ER: Doug and Carol Series

Story #7 continued

The Warmth of Winter

by: Courtney

Shortly before 2pm that Friday afternoon, Carol enters her living room. Doug and Charlie are sitting on the couch watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon. They both look up to see her approaching. Doug jumps up and walks over to her. “Ready to go?”

“Yep.”

Charlie shuts the television off and gets up to follow them towards the door. Carol turns to lock the door behind them and the three of them all head towards the car.

“So, where are we headed?” Carol asks as Doug starts the engine.

“We haven’t decided. Any suggestions?” he asks his two companions. Charlie shrugs her shoulders.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” Carol says.

“Well, how about we go to the mall? We can grab some lunch at the food court, then do a little shopping while we’re there. How’s that sound to you guys?”

“Fine with me. Charlie?” Carol turns back to look at the girl who is sitting behind her in the back seat.

“Sure, that’s fine,” Charlie mumbles back.

Doug nods and pulls away from the curb in the direction of the local mall. When they reach the mall, everyone gets out of the car. They walk together to the front entrance and Doug holds the door for both ladies. “What would you like to eat?” he asks them.

“How about we just grab a sandwich? Is that okay with you two?” Carol asks them.

“Sure, fine by me,” Doug says and Charlie nods her agreement. They find a fast food restaurant in the enormous food court and order some hamburgers and French fries. All three sit down together at one of the empty booths within the restaurant. Carol and Doug sit together on one side and Charlie faces them. Charlie isn’t much more talkative than usual during their meal.

After lunch, they get up and leave the restaurant, heading back to the main part of the mall. “So,” Carol turns to Doug, “what exactly are we shopping for?”

They are all walking along with Carol and Charlie on either side of Doug and his hand clutched in Carol’s. “I was thinking that Charlie could use a few new clothes,” he says.

Charlie stops walking and turns to face Doug. “You don’t need to buy me anything.”

“Who said I needed to? I want to. Besides, how would it look if I had a teenager living in my house who wears the same thing everyday? People would think I didn’t take care of you.”

To this remark, she gives a surprised gaze. “You don’t have to take care of me.”

Doug looks at her. “What are you talking about? If you’re going to live with me then it becomes my job to take care of you. If you don’t let me do things for you, they aren’t going to let you stay with me.”

Carol nods, “He’s right. You are going to have to let Doug buy some things for you. I know you aren’t used to this, but he wouldn’t do it if he didn’t want to.”

Charlie looks from one to the other of her companions and finally decides to just give in. “Alright, whatever.” They resume walking together.

“How about this store?” Carol says, pointing to a woman’s clothing store that seems to cater to teens.

Doug shrugs. “I have no idea about this. You two decide.” Charlie shrugs as well.

Shaking her head in mock disgust, Carol says, “It sure is a good thing you two brought me to the mall with you. I’d hate to see what you’d have gotten home with on your own.” She giggles at their lack of shopping expertise. “I can see I have a lot to teach you,” she says to Charlie as she nudges them both inside of the store.

For the next three hours, they visit every clothing store in the mall. At first, Charlie is reluctant to let Doug purchase anything. But, then, after a few stores and after hearing the same speech from Doug and Carol about how she has to have some new clothes, she gives in and actually begins to enjoy herself. As the trio is leaving the last clothing store in the mall, Carol stops. “Wait!” She turns to Charlie, “There is somewhere else you and I need to go.” Turning to Doug she says, “Why don’t you wait for us in that sporting goods store by the main entrance? We shouldn’t be too long.”

He looks curiously at the two, but nods in agreement.

“Here,” Carol hands him her bags as well as the many that Charlie is carrying. They have bought at least twenty outfits and so many other things here and there that even they barely remember what the bags contain anymore. “We’ll be down to meet you soon,” Carol calls back over her shoulder as she and Charlie head off for their unknown destination. Doug, loaded down with bags, heads for the elevators.

“What’s this all about?” Charlie asks as she and Carol continue to walk.

Carol threads the arm through Charlie’s and pulls her forward. “You’ll see. Come on.”

They walk a little further to the end of the corridor. They are in front of one of the mall’s major department stores. “We came here already, remember?” Charlie says as Carol begins leading her inside.

“I know, but there was a department that we skipped.” She leads Charlie into the back of the store. They enter the lingerie department. Carol looks at Charlie, “I wasn’t sure you’d be comfortable coming here with Doug. I thought maybe we’d do better alone.”

