When She Turns Her Back (Teresa and Charles) novel Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At 1:30 pm, Charles was in a meeting when his phone buzzed. He was about to dismiss the call, assuming it was Teresa, until he saw East Street Preschool’s caller ID. Worried something might be wrong with Yolanda, he quickly adjourned the meeting and stepped outside to take the call.

“Hello, is this Yolanda’s parent?” a female voice came through. “Family Fun Day started 30 minutes ago. We’ve been waiting for you. I know these events may not seem like a big deal to busy parents, but right now your daughter is the only child sitting alone in the corner.”

Charles was far from an irresponsible parent. He assumed Teresa would attend the event once she occurred to him that she might not go.

caw

his message. It simply hadn’t

With no time to reach Teresa now, he responded calmly, “I’ll be there right away.” Hanging up, reschedule his remaining meetings..

he immediately instructed his assistant to

**

The school event ended at 4:30 pm. Yolanda had been quiet and unhappy all afternoon. After school, Charles they sat together in the back. He could tell something was wrong. “Are you okay today?” he asked, looking at her sad face.

Yolanda’s eyes grew teary. “What happened to Mom? I told her to come early. All the other kids had their moms there, Dad.” She wiped her eyes. “If Miss Naomi wasn’t performing, I wouldn’t have wanted Mom to come at all.”

walked her to

the car and

ར

but

I only had

Charles took Yolanda’s hand and said gently, “This was Dad’s mistake. It won’t happen next time.” But Yolanda still didn’t feel better. All the other kids had their moms there. Only she came with Dad. And in some games, having a dad gave her an edge. She loved coming in first, but not when it didn’t seem fair.

Seeing Yolanda still upset, Charles was about to say more. Just then, his phone rang. It was Roselyn calling.

དང་བ་དན་ད ོད་དང་མི་ དག་ད་རེས་གང་ཚད་ འ ོ་ན་གex%%e==་

རང་ཡོད་ད་ར་དོན་ད་ནས་ང་

He answered the phone and Roselyn’s voice came through, “Your father’s birthday is tomorrow. We have some family friends coming for dinner tonight. Bring Yolanda and meet me at Lacey Mall.”

Charles paused for a second before remembering tomorrow was indeed his father’s birthday. “Okay,” he said before hanging up.

Turning to Yolanda’s still–frowning face, he gently brushed her cheek. “Grandpa’s birthday’s tomo couldn’t make it today. She’s busy preparing everything at Logan Manor. Remember how she always cook

sweetheart. That’s why Mom

up a feast for this?”

Yolanda thought for a moment and realized it did sound right. Feeling a little better, she lifted her chin and said, “Well, that explains it. Otherwise the other kids would’ve teased me about not having a mom who cares.”

Charles couldn’t help but laugh. “Next time there’s a school event, I’ll ask Miss Naomi to go with you.”

At his words, Yolanda’s face lit up with delight, her earlier disappointment forgotten in an instant. She beamed vibrating with excitement.

Giving her hair a playful tousle, Charles asked gently, “Ready to go see Grandpa now?”

at her father, practically

Yolanda’s smile faded. “Will Mom be there?” she asked quietly. She still hadn’t forgiven Teresa for missing today’s event or for hitting Miss Naomi last time. The thought of seeing Mom made her uneasy.

Besides, Mom would smother her with hugs and kisses, always carrying that faint kitchen smell. It wasn’t like Miss Naomi, whose gentle hands always smelled like flowers.

Charles studied Yolanda’s conflicted expression and gave an honest nod. Yolanda understood they had to go tonight. With teary eyes, she looked up at Charles and said, “Then can I ignore Mom when I see her? I haven’t forgiven her yet, and I don’t want to talk to her unless she apologizes to Miss Naomi.” Charles fastened her seatbelt and agreed.

After calming Yolanda down, Charles drove to Lacey Mall. They picked up Roselyn at 5:30 pm, and by 6:00 pm, they were back at Logan Manor. The whole time, Roselyn had been making calls, inviting people over for dinner.

Holding Yolanda’s hand, Charles walked into the living room. To their surprise, the house was pitch dark. Not a single light was on. The dining table wasn’t set, and the kitchen stood completely untouched, with no sign that any cooking had been done. Roselyn blinked hard, not believing what she was seeing.

After Teresa married Charles, she never needed reminding about this day. Year after year, Teresa had everything perfectly ready without being asked. Even friends who had seen it all were impressed by her preparations. Roselyn loved showing this off to her friends, always

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11:27 AM

C

Chapter 7

so proud of what Teresa could do.

But the empty kitchen and dark living room made Roselyn explode, “What’s Teresa thinking? Has she completely forgotten what day this is?”

Muttering angrily, she grabbed her phone and called Teresa. But there was no answer. She tried again and again, only to get the same result. In a fit of anger, she threw her phone down hard, smashing it to pieces.

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