Shiver

"Here's your change, Charlene, don't forget to tell your mom that her orders are coming tomorrow." Mrs. Cooper handed out the money she took from the register.

"I will, Mrs. Cooper," she replied.

"It's so good to finally see you out and about. Your mom finally let you go and pick up the groceries, huh?"

Charlene smiled. "Yeah, I'll be seventeen in two weeks, so I think it's about time she let me run some errands by myself."

Mrs. Cooper laughed. "Well...your parents are just being protective of you. You're such a fine young lady, no wonder they've been keeping you locked up in that big ol' house o' yours."

Charlene laughed softly and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Alright, Mrs. Cooper, I'll see you tomorrow then." She took the groceries off the counter and walked toward the door.

Just when she was about to open the door, it was opened from the outside. A boy walked in—ice-blue eyes, strawberry blonde hair, a big slightly crooked nose—and stared at her, speechless, his thick red lips gaping. Charlene smiled at him. "Excuse me," she said and walked past him.

"You better close that mouth o' yours before the flies come flyin' in," Mrs. Cooper snapped him out of his astonished trance. "Don't even think about it, Tom. You don't go near that girl," she said.

Thomas Raven walked over to the counter, still dazed by what he'd just seen. "Who was that?" he asked.

"None of your concern, that's who...now what do you want?"

"A pack of Marlboro Lights." Mrs. Cooper grabbed a pack and put it on the counter.

"That'll be $3.50." She keyed the numbers into the register. He paid for it. "Shoot! She left her eggs," Mrs. Cooper muttered and took the eggs from under the counter.

Tom grabbed the eggs and ran, "I'll take them to her!"

"Hey!! Tom! No! You stay away from that girl, you hear?"

But he was already out the door, chasing after the girl with the sweetest smile he had ever seen.

"Miss! Miss!" he called out to her. Charlene stopped and turned around. Tom was panting when he got to her, "You forgot your eggs."

"Oh! I did, didn't I? Thank you," she said as she reached to take her eggs.

"Let me carry those for you," he said, clinging to the carton.

Charlene hesitated. "That's okay...I can do it myself," she declined.

"Please...I insist," he said. He couldn't stop staring at her, to the point that it became uncomfortable for her. "I'm sorry...I just...I think you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

She blushed. "Thank you." She shied away from his adoring eyes. "I don't know...I'm not supposed to talk to strangers," she said. Tom wiped his hands on his shirt and offered her a handshake. "I'm Thomas, Thomas Raven."

She shook his hand. "I'm Charlene...Ludlow."

"Well then, we're not strangers anymore, Charlene Ludlow. Wait, Ludlow? You're Bill Ludlow's daughter?" he asked. She nodded. He took a deep breath and realized why Mrs. Cooper had told him to stay away from this girl.

Everyone in Bluebridge knew who Bill Ludlow was. He was the main benefactor of the town and a very successful businessman who used to be a prominent lawyer and a District Attorney. He was very well connected with the town's mayor and was rumored to be planning to run for that office the following year. "I'd like to walk you home, Charlene. May I call you Charlie?"

She smiled. "No one's ever called me that before."

"Perfect, then I get to be the only one," he said as they started walking.

"I haven't seen you around before. I'm sure I'd remember you if I had," Tom knew almost everyone in town, especially the girls.

She shook her head with a faint smile. "I don't get out much...this is actually the first time I've ever met anyone in town aside from Mrs. Cooper. She's been our grocer forever...do you live around here?"

Tom smiled. "Yeah...I live around here. Just ask anyone, they'll tell you I live around here," he was being purposefully vague; he couldn't possibly tell her that he was pretty much homeless.

She furrowed her brows but quickly dismissed it. "Where do you go to school?"

He'd never felt so nervous about being asked that. He had never cared if people knew he had dropped out of school, until today. "I've been working for the past three years now," he managed not to lie.

"Really? How old are you?" Charlene was surprised, thinking that, despite his boyish look, he might be older than she thought.

"Nineteen. What about you? Are you still in school?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Easton High. I'll be graduating next year."

Of course, Tom thought, where else would Bill Ludlow's daughter go to school? Easton High was the only private school in Bluebridge—where all the 'better' kids went. The rest attended one of only two public schools in their very small town. He knew he was in way over his head with this girl, but something made him keep walking.

"So...where do you work? What do you do?" she asked.

"Anything...everywhere..." he cleared his throat.

She looked at him funny. "That's not fair. I've told you where I go to school—you're even walking me to my house—but I don't really know anything about you other than your name."

Tom scratched the back of his head. "The idea is to keep you talking to me as long as I can...if you know everything about me, you might never want to speak to me again," he was trying to be honest.

He kept his head down. She stared at him and caught a glimpse of nervousness behind his bold approach. When he looked up, she was caught up in those ice-blue eyes. His boyish frame, his nose, his lips, everything combined into a breathtakingly good appearance. "I highly doubt that," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. If he didn't know any better, he would've mistaken her comment for flirting.

"Anyways, that means I get to tell you more about me some other time...like tomorrow?" He was hoping she'd say yes.

But she didn't reply. As they approached the gates to her house, she stopped walking. "I think you shouldn't go further than this...my parents don't allow me to be friends with boys," she told him.

