Chapter 11
“I was mortified! It was like the seventh circle of hell of being walked in on!” Charles whined to Raven later that afternoon.
She took a break from her uncontrollable laughter to gasp out, “At least you didn’t have to put a dollar in the swear jar like Mr. Potty Mouth!”
Charles was less than amused.
Raven finally managed to bring herself under control and calm down a bit. She reached across the café table and gave him a reassuring pat on the hand. “Oh don’t make that face! I’m sure it wasn’t that bad! You said everything was covered by the time she came in, right?”
“Yes, thank goodness.” He blushed at the very notion of just how badly the morning could have gone.
“See? I mean it’s too bad she’s five and will probably have like a million and one questions about it, but that can’t be helped and I’m sure Erik will take the lead on explanations. Just…take his advice on how to handle it.” she said reassuringly.
“Okay. Okay, you’re right. This could have been way more humiliating. Nina is a clever girl, I’m sure she would have figured it out sooner rather than later,” he grudgingly admitted.
“There you go!” Raven cheered, giving him a cheeky wink. “Now that that’s out of the way. How was the night before?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
“Raven!” Charles yelped, slapping her sneaky fingers away from his fries. “You know I don’t do details!”
“I didn’t know that!” she pouted and snuck a fry anyway. “I just never wanted to hear about Sebastian,” she shuddered dramatically as she said his name.
“Haha! No wonder you never asked! Alright. He’s a great kisser and we have amazing chemistry. And…well… we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.” He concluded with a light blush.
Raven clapped her hands together excitedly, “Dibs on being your maid of honor.”
“I think you’re rather jumping the gun, dear. But who else would it be?” he assured her with a laugh, feeling much better after their talk. He casually turned the conversation to Azazel who he was now eager to meet. Anyone who made Raven this happy was in his good books.
~~
Charles uploaded his video earlier than usual. He’d planned and filmed it earlier in the week, not wanting to be worried about it the night of Nina’s concert. After his emergency lunch meeting with Raven, he’d hurried home to edit and post his video and respond to a few work emails.
He was relieved when Raven was proven right about him worrying over nothing when he managed a sweet and rather flirty text exchange with Erik. Things were really looking up and he felt much better about the awkward horror of that morning. He wasn’t quite ready to laugh about it yet, but he could see it happening someday.
He scrolled through the comment sections of his prior video, answering recipe questions and making note of any food prep questions and concerns that could be made into their own video. Charles smiled to himself as he read over the comments asking about his private life, if he was married? If he had kids? Who had drawn that lovely portrait of him?
He never answered those-or the proposals. He liked his fans to see him as a man of mystery. He was sure they’d be disappointed to see what an ordinary life he led. Though it was certainly more interesting these days he conceded with a smile. The Lehnsherr’s had added certain flair to his life that he hadn’t even known he was missing.
His phone chimed and he saw an incoming call from Erik. He glanced at the time; it was early for the other man to be done with work. He hoped nothing was wrong, he answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Charles. I’m glad you answered,” Erik sounded so relieved that Charles’ concern skyrocketed
“Of course. I’m just posting my video. What’s wrong?”
He let out a shaky breath, “That obvious, huh? Nothing. I mean, hopefully nothing. I just wanted to make sure you're- that everything is okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“I-god I’m making a mess of this. I’m on my way to get Nina and I just. When we get home can we talk?” Charles was trying not to panic. Erik was usually so well spoken and level headed but right now he sounded deeply unsettled.
“Of course we can, but I’m sure you want to calm down before you see Nina. You don’t want to scare her,” he said gently. Nina was a sensitive child who picked up others’ emotions very quickly.
Erik sighed, “Of course, you’re right and I’m probably over reacting.”
~I don’t know that yet~ Charles thought worriedly. “I’m sure you have good reason and you can tell me all about it later. Just try to calm down before you get to the daycare,” he said softly.
“I will. Thank you, Charles. I’ll see you later?”
“Count on it.” Charles rang off with a worried frown. What could have Erik so frightened? Why would he be worried for Charles? Why had he left work early to rush to Nina? Something was wrong, and he wouldn’t be able to rest until he knew what was going on.
~~
Erik was glad he’d called Charles. One less thing to worry about. He parked at the daycare and took a few minutes to breathe deeply and listen to his favorite song. When he felt in full control of his emotions he headed inside and asked to speak to the director.
It was a small, private daycare with small class sizes and a very strict privacy policy. That said, he needed to double check their security measures for his own peace of mind. He would have to do the same thing Monday with Nina’s school, though they had handled The Incident exactly as he would have hoped. He made a note in his phone to check in with Nina’s pediatrician to make sure her medical files were password protected and all of the staff knew not to release any of her information.
This was exhausting and hopefully an overreaction, but he couldn’t be too careful when it came to his daughter’s safety.