“What do I need with lingerie?” Charlie asks quizzically.

“They sell more than teddies and negligees, you know. I thought maybe we could get you a few night gowns, maybe some bras, panties, you know, girlie stuff.”

Charlie looks at Carol strangely. “Okay, if you say so,” she says, but does not lose her skeptical expression. Carol ignores the look and takes Charlie’s arm again to lead her further into the department.

Half an hour later, they are at the check out counter. They purchase several bras, silk underwear, and a few night shirts and things for Charlie. As the cashier is filling a bag full of these unmentionables, Charlie turns to Carol. “I’m glad we didn’t bring Doug,” she says with a rye smile. Carol smiles back, feeling that, for the first time, she and Charlie may actually be connecting with one another.

Doug has his back to the door, facing the counter, when Charlie and Carol enter the sporting goods store. “What are you up to?” Carol asks when she sees the cashier hand him a large bag. “I should have known we couldn’t trust you in here!” She grins at him as he turns around with an all too innocent expression for them.

“I only bought a few things,” he says.

“A few? Like what?” Carol asks, teasingly.

“Oh, you know, guy stuff. If you two can have girl stuff, then I can have guy stuff,” he says.

Carol rolls her eyes. “Fair enough,” she replies. She and Charlie take some of the bags lying at Doug’s feet and he bends down and gets the rest. They all walk out towards the main entrance where they came in earlier in the day.

“Where are we off to now?” Doug asks.

Carol glances at her wrist watch. “It’s almost seven. Anybody hungry yet?”

“A little,” Doug says. “Why don’t we go back to your place and order a pizza? We can stop and rent some videos on the way.”

“Okay, sure,” Carol says. They get into Doug’s car and head out of the mall parking lot.

A few minutes later, Doug pulls up in front of the video store near Carol’s house. He and Carol get out of the car, but Charlie remains in her seat. “You coming in?” Doug asks, leaning back inside of the car.

“No, I’ll just wait here.” She sits back in the seat.

Knowing his efforts to change her mind will be wasted, Doug says, “Well then, any special requests?”

“No, whatever you two want to watch is fine.” Doug nods and closes the car door.

“What’s the matter?” Carol asks as they enter the video store.

“I don’t know. She just gets like this sometimes. It’s like she’s afraid we’re all getting along too well, having too good of a time. Then, all of the sudden, she closes herself off, tries to keep herself distanced.” Doug and Carol are now standing in one of the aisles of movies. He has a sad look in his eyes as he finishes speaking.

She puts her arm around his waist. “Just give her some time. She’ll come around.” Doug shakes his head and smiles a melancholy smile. “What are we going to rent?” Carol asks, trying to get his mind onto something else.

“Um, I don’t know. What do you want to watch?”

“I think it’s your turn to pick. We watched my movie last time, remember?”

“Oh, yeah, okay. How about . . . ,” he scans the aisle of video boxes for something that appeals to him. “This one,” he hands Carol a box. It is an action movie with lots of explosions and car chases. Just the kind she hates and he loves.

She wrinkles her nose. “Haven’t you seen that?”

“No that was a different one. It was the same actor though.”

“Oh, all of his movies are the same. Can’t you find anything else?”

“Why don’t we just rent a few. Then, we’ll see what kind of movie Charlie wants to watch and if I don’t watch this tonight, I can take it home and watch it later. Sound good?”

“Okay.” Carol searches the shelves in one direction as Doug goes the opposite way. A few minutes later, they meet back at the front of the store. “What did you get?” Carol asks. He shows her the two boxes in his hand. He holds the action movie from before and a copy of “Lethal Weapon”.

“What have you got?” He looks at her boxes. He frowns as he sees “Steel Magnolias” and shrugs his shoulder at “Top Gun”. “I guess I can live with that.” He takes the movies and goes to the cashier.

Doug and Carol return to the car. Charlie is still sitting there, staring blankly out the window. Carol tells her which movies they have and asks if she has a preference as to what they watch.

“No, not really. Whatever you want.” Carol nods, she expected this answer before she posed the question.

Doug cuts the engine just outside of Carol’s house. They get out of the car and grab the movies and a few of the bags from their shopping trip. Carol unlocks the door and they enter the dark house. She flips on a light and goes to the phone to order the pizza.

Carol comes into the living room. Doug is on the couch and Charlie is in a chair beside him. “They said between twenty and thirty minutes,” she says. Doug nods. “Which movie should we put in first?”

