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"Just reading and relaxing. What about you? What've you been doing locked away in your room all morning?"
"I've been working on a project."
"Project?"
"Yes...for you," Charlie said, grinning.
"For me?"
"Yeaaah," replied Charlie, drawing the word out as if embarrassed.
Amy looked at him in bafflement. "Okay...I guess."
She waited for an explanation but Charlie just shuffled his feet and stared at the ground.
"Charlie, are you going show me this project?"
He looked up at her. "Sure."
He sat down, set his laptop on the table and looked at her.
"Mom, I've been thinking..." he started before his voice trailed off.
"Thinking? About what?"
"Well...you."
"Me? In what way?"
"Well...I...look, Mom, I hope this doesn't upset you. I...I worry about you—"
"Worry about me, Charlie?" a startled Amy replied. "Why?"
Charlie was silent for a few moments then took a deep breath.
'Okay Mom, here goes...I want you to be happy... and I don't think you are."
Amy looked at her son and sensed a surprising level of seriousness in him. Charlie waited with trepidation for her to say something. She took a deep breath. "Charlie...why do you say that?"
He took his time, afraid he might screw up what he wanted to say.
"Mom...you're different than you used to be. I remember so many things we did together, you and me and Dad, fun things, great things. I have so many happy memories...going to the beach, camping, the great vacations we took, the places you and Dad took me to. We always had so much fun." He paused. "And you used to be so active, adventurous, always trying new things, always up for a challenge. Like you wanted to try white-water kayaking and you did...but after what Dad did to us...to you..." Again Charlie fell silent, afraid of causing her pain. He looked at her and saw she was watching him intently with a look that encouraged him to continue.
"What happened, Mom?"
"Oh, sweetheart...life can change you...take things away..."
Charlie took her hand. "Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."
Amy looked at him and smiled. "It's alright Charlie."
"I love you, Mom."
Amy put her hand over his. "I love you too."
They sat holding hands for a while before either spoke.
"Now, Charlie, about your project?"
"Right... there's something I think you should do."
Amy glanced at him with curiosity. "Oh, what's that?"
"Well...hmm..." Charlie mumbled nervously. "You should think about dating."
Amy was startled. "Dating?"
"I think it would be good for you."
"Charlie...I'm not young anymore and I don't think—"
"Mom," Charlie interrupted, having none of this. "You're sweet, kind, smart, funny, successful, and beautiful...and I mean beautiful. There's probably millions of men out there who would love to date you."
"Oh, Charlie—"
"Mom, you're too young to be a spinster. You don't even meet the qualifications for it. If you tried to join the Association of American Spinsters they'd kick your ass out the door," Charlie said laughing. "Just get out, have some fun, maybe some romance...and some love."
Amy looked at him, not knowing how to respond to this startling suggestion from her son.
"Look," Charlie said, opening his laptop. "I've been researching this for you. There are plenty of suitable men available."
"You researched men?" Amy replied, astonished.
"Take a look," Charlie said, opening a title slide on the laptop that said in large, bold letters DATES FOR AMY. He scooted closer to her and turned the laptop so they both could easily see it. He glanced at her then clicked an icon. A picture of a man appeared, a handsome man in a business suit with a look of success and self-confidence about him. A caption at the bottom read Successful business man. Likes yachts, strong women, and kittens.
Amy laughed. "Is this for real, Charlie?"
"Sure Mom," Charlie lied. "I went through a bunch of dating websites looking for candidates."
"Ohh...kay. What else you got?"
The next slide was a big burly bearded man in a Las Angeles Rams football uniform. The caption read Strong tough man with a heart of gold. Likes old movies and collecting vintage porcelain dolls.
Amy laughed. "Next."
The next candidate was a young, smirking bare-chested man who was clearly a male model. The caption merely read This picture says it all.
Amy's laughter was enough for Charlie to move to the next slide—a nerdy looking man who looked to be in his early twenties and whose caption read Tech innovator well on his way to riches.
"Seriously, Charlie?" Amy laughed. "Keep trying."
The next one was a man at least sixty wearing a wife-beater tee shirt, leaning on a rake in front of a dilapidated house. It's caption read Better than ever, if you know what I mean. Charlie didn't wait for Amy's laughter. "I just wanted to give you the full range of options age-wise, Mom. I think you'll like the next one better."