Tom looked at the big grand white building a few hundred meters from the gate, so out of reach, so intimidating. Then he looked at Charlie, his heart melting. "Can I see you again tomorrow?" he had to ask.

She tilted her head as she took her groceries from his hands. "I don't know...maybe..." a half-smile curved on her lips, "if you promise to tell me more about yourself..."

He rubbed one hand on the side of his neck and put the other in his pocket. "Okay," he said reluctantly.

She giggled as she walked backward toward the gate. "Thank you, Tommy. I have to go now...it was nice meeting you." She walked in through the gate to her mansion and didn't look back.

Tommy. He had never liked it when people called him Tommy, but on her lips, it sounded appropriate, like it belonged there. He knew his way around girls. If she asked anyone around town, she would hear about that too. But for the first time in his life, Thomas Raven felt as if lightning had struck him straight in the heart, and her name was Charlene Ludlow, the only girl in town he was not supposed to go anywhere near.

Dinner was served at 7 PM every night. Bill Ludlow liked his meal warm and ready for him when he arrived home. He liked it even better when his wife, Catherine, and his two daughters were seated at the dining table, waiting for him to have dinner together. They greeted him with a perfect smile and the courtesy of ladies from an upper-class family.

They exchanged stories of how they went about their days, with Bill dominating the conversation, per usual. He meticulously laid out his plans and rules so each and every member of the family knew who was in charge and what they had to do. Obedience was the key to Bill Ludlow's heart, and the girls had learned that if they obeyed their father's rules, they could ask for almost anything.

"I've invited my good friend Lloyd Friedman to your birthday party, Charlene," her father said.

She nodded even though she didn't know who that was.

"Lloyd is coming all the way from Gastonburry?" Catherine asked.

Bill nodded. "He's coming with his son, Landon, who will be graduating from law school in a couple of years...a fine young man." Catherine kept eating and glanced at Charlene, who didn't have a clue what was going on. "Landon will be helping me with my campaign next year, and he'll be working for me at the mayor's office after he graduates...given that I'm elected." There was a glow on Bill's face when he said that.

"I think you should spend some time with him at your party, get to know him. After all, you'll be admitted to The University of Gastonburry next year, and he can be your mentor, give you some insights on higher education and campus life," he said to Charlene.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, Daddy."

"I've sent a recommendation letter to UoG for you. The pre-law program there is one of the best in the country. I'm sure they'll accept you no problem."

"Law?" Charlene asked.

"Of course, what else? I have the best connections in the legal world. It's one of the advantages of all my hard work over all these years, and if you're any good, you get to implement laws and regulations to ultimately change the course of society one day," he explained why it was the only choice for her.

"I was thinking...I might want to study film," said Charlene, making her father laugh.

"Film? Don't waste your brains on that. You're way too smart for a frivolous major like that. Anyway, they don't have a film program at UoG."

Her mother gave her a look, and Charlene knew it was a code to keep her mouth shut. Bill Ludlow decided everything in the household, arguing with him was one of the few luxuries they could not afford. "Don't be silly, Charlene. You can have film as a hobby, but trust me, law is where you should concentrate your efforts. Landon will help you with everything you need. I've met him a few times, and that fine young man is not only going graduate at the top of his class, but he'll also make a suitable..." Catherine touched her husband's hand to stop him from saying what he wanted to say.

"I'm sure Landon is a nice young man, and it's always good to have friends when moving to a new environment," Catherine said while signaling to her husband to let things be and not to put more on Charlene than she could handle.

"Yes, your mother's right...I hope everything's ready for your big day. Sweet seventeen. How time flies. You'll be a young woman in just two weeks," Bill said as he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin.

As soon as dinner was over, everyone went to their rooms. Charlotte liked to hang out in her big sister's room before going to sleep. She loved watching her sister brush her hair and slip into her nightgown.

"I think Daddy wants you to marry that Landon boy, Charlene," Charlotte said.

Charlene stopped her brushing and sighed. "I'm too young to marry, Charlotte. I've never even had a boyfriend," she replied.

Charlotte laid down on the bed. "I think daddy wants Landon to be your boyfriend," she amended.

Charlene sighed. "I wish he wouldn't choose everything for me...I guess I wouldn't mind dating Landon if I ended up liking him. But if not, no one can make me," she said.

"What if he turns out to be handsome, smart, and wonderful? And what if he asks for a kiss?" she continued naively.

Charlene laughed and threw a pillow at her sister. "I wouldn't know what to do," she giggled.

"Would you tell me about it, though? Tell me what it's like?"

They laughed and hugged. "You know I tell you everything," Charlene said. "In fact, I met a boy today," she added. Charlotte's eyes widened in anticipation. "His name is Tommy, and he has the bluest eyes I've ever seen...I'll probably see him again tomorrow." Charlene was blushing. Charlotte shrieked in excitement. "You can never tell Mom or Daddy. Promise?" Charlene offered her a pinky, and she took it.

"Do you like him?" her sister asked.

She smiled. "I don't know...maybe...he said I was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen." They both giggled.

"You are, Charlene...the most beautiful girl in the world," Charlotte said in admiration.

"Oh no I'm not...you're the most beautiful girl in the world." They laughed.