ER: Doug and Carol Series

Story #9

Shadows and Light

by: Courtney

Doug walks into his apartment and calls, “Anybody home?” There is no response. He hangs up his coat and goes down the hall to Charlie’s room. Peeking in the half opened door, he sees no one and figures she isn’t home from school yet.

It is three days before the Thanksgiving holidays begin and he knows she might be a little late getting home because she planned on stopping at the library on the way. It’s Monday and she has a paper due for history on Wednesday that is worth twenty five percent of her grade. She’s only been in school for two and a half weeks so her paper is much shorter than the others have to be, but she still has to do well. She was enrolled in ninth grade, even though her education level was only up to the seventh. The councilors at the school felt she’d do better among people around her own age. Besides that, she scored remarkably well on the placement tests they gave her. She would only be one year behind where she’d have been if she’d never quit going to school at all. Doug felt like this was pretty good, but Charlie acted as though it were no big deal. “It’s just school,” she’d say.

They had just had their court appearance last week about Doug becoming Charlie’s foster parent. Surprisingly, there were very few snags in this process. Charlie’s social worker had recommended she be placed with Doug, they had done the usual routine background checks on him, and things had been settled. Just today, the decision was finalized. That is actually why he’s home early. He was scheduled to be on until six, but Mark let him go at three because he and Carol were planning a little celebration in honor of Charlie being an official resident of the Ross household on a permanent basis. Doug is eager to get the party underway. He and Charlie are supposed to arrive at Carol’s house at five o’clock. He looks at his watch and sees that it is 4:15pm. He picks up the phone and calls Carol.

“Hello?” says the familiar voice at the other end of the line.

“Hi, it’s me,” Doug says.

“Hey, you guys getting ready to come over?”

“No, actually I just got here and she’s not home yet.”

“Don’t worry, she’ll be there soon. If you’re a little late, I’ll know why.”

“If she’s not here soon . . . ,” he stops as the door opens and Charlie enters. “Never mind, she’s here. See you soon,” Doug says as Charlie walks in and pulls off her coat which is wet with melted snow.

“Okay, bye,” Carol says and they hang up.

“Sorry I’m late,” Charlie says as she walks into the living room. She is wearing a black skirt and a burgundy sweater, both gifts from Doug. The skirt is just above her knees and she has on black pantyhose with a pair of bulky, black clogs. She still has a cast on her arm and has a navy blue knapsack flung over her shoulder.

Doug looks up as she walks in. He is still a little surprised every time he sees this new Charlie. For so long, he only knew her the way she was before. She never took care of herself or took much pride in her appearance. Now, she seems like a whole new person. It is amazing how less than a months time has changed her. But, there is still a little of the old Charlie that peeks through at times. She still has a quick temper and a smart mouth. He smirks, that will probably never completely change.

“Don’t worry,” Doug says to her. “We still have plenty of time.”

“Where are we going anyway?” Doug and Carol had said they had a surprise planned for her, but they hadn’t told her what any of it was about. Yesterday, her social worker had phoned Doug to say that the foster care paperwork would be finalized today. He had told Carol and they had decided to wait and keep it as a surprise for Charlie. Doug had left work at three and he and Carol had picked up a cake, balloons, everything. Not to mention quite a few gifts for Charlie. “You’ll have to wait and see. Now, go get ready. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.” He smiles at her and she smirks and goes off to her room to freshen up.

As she enters her room, Charlie walks over to the small oak desk in the corner and deposits her bag in the desk chair. The desk and chair were Carol’s when she was a teenager and they had been in her basement for quite some time. She decided to bring them over to Charlie since she never used them. Charlie and Carol seemed to have reached an understanding over the last few weeks. Ever since that day they had talked about their pasts, and Carol had confided in Charlie about her rape, they seemed to connect a little more.

