The mix-up

Charles walked across the street, blinking blindly as a cab driver shone his light into his face. He was in a daze, a confused and heartbroken daze. Charles still couldn't believe Judy could this to him, he had heard about it, of course, and seen some signs which he had chosen to ignore, but today all his fears had been confirmed. He had gone to Judy's place to share the sad news of his granny's passing.

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She knew how much he loved his granny and when his mother had called to give him the news at work, he had been devastated. He had called his sister, Anna, and she had been inconsolable over the phone, but there wasn't much he could do in comfort her since she was halfway across the country with her fiancé. Charles had left work early, needing to be consoled himself and had decided to visit the love of his life, only to find her in bed with his best friend. Well, supposed best friend.

He spat at the thought of what he had seen. They were so engrossed in each other that they hadn't even noticed when he let himself into the apartment and followed their sounds to her bedroom. He was so disgusted that he turned around and left immediately. He would deal with their case later, he thought to himself wearily. For now, he just wanted to go home and have a good cry.

Somehow he made it to his apartment, grabbed a bottle of beer and headed straight to the shower fully clothed. He turned on the shower and let the water run over his body. After he'd had enough, he headed back to the kitchen, leaving a trail of water as he walked. He opened his refrigerator and armed himself with as much alcohol as possible, and moved to his living room. In the darkness, he kept on drinking and replenishing his alcohol until he passed out.

Grrr…
Grrr…
Charles jolted awake, seeking the source of the offensive sound that had penetrated his dreams and finally woken him up. He groaned as he realized it was his phone ringing. It took him 2 minutes to discover it was in his pocket.

“Thank God for waterproof phones” he said, amazed that he had forgotten to take it out.

“Hello” he mumbled

“Good morning sir, I just wanted to remind you of your meeting this morning” his secretary said.

“Oh shit, tell Ian to take them to the boardroom. I'll be there in 15 minutes” he replied and stood up hurriedly. A sharp pain in his head led him to the kitchen, where he drank two glasses of water and took some painkillers. He didn't know how he would survive the day with a hangover, but he knew he had to.

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The days and weeks after his granny's death flew by. Charles keep himself preoccupied with work and away from alcohol. He was still avoiding Judy, his supposed girlfriend and as for his best friend Harry, that one had taken Charles' cold behavior towards him as a form of grief process. Charles had ended up not telling Judy about his grandmother because he had made up his mind to end things with her once he was less busy with funeral plans and work.

The day of the burial was pretty rough for his family. His sister, who had returned earlier that week and his mother had cried throughout the ceremony and while he had tried to be macho, he couldn't hold back the tears as they said their last goodbyes. His granny had been there for them all after his father had died, and she had practically raised them while their mother went to work.

He drove his mother and his sister to his mother's house. He and Anna had made plans to spend the week with her, and cheer her up. Two days later, his granny's lawyer called and asked to meet with them. After the visit, they found out that she had willed everything she owned to Charles and Anna, including her house. This resulted in another bout of crying, which Charles decided he would rather not be a part of. He picked up his car keys and drove to his granny's house.

Everything was just as he remembered, except she had left a letter in her study for her family to find. It contained the combination to her safe and explicit instructions for them not to mourn her too much. It also contained her diamond ring, which she wrote was to be handed to Anna. He carefully slipped the ring into his pocket and brought out the photo albums. He was looking through it when his phone rang. The caller ID showed it was Harry. He picked the call and asked him what he wanted, gruffly.

“Relax, man, you've been grumpy these past weeks. Jeez” Harry said.

“Harry, what is it?” he asked again, tiredly.

Well, Judy's friends reached out to me, they said they've been trying to reach you to no avail. They're planning a surprise birthday party for her tomorrow, and they want you to be there. So don't make plans with her, alright?” Harry replied.

“Oh” Charles said. He had honestly forgotten about Judy's birthday, and he hadn't bothered to talk to her recently. When he started getting calls from her friends, he'd assumed it was Judy trying to reach him. Turned out he was mistaken, he almost refused to attend the party but changed his mind. It would be a perfect opportunity to end things with her, and give her something to remember him by…the boyfriend who ruined her birthday.

“Okay, I'll be there” he replied, smiling to himself. After confirming the location of the party and listening to Harry's excuse for missing the funeral, he ended the call, locked up the house and drove back to his mother's place.

He arrived at the birthday venue just before 7pm dressed in yesterday's jeans, a T-shirt, and sneakers and walked into the bar. He had just ordered a drink when one of Judy's friends spotted him and ran over to him, grabbing his hand excitedly. He listened to her babble while he fumbled in his pocket, searching for his wallet to pay for his drink. He located the wallet and slipped it out. As he did so, the ring fell out of his pocket, he was surprised that he had forgotten to give it to Anna last night.

He picked it up, paid for his drink and put the ring safely in his wallet before stuffing the wallet back into his jeans. He let Judy's friend drag him over to their table, and he spotted Judy talking to her friends and waved at her, she ran to him excitedly and hugged him. Charles peeled her away from his body and wished her a happy birthday, then informed her that he needed to speak to her when she was done greeting her guests.

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He sat in a corner and watched her do her thing. Several minutes later, Harry came in and sat down beside Charles. They greeted and talked, and Charles found his anger towards Harry waning. He got up to leave and Judy ran after him, she stepped on his sneakers and one of the laces came loose.

“Hi, Charles, where are you off to? I thought you wanted to see me?” she asked, smiling excitedly.

“Yeah, just give me a minute” Charles said, bending to retie his shoelace

“Yes, yes!! I'll marry you!” Alice screamed excitedly.

Charles looked up confused and asked
“Marry me?”

“Yes, Charles, don't play dumb with me. Claire told me about the ring that fell out of your pocket at the bar. Sorry, she ruined your surprise. But no need to ask, my answer is yes, I'll marry you Charles. Oh, I love you so much!” Alice gushed.

By this time, the DJ had lowered the volume of the music and everyone was gazing at them expectantly. It took Charles a minute to figure out what was going on, and he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that tears came out of his eyes. Alice stared at him confused, while Harry came up to him and asked what was going on.

“Sorry guys, it’s just this whole thing is funny. That ring belongs to my sister Anna. It was never meant for you, I would never marry a cheating, lying, deceitful woman like you. The funny thing is that I would have married you if I hadn't caught you in the act!” he said to Judy.

“I don't know what you're talking about, Charles” she said, fear written all over face.

“No need to deny it! People warned me, but I turned a deaf ear, until I caught you with my best friend in your bed!” he said, turning to look at Harry.

Judy and Harry buried their faces in shame and tried to talk at the same time.

“Shut up Harry! No hard feelings, man. And Judy, I came here to tell you it's over. Please don't pretend to be heartbroken because I know you're not” he replied.

With large strides, he headed towards the exit with Judy chasing after him. He got into his car and headed home, feeling happy at peace with himself.