than
Hey There, Delilah
by the Plain White T’s, being covered by their fabulous wedding singer…this time. We join in halfway through the song, do a little dancing, and have a bunch of laughs before going to sit down for an absolutely delicious dinner with the bride and groom.

Calvin is very attentive and makes sure that I am feeling well and keeping hydrated. He even orders me a ginger ale from the bar when he grabs himself a beer. I am having a hard time keeping my hands off him and he knows it because he keeps leaning over and kissing my exposed shoulder, teasing me. Pain in my ass! He will pay when we get home. Did I say when “we” get home? It would be nice…

Just before it’s time for dessert, Calvin and I get up to do a joint maid-of-honor/best man speech. The DJ hands us each a microphone and we head out onto the dance floor in front of the bridal table. Mic in one hand, glass of champagne – sparkling cider for me - in the other. We have been rehearsing what we are going to say for the past few days.

“We are pretty sure that almost everyone in the room knows who we are, but if you’ve already had too much alcohol and can’t remember, I’m Calvin Kin
g, Nick’s best man,” Calvin says with his most charming smile.

The crowd of almost a hundred people chuckle.

“And I am Charlie Fisher, Delilah’s maid-of-honor. I’ve known LaLa for a long time… sometimes I think it’s been too long,” I say, giving my best friend a sideways glance, making her snicker.

Calvin makes a noise of agreement.

“She’s my best friend, and I was with her the night she met Nick right here in this very club. I knew that the moment that she left me high and dry to go dance with some ridiculously hot dude, that she’d found THE one,” I say with a chuckle.

The crowd laughs and claps.

“I met Little Bit, er, Delilah, shortly after she started working for Nick. I had a feeling that he felt something toward her early on because he refused to let me ask her out and got jealous when I flirted with her, which is usually something he wouldn’t care about,” Calvin says.

I raise an eyebrow at Calvin, making him paste a shit-eating grin on his face. I roll my eyes and I hear the crowd snicker.

“Anyway, we obviously knew that they were perfect for each other even before they knew it themselves,” I say.

Calvin nods. “And honestly, I don’t think that there is another couple on this earth better suited for each other than these two…well, maybe Charlotte and I, but they are a really close second,” he smirks, slipping his hand around my waist and giving me a squeeze and chaste kiss on the cheek while the crowd laughs again.

We both turn to look at a smiling Delilah and Nick. “We wish you the very best of luck and a long happy marriage, we love you guys,” I finish.

“Salud
!” Calvin says, raising his glass.

Everyone cheers and raises their glasses, clinking them together before taking a sip. Calvin leans down and kisses me softly on the lips before we hand the micro
phones back to the DJ and go give Delilah and Nick hugs and kisses. We again take our seats at their table.

The tables are still being cleared as the cake is being wheeled out. I hear a little commotion in that direction and look up to see Fronk yelling at the servers, frantically making sure that the cake looks flawless. And, of course, it looks no less than picture-perfect. I smile knowing what those poor guys are dealing with. I was stuck going to all of the tasting
s with Delilah because Nick said that he had his fill of Fronk. Do you know how hard it is to call a grown man “Fronk” without wanting to laugh in his face? Well, let me tell you, it’s very hard, especially when your best friend makes you watch
Father of the Bride
a hundred times while planning her wedding.

The guests begin to sing
The Bride Cuts the Cake
, and I watch as Nick and Delilah feed each other pieces very carefully to make sure that they don’t make a mess of it. Where the hell is Calvin? The band then joins in the action playing the Jaws theme song, while Calvin and Parker sneak up behind Nick. They grab him, holding his arms behind his back, so that Delilah can smash cake in his face. Damn, she gets him good! The guests start howling with laughter. I think Fronk has a heart attack, and I almost pee in my pants laughing so hard.

While Delilah helps Nick clean up, Calvin comes back and sit
s down next to me. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close, pressing a warm kiss to my cheek.

“Baby, I want you to come meet my parents,” Calvin murmurs in my ear.

I nod. “Okay.”

“
Ever since I told them that you are pregnant, they’ve been dying to meet you.” He smiles, his nose brushing against my temple.

I can’t help but smile. Our little miracle baby.

“Let’s go then.”

Calvin

I take Charlotte’s hand as we walk over to where my parents and Carla are talking to Parker, Delilah’s dad, Rick, and Nick’s dad, Tony. I can tell that Charlotte is a little nervous, but when I look over at her, she gives me a reassuring smile. I give her hand a squeeze and smile back.

We come up between my dad and Carla. My mom is standing on the other side of my dad. “Sorry to interrupt, but I want to
formally introduce Charlotte to my parents,” I say to Tony, Rick, and Parker. They all smile and nod, then walk away gracefully, giving us some privacy. Except Parker, per usual, he doesn’t get the hint, or just likes his nose in the middle of everything.

“Oh, it’s about time! Charlotte, we are so excited to
meet you. I’m Yolanda,” my mother chirps, reaching out to pull Charlotte into another big hug. “I didn’t get my fill earlier!” She chuckles as she squeezes my girl.

“Please, call me
Charlie,” my lovely girlfriend says.

My mother lets her go and covers her mouth with her hands as she looks down at Charlotte’s little baby bump. “Oh my lord, can I touch your belly?” she asks, unshed tears shimmering in her eyes.

Charlotte smiles wide and nods, giving her the go-ahead. My mother places both hands on her belly and rubs small circles, bending over to coo softly to our little peanut. When she straightens up, she pulls Charlotte back into a hug and whispers how so very happy she is to have a grandchild on the way. I can’t help but grin the whole time.

Once my mother relinquishes her hold on Charlotte, I introduce her to
my dad. “Dad, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, my dad, Calvin King Jr.”

