Free Nan's Story by Paige Farmer Page B

am. I guess you didn’t know I was coming? I…um, Arthur invited me last week. Is that okay? You know…that I’m here?” he asked hesitantly.
    “No,” Nan said.
    Charlie winced.
    “No…no, I mean yes, I did know you were coming. I just…you were gone after the ceremony and I thought…I guess I thought you left.”
    And speaking of left, the finger was bare. Nan’s stomach slid a little. Despite her earlier reassurances to Buddy about having everything under control, Nan was undeniably flustered as she stood before Charlie. She wanted so much to hug him but didn’t quite trust herself. Plus she was shaking.
    “Okay,” Charlie said slowly. “I’m sorry I’m late. We got into port after midnight and I didn’t have time to pick up a gift before now.”
    He held up a bottle of wine with a curled silver ribbon tied around the neck.
    “Of course. Please, you don’t need to apologize. Not at all. Welcome,” Nan said and took a hesitant step forward to kiss his cheek.
    Standing on her toes, she brushed her lips over his smooth jaw. Like lightening, Nan remembered everything . Charlie stood back smiling and looking more relaxed.
    “Thank you. It meant a lot that Arthur asked me to come. I’ve only been stationed back here a few weeks and haven’t really had time to look anyone up. How is everyone?”
    There were so many answers to that. The surface answer was fine. After all, at this moment, everyone in Nan’s family was. Arthur was starting a new life with Laura. John and Michelle were happy enough. Although Buddy worked all the time and still lived alone, that’s exactly how he preferred it. Her mother was standing on the highest rung of Portsmouth’s social ladder thanks to Joe, and of course the well-timed death of Nan’s father. Finally, there was Nan and CJ, both healthy and safe, if not happy.
    “Great, everyone is great,” she replied.
    “I’m glad to hear it,” Charlie said. And then with a more serious expression, “So are you sure, I mean, is it okay that I’m here?”
    He asked it with such touching sincerity that Nan held her breath and counted to three before responding.
    “It is Charlie. It really is.”
    He looked relieved.
    “Good, because I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to be home.”
    The way Charlie emphasized the word home made it clear to Nan that it meant much more to him than just a place. She let herself helplessly coast on the feeling for a moment before shaking her head in an attempt to untangle her knotted feelings.
    “Everyone’s out back,” Nan finally said. “I was just sneaking away for a cigarette.”
    She wished she’d come up with something, anything else to say, knowing she sounded just like the silly young girl he’d last seen ten years before. But he surprised her.
    “Would it be okay if I joined you?” he asked. “I’d rather walk in with you than go in on my own. You know, draw less attention that I’m crashing the reception.”
    Nan tried to calculate how long she’d be able to maintain her equilibrium near Charlie. All the things that had kept her up the night before pushed hard against the wall in her mind she tried hiding behind. She concluded not thinking too much would be the most prudent approach. Although her instincts had never been all that worthy of following, standing here in front of Charlie she didn’t believe there was much choice.
    “Wait right here while I get my cigarettes,” she said hurrying for the stairs.
    Nan flung herself backward on her bed once she reached the safety of her room. What the hell was wrong with her? This was exactly what she’d been afraid of. What Buddy had been afraid of. Just hearing about Charlie, much less actually seeing him, had awakened something long dormant in Nan. And now he was here.
    But what could she do? Hide upstairs for the rest of her brother’s reception? That would be absurd. The next best thing would have been to keep a safe distance from him, but since they’d