Waking Charley Vaughan Read Free

phone’s speaker is louder than you think.   And what is this?” she asked. “Something like the fourth time he has broken a date with you this month?”
    I shrugged, looking down at my feet. Actually, it had been the sixth. We hadn’t been on a date in two months. He had been going out of town for work at the last minute. I hated to complain because it was his job, and the company he was trying to build was in its very early stages. The last thing he needed was me complaining about not seeing him enough. It just stressed him out more.
    “It’s not his fault,” I tried to argue. “He’s busy. Start-ups take a lot of work, and a lot of time has to be invested,” I recited. I was feeding her the same line Matt fed me to explain his constant absence lately. Sara just looked at me. Her expression said everything that her mouth was about to. I waited patiently for what I knew was coming.
    “You’re too good for him, Midge,” she said, using the nickname she had given me because of our relative heights.
    I shrugged. “I’m not. I just love him.” Really, what choice did I have? We were engaged. Even if I didn’t like the hours, it was too late to back out now. Things were finally lined up, and my future was looking amazing.
    I was going to have a great husband whom I loved. So what if he was a bit self-absorbed? There were worse qualities to have. I was also weeks away from getting to start a business of my own. I was opening a bakery, something I’d dreamed of doing my entire life. Matt thought it was a horrible idea, but it was one idea not even he could talk me out of.
    “Well,” Sara said, interrupting my thoughts, “If he won’t take you out on a date tonight, then I will.” Her smile was wide, making the skin around her grayish blue eyes crinkle. She called the crinkles her ‘fine lines’ but, in reality, it was just part of what made her beautiful.
    “The good news is that we can keep shopping. No need for me to get home to change,” I told her. “Unless you are opposed to this outfit,” I said sarcastically.
    “Charley, why were you going to change anyway? You look adorable.” We had slowed to match my pace, for which I was grateful. Keeping up with Sara’s long legs was a workout.
    “Thanks, but your brother hates this outfit,” I explained. “He also has no patience for me not wearing a dress on our dates. Skinny jeans and ballet flats aren’t going to cut it.”
    “Ugh,” Sara sighed. “He’s such an ass.”
    Matt and Sara were twins, but were nothing alike. Sara always joked that the only thing to two of them shared was a birthday; and thanks to Matt’s hatred of Sara’s taste in everything, they rarely shared much of that.
    What was strange about their relationship, and their dislike for one another is that they both liked me.  So many of the qualities Matt hated about his sister were qualities that I shared with her. I didn’t know if it was that he didn’t notice the similarities, or if he was just overlooking them. Either way, I found it strange. I never pointed it out to him, but Sara and I laughed about it constantly.
    We continued our shopping for about two more hours. By then, we were both pretty exhausted and in need of refueling. “Okay,” Sara said with a sigh, “Let’s get out of here.”
    I was glad she was ready. My arms felt as if they were going to fall off. I was carrying bags from six different stores, and I wasn’t sure how much longer my arms would make it before they fell off. Sara noticed my slowed pace, and probably the slight waddle I had developed in an attempt to shuffle all of my bags out of the mall and into Sara’s car.
    “Give me some of that, Midge,” she laughed. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
    I handed over half of the bags and she took them, effortlessly adding them to her own massive collection.
    “Thanks,” I breathed.
    “Why don’t you ever just ask for help?” She asked, eyeing me sideways.
    “I didn’t think I