My dad takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. “It is so great to finally meet you, at least now we know that you were pregnant and not trying to avoid us,” he teases with a smirk.

Charlotte blushes. “I really wasn’t trying to avoid you on purpose.”

My dad chuckles. “I know, honey, I know.”

“This is my sister Carla. Carla, this is Charlotte,” I say, motioning to my sister.

Carla coolly shakes Charlotte’s hand, eyeing her up in a way that I didn’t expect from her. I know that she and Aisha were close when we were together, and that
they still talk every now and then, which makes me wonder if my sister has that bitch filling her head with nonsense. By the way Carla is looking at Charlotte in disgust, I would have to say that it’s a real possibility. I’ll bite my tongue for now, but I will be having a talk with my little sister soon. This shit won’t fly.

I look back at my dad to find him studying Charlotte with a slight frown, as if he’s trying to figure something out.

“What’s the matter?” I ask him.

“It’s just…I feel like I know you from somewhere, Charlotte. I just can’t pinpoint it,” my dad says, thinking hard. “What is your last name, hon?”

“Fisher.”

“Fisher…Fisher… I wonder if it’s from a case I tried about 12 years back. Calvin, you know the case I’m talking about, the one with the young girl that was…” The words die on my father’s lips as it dawns on him what he is saying.

As my father is talking, I notice that Charlotte has become deathly pale, even more so than normal. I frown at her reaction, not understanding what is going on with her. I immediately think that maybe she’s feeling sick again and might need to throw up.

“…Bron…Bron Fisher!” Calvin King Jr. snaps his finger as he figures it out. “That’s it!” he exclaims triumphantly.

Now it’s my turn for all of the blood to drain out of my head. Did my dad just say Bron Fisher? As in Charlotte’s dad, Bron Fisher?

“The hearing for that scum’s parole was about six months ago actually,” my dad growls, not noticing the tension and silence happening next to him.

The betrayal hits me hard and fast. How could she not tell me that she had been raped when she was younger? That is huge! It should be something that I should have known once our relationship got off the ground. Then I realize what my dad has just said and I start putting two and two together. That fucker’s parole hearing was about six months ago. Could that have been the day that everyone disappeared on me? Does that mean that Delilah, Nick, and Parker all know about this? I turn to look at Parker who is looking like a deer in headlights. Yup! He fucking knows! Sonofabitch!

I turn to look at Charlotte, who is shaking uncontrollably. She stares up at me, her eyes showing hurt and anger. What the fuck for? I’m the one who should feel like that. She’s the one who didn’t tell me who she really is.

“You knew this entire time?” She snaps.

The crowd around us is so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

I shake my head in confusion. “What? How the hell would I know? You never told me!” I snap back.

“Your dad just said that you knew about that case.”

“Yeah, I knew about it, I went to law school and studied it. How could you not tell me about this?” I demand. “I mean, you were raped when you were 15! I would think that would be something that you would tell your boyfriend and father of your child!”

“You studied the case. Your father was the prosecutor. How could you NOT recognize my name?” she questions me through gritted teeth, her eyes welling up.

“I told you that I didn’t know. You should have told me!” I shout at her, unable to rein in my temper.

My father steps forward and tries to diffuse the situation. “Calm down, Cal. This is neither the time nor the place,” he says to me pointedly.

“It’s not like it ever came up in conversation, Calvin. What was I supposed to say? Oh, by the way, I was raped when I was 15, how’s your coffee?” she squawks.

I don’t heed my father’s advice and continue with my tirade.
“You lied to me!”

“No, I didn’t!”

“It’s a lie of omission. And you lied about where you were that day when you, Delilah, Nick, and Parker all disappeared. You were at that hearing, weren’t you?” I snarl.

“Son,” my father bites out in warning.

She opens her mouth to say something, but shuts it, apparently unable to come up with anything. I feel my body vibrate with anger. She’s kept so much from me. She’s lied about so much. So many things are clicking into place now. Her avoidance of my previous advances and the fact that she had only slept with white guys before me. She obviously had some kind of hang up when it came to black guys. I knew it! And who could blame her, one raped her, but she should have told me!

We start
to draw attention, but I am really too heated to care. Cool, calm, and collected Calvin just took a flying leap out the window. Another thought pops in my head and it makes my blood run cold. I glare down at her. “What really happened that made it so you were ‘supposedly’ unable to have children? Or did you lie about that, too, to try and trap me?”

“Calvin!” both of my parents
exclaim.

Charlotte flinches as if slapped in the face. Her expression one of shock and agony. “How could you even say that?” she rasps, placing her hands on her belly protectively.

“I don’t know what to think anymore, I don’t know what the truth is!” I bark.

Tears begin
to stream down her face, and normally I would hate to see her like that, but I’m too livid to care.

“I ended up pregnant by the asshole that raped me. It was a tubal pregnancy that almost killed me. The doctor removed one tube, and the other was badly damaged. That’s why I was told that I could never get pregnant,” she cries quietly.

Stunned. I am absolutely floored by this admission. She had been pregnant before. Pregnant with the baby of the guy who raped her. What. The. Fuck.

“YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!” I roar, turning everyone’s head in our direction.

“That’s enough!” my dad interjects, scowling, and steps into my personal space. He means business.

That’s when Parker steps in front of me and starts pushing me back. “Come on, man, let’s go get some air.”

I’m panting hard from my anger, but allow Parker to push me back toward the exit. Charlotte is sobbing into her hands with my mother trying to console her. I am so fucking furious right now that I don’t even know what’s going to happen between us. How can I forgive her for this? How can she say that she loves me, yet keep so much of herself from me?