It was a cowboy, sitting on a horse with his hands on the saddle horn trying his best to look like the Marlboro Man. Amy just shook her head.
"If you don't want a cowboy, how about this one?" It was a tattooed biker, sitting back on a massive Harley trying to project the same aura of masculine supremacy as the cowboy. The caption read Likes reading Dickens and the Bronte sisters, walks on the beach at sunset, and feisty women.
Amy laughed so hard she nearly fell off her chair. "Next!"
Another image appeared.
"Of course," she managed to chortle through her laughter, "A dwarf."
"Come on, Mom. I just wanted to make sure you had a range of heights to choose from. And a dwarf could be great. Tell me you wouldn't date Peter Dinklage."
Amy wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Well, you got me there. Are there more?"
"One more, Mom," Charlie grinned, and clicked the mouse button.
"WALT???!!!....WALT???"
"Mom, Mom," Charlie blurted quickly, trying to control his laughter. "I just wanted to give you the full range of ages to choose from...plus, Walt's had a giant crush on you since...since forever."
"Oh dear boy," Amy said laughing, "Just what I need, schoolboy crushes."
'Mom," Charlie replied, attempting to sound stern, "Haven't you noticed, he's no longer a boy and he's no longer in school."
Amy felt a sudden flush as the feel of Walt's neck and shoulders between her legs and against her body during the chicken fight flashed through her mind.
Charlie didn't know what to do at this point so he waited for Amy to say something. But she sat next to him, staring out over the trees, appearing lost in thought. She finally stood up, and turned to him. Taking his hand, she gently pulled him to his feet, put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. Charlie wrapped his arms around her and they stood in silence, holding each other.
"Thank you, Charlie. I understand what you're trying to do," Amy whispered. "I think..." she started to say but her voice faded away.
"I love you Mom...more than anything."
"I love you too, Charlie...more than anything."
After a long embrace Charlie stepped back. "I'm going over to Walt's house. I'll see you later." He gave her a kiss on the cheek then turned and went back into the house. Soon Amy went into the kitchen and set another pot of coffee brewing. She sat on a chair at the island to wait, feeling disconcerted and vaguely uneasy. What was that all about? she wondered. When the coffee was ready she filled her cup and went back outside.
This is so like Charlie, Amy thought as she sat down, he wanted to tell me something serious and he used humor to do it...to make it easier on me. She thought about the things Charlie had said—that I changed after Jack abandoned us, I'm no longer adventurous or willing to trying new things, or up for challenges, not really living my life... that I'm not happy.
She took a sip of coffee and stared out over the trees. Charlie thinks I'm unhappy and fears for my future. A rush of emotions began to well up in her—fear... worry... surprise...love.
After a long while, she finally acknowledged to herself that Charlie was right, despite the anxiety the admission caused her. And the reality that Charlie was no longer a child, that he had become a man, struck her with force. Our relationship has changed...our lives are going to change.
Amy realized that she needed to think about how she had changed, and why. And how it had affected Charlie...and most importantly, how their future would be affected if she didn't do this.
She spent the rest of the day pondering her past life. The seminal event that fundamentally altered her life, and Charlie's, was her husband's sudden, brutal abandonment of them both. She took solace knowing she had somehow managed to shield Charlie from part of the emotional damage and together the two of them had rebuilt their lives together. She was happy beyond measure that Charlie had grown up to be such a well-adjusted, confident and capable young man.
Now, thanks to him, she had to face the fact that she had changed significantly, in ways Charlie was worried about...and might not be good for Charlie as well. Amy took a deep breath and said to herself it's time to excise the ghosts of the past.
So she took herself back to the beginning...to the day Jack walked out. It had taken her more than a year to recover from the initial shock and despair and even longer to get over her anger. The trauma was compounded by the fear and worry about raising Charlie as an only child, one without a father. And by the stress of finding a job and making a new life for them both. For the longest time, she had no time or energy for anything else. But her anger had eventually faded and their lives stabilized into a comfortable, near normal existence. But she had little interest in or energy for the kind of adventures Charlie had talked about...and no interest in men.
