The Substitute Bride

Although excited, Sheryl was also fidgety as she was waiting for Charlie in the parking lot of a restaurant. She was worried that he might get entangled in the middle of the same horrendous road traffic she had experienced the last time. She knew that with that kind of chaos, the possibility that Charlie would lose direction while on his way to meet her was huge. Little did she know that Charles accompanied and drove Charlie to their rendezvous.

Charles carefully drove toward the entrance of the restaurant's parking lot. As soon as he entered, he quickly spotted an open slot. He reverse-parked his SUV and pushed the 'Engine Off' button on the car's dash board. An hour before they headed to the meeting place, Charlie already showed him from his cell phone the photo of the woman they would meet. He was stunned to see that the woman that Charlie named Sheryl was his wife, Autumn. He was so intrigued by the coincidence that he was more anxious than Charlie to meet her.

Nervousness and extreme eagerness enveloped Charles. He tightly held the car's steering wheel for support. He was just seconds from finally seeing his wife. Ironically, his ever burning desire to be with Autumn again somehow eluded him.

Charlie scanned the parking lot with his eyes looking for Sheryl. It wasn't long until he caught a glimpse of her. Charlie excitedly got off from the rear seat of the SUV and rushed toward Sheryl who was patiently waiting for him. Charlie greeted heartily,"Sheryl, nice to meet you again."

Ecstatic, Sheryl lovingly hugged Charlie and chuckled,"Nice to meet you too, kiddo!" Sheryl and Charlie were not able to contain their happiness upon seeing each other. The pleasant exchanges of actions and words of affection were comparable to a mother and son who didn't see each other for a very long time. Charles who remained sitting in the driver's seat finally laid his eyes on the woman. At that moment and with a bit of a distance from both Charlie and Sheryl, Charles was greeted with a very familiar face: simple, refreshing and unforgettable.

'She is Autumn. Her face... her body... her voice. I can't believe it. She is my wife!' Charles wondered in his mind.

Charles was extremely jubilant at the uncanny reunion with Autumn.

But, he could not also deny that such an unusual reunion was not easy. It brought back a lot of memories about Autumn. The good and bad times they both shared filled his heart with melancholy.

In a pit of happiness, Sheryl briefly lifted Charlie up after the blissful greetings. She spoke to Charlie in a blaming tone,"Charlie, I really hope that you have informed your mom of your whereabouts lest she be very worried."

"Sheryl, I've found my dad," Charlie quickly responded in an effort to placate Sheryl. Charlie seemed pouring his childish affection to Sheryl. He held her hands, looked at her eyes and gleefully uttered,"Sheryl, you have nothing to worry about. It was my dad who drove me here."

"Really?" Sheryl was somewhat stunned and inquired,"Where is your dad?"

"There he is." Charlie, in an assured voice, pointed at the direction of Charles's car. He then dragged S

to weave interesting topics.

Even though Sheryl was seized with memory loss, she indeed found Charles so attractive, as she indulged in his flowing speech.

Totally absorbed in listening to Charles' prolific way of story telling, she gazed at him and gradually developed an uncertain affinity with the handsome man. As she was tossed in reveries about nothing, her expressive eyes were fixed on Charles.

"Miss Xia, a penny for your thoughts? Are you still with us? Am I boring you?" Charles awakened Sheryl from her seemingly state of soliloquy. She immediately made an apology,"Oh, I'm so sorry, please never mind." Charles replied with a smile. Charles' constant references to fictional short stories were intended to please Charlie. But it also unexpectedly drew Sheryl's full attention.

Charles' face showed a very naughty grin, and in an apologetic tone he told Sheryl,"Miss Xia, I'm so sorry. I think, I bored you with my stories."

"No... not really! I... I was actually hooked by the way you interpreted those fictional stories. It was definitely entertaining and rather... very engaging!" Sheryl replied with a smile as she tried to regain her composure.

The dinner food that they ordered took a little longer than usual to prepare. But Charles, who was usually known for being impatient, didn't complain about it. If not for Charlie's sleepiness, Charles would have sustained their lively conversation.

While Charles was carefully arranging his thoughts on a pretext of dating Sheryl again, Charlie blurted out,"Hey Sheryl, are you available tomorrow? My dad promised to take me to the amusement park tomorrow. I'd really love it if you could join us?"

Charlie's childish and very naughty request was hard to decline.

Sheryl was torn by indecision. She remembered a very important appointment she already finalized with Sue concerning a big client. With a pain in her heart, she tried to politely rebuff Charlie's request,"Charlie, You.. you know, I... I'd love to... but... I do have to attend to a business presentation rehearsal with Sue the whole day tomorrow..."