Charlotte's Tangled Web: L.B. Pavlov (2 page)

So there you have it. Mom went on to have a fourth child, a daughter, and everyone saw a mini version of Mom. They had me in sneakers and running down the street when I was only three years old. That was right around the time that Mom became ill. I didn’t understand what cancer was at that time, but I did understand that it made Mom really sick. She battled her disease for almost two years before her life was taken away at a young age. Ever since that happened, it was just known, or understood, that I would go on someday to run for Stanford, and maybe I could even attain Mom’s Olympic dream.

Everyone was supportive of my running, and, in a way, I think they felt it was like supporting my mom at the same time. The only person that I could ever talk to about this was Daniel. Daniel and I both had that in common. Daniel’s life was also planned out for him long before he was able to decide what his dreams were on his own. He understood everything that had happened to my family. Daniel was also the only person who really understood my need to please my father and my desire to do everything in my power to ease the pain that my family had experienced from the loss of my mother. I always hoped that I could give some joy where there had been so much sadness. Daniel was my best friend, and he knew me better than anyone.

“Where’s Daniel? I thought he was coming over for dinner?” Eric griped as he joined me in the kitchen.

We were getting ready to have a big family barbeque, and Daniel never missed a Ford Family Barbecue or any chance to see my brothers.

“He’ll be over after football practice,” I said.

“Oh man, are they doing the deadly ‘two a days’ right now?” James inquired as he joined us.

“Yes, he has to go twice a day right now, but you know Daniel, he’s the only one on the team who actually looks forward to ‘two a days’!” I laughed.

“He’s a beast,” James laughed. “I can’t wait to have him at Notre Dame with us!” Daniel would play football for Notre Dame, just as his two older brothers were currently doing. Preston and Devon were also impressive players, but Daniel was the star of the family. He was good at everything, but football was his passion. He was a quarterback, and he loved the game. I loved to watch him play. He came alive during games, and he handled the pressure like a champ. Daniel and I never missed each other’s games and races. We always made that effort because that’s what friends do.

I heard the front door open, and then I heard loud banter, teasing, laughter…Daniel was definitely here. He was close to my brothers, and he was like a part of our family. He came bounding into the kitchen and grabbed me, planting a big kiss on the top of my head. Then he kissed Lenora on the cheek and asked her if she had made any of his favorite chocolate chip-oatmeal cookies.

She smiled and messed his hair up, handing him a cookie. “Just one before dinner, Daniel,” she said.

Daniel was beautiful. He had such a presence. He stood six-feet-two-inches tall, was very muscular and lean, and had big, green eyes and brown, wavy hair atop his handsome, fair-skinned face. His cheeks were always flushed and pink, and he could charm just about anyone, and he usually did. No one made me laugh like Daniel. He loved to tease and could always brighten a room.

“How is Charlotte today?” he asked with a big smile.

“I’m good. How was practice?” I responded as I chopped the cucumbers for the salad.

“Same ol’, same ol,’” he chuckled. “Everyone is complaining about the running we’re doing because they don’t run with the famous Charlotte Ford all summer, so they don’t handle it as well as I do,” he said, smiling at me.

“Oh, I’m famous now, am I?” I said, biting my lip. Daniel could always embarrass me with his flattery.

“The only person who doesn’t think you’re a big deal is you, Charlotte,” he chuckled, “and stop biting your lip, you’re going to hurt yourself.”

I shoved a cucumber in his mouth and continued chopping.

“So, Daniel, is St. Viator’s going to take state again this year?” Jack asked.

“Oh, hell yeah! We have such a strong team this year. We’ve all been working hard, and we want it real bad!” He winked at me.

“I saw your bros yesterday, but they said they couldn’t come home this weekend because they had to help Preston’s girlfriend move into her apartment,” Jack said.

“Yeah, Preston is totally whipped over this girl, isn’t he, Charlotte?” Daniel said, looking at me.

“Yes, they are super cute together. I never thought I would see Preston in love, but it’s nice to see him so happy,” I said.

Preston was handsome like Daniel. He had been the quarterback for Notre Dame the last four years, and he had no problem getting female attention. Girls were always trying to get his attention, just as they did with Daniel. Devon looked like his brothers as well, but he wasn’t as tall and lean, and he was a running back for Notre Dame.

