The Contingency Plan (The Lonely Heart Series) (22 page)

217

The Contingency Plan

Chapter 15

Saturday came quickly for Sophie’s Choice and during the process they had garnered more press about their IVF avocation and their women’s programs than they had in over five years.  The gala was filled with people dying to see Sullivan Orrin, his children
,
Charlie Mendoza and be a part of history unfolding.  Even the White House had benefitted from the story, because of their pro-choice/pro-alternative medicine approach to women’s health.  On the outside, it was a win-win situation.

From the inside, Charlie watched with bitter-sweet emotions.  Alex had signed the papers and moved out.  He was currently living with Mason and seeing the children on his days off.  Reporters were hiding in her bushes trying to get pictures of her and reporting on the papers that had been filed with the County regar
d
ing her pending divorce.  She had tried, unsuccessfully to reach Sully, who had only sent her one text.  We’ll talk after…

She was a ball of nerves now as she stood behind the curtains waiting to go on stage in front of hu
n
dreds of people to welcome them to their annual fundraiser and share the importance of their organ
i
zation.  She laughed at the thought.  Nothing she was talking about seemed important to her anymore.  She glanced at the note cards in her hand and then threw them in the garbage. 

“What are you doing,” Frank asked, fishing the note cards out quickly.  He stood up and frowned.  Charlie never did a speech without her note cards, plus she had rehearsed that speech for two days, making him listen each and every time.

“I don’t need them,” Charlie said, as the director pointed at her. 

She had avoided the Orrin family until the point, hoping that they could speak privately before they were asked to take a million photos and remark on private and public affairs.  Instead, she had remained in the backroom alone, staring at herself in the mirror and praying for strength to get through the night.

As the spotlight beamed on her, she made her way out to the podium.  The crowd clapped for her and cheered, but to her, the entire room was empty except for the people sitting at the head table.  Sullivan sat looking at her in his perfect tux.  The children sat beside them looking on curiously as to what their mother would say.

“Thank you,” Charlie said as the crowd quieted.  She looked out at the crowd and took a deep breath.  “I’d like to thank Mark for their amazing introduction and everyone here for attending.  To our wonderful board of directors, I’d like to say thank you for your dedication to holding up Sophie’s Choice on your shoulders every day.” Looking down at the empty podium, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, then adjusted her microphone.

“We’ve had some kind of week at Sophie’s Choice, which I’m sure that you’ve all heard about. I have single-handedly become the poster child for the InVitro Fertilization Advocacy program and my family is now because of YouTube.”

The crowd erupted in laughter and applause.

“But the real stuff has just been looked over.  So, I’ll start by saying that women’s rights, the right to choose to terminate a pregnancy because you’re not ready, or it wasn’t your choice due to rape – and if you didn’t know over 32,000 of those pregnancies take place a year to victims, whether you want to use your health care benefits to assist in the process of trying to create new life through the IVF process, which S
o
phie’s Choice under my leadership has advocated successfully for here in New York, or you want to adopt an unwanted child, our organization is here to help you.  We have raised $137 million under my leadership over the last eleven years.  I’m very proud of that.  I’m very proud that we’ve sent over 2,500 women to college, helped 12,000 women get jobs, counseled 3,765 rape victims, coordinated the ado
p
tion of 4,893 children and  helped 10,000 women and their children transition from shelters to homes of their own and out of abusive marriages or relatio
n
ships.”

The crowd applauded again.  And this time, for the first time since Charlie had left Norfolk, she smiled.  As the crowd died down, she pulled the microphone closer.  Just as she did, she noticed a person coming into the banquet hall in a
tux who
looked a lot like her husband.  She paused and looked closer.  It was Alex. 

He waved
to her
and sat at the back table. 

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her chi
l
dren and waved.
  It felt so good to know that they were here to witness this.

“Hello Charlize and Benny,” she said, blowing them a kiss.

Looking out at the crowd, she cleared her throat.  “Right.  Let’s get back to the stuff you don’t know.  I am most proud of my families.  I say families, because I have one that I have been with for eleven years – Alex, Hunter and Hanson – three men who has given me the gift of happiness and pride.  My husband, Alex, is in the back. And I want to thank him for his many sacrifices and for being the man that he is for so long.  I know that you’ve heard the bad things about us and what we are going through, but I want you to know that there is so much good that reporters don’t report because it doesn’t sell papers or ads.   We are not together anymore, but we will always be friends and we’re blessed to have our boys.  He’s a great man, and you can sleep well at night knowing that in the event of an emergency whether fire or terrorism, he will be there for you, risking his life and trying with ever
y
thing he has to protect you.”

