She nodded, smiled wearily, then waggled her fingers. “Get it out then. I’m starving and that smells like Gus’s handiwork.”
It was. This close to Christmas Gus specialized in two things: oyster stew and roast turkey. Dave had opted for the turkey, thinking it would be better warmed up if she couldn’t eat it now.
He presented two takeout containers, plastic forks and knives, napkins, salt and pepper packets, and a separate container with gravy. “Merry early Christmas,” he murmured, handing her the gravy.
“To you too,” she said quietly. She met his gaze. “Thank you for this, Dave. Really. It was very considerate.”
“Can you tell me what happened? I mean, are you allowed?”
Charlie sprinkled pepper on her vegetables. “She wanted to make sure the baby was okay. I convinced her to turn herself in. She’s just a young girl, Dave. Mixed up and afraid, who made a bad choice. She’s not a bad kid.” She paused, with her fork hovering over her potatoes. “I guess I still want to believe there’s a happy ending in it for her.”
Dave looked at her, felt a wave of love wash over him. God, she had such a generous and forgiving heart. He loved that about her. Hoped that her forgiveness extended to him too, because he really wanted to start over with her. Make things right.
Charlie looked up, met his gaze. “I want to help her, Dave. Whatever shape she wants her life to take, I’d like to help her get pointed in the right direction. We were right. She chose the manger because she wanted him to be found, and she stayed nearby until she saw us take him. She didn’t just dump him without a thought. That’s got to count for something.”
“Phew.” Dave shook his head. “It’s still crazy to think about that night, isn’t it? I wonder why she didn’t just leave him at a hospital, or police station.”
“I don’t know. I suppose she might have been worried about being seen. I got the impression it wasn’t really thought out.” She cut into her turkey and took a bite. “Anyway,” she finished, waving her fork in the air, “one good thing about it. The mystery of baby Daniel’s mom is solved.”
They ate in silence for a few moments until Dave couldn’t take it anymore.
“What does this mean for Daniel?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m reminding myself to be realistic. He was never mine to begin with. I always knew I’d have to give him up eventually. With the break in the investigation, I suppose things will move forward a little faster.” Her lips quivered for a second. “At least we’ll have Christmas. I doubt anything will happen before then.”
She was hurting, and trying to cover. “You’ve been sick, Josh said.”
“I didn’t realize you and Josh were buddy buddy.”
“We’re not. He’s worried about you. Seeing you today, so am I.”
“I’m just tired. I had that nasty bug going around and so did everyone else in Jewell Cove, I think. We were putting in some long days. I’ll be fine.”
“I think, Charlene Yang, you tell everyone you’re fine whether you are or not.”
She stopped eating and stared at him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just mean that … well, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. You tell people you’re fine, you give of yourself, but you never really let anyone in. You don’t want to be any trouble. And you don’t want to give someone the power to really hurt you either. Because you’ve been disappointed a lot in your life. And it works but only a little because deep down you’re lonely and you need someone to give all that love to. Being a doctor is perfect. You get to help people without becoming personally involved.”
“Wow. That’s some psychoanalysis.”
“And that’s exactly what I’d say if I wanted to avoid the issue and turn the tables. We’re more alike than you think, Charlie.”
“Except I did let someone in. You.”
He hadn’t expected her to admit it, and it took him by surprise.
“We don’t have to talk about this now,” he said. “On top of everything else.”
“Or ever, right?” She picked up her fork again, and stabbed it into her mound of potatoes, her lips set in an angry line.
“I didn’t come here to pile on, Charlie. Not after the day you’ve had.”
“You pretty much said it all anyway,” she reminded him, playing with the potatoes but not eating them.
“No, I didn’t. I didn’t say nearly enough. And I certainly didn’t say the right things.”
Her fork stopped moving. He might have imagined it, but he thought he saw her lower lip give another little quiver before she bit down on it.
“I went to see Nora,” he explained. “And the whole time I was watching their family all together I was thinking about you, and the fun we had together, and how easy it is to talk to you, and how much I loved kissing you … and … and how much I missed you.”