The Hollingsworth boys were famous at Notre Dame. Daniel’s dad had been the quarterback at Notre Dame when he was in college, as was Daniel’s grandfather. Their family lived and breathed for the fighting Irish. It was so fun to go to games with them and to watch the Irish play on TV when you were at their home. Daniel’s dad, Tom, lived for football, and his mom, Grace, became a fan over time watching her boys play.

Grace and I were very close. She filled in as a mother to me when needed, and Daniel said that I filled in as the daughter she never had. Grace was the perfect mom; she was everything I imagined my mother would have been if she was alive today. She was quite the homemaker, always cooking and bustling around her house. She loved her boys and was very proud of them. Tom and Grace were very good friends of my dad as well. We all grew up together and had been close since we were young. Daniel and I were the closest for sure. We always had been, since the first day that we met.

“Hello!” Grace called as she and Tom came through the front door. Grace had made two salads to share, and they would be joining us for dinner.

My dad sat around gabbing with Tom while Grace, Lenora, and I visited about the new school year and the boys played basketball. They laughed and tormented one another until dinner was ready. We all ate together at our large table out back. It was a perfect Indiana evening.

Lenora began cleaning up after dinner. My dad sat out back, drinking wine with Tom and Grace, and my brothers went out to see some old friends.

Daniel sat in my bedroom with me while I organized my school supplies for the first day of school on Tuesday. I went over my checklist to make sure that I had everything.

“You are a funny little bird, Charlotte Rose Ford!” Daniel said, laughing.

“And why is that?” I said, annoyed.

“Because you still pick out pink notebooks and get excited over school supplies. Maybe that’s why you’re going to be the valedictorian of our class. Maybe I should have paid more attention to school supplies,” he laughed.

“Well, you know I have a thing for office supplies, and not to worry, Grace and I got all of your supplies for you last week.” I chuckled, “I even got you the notebooks with the cute puppies on the cover!” I continued, laughing.

“I think senior year is going to be our best year ever. What do you think?” he asked.

“Well, I predict it will be good. You’ll date the girls left in our class whom you haven’t dated and continue to break the remaining female hearts at St. Viator’s. Maybe I will get asked out on a date this year too!” I laughed.

Daniel made a stern face. “No one at that school is good enough to date you, so don’t waste your time.” He did not laugh. “And as far as the girls go, the only one I like to hang out with is you. They are just hookups.” He smiled his bright smile at me.

“That’s rude, Daniel! How would you feel if someone said that about me?” I asked curiously.

He stood up and glowered, “You would never be a hookup, Charlotte, and if anyone ever said that about you, I would take him out,” he said firmly.

Daniel was the only boy ever allowed in my room, not that anyone else was trying to get in my room. I was seventeen years old, and I had never had a real date. My friends Kathleen and Stephanie insisted that Spencer on our cross-country team had a crush on me, but he was someone I considered more of a friend, and I doubted it was true anyway.

Daniel was family, and my dad trusted him. My father was very strict about me doing much outside of running, school, and hanging out with Daniel, Kathleen, and Stephanie. My brothers were also very against me dating and joked that I wasn’t allowed to date until I was forty years old. Daniel was the worst of them all about the topic, so it just wasn’t something that was happening for me. Daniel, however, dated everything that moved. He never called any of them his girlfriend, but he would get together with girls at parties, or so I was told. He rarely talked about that part of his life with me. He would tell me that he didn’t have feelings for them and that would be as much as he would share—and truly as much as I wanted to know.

Daniel was very popular; all the girls wanted to date him, and all the guys wanted to be his friend. I, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Aside from being the best friend of Daniel Hollingsworth, I wasn’t super social. I had Kathleen and Stephanie who were on the cross-country and track teams with me, as well as all the kids on my team that I considered my friends. I didn’t really have time to go to parties because between running and studying life was busy. I spent all of my free time with Daniel, either running together on the weekends, talking on the phone, studying together, or reading
Charlotte’s Web
together. Daniel read it to me all the time because he understood how much that book meant to me. Whenever I was stressed or sad, he would lie on my bed or out back in my hammock and read chapters to me until I smiled. We must have read that book all the way through a couple hundred times over the years.

