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"CHARLOTTE, LOVE, COME here for a moment." I heard my mum call me from the front door.
"Coming!" I answered as I struggled to rush to her with my short and chubby legs.
I got to the front door where my mum and dad were chatting up people outside the door. I heard their conversation and quickly hid behind my dad's legs.
"This is our little girl, Charlotte Kate." My dad said as he caressed my head. "Charlotte, these are our neighbors, the Millses."
"Hi." I quietly and shyly greeted with a small wave before hiding behind my dad again.
I was only three years old, going on four, when we moved to our home in Berkshire. It had only been about three weeks since we settled down in our new home when the Millses came over to give us a warm welcome.
"Hi Charlotte. I'm Sara. These are my sons Max and Harvey." The woman peeped and smiled at me as she placed her hands on the heads of two boys.
I looked at them once but did a double take when I saw that they looked exactly alike. I got excited but I was a really shy child, so I didn't say hello.
"Sara, Paul, please come in. We were just preparing for dinner. Come join us." My mum smiled as she escorted them in.
The Mills family entered our home and looked around at the new structure. The twins were hiding behind their mum as well when they entered.
"The children can stay in the living room and watch telly." Dad suggested. The other adults agreed before he escorted us to the living room.
He set up the telly and put it on a children's channel and left us to be. It was quiet for a moment before one of the boys spoke up.
"I'm Hawvey." Harvey said as he waved. None of us could properly say R yet then.
"I'm Max." Max copied.
"I'm Chawlotte." I smiled.
I remember not knowing how to differentiate the twins when we first met. Luckily, Harvey answered that right away.
"Max is ugly. I'm the handsome twin. That's how you can tell us apawt." Harvey smiled as Max glared at him.
"But you two look the same." I said with a confused face.
"Hmm... right... Well, I'm wearing this shiwt now and Max is weawing that." Harvey said as he pointed to his shirt then Max's shirt.
"Okay. I'll wemembew you fow now." I smiled.
We sat quietly in the living room, watching telly while our parents chatted in the kitchen. Again, I was quite a shy child. Thankfully, after a while Harvey piped up by just randomly saying my name.
"Chawlotte." He said.
"That's me. Why?" I asked.
"Nothing. It's too long." He shrugged.
I shared the same sentiments at the time since I was young and I wanted easy-to-pronounce names. Now that I'm 17, I have to be honest and say that if I had stuck to Charlotte ever since, it wouldn't be too long or too hard to pronounce and I'd like being called Charlotte.
I sat there quietly waiting for the boys to speak their minds.
"Chawlie! There! That's what we can call hew." Max smiled.
"Chawlie... That has a nice wing to it." Harvey agreed. "What do you think?"
"I think... I like it!" I beamed.
We were all excited about my new nickname. Yes, it was Max who was the reason why everyone calls me Charlie. From then on, it was Max who always came up with the craziest and wackiest ideas, and I was always the one who went along with it.
"Chawlie... Hawvey... Max..." Max said outloud.
"That doesn't whyme." Harvey pouted.
"Maxey." I laughed as I said my idea out loud. Max made a face but Harvey liked it.
"Chawlie, Hawvey, Maxey! Pewfect! You'we a genius!" Harvey said as we high-fived.
We spent the rest of the evening playing with my toys and the boys' toys that they shoved into their tiny backpacks before they left their house. We played this sort of role play wherein my doll was a damsel in distress and their action figures were the ones who were supposed to save my doll. But then their action figures needed rescuing so when my doll found a way out of her problem, she went and saved her supposed heroes.
It made me feel really good that our role play went about that way. All they boys I've met before them were basically full of themselves and not to mention, had so much toxic masculinity in them. After that, the boys and I went on to play tag and "hide and go seek" around my house.
I remember Paul and Sara being so nervous that the boys would break something because they were clumsy and we were all running so fast. Mom and dad were chill about it though since we haven't unpacked the most fragile items yet.
All that playing tired us out so you could only imagine how much we ate for dinner that night. After dinner, we went on playing and playing and playing. I remember that night to be one of the most fun days of my childhood.
When it was time for them to go, we were really sad. Although it had gotten so late, we still had much energy as if it was early in the morning.
"Max, Harvey, it's time to go, loves." Sara called her sons from the end of the living room.
"Awww! Mum! Nooo!" Max whined.
"Can we stayyy?" Harvey pleaded.
"It's past your bedtime, boys." Paul chuckled.
"But we'we not tired yet." Max answered.
"Come on, Charlotte. It's time to say good night." Mum smiled gently at me.
I was never one who threw tantrums when I was a child. I was an angel. But Max would disagree to that, honestly. Just him...
"Alright." I smiled back at my mum. "Good night, Maxey. Good night, Harvey."
The two boys pouted but gave in and packed their toys. I helped them pack before we walked to our parents. I ran to my dad and hugged his legs. He smiled down at me and brushed his hand down my hair. Harvey shoved Max lightly before Max tugged at his mum's shirt.
"Mum..." Max said quietly.
"Yes, dear?"
"May we come and play with Chawlie again anothew day?" He asked.
"Charlie?" All the adults asked, shocked. The twins and I laughed.
"Chawlie!" They said as they pointed to me.
"Oh, so you're Charlie now?" Dad asked me and I nodded happily.
"Well..." Sara smiled then looked to my mum for confirmation. My mum nodded and a huge smile spread across my face. "Sure."
The twins cheered and jumped. I joined in before we hugged each other goodbye. We waited for the family to leave before we shut the door behind us.
It wasn't long before the twins came back another day to play. They came once a week, then twice a week, then every weekend, then every other day, until they came over every day. It took a while for my parents to get used to calling me Charlie, but they were extremely glad to see I'd made friends with the twins so quickly.
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