Read Online Charley's Web by Joy Fielding - Free Book Online Page A

beer?”
    “How ’bout some orange juice?” Charley repeated.
    “I think I’ll have some orange juice,” Bram said.
    “Good choice.” Charley poured them each a drink and returned to the living room.
    “Why would he blame you for his wife leaving him?” Bram asked.
    It took Charley a second to realize they were still talking about Gabe Lopez. “Trust me. I had nothing to do with that.”
    “Nothing?”
    “I don’t think I ever said more than two words to the woman in my entire life.”
    “By any chance, were those two words ‘dump him’?”
    “Very funny. You missed your calling. You know that?”
    Bram took a long sip of his juice, made a face. “Something’s missing, that’s for sure. This could use a little vodka.”
    Charley sighed. “What are you doing, Bram? What’s the matter with you?”
    “Aw, come on, Charley. Don’t start.”
    “You’re way too smart to waste your life this way.”
    “I’m only twenty-four,” he reminded her. “And I’m not that smart.”
    “You told me you were going into rehab. You said you were joining AA. You promised.”
    “And I will.”
    “When?”
    “Whenever.”
    “Bram….”
    “Come on, Charley. You think I like waking up on some strange guy’s sofa? Which, come to think of it, must be how you feel a lot of the time.”
    Charley rolled her eyes. “That was so not funny.”
    “I’m gonna clean up my act.”
    “Try starting with your mouth.”
    “Ouch. I think I touched a nerve.”
    “I’m not a slut, Bram.” Charley walked to the front window, watching the young man in the yellow hard hat climb up a ladder to the roof of her neighbor’s house. “Just because I had two children by two different men doesn’t mean I’m easy.”
    Although what can one expect from a woman who prides herself on never having married either of her children’s fathers?
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply…”
    “Of course you did.”
    Of course you did, her mother’s voice echoed.
    “Hey, I’m just yanking your chain,” her brother said, taking another sip of his juice. “Just trying to get the focus off me.”
    Charley watched a small yellow school bus pull around the corner and come to a stop in front of her house. “Kids are here.” She took a deep breath and walked to the front door, pulling it open. “Try not to say anything too stupid in their presence.”
    “Yes, Dad,” she heard Bram mutter.
    She felt a sharp stab of guilt, remembering the way her father had always spoken to his son. Bram was right, she’d realized. She sounded exactly like their father. “I’m so sorry, Bram. I didn’t mean…”
    “Mommy!” James shouted, jumping off the bus, all dimples and hair and moving parts. Even while standing at the curb waiting for his sister, he was in constant motion, right hand lifting in the air to wave hello, left hand tugging at the top of his khaki pants, his weight shifting from his left foot to his right in order to kick at a small piece of rubble, as his eyes darted from one end of the street to the other.
    “Hi, sweetie pie,” Charley called back, waiting as Franny made her way from the back of the bus to the front. Franny always liked to make sure the bus had come to a complete stop before getting up from her seat. Only then would she begin the trek from her seat near the back, latching onto the tops of the other seats on her way to the front.
    She’d always been a cautious child, Charley realized, choosing careful deliberation over snap decisions, even as a toddler. Charley recalled the many times she’d stood beside her daughter at the playground while Franny tried to decide which swing to select. Her brother would have already taken a dozen plunges, face-first, down the giant slide, and still Franny would be standing beside the sandbox. It was the same at mealtime. James would be finished and squirming in his chair, having virtually inhaled his dinner in two quick breaths, while Franny would be taking her first