Alex nodded proudly.  It was good to hear her say the words, to know that she didn’t hate him.  It felt good to know that she still was proud of him.

The crowd erupted again, this time in a boisterous applause.

“And I have another family, who I helped bring to this world with Sullivan Orrin.   I just met them a week ago, but I have to tell you that love at first sight does exist.  I fell in love with my children the first time that I saw them, and I was proud to know that they were mind.  As you know Charlize was picked among over 100,000 applicants to represent our great pres
i
dent in his upcoming campaign.  Benjamin has been there at every interview in support of her despite his football practices, homework and just trying to be a normal kid.  They are a team, a beautiful team.”  She looked down at her family again. “And I fell in love again with their father.  Be as it may an inappropriate statement, tonight we are dealing in facts.  And that ladies and gentlemen is a fact.”

Sully’s eyes were locked on her with tears in them.  Blowing her a kiss, he mouthed the words, I love you and sincerely put his hand over his heart.  He wasn’t expecting such a public display of her affection, but he knew what it meant and he was so ready to receive it.

Charlie nodded. “So, one last thing that you didn’t know.  One last fact. It has been my honor to…” She paused; feeling herself began to cry again, she batted her eyes.  Her voice quivered.  Wiping the tears, she nodded and looked out at the crowd. “It has been my honor to serve as your president, but effective one month from now, I am giving my resignation as the head of this great organization.” She cleared her throat and tried to continue.  “It has been an honor to serve you. It has been an honor to serve the women of New York. I have given countless hours and energy to this wonderful cause, but like my predecessor, I have reached the point, where I must pass the baton on.” She wiped her face.  “But fear not.  I leave you in the care of a wonderful man, Frank Orbitz, who will be taking over the helm and leading you into a new era.  We’re making history because he’s the first man over a woman’s organization, but fear not. He is dedicated to the cause and will focus on all of our past goals as well as new ones like the protection of Lesbian women who are currently being ostracized, victimized and denied rights as first women.  So, this is not only my best speech, but my last. But I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and your love.”

Stepping away from the podium, she wiped her eyes as she received a standing ovation.  The crowd cheered her name as she extended her arm and welcomed Frank onto the stage. 

Hugging each other tightly, they both wiped away tears.

“That was one hell of a speech,” Frank said, mo
v
ing Charlie’s hair from her shoulders.  “How am I ever going to outshine you?”

“I’m sure you’ll find a way,” Charlie said, kissing him on his cheek. “Good luck.”

As she walked off the stage, she was met by her daughter and son who gave her a huge hug.  Holding them tightly, she kissed their faces. “I wanted to tell you,” she said, rubbing the backs of their heads.

“We know,” Charlize said. “Daddy explained ev
e
rything.  We understand.”

“Yeah and we love you too,” Benny said, hugging her waist. 

“I love you,” Charlie said crying. “So much.  I can’t wait for you to meet your brothers. I told them all about you.” She stood up and smiled at Sully.

“Some speech,” Sully said, wiping the tears from her face.  “You should take a job with the DLC.  They are always looking for a good woman.”

“I think I’m just going to focus on me for a while,” she said with a chuckle.

“I was hoping that it would be more of a focus on us,” Sully said, stepping closer to her.  “We came here to ask you…”  Sully paused, praying that she would not deny him again.  He swallowed hard, eyes wide with hope.

“We want you to give us a try,” Benny finally said in a matter-of-fact tone. “You already said you were in love with him.”

“Shut up!” Charlize said, pushing her brother.  “Let Daddy talk for a change.”

Sully laughed. “What he said.”

Charlie laughed. “I was hoping to ask you guys the same thing.”

Sully grabbed her and kissed her deeply.  Rubbing through her hair, he held her hand tightly.  “I love you, my sweet Charlie Meadows.  I should have never let you go the first time, but if you give me a chance, I’ll spend the rest of my life driving you crazy.  I can’t promise you sunshine everyday but I can promise you that I’ll be there through rain and shine.”

“You’re proposing before I even get divorced?” She giggled.  “That’s so Sully.”

“Well, you’re a hot commodity. A man would be crazy to let you go,” Alex said walking up. 

Charlie held her breath.  “Alex,” she said, turning to him. 

