Page 7 of Love By The Falls

“And—”

“Charlotte, he’ll be fine. More than fine. Don’t worry about him, and just have a good time,” Sage says.

I stare at Charlie and he’s staring at me, a bit confused by the tears building in my eyes.

Shit. This is no way to leave him. I need to be stronger.

“I love you, Charlie, and I’ll miss you, but Aunt Sage is right. You’ll have an amazing time with Anthony, and everyone will take care of you while I’m gone. I’ll see you very soon, okay?”

“Okay, Mom. I love you, too.”

I pull him into my arms and fight back the tears and the sob bursting through my chest. My eyes sting and Iwant to call this whole thing off, but then Charlie pulls away, and I let him go.

“Have fun, Mom.” He kisses my cheek, and I nearly lose my composure.

“You, too, Charlie.” My voice cracks, but somehow I hold the rest of me together before I fall into pieces.

“Charlotte,” Jane calls softly behind me. She’s holding the door open, and I know it’s time to go. I step out and blow Charlie a kiss just as Jane puts her arm around my shoulder and steers me away. “I know this is hard, but it’ll be good for the both of you. It’s only a week, and you’ll have so much to catch up on when you’re back.”

“You’re right. It’s just we’ve never been apart since he was born. I don’t know what to do without him.”

“Live a little,” Jane smiles. “Not a lot, but enough to make memories that will last you a while. Promise me that.”

I nod while my eyes water. “Thank you.”

“Go on. Have a fabulous time and remember…don’t be responsible.”

We chuckle and I hug her tightly. “I’ll call when I land.”

“Okay, but then I’ll call you only if there’s an emergency. Take a real break so you can relax and enjoy.”

“I will.”

I wave at Sage and Charlie and squeeze Jane’s hand one more time before she walks back to the car. “Goodbye!”

Charlie waves back from inside the car and Sage blows me a kiss.

My heart is full and breaks at the same time, and I drop my arm only when Jane drives off. Even then, I stand and watch as the car merges into traffic and I lose track of it down the ramp. “Goodbye,” I whisper.

A tear finally falls down my cheek and my bottom lip trembles. I don’t know how long I stand there, but several cars have dropped off passengers and I haven’t moved.

I shut my eyes, take a deep breath, then turn around and search for the airline check-in desk.

*

The plane lands to an eruption of applause, and I clap along with the joyous passengers. Since this is my first time flying, I realize I don’t hate it, but the altitude hurts my ears. If I could have driven to St. Kitts I would have preferred that instead.

As soon as the seat belt sign comes off, people stand and clog the aisle. It’s hard to breathe and I want to jump over them and climb out. Finally, ten minutes later, the line moves, but I wait until everyone is nearly off theplane before I venture out of my seat and retrieve my carry-on from the overhead compartment.

The sun is shining through the open cabin door and I can’t wait to breathe in the fresh air, but when my foot hits the rickety steps leading to the tarmac, the humidity blankets my face. I breathe through my mouth and take a shaky step down the stairs. I expected to exit through a tunnel like when we entered the plane.

I lift my carry-on and hold it against my chest as I climb the rest of the way down. The wind whips my hair across my face, and I shake it out of the way.

Finally, I reach the last step and fall in line with the rest of the passengers waiting to go through customs.

The wait isn’t too bad, and by the time I find my luggage on the carousel, I spot a driver holding a sign with my name on it.

“Ms. Tanner?” he asks when I approach him.

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