All Dolled Up!

Charlotte’s POV

We spent a good amount of time trying to figure out how to introduce the truth to Charlie’s parents. And maybe, then, after they realized what I truly was, we would tell them that we were engaged. One step at a time, of course, and Charlie felt that telling them both of those things would be too much.

I could sort of see that happening, so I agreed with him.

“Right,” Charlie said for what felt like the hundredth time. “So this is how I want to start: So, you know how ghosts exist right? So, what if ghosts could inhabit something? I then lead them into what you are, and then you spring into life on my signal.”

I tapped my foot. “Hmm… it seems, lacking in some way.”

“It does, doesn’t it? But I just can’t think of a way to have it go down quicker.”

“I know this isn’t want you want to hear, but there might not be any actual way to do it slowly. Maybe just seeing me might be what they actually need,” I told him. It was an idea we had discarded over and over, but the more that we tried to find a good way around it, the more that I began to think that it just might be the best way.

“There’s another reason I don’t think we should open with that,” he said. “They might think that you’re an animatronic or something like that at first. I would’ve though the same too, if it wasn’t for the fact that I knew how you were before, and I saw how you nearly fell over once the sun came up.”

“Why would they think that you were lying at a time like this and a topic like this?”

“To cheer them up? Look, it would still make more sense, if I was in their shoes, than the actual truth.”

“Maybe we’re jumping the gun by telling them all at once then. I think your earlier idea was more right - we should tell your sister first, see what she thinks of the whole thing, and then consider roping your parents in.”

Like that we bounced ideas off of each other, hoping that we could find something that would work.

But, nothing really came to mind. No magical solution or ‘best way’ came up. Every single idea we had had some drawback.

It got to the point that I honestly wanted to put a pin in the whole situation, or even kick the can down the road and deal with it later. If not for the fact that Charlie had some urgency for wanting to bring it up - and, I understood that.

I refused to believe that he was going to die though, and was sure that he was going to make a full recovery. Still, I could see why he might want to move ahead with such things.

With that said, when we weren’t doing this, life was incredible. He was at home almost all the time now, and we spent nearly every moment I was active with each other. And I was ecstatic at the thought that I was finally engaged - and not just that, but to a man I really loved! How many women of my day and age could’ve boasted of that?

It was so blissful that I could almost forget about his looming diagnosis. Almost. There were small reminders everywhere, like the pills he had to take, or the strange ‘catheter’ he had in his chest. Or the fact that once a week, he left to go for an infusion and came back so tired he collapsed onto his bed right away.

I tried to tell myself that there was no point in pondering over these things too much, but every time I nearly began to really enjoy myself, one of these reminders would rear its ugly head.

If only I could go to sleep once, and then wake up only when this problem had resolved itself… even as I thought ridiculous things like that, I knew that I had to stay awake.

For his sake.

Charlie’s POV

The holidays would’ve been some of the busiest times in the warehouse, the days just before Christmas even more so.

As such I felt rather guilty as I just sat at a desk and other people did most of the heavy lifting. They would rather have me back doing something than me sitting at home, but at the same time, they knew that they couldn’t really have me doing any heavy lifting.

As such, I ended up doing almost no actual work, which might’ve sounded like a dream at first but got boring on day three. Not to mention I had been switched from night to day shift now, and while that did mean that overall Charlotte and I had more time together, it also meant that at work nearly everyone I encountered was new.

I could have probably gotten to know some of them, but I made very little such effort. Thing was I wasn’t sure if it was my new sleep schedule, the chemo, or just the cancer itself, but I felt constantly tired, as if I would doze off at work anytime. This made me quite a little bit irritable and as such I wasn’t in the mood for conversing, though if truth be told if your goal was to socialize the day shift was where it was at.

Not that any of my coworkers really seemed to be affected by my abrasive mood. News travels fast, and the news of my diagnosis must’ve been a very poorly kept secret. Likely why everyone tread around me like they were walking on eggshells. Honestly, it made me miss the people from the night shift, even though I had rarely spent that much time with them, they were ‘real’ in a way that these people were not. Or maybe I was just judging these people too harshly- in their position, I too, would likely behave the same.

That said, despite all the negatives, I couldn’t complain. I’d done far worse jobs in the past. And this job at the bare minimum, gave me all that I needed: money enough for me to meet my needs and then some, health insurance, and a schedule that let me spend my days with Charlotte as much as possible.

My routine involved going to work in the morning, followed by coming back home and taking a short nap. Once night fell Charlotte would wake me up and I would stay awake until around midnight before going back to sleep, which is why I felt like I was constantly sleep deprived during work. The weekend wasn’t much better as I could stay up nearly all night during those times and that affected my sleep cycle later on in the week. But, I hadn’t suffered any major consequences from this, and so I hadn’t seen any need to change it.

I don’t know if it was because I barely did anything, they all felt sorry for me, or just something else, but I got a head start on the holidays and was given an extra day off for the Christmas break.

I still hadn’t figured out the best way to inform my family of Charlotte, and as the time drew nearer the urge to just put it off for another day got worse and worse.

Still, that was only a temporary measure, I knew, and that the truth would have to come out someday. And it was best that I did it on my own terms rather than Charlotte one night accidentally revealing herself when one of them was visiting.

In the end, this is what I planned out with Charlotte: When we would all sit down for Christmas dinner, and they would no doubt ask me about her, I’d say that she was coming. And then, while we were all sitting, I’d message Charlotte to come down the stairs and greet us.

Yes, there were a lot of issues with it, but I was still struggling to think of something better. At least everyone would be seated, so them falling would be less of a worry.

“What if they choke on what they’re eating?” Charlotte raised a good point, and I would probably just ask her to come before the food was served.

Neither of us felt that this was a very good plan in any sense, but we also couldn’t figure out anything else, and keeping this a secret was gnawing at me. It was now or never, I guess.

And that day finally rolled around.

I was sleeping rather peacefully when I was woken up by something. It was my phone ringing, and at first I just rolled over and fell asleep again after ignoring it. And then it rang again after which I groaned and woke up to answer it.