My day always started with a text from Daniel asking how I had slept, and then I always drove to school with him and drove home with him after practice. He was always the last person whom I talked to before I went to bed. On the eve of my mom’s death every year, Daniel would sneak out of his house at midnight, climb the tree outside of my bedroom window, and climb in my room. This started when I was twelve years old and had admitted to him that I always had nightmares on that night, and he came up with this plan to help me. It worked. He would sleep on top of the covers in his clothes, and I would sleep under the covers in my pajamas. He would make me laugh until I fell asleep. He would let me cry if I needed to, and he would hug me when I needed a hug. It would be the most peaceful night of sleep I got all year. He would sneak out early in the morning before anyone in either of our homes had woken up. This was our little secret. Neither of us ever told a soul.

“It’s Saturday tomorrow, so no football practice. Are we running in the morning?” he asked.

“Are you up for an eight-miler tomorrow? I need to get a longer run in,” I replied.

“Are you challenging me, Charlotte Ford? Do you really doubt my capabilities?” He winked at me, and we both laughed and agreed to meet at 7:00 a.m. out front. I loved running with Daniel. We talked the whole time, and we pushed each other to get in a good workout at the same time. I walked him downstairs, and he yelled good-night to my father and Lenora, who both shouted a goodnight back to him.

“OK, good-night, sweet Charlotte,” he said as he kissed me on top of my head.

“See you in the morning, Daniel,” I said as he walked out the door.

He turned back and winked at me.

I said good-night to my dad and hugged Lenora, who was folding the final load of the boys’ laundry. That woman was a saint. I went upstairs and got ready for bed, read some more of my mom’s journal (as I always did), said my prayers, and slipped into bed.

The morning came quickly. I dressed in my running clothes and went outside to meet Daniel. I saw Tom and Grace, who were up early and working in the front yard.

“Good morning, sweetie,” Grace called.

“It looks like you’re going to have to go and wake his lazy butt up,” Tom said. “He went out after leaving your house last night, and I think he had a pretty late night. I say you go rustle him out of his splendor!” Tom chuckled.

This was not odd for Daniel. He was very social, and I’m sure one of his friends called when he left my house, and he jumped right on board.

I rolled my eyes and said, “I’m on it!”

I had woken Daniel up many times. I ran up the stairs, and when I got to the side of his bed, I looked at him for a minute. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. He was growing more handsome with age, and I rarely had a moment to stare at him because he hardly ever stood still for any length of time. I sat on the side of the bed, and when I went to touch him, he sat up swiftly, grabbed me, and flipped me on my back. I lost my breath and stared at him in shock.

He was on top of me, laughing, “Were you going to wake the bear, Charlotte?” He smiled his brightest smile.

His face was flushed with pink cheeks and bright eyes, and his wavy hair was all tousled atop his head. He was beautiful.

Breathlessly I said, “You’re late, Daniel, and your breath definitely could use some toothpaste.” I started giggling.

He loved it when I teased him, so he began to breathe loudly right into my face. We were almost nose-to-nose when we both paused awkwardly, and I felt his heart pounding as fast as mine was.

I pushed him up and jumped off his bed and onto my feet. “Get ready, it’s getting warm outside,” I said.

Daniel laughed as he jumped up. He was only in his boxer shorts, which I had seen him wear a million times before, but for some reason I felt embarrassed this morning. I felt my face flush hot, and I turned away. When I turned back, I stared for just a moment at his ripped stomach. Across his right bicep was a tattoo that read
Hollingsworth
in black, bold lettering. It curled around his large arm muscle. All of the Hollingsworth boys had the same tattoo. Preston, Devon, and his dad, Tom, had all had the tattoo done on their sixteenth birthdays. It was a Hollingsworth tradition. I had gone with Daniel on the day that he had it done. I remember being surprised at how brave and stoic he was about it. He never showed any signs of discomfort, and he was very excited to finally have it. I continued to look at him while he got dressed. He was shockingly good-looking. He was thin and muscular and really a sight to look at. Sometimes I forgot how handsome he was because I was used to everyone staring and gawking over Daniel, and I saw him every single day of my life. I must be coming down with something, I thought, because my heart was racing and my face kept flushing.