“How about ‘Top Gun’,” Doug says.

“Okay,” Carol walks over to the VCR and puts in the movie. Carol sits by Doug on the couch and the movie begins.

“You know,” Carol says, “his copilot in this movie reminds me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it.”

Doug looks at her, then back to the screen. “Yeah, I know what you mean. He looks a little like . . . ,” he is cut short by the doorbell. “I’ll get it,” he says, jumping up from the couch. He takes the pizza from the young man on the porch and hands him some money. Carol pauses the movie and they all go into the kitchen.

Later, after they have eaten dinner and finished watching ‘Top Gun’ and are halfway through with ‘Lethal Weapon’, Doug looks over to Charlie. “Carol,” he whispers, “look.” He motions to Charlie, who is sound asleep in her chair.

Carol smiles. “She’s had a long day,” she says.

“I should get her home, I guess.”

“Well, I have an extra bed. You guys could always stay here.”

“But, where would I sleep?” Doug puts on a serious face.

“I’m sure we can come up with something,” Carol says with a mischievous grin. He smiles and kisses her.

Doug rises from the couch and walks over to Charlie. He shakes her arm gently, “Charlie, get up. Come on, let’s go upstairs.” Charlie moans and turns away. “Well, I can see this is going nowhere.” He leans down and picks Charlie up. He heads for the stairs with Carol just ahead of him. She opens the door to the guest room and pulls down the covers. Doug gently lays a sleeping Charlie onto the bed and pulls the blankets over her. “Good night,” he whispers and he and Carol leave, closing the door quietly behind them.

Doug is sitting up in the bed. He has changed into a pair of pajama pants. Carol emerges from the bathroom wearing the pajama top that goes with his pants. They both smile when they see the others attire. “Gee, I was wondering where my shirt went . . . ,” Doug smiles.

Carol grins back and climbs into the bed. Doug gets beneath the blanket and Carol slips comfortably into his arms. “This is nice,” she says as she rests her head on his chest. “It’s been so weird falling asleep without you for the past few days.”

“I know. I hadn’t realized I was so used to it until I stayed alone for a while.” He squeezes his arms more tightly around her. She props herself up and brings her lips to his. They share a long kiss. As their lips part, she catches a strange look in Doug’s eyes. “Is something wrong?” she asks.

Doug sighs. “I don’t know if anything is really wrong . . . ,” his voice trails off.

“What is it?” There is concern in her voice.

“I just . . . I hope I’m doing the right thing. Charlie seems to be at ease with us one minute, then the next she hardly speaks. Am I making a mistake?” He looks at Carol with a downtrodden expression.

“I told you this wouldn’t be easy. Don’t worry, Charlie just needs time to adjust.”

“I know.” Doug still seems far away.

“That’s not the only thing that’s bothering you, is it?” She props her elbow on the bed and leans her chin onto her hand, staring at Doug.

He looks at her, then looks away. “No,” he finally says. She rubs his arm lovingly, urging him to continue. “I feel like I’m letting you down by spending so much time with Charlie. Do you resent me for all of this?”

Carol reaches under the covers and takes Doug’s hand. “Please believe me when I tell you, no, absolutely not.” Doug smiles, but it is not a very convincing smile. “Doug, I understand. Charlie came to you for help, you can’t just turn her away. I’m glad you aren’t the kind of person who’d do that.”

Doug turns on his side to face Carol. “Carol, I know I used to be that kind of guy. The kind of guy who just let things go. Things would get too close for me and I would run the other way. But, things are different now, I’m different. I have you.” Carol smiles and squeezes his hand. “I just don’t feel like I’m living up to my promise to always be there for you. I know you still have a lot of things to work through, and I can’t help but worry.”

Carol kisses him gently. When she leans back, her eyes are glistening with tears. “You are going above and beyond every promise you’ve ever made to me. I know if I ever need you, all I have to do is say it and you’ll be there. I couldn’t love you any more than I do. I’ve never felt so safe in my whole life.”

Doug wraps his arms around Carol and holds her close. “I want you to tell me whenever something is bothering you, okay? If you need to talk and it’s four in the morning, call me. I’ll be here. I don’t want you to feel like you’re ever alone.”

“I don’t.” Carol snuggles closer to Doug, kissing his bare chest. She moves up to his mouth and their kisses become more passionate. They make love, then fall asleep in each other’s warm embrace.

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Created by Courtney Stovall © 1998

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