Charlie looks around her room. Carol had definitely taught her the basics of shopping in the past few weeks. The room is almost like a different place now than it was when she had first arrived. After many trips to too many stores to count, they had decided on a slate blue and white checked comforter with a white dust ruffle. They also bought lots of solid white and blue throw pillows. The curtains were the next step. The final decision was a puffy, blue valance with long, white sheers that almost touched the floor. Doug had also purchased a small vanity table for her and Carol had taken her shopping for ‘supplies’. They had practically purchased the entire drug store that day! Carol insisted that every other item was a ‘necessity’. Charlie had never realized that so much went into looking like you used so little effort on yourself. Now, her vanity table is filled with makeup, hair supplies, skin care products, perfume, and lots of other bottles and jars, some of which she hasn’t even used yet.

She sits down and touches up the little makeup she’s wearing and sprays a little more perfume on. She works on her hair for a few minutes, then, satisfied with her appearance, she hurries out to find Doug.

He is sitting on the couch, waiting. “Ready?” he asks when she appears.

“Yep! Let’s go.” They grab their coats and venture out into the cold towards Carol’s house and Charlie’s awaiting surprise.

Carol opens the door and lets in her two guests. She takes their coats and hangs them up near the door, then ushers them into the living room to have a seat. “So, when do I find out what this is all about?” Charlie asks as she and Carol take seats on the couch and Doug’s sits in an adjacent chair.

Doug looks at Carol, “Is everything ready?” he asks. She nods. Doug looks back to Charlie and smiles, “Now is as good a time as any,” he tells her and rises from his seat. He and Carol lead the way towards the stairs and Charlie follows them, curiously.

When they reach the second floor landing, they stop in front of the first guest room door. It is the room that Charlie always takes when she stays here. She has been staying with Carol every night that Doug has a night shift, which is usually once or twice per week. So far, he and Carol haven’t had to work the same night, so this plan has worked.

Charlie stares at the door now as they all stand in front of it. She looks from Doug to Carol, expectantly. Finally, Doug says, “Close your eyes.” Charlie obeys. Carol leads her into the room.

“Okay, open them,” Doug instructs.

Charlie opens her eyes to reveal the newly redecorated guest room. There is a black comforter on the bed and various brightly colored pillows atop it. In one corner there is a desk and chair and in the other is a chest of draws. The walls have empty shelves and frames without pictures in them. She looks back at Doug and Carol.

“We thought you should have a room here, too,” Carol explains. “We left choosing the pictures and filling the shelves for you.”

Charlie smiles, “Thank you.” She continues to look around the room. It really is very nice.

“That’s not the big news though,” Doug adds.

“You mean there’s more?” Charlie can’t imagine what else these two have cooked up.

“Yep. I got a call from your social worker yesterday and then again this morning. The papers are final. I’m now officially your foster parent.” He seems pleased by this.

Charlie smiles, “That’s great!”

Carol and Doug have their arms around one another, watching Charlie. They both smile and she looks around the room again. “Let’s go downstairs. We ordered pizza and we have cake and ice cream to celebrate,” Carol says. They all walk downstairs and continue the celebration.

Later that night, as Doug is driving Charlie home, he turns to her and says, “You and Carol seem to be getting along much better these days.”

“Yeah, she’s okay,” Charlie says. Doug nods. This is about the best compliment she gives, so it must be a good thing.

“How’s the paper coming?” he asks.

“Alright. It has to be five pages about the Revolutionary War and I have three so far. I’m going to the library after school tomorrow to finish it up.”

Doug nods. “I have to work until 8 o’clock. Will you be home before then?”

“I should be. I’ll call Carol or beep you if it’s going to take longer than I think.”

Doug agrees to this and they pull up in front of his building. The snow is starting to fall again. They get out of the car and trudge up the slushy sidewalks to the door.

Once inside, they both head off to bed. Charlie has school tomorrow and Doug has to work. She says good night and enters her room to get ready for bed. Doug tells her good night as she leaves. He locks the doors and turns out the lights, then enters his own room. It seems lonely without Carol here. They don’t get to spend as much time together as they would like. When he works late, he usually comes over to her place when he’s off because Charlie is there anyway. But, on nights their both off, they have mostly been staying at their own homes. They were afraid it might look bad for them to be practically living together when it came time for the court to review the foster care case. Now, they’ll have a monthly visit from a social worker, so they aren’t in much better shape. But, they still manage to find some time together.