Eventually that changed and she finally ventured to try dating. It did not go well. The first three dates were blind ones after work over coffee or a drink. But none of the men sparked her interest. The fourth man did and they went on three dates. On the third however, the man apparently decided he had been patient enough regarding sex and became physically forceful when she demurred. She stopped him cold with a sharp knee to the groin. She again lost interest in men and went on with her life as before. However, as she had ventured into dating, her sexuality, which had long been suppressed, had re-asserted itself and become a constant in the back of her mind. But she was only willing satisfy it by secretly buying a vibrator and being surreptitious about its use.
Then, before she knew it, Charlie was graduating from high school. And here we are...here we are...and where are we going?
She realized Charlie had intuitively sensed much of this and that he was taking on responsibility for not only her happiness, but also her well-being.
Then it struck her like an epiphany—Charlie is right, it's time to change, it's time to get off my butt and start living the kind of life I want.
When Charlie came into the kitchen from the garage late that afternoon, Amy threw her arms around him in a bearhug. "Thank you, honey," she whispered in his ear. "You're right about everything."
Charlie heard the happiness in her voice, and sensed her excitement. "Oh, Mom," he said, tightening his arms around her.
That night, Amy lay in bed feeling optimistic about her and Charlie's lives, excited about the future, and happier than she had been in years.
* * *
Charlie and Walt sat in the Broken Compass Coffee Shop the following Monday afternoon after camp and talked about what had happened with their mothers over the weekend.
"Your slideshow idea was sheer genius," an amazed Walt said to Charlie. "I can't believe how well it worked."
"It was because of you," Charlie replied, grinning.
"Me?"
"Yeah...you were the last slide."
"Me? Why?"
"Well, I guess I was trying to plant a seed. At first Mom laughed and said 'just what I need, a schoolboy crush.' But when I pointed out that you were no longer a boy or were in school, her expression changed...and she blushed."
"Blushed, really?"
"Yeah..."
"I'll be damned. It must mean..."
"Yeah."
They sat in silence for a few moments, Walt's mind churning with what this might portend."
"So, how did things go with Emily?" Charlie finally asked, bringing Walt's fevered rush of imagination to a halt. "Did she like the garden swing?"
"Oh...yeah, she did."
"And?"
"Like you did with Amy, I told her I was worried about her, what her life would be like now that I'm out of high school and will be away at college, that I wanted her to be happy with her life again."
"How did she react?"
"She looked distressed and I could see tears forming in her eyes...but she didn't say anything. So I told her that I was dedicating the summer to her, that I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, that I wanted us to do things she had always wanted to do but never did."
"What'd she say?"
"She said she would love that." Walt stared out the front window of the Broken Compass. "And then she asked me when did I become so wise...which I think means she realized she needed to think about her future, her life. I think she was reacting like Amy did, but internally. At least that's my sense."
"Okay," Charlie said after a few minutes of silence. "What do we do with them?"
Walt thought for a while. "Ask them what they want to do."
Late that evening, Charlie's cell phone rang. It was Walt.
"Okay, you ready for this?"
"Am I ever,' Charlie replied.
"My mom wants to take some art classes, mainly drawing; and go to art museums."
"Awesome...is that all?"
"No. She's decided that I need to learn to cook and wants to teach me. And for some reason she's interested in learning Chinese cooking.
"Wow, You want to do that?"
"Sure. I think I need to know how to cook an edible meal and cooking authentic Chinese dishes would be awesome. What about you and Amy?"
"Her interests are less brainy and more physical...the first thing on her list is to learn ballroom dancing. She thought Emily might be interested too and the four of us could do it together."
"Interesting...that might work, I'll ask her...or should Amy do it?"
"Let Mom do it. Next thing is she wants to join a fitness center and get in shape. I'm up for that too, so we'll do it together."
"Good so far."
"Okay, one more...are you sitting down?"
"Yeah, why?"
"She wants to learn to skydive."
A long silence.
"Holy!...Shit!
* * *
"This is it," Walt said, stopping in front of a large ornate wooden door with the words Bran Castle Dance Studio engraved in an arc above a carved bas-relief castle. The castle looked ancient, with multiple stone towers capped with pointed cone-shaped peaks rising high above the surrounding trees, and a strangely ominous look about it.
"Well, this should be bloody interesting," Walt said, grinning. He opened the door and held it for the others to enter.
Inside was a small alcove. A teen-age girl sitting behind a desk looked up at them and smiled. "Hi, Welcome to Bran Castle. I'm Sophie."