“Mr. Lehnsherr?” the director stood in front of him looking like she was trying to hide her worry. He took that as a good sign, if she feared losing his tuition check, she’d take this threat seriously. He gave her his best prosecutor glare and stood to his full height. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.”
“Of course, Mr. Lehnsherr. Your family is a valued part of our community.”
Just what he liked to hear.
~~
“Erik, what is going on?” Charles finally demanded, exasperated. His boyfriend had called him over after taking Nina out for dinner and a movie then putting her to bed.
He’d texted to check in with Charles a few times so he wouldn’t worry. But Charles suspected Erik was reassuring himself that Charles was okay at the same time.
They were now sitting in the kitchen talking over cups tea. Charles knew Erik preferred coffee so this was just one more sign that something was horribly wrong.
“Charles. I was always planning on telling you this, just not so soon. And I hoped under better circumstances,” he said quietly, not looking up from his mug.
Charles’ heart was in this throat.
Erik sighed and pressed his palm to his eyes, “When Magda passed. I had a hard time with it. We were living closer to her family at the time though we weren’t close with them. She and her mother never got along so we only saw them rarely.”
Charles could see how hard it was for Erik to explain this and he didn’t want to interrupt what was clearly a painful recollection.
“After she…was gone. Her parents were suddenly much more interested in our lives. I thought it was their way of dealing with their grief-spending more time with Nina. But they took it too far. They wanted custody of her,” he said flatly.
Charles was floored; Erik was a wonderful father, why would anyone try to take his child? And just after the loss of his beloved wife? He couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“One day I dropped her off for a short visit while I ran some errands. When I came back they refused to hand her over. I had to call the police and they...forced the issue,” his face was creased in a deep frown. “They were arrested for kidnapping and false imprisonment. It turns out they just thought I would- should -just let them keep her. That part still baffles me,” he admitted sadly, voice rough with emotion.
“Oh Erik,” Charles pressed his lips together to keep from interrupting further.
“We got a restraining order in place and I rushed to move back home, close to my family and where I grew up. I put Nina in play therapy until a few months ago when they said she was alright to stop her weekly appointments. I don’t think she remembers much-she doesn’t talk about them anymore. She was…very upset when I got her back. Very confused, she kept saying she wanted me to be her Papa and she wanted her real Mama back. They...had been telling her they were her new parents-that they were her family.”
Charles was horrified by the depth of betrayal Erik had experienced at the hands of his in laws. He didn’t know what to say.
“I want her to have a normal life so I don’t harp on what happened but our lives are very locked down. I’ve always had the feeling that they aren’t done yet. They’re the reason I prefer personal care to daycare. It would be so easy to snatch a child on an outing or at the playground while the teacher was distracted for just a moment. It’s why I was livid about the situation with Jessica. I suspected foul play on the part of her grandparents. It’s being investigate but so far nothing has come up.”
Charles was relieved to hear that, but still confused by what had set Erik off earlier, “Then what’s wrong? Did the restraining order lapse?”
“No. There is still one in place for Nina and this house but apparently a man who looked very much like Nina came to the school asking after her the other day. Her teacher was reminded of it because… he also looked very much like you,” he said worriedly.
The hair on the back of Charles’ neck stood up on end at Erik’s frightening confession, “What? Who is he? What does this mean?”
Erik gave an agitated shrug “A cousin? An actor? I don’t know but I think they’re fishing for information on her, on our schedule. There’s nothing definitive yet but…”
“Oh my god. That’s horrifying. Is there anything I can do?” He asked, searchingly.
Erik gave him a weary smile, “Just having you here with me is a load off.”
“Then I’m happy to help,” he returned the look until something else sprang to his mind. “Why were you worried about me?”
Erik grimaced at his question, “When this whole… mess was going down they sent several threatening messages about destroying my life, my career, my reputation. They wanted to discredit me- though I don’t know how they thought acting insane and getting arrested trying to break into our house on Nina’s birthday would do that.”
“They what?!” Charles gasped, this story was unreal.
Erik waved it off, nearing the end of his tale, “They contacted many of my colleagues and neighbors and even my family-though as I said, we were living states away at the time. I thought… I was worried…”
Charles cut him off gently. “Erik, I know you’re a good man. If someone told me crazy things about you, I would talk to you before coming to any conclusions,” he assured the other man honestly.
Erik looked so relieved that his heart broke for him. Charles wondered how many of his former friends had deserted him in his greatest time of need. he stood up and walked around to the other side of the table and let Erik pull him down onto his lap for a warm hug. “I’m here for you in any way that you need me,” he promised from the bottom of his heart, eyes shining with sincerity.
“Thank you, Charles. You can’t know what that means to me.” He was so relieved that his explanation of their past hadn’t driven the other man away, the vice grip that had been clenched around his chest since Mrs.Perry's call finally began to loosen. Here, surrounded by his family and now Charles, he finally felt safe enough to rebuild his life and that they could withstand any storm that came their way.