“Hey,” he said, giving her a hug. “I just wanted to stop by and…” he turned to Sully, “give you my blessing and let you know there are no hard feelings.”

“Same thing here,” Sully said, shaking his hand.  “I’m sorry, man.”

“So am I. We both screwed up,” Alex said, looking at Charlie. “Don’t make the same mistake that I did.”

“Hey, man.
It’s not often that we get a second chance
, right?” Sully said, sincerely happy that they could bury the bad blood between them.

“This was big for you to come here tonight, Alex,” Charlie said, in disbelief.

“Well, I just…I wanted you to know that we’re making the right decision.  You with Sully and me with Lola.  As long as we keep the kids first, we’ll be fine,” Alex said with a nod.

“Thanks,” Charlie said, hugging him again.

“Thank you,” Alex said, looking at his watch. “I better go. I just wanted to talk to you.”  He nodded at Sully and the kids and excused himself.

“He’s a good man,” Sully said to Charlie.

“I know,” Charlie said, watching him walk away. 

221

The Contingency Plan

Chapter 16

Charlie finished up her consulting work for Dane’s new non-profit, Second Chance, and closed her computer feeling like she had accomplished som
e
thing. With his contacts, she had managed to raise $1.5 million this quarter with new money being promised every day.   And still she had time for her family. 

Looking at her watch, she pushed away from her desk and looked out of the window at the view of the beach.  The sun was shining bright – a perfect day to have a birthday celebration with family and friends. 

Standing up, she rounded her desk across from Sully’s and headed out of the room only to almost fall on a football cleat. 

“Benny!” she screamed.  “Come and get these cleats.”

“Not mine,” Benny screamed from down the hall. “It’s Hunter’s.”

“No it’s not!” Hunter screamed, running past her.  “It’s Hanson’s.”

“Well, someone needs to pick it up!” she screamed bending over.  She picked it up and sighed. 
That someone was her today.

The caterer passed her with a huge birthday cake and headed to the kitchen and his assistant brought in more bushels of bright balloons.

“Where is everyone?” Charlie asked, picking up another toy at the base of the stairs. 

“I think they are outside on the patio,” the man answered, before he disappeared down the hall.

Charlie headed to the patio to find Sully and Alex grilling the meat and Lola making party favor bags.  She was glad that they had come down from New
York with
her son for the celebration in Norfolk.  It made things complete.   
             

“Are you finished working?” Lola asked, offering a beer to Charlie. 

“Thanks,” Charlie said, sitting down beside her. “Yeah, I’m finally finished.”  She looked over at her husband telling Alex about the family sauce that went in his steaks and laughed. “Look at them,” she said, shaking her head.  “You can’t tell either one of them anything about food.  They both think that they are master chefs.”

“We are,” Alex said, turning around. “Well, I am.”

“Shit, I am too,” Sully said, laughing. “Just watch. These steaks are going to be…”

“No, my steaks are going to be the bomb,” Alex said, pulling his Ziploc bags of meat out. 

“No he didn’t bring his own meat,” Charlie said, throwing her hands up.

“He prepared them last night,” Lola laughed.  Her son, Nicky, ran passed her with Charlize and Hanson, screaming wildly and playing. 

“Slow down,” Alex said, opening his bags.  “We don’t want to celebrate your birthdays at the hospital.”

Sully walked over to Charlie and bent to kiss her lips.  “Hey beautiful,” he said, rubbing her face. “My sweet Charlie.”

Charlie couldn’t help but smile when he said that.  Rubbing his leg, she stood up so he could sit down.  Sitting on his lap, she ran her hands through his hair and then turned to Lola and Alex.  “So, are you guy
s finished planning the wedding?
”

Alex shook his head. “Don’t even bring it up.  This woman has been driving me crazy with wedding plans.”

Lola giggled. “We’re almost done.  It won’t be as big as yours.  We’re going to use the small cathedral in our old neighborhood.”

“It’s going to be beautiful, I’m sure,” Charlie said smiling at Alex. “Make sure this one shows up on time.  At our wedding, he was thirty minutes late.”

“It was my brother’s fault,” Alex explained. “Don’t listen to her, baby.” He kissed Lola’s head.

Sully looked around and felt like his life was co
m
plete.  Pouring a glass of wine for everyone, he moved his wife off his lap and passed them around.

“Let’s make a toast,” he said, pulling Charlie close.

They stood up and raised their glasses. 

“To a contingency plan,” Sully said, winking at Charlie.  “May none of us ever have to have one again.”

The End