"Hi, Sophie," Emily said. "We're here for the lesson; Deming and Maye."
Sophie checked her computer. "Okay, you're all paid up and ready to go. You're the first to arrive," she said, standing up. "I'll take you back to meet Mom and Dad."
She led them out of the alcove into a large, well-lit room with a beautiful polished birch dance floor. To the left were an open pantry with tables and chairs and next to it a small office. A woman stood at the counter in the pantry making a pot of coffee.
"Mom."
The woman turned around and smiled. "Hi, and welcome" she said, offering her hand to each of them. "I'm Alina Lovinescu."
Alina Lovinescu was a strikingly beautiful woman. Of medium height and slender, with thick dark-brown hair cascading over her shoulders in a long tousled shag and unruly bangs falling to either side of her face framing her high cheek bones and piercing pale blue eyes. Her lips were full and sensuous and her ready smile warm and friendly. She wore thin white silk trousers and an elegant pastel green blouse of a satiny material that flattered the shape of her modest breasts. To Charlie and Walt, she was stunning and exotic and they struggled to avoid staring at her.
After the four of them introduced themselves, Amy said "What a beautiful dance floor."
"Thank you," Alina said smiling. "Please sit down; would you like some coffee or tea?" They all declined and Alina sat down with them.
"Emil's in the back room but he should be out soon."
"Lovinescu... that's Romanian, right?" Walt asked.
Alina smiled at him. "Yes."
"You must have come to the U.S. a long time ago, you barely have an accent...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey.
"That's okay...I appreciate your interest. My mother brought me here in the summer of 1989 after my father was arrested by the Securtitate, Ceausescu's secret police, and disappeared. He was never heard from again, even after the December revolution that overthrew Ceausescu..." Her voice faded away.
"I'm sorry," Walt said, "I didn't mean to—"
"Oh, here's Emil," Alina said, looking up.
Emil Lovinescu strode into the pantry. Like his wife, he was an extraordinarily striking figure. Six foot three or so, with an aura of majestic self-assurance. His abundant black hair, streaked with gray, was swept back on the top and sides, enhancing the imposing shape of his head. Thick sideburns descended down his cheeks to below his ears and a luxurious mustache curved over his mouth and down to his chin on either side. He had a patrician handsomeness about him and his very appearance seemed to convey an aura of command. To Amy and Emily, he seemed the most imposing-looking man they had ever encountered and it was their turn to refrain from staring.
"Hello and welcome," Emil said, his voice unexpectedly soft and gentle."
"We're glad to be here," Amy and Emily said, almost in unison.
"Mom, Dad," Sophie said, coming around the corner leading two older couples. "This is Felicity and Scott Armisted and Collette and Mike Johnson.
As Alina and Emil welcomed the new arrivals, Sophie brought in another couple, this time two young women who looked to be in their twenties. "This is Suzanne Norse and Priscilla Jenneth. Ladies, this is Alina and Emil, your instructors."
"Welcome." Emil said. "We're all here, so let's get started. Come with me."
Emil led them onto the dance floor and arranged the five couples in a row across the floor. He and Alina stood before them.
"Welcome to beginning ballroom dancing...ballroom 101 so to speak," Emil began, "This class will teach you the basic steps of the waltz, all of which are fairly simple and easy to learn in concept. Of course you want to learn more than the waltz, so you'll be happy to know that many of these steps are used in other dances, with some minor changes. For example, the first step you're going to learn is the box step and it's also the basic step of the rumba, but danced at a different tempo. With the rock and triple steps added to your repertoire, you'll also be able to dance the swing, jitterbug, cha cha, and polka."
How's that for versatility," he said, smiling. He looked along the row of people. "Any questions?" There were none and he continued.
"The first thing we're going to teach you is not a step—it's something called the frame. The frame is the positions of you and your partner's upper bodies that you generally have to maintain whether you're in motion or not. Alina..."
Alina and Emil faced each other standing close together. "Now everyone stand erect. Gentlemen...I'm sorry...leader," Emil said, glancing at Suzanne and Priscilla, "place your right hand on your partner's left shoulder blade, like this. On the shoulder blade, not lower. Your left hand should hold your partner's right hand out to left like this, at about her eye level." Alina and Emil rotated in a circle so that the students could see the proper position from all angles.