Doug pulls on some old, black sweat pants and a T-shirt and crawls under the covers. He looks at the clock. It’s 11:30pm. He is contemplating calling Carol when the phone rings. He picks it up. “Hello?”

“Hi, were you sleeping?”

“No, not yet,” Doug says, happy to hear Carol’s voice on the other end of the line. “I was just thinking of calling you, actually.”

“Hmm. We must be in tune to one another,” she grins. “So, what did Charlie think of the surprise?”

“She loved it. I think she’s relieved that everything is finally settled with the foster care. And, she loved the room. That was a great idea you had to redo it for her.”

“I want her to feel at home here,” Carol says.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that,” he answers. “I wish we weren’t back and forth all of the time.”

“What are you saying, Doug, that we should move in together?” Carol seems a bit surprised.

“I don’t know what I’m saying. I want us to be together, but I’m afraid of how the social worker will view us living together. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

“That’s probably what’s best,” Carol agrees. “You should get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Good night.”

There’s a click as the connection ends and Doug places the phone back on its base. He closes his eyes and tries to sleep. It is several hours later when he finally drifts off.

Carol steps off of the elevator and walks towards the office of Dr. Nina Pomerantz. She has been seeing her for the last few weeks. At first, Carol was unsure about these visits, but Doug was very adamant about it. Now, she’s glad he coaxed her into going. It has really been helping her to talk to Nina.

“Hi Carol, come on in,” Nina says from the door of her office as Carol walks up. “How have you been this week?” she asks as Carol takes a seat across from her.

“Fine, better. Charlie’s foster care stuff went through yesterday, so we are all really happy about that.”

Nina nods. “So, you’re okay with that?” Carol had never been unhappy about Charlie staying with Doug. This whole situation had just brought up a lot of issues for her that she had never really dealt with. Her failed adoption of Tatiana was probably the biggest obstacle.

“I’m fine with it,” Carol says. “It still hurts to think about Tatiana, but I’m getting through it. Doug’s been very supportive.”

Nina smiles, “I’m glad to hear that. Is there anything in particular you’d like to talk about today?”

“Actually, there is something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It’s not really anything earth shattering or anything, just something that’s been on my mind.” Nina urges her with her eyes to continue. “Well, you know that Doug and I have been seeing each other for a while,” Nina nods, “and our relationship is pretty serious. We were basically living at my house until Charlie came into the picture. But, since then, it seems like it’s been harder and harder for us to be together very much. I mean, he stays with me sometimes and I stay at his place every once in a while, but, I don’t know, it just seems like we’re doing something wrong now. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize Charlie being able to stay there.”

“Have you spoken to Doug about this?”

“Yes, we both pretty much feel the same way. And, the thing is, Charlie doesn’t care. She’d just as soon stay at my house as she would at Doug’s apartment. I just don’t think it would look very good to her social worker.”

“Well, have you and Doug talked about marriage?”

“Oh, we aren’t ready for that,” Carol says emphatically. “We both know that.”

Nina nods. “Maybe you should talk to the social worker. Ask her what she thinks of the living arrangements. Perhaps you can work this out with her and the two of you can put your minds at ease about it.”

Carol nods. “I’ll talk to Doug, I guess.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m sure he’ll talk to me about it in his next session, too.” Doug has also been seeing Nina for the past two weeks, as has Charlie. Nina felt that they all had things to work out and that they should come in for individual sessions, as well as occasional group sessions. The first group session had been last week and had gone pretty well.

“I’m sure things will work out fine. Just talk it out with her and with Doug and see where things lead.” Carol nods again and tells Nina she’ll take care of it as soon as the holidays are over. As the subject of the holidays comes up, the discussion turns to Carol’s mother. They spend the rest of the session talking about the problems she and her mother have been having and her feelings towards Doug and Charlie and what Carol is going to have to do to ease her mother into the transition that, no matter if she likes it or not, they are Carol’s family, too, now. This is a discussion that will not be resolved in one session, Carol is sure of that.

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