~ Chapter Six ~

As if she were caught doing something naughty, Lotte shot to her feet and began brushing sand off her backside. She could feel David still watching her; however, she couldn’t get her head to lift enough to give the Doctor direct eye contact. Charlotte had never been star-struck before and couldn’t fathom why on Earth she would be now. David wasn’t even famous or anyone she would second glance at on the street if she passed him by… Would she? 

Still chipper from sunshine and fresh air, Jeffery continued with his relaxed babble. “We were talking about doing some barbecuing tonight. Want to join? I am super handy at the grill.” 

David answered back in a soft tone of voice, “That sounds lovely… I’ll see if Romy has made any other plans for us tonight.” 

At the thought of Romy and her ‘plans’, Charlotte’s stomach did a flip, and she very much wanted to sink into the sand beneath her feet. “Where is Romy?” She mumbled. 

The Doctor sighed, “She has been out and about looking for you. Apparently, her cellphone went missing the other night, and she couldn’t remember your number to save her life.” Taking a step closer, so that Lotte’s downward gaze had to find the buttons on his shirt at least, he continued. “We had stopped at the bakery first, but Julian said that you had worked yourself into a well-earned afternoon off. That’s a good girl.” 

Those words… They made Lotte’s heart sing. Before she could stop herself, her hazel gaze swept up to meet David’s. She wanted to beg him for more compliments - more praises! Instead, she noted the way that his hand extended out to hers, and immediately the excitement faded into apprehension. 

“How about we head back to the apartment and freshen up?” David proposed. “We can come back later and enjoy dinner with your friend…” 

“Jeffery,” The other man answered quickly. “My neighbors are bringing potato salad and coleslaw… I’ve got enough steaks to feed an army… want to bring dessert?” 

“Perfect,” David replied, already taking Lotte’s hand before she was certain if she would be able to maintain physical contact without embarrassingly passing out. 

She looked back at Jeffery, ready to give a funny ‘goodbye’, but then her words choked in the back of her throat, and it was all she could do to simply wave. Tagging along beside David, her heart ready to beat right out of her chest, Lotte wasn’t sure if the bubbling inside of her was a happy kind… or one that dreaded seeing her Aunt again. 

Romy was, of course, waiting in David’s car as she bobbed her head to the beat coming from the radio. Upon seeing her niece, the older woman’s smile twisted into a teasing expression as she called out, “There is our party foul! What the hell did you do with our pizza?” 

Lotte wasn’t in the mood for games - or teasing - so she just slipped into the back seat and fixed her gaze on a small scuff on the back of her Aunt’s chair, which she hadn’t noticed the day before. It was close to her feet and no more than the length of her thumbnail. She wondered if one of David’s children had made it by accident. Lotte had a feeling that David had probably laughed it off and hadn’t thought about it again. He seemed like that kind of Dad…

“Did we have any plans for tonight?” The Doctor asked the woman sitting in his passenger seat. 

Romy snickered like a two-year-old with their hand caught in the cookie jar. “Outside of more fucking?” 

David’s gaze shot to the back seat, his eyes filled with an unspoken apology as they fell on Charlotte. Clearing his throat, the older man patiently tried again, “Do we have any dinner plans for tonight?” 

Once again, Romy made a noise that sounded incredibly immature. Fortunately, this time, David didn’t let her answer as he told the woman/child about Jeffery’s invitation. “Why can’t we just stay in?” Romy whined. “Jeffery annoys me, and I honestly don’t want to eat in a place where I can get sand in my food.” 

Trying to ignore the fact that her Aunt had just insulted one of her friends, Charlotte piped up from her seat with a new plan. “How about you just drop me off back here later, then, and have dinner somewhere else? You can pick me up after.” 

“Lazy,” Romy teased. “I swear this girl won’t walk anywhere if she can bum a ride… How about you just have Jeffery come get you instead? He can be a gentleman and take you home after.” 

The woman’s idea didn’t appear to settle well with David. The man frowned as he brought his vehicle to life and managed to maneuver it away from the curb. “What if Jeffery would like to have a few, well-earned, drinks with his dinner? Besides, I did agree to bring pie.” 

This had Romy cackling again, “You want to bring pie to a barbecue filled with bakers? Don’t you think they have had enough ‘pie’ throughout the week? Why would you do that to them?”

There was a long silence that followed, one in which Lotte tried to read David’s expression. She could tell that he wasn’t happy about something, and that made her unhappy as well. Biting down on her tongue, the girl tried to think of something, anything, to relieve the tension that was suffocating the vehicle. At a loss, she tried for the only topic she knew well… Baking. “We don’t serve ‘Hello-Dolly Pie’ unless it is summertime. Jeffery loves Hello-Dollies…” 

That did the trick; David looked back at Lotte with a smile, “I’ve never had a ‘Hello Dolly’ before. Want to teach me how to make it?” 

Charlotte’s mouth began watering at the thought.