Charlie And Midge - Chapter 8

Charlie And Midge

A Novel

By Paul McCann

Chapter 8

Between The Trees 

 

It was a good day for a drive  and Charlie asked Midge if she’d wanted to go for a drive over  to Barney Town for lunch in a new seafood restaurant .

Midge was all for it so off they went on an early morning road trip .

Behind the wheel Charlie sat with Midge by his side .

Lucky was in the back seat with his head out the window . Midge glanced at the speedo and said ..

‘You’re doing forty five Charlie and that’s the fastest you’ve ever done , “ 

 Charlie replied 

“ I know Midge , Isn’t it great . We’re really moving along , aren’t we ?” 

“ Slow down Charlie  .” she said 

“Midge are you sure we’re on the right road .? “ 

Charlie asked .

Midge looked a little troubled and said .

“ You know I can’t follow maps . As soon as we get to Barney Town , I’ll ask somebody for directions .“

That would have been fine except for one thing Barney Town  was about twenty miles away . that’s if they were going the right way and what if they weren’t that would mean they would have to drive all the way back again in the other direction .

As Charlie motored away with his foot pushing down a bit harder on the gas pedal . Midge once again looked at the speedometer .

“That’s far too fast Charlie . “

Midge said and Charlie replied 

“I might be 54 Midge  and I might be doing 64 but please sit back and let me drive the car “.

Midge replied 

“Sure thing . I mean I’m just the passenger . A mute in a seat . “

She said and Charlie said .

“ I suppose I’m jut a stubborn old mule behind the wheel . I’m sorry Midge , Ok I’ll pull up. “

Midge smiled at him and relaxed a little as Charlie slowed down on the road . Suddenly Charlie started shaking .

Then he went unconscious  . 

The car ran off the road and  Midge quickly reached over and grabbed the steering wheel and she managed to steer the car between two trees , where it came to a stop . She turned off the engine and sat there .

With Charlie still unconscious she walked back to the road and flagged down a car .

The driver was able to assess the situation  and suggested  Charlie had an elliptic fit .

Midge said that he never had anything like this happen before .

After a while Charlie regained consciousness and seemed fine .

The good Samaritan left and Charlie got the car back on the road and drove home .

The next day he  handed in his drivers license vowing never to drive again .

Midge still has no idea how she was able to steer the car safely between the two trees . She had never driven a car before and just acted on instinct .

Charlie had some tests done and it was conformed that he had an epileptic fit and even though he had never had one before Charlie was advised to take some prescribed  medicine and consult a dietician about a change in his diet .

Midge was worried about Charlie’s  health and said ,

“Charlie, I’ve been thinking about what happened in the car and we need to make a few lifestyle change’s  ?”

“Ok them Midge what’s thoughts ?”

He said ,

“ Well I’m thinking that we should consider taking daily vitamins to make sure our bodies  have extra healthy products going through our systems and trying some daily meditation to help us relax our minds “

Charlie replied

“You know Midge I also have somethings I’d like to talk about .”

Midge replied ,

‘Well tell me Charlie , what are they “
He said ,

“I’m suggesting that we don’t have any children because if I had a fit and died the children wouldn’t have a father and I couldn’t live with that “

Midge laughed ,.

“Charlie , you’re always making me laugh “

He continued ,

“No all the same , I think its best that we don’t have children because it might be genetic and another thing I was wanting to talk about is a career “

“Ok Charlie , that’s a good idea ‘”

She said and Charlie continued ,

“ Maybe I could cut back my hours at work as well until I find a new line of work “

She said .

“That’s a good idea as well Charlie . So is there a job  you would like to do ?“

He thought for a moment and said ,  .

“Well one thought I had was to try and become a silversmith or even a jewelry maker”

“That’s a great idea . You know Desmond , the man who is making jewelry from those diamonds we found . I could ask Daddy to speak with him about giving you a traineeship with him as a jewelry maker  ”

Charlie replied ,

“ Ok Maybe, Midge . Could you ask your Daddy for me ?”

 “I’ll give him a call tomorrow. “

Midge began to get emotional and said m

“Charlie I don’t know what I would do if you should ever leave me “

Charlie was overcome with emotion as well and responded . 

“ It’s you and me against the world Midge and if you’re not here with me my world would come to an end .“

They sat there together for a little while talking about the future and their hopes and fears .

The incident with Charlie had made them both very aware of how fragile they were .

The thought of loosing one another brought them closer in their relationship and somehow allowed them to see how life can change so quickly . 

One unexpected moment can leave you with your guard up and can change the way you think about life . Survival brings an inner strength that brings out the important issues in life .

The next day Midge  spoke  to  her  Father  about Charlie’s desire  to change his career and his interest  in making jewellery so her Father said he would go and visit Desmond to see if he could help Charlie  in his pursuit to become a jewellery maker .

Charlie asked his employer at the custom house auctions about cutting back his hours due to some health issues and his employer was very obliging with his request and send him

home early that day .

Midge was surprised but glad to see Charlie get home from work early . They went for a walk with Lucky and on their return they tried their first meditation together.

Midge and Charlie sat in there armchairs with incense burning and Charlie said ,

“ Well let’s  try this meditation Midge I have been reading .

Relax and let your mind go blank Midge until there is no thoughts . Just like a sheet hanging on the washing line . It just hangs there , blowing in the wind .”

Then he put on meditative sounds  he had downloaded .

They  both fell fast asleep

and where awakened by a knock on their front door .

Charlie got up to answer the knocking . To his surprise it was Midges parents and he welcomed them inside .

“Hello what lovely surprise . Come in “

Midge went straight to them  and gave them a big hug and said ,

“ Is everything all right ?”

There was silence for a while and then her father replied .

“ I went to see Desmond about helping Charlie with his jewellery making career “

Midge looked excited and replied 

“ That’s Great Daddy . What did he say “

Her Mother replied ,

“He wasn’t there Midge “

Her father continued ,

“He has just disappeared . Looks like he’s done a runner with all your diamonds Midge “

Charlie said 

“ Oh no . So he’s not going to be able to help me then to become a jewellery maker .“

Midge were shocked but not upset and she said ,

“Well what’s the point getting upset about something we found  buried in the ground . The diamonds weren’t really ours anyway . “

Charlie supported her and said

“Why grieve for something we lost that we never had in the first place “

Midges Father said   

“I’m sorry  . It’s all my fault . It was me who brought him to see the stones but I never imagined that he would do something like this. “

Midge said 

“ Don’t blame yourself Daddy . There’s a reason why things happen .”

Her Mother added ,

“Sure enough  that’s true . As you say the stones weren’t ours to keep . Easy come , easy go “

Charlie said

“Actually maybe Desmond dod us a favour . I’m sure the King and Queen of Lir have been looking for those precious stones for hundreds of years and now that they have surfaced they could coming to retrieve them and I wouldn’t like to stand in the way of those two, especially if you know what they did to their own children :”

Midge asked ,

‘Charlie what did they do “
‘The y had a witch transform them into two swans and they never even knew what they had done wrong “

Every one there felt a sense of peace now about losing the diamonds . They had no desire to have them returned and there was no anger of  bitterness in their hearts to the man that stole them “

 

End Of chapter 8

Charlie And Midge

A Novel -By Paul McCann

 

Link to chapter 9

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/charlie-and-midge-chapter-9

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