Melt Like Butter

by Daisy May

  “Twenty-three years old,” he said, sliding a thin file across the table. “High school graduate, by the skin of his teeth. His marks were terrible. He’s worked at a variety of minimum-wage jobs, most recently American Apparel. A few minor scuffles with the law – underage drinking and one marijuana charge, which didn’t stick.”

  I flipped through the file, looking for the information I needed. “So Tyler’s his real name?” I asked. “He was really adopted?”

  “Correct.” He turned back to the first page. “Adopted by Sophie and Greg Bernhardt in 1996 at the time of his birth. They went on to divorce thirteen years later. Tyler and Sophie still share the same home address. Greg remarried and now lives in Florida.”

  “Hmm.” I scanned through the page. “Are they in touch?”

  “I can’t tell that from a database.” He shrugged. “Would you want to hire me to look into him some more? I’d give you the friends-and-family discount, of course.”

  “Nice try.” I’d known he was going to try and upsell me somehow. Beneath his chirpy exterior, he was a savvy businessman. “I’m good. I just wanted to make sure he’s not trying to scam my mom somehow. I swear, it seems like there’s something he isn’t saying.”

  “Not that I could tell. He appears to be exactly who he says he is.” He closed the file and slid it back over to me. “You can keep that if you’d like. Hey, do you think he’d want to hire me to find his mother?”

  “He’d probably prefer someone who isn’t friends with me,” I said. “I’m not exactly his favorite person. Besides, I doubt he can afford to pay you. The way he dresses… it’s like he’s never heard of a washing machine.”

  “That’s funny,” Wright said. “He’s from Shade Valley.” One of the nicer neighborhoods in town. “Anyway, what are you up to tonight? Want to have dinner with me and Adrian?”

  I started to say I was busy, then hesitated. It’d been a while since I’d socialized with anyone but Mom and Jeremy. I’d been working hard, staying late every night, and when I wasn’t at work I was at the gym. My body was still aching from last night’s weight training session. Surely I could miss one night and enjoy some friends’ company instead.

  “Sure,” I said.

  *

  Dinner ended up being more fun than I’d expected. Adrian was a great cook, and the conversation flowed as easily as the wine. There was never any awkwardness between us, probably because Wright and I had broken up over a year before they’d gotten together.

  Still, a twinge of sadness went through me as I walked home. They were just so perfect together. Their apartment felt like a home – you could feel the warmth the moment you walked through the door. They’d merged their lives completely. Even the grocery shopping list held to the fridge door with a magnet had both of their writing on it.

  Wright and I hadn’t gotten to the point of living together, although we’d dated for almost a year. I’d been so focused on advancing my career that I’d only seen him once or twice a week. The break-up had been quick and painless. He’d said if he was going to feel like he was single, he might as well be, and I’d said “okay.”

  Even if we’d ever moved in together, we wouldn’t have fit together as easily and effortlessly as those two did. That was partly because he and I clearly weren’t meant to be together – but more than that, I couldn’t see myself sharing my space with anyone. It had been hard enough to live with my family while I was growing up. Now that I’d lived alone for a few years, I was set in my ways. A solo operator – maybe for life.

  I pressed the elevator button and headed up to my apartment. Compared to Wright’s place, the difference was stark. There were no dirty plates in the sink, no dust collecting on the furniture. My place was clean… sterile, even. It had a lot going for it, but one thing it didn’t have was a heart.

  Rather like me.

  I grabbed a cloth and swiped it across the already-spotless counter. I knew there was more to life than this. Maybe my loneliness was why I’d fixated on Tyler. If he was doing something nefarious, that gave me an excuse to check up on Mom, which made me less alone.

  If he really was who he said he was, doing what he claimed to be doing, then Jeremy had been right. Out of paranoia, I’d attacked him for no reason, accusing him of all kinds of things. He was only seeking out his biological mother – something I couldn’t understand, since I had a present, loving one. From the state of his clothes, his adoptive parents didn’t seem to be there for him. He’d clearly been through a lot.

  And he had every right to hate me.

  It was a good thing I wouldn’t see him again. If I did, I might end up apologizing.

  SEVEN – TYLER

  Kiehlman’s was closed until ten. I read the sign once, twice, and a third time, and then I kicked the door hard enough to make myself yell. What kind of store only opened at ten? What if I was in desperate need of a power drill at nine in the morning?

  I walked around the neighborhood for half an hour, daydreaming the whole time about the new life I planned to start in Mexico. By the time the store was going to open, I was actually in a good mood. If Laney was still working here, this whole mission to find her could be over in a matter of minutes.

  I was the first customer inside the doors, and I seemed to be the only one for the moment. The ramshackle shelves overflowed with disorganized nuts, bolts, and tools. Everything in the place was coated with a fine layer of dust. This seemed like the kind of crappy store that would hire someone like Laney.

  The only staff member I could see was an elderly man whose name tag read Warton. He wore a Kiehlman’s apron and glasses so thick I wondered if he could see at all. “Can I help you with anything?” he asked as he hobbled over to me, his tone making it clear he hoped I’d say no and exit the store immediately.

  “Yes, actually.” I stood taller, smiling like the cat who caught the canary. “I’m looking for someone who works here, or used to. Are you the owner?”

  “No, but I’ve been working here for longer than you’ve been alive.” While still unfriendly, Warton at least seemed intrigued. “Who are you looking for?”

  “Her name is Laney Jefferson.”

  He straightened up, his eyes flashing. “We don’t say that name in this store. Get out!” With surprising strength, he pushed me toward the door.

  “Wait!” I pushed him off me. “I’ve never even met her. I just need to find her.”

  “Don’t matter. Whatever that woman touches turns to shit. I don’t want to hear a damn word about her.”

  “Stop. Listen to me for one minute. Please.” I hadn’t prepared myself for this reaction, although in retrospect, I really should’ve. “She wronged me, too. That’s why I’m looking for her. Would you at least tell me what she did to you?”

  Warton grunted, giving in to my charm. “She worked here for less than six months,” he said. “Bad worker. Late every day. Skipping out early. Doing drugs on her breaks.”

  “And then?” I could already tell there was more to the story.

  “Then she didn’t show up one day,” he said, crossing his arms. “She cleaned out the cash register. Nearly gave Bertha a heart attack – that’s the owner, she’s ninety-three and her health isn’t what it used to be. Laney knew what it would do to Bertha. She knew. And the worst part is, she tried to pin it on me.”

  “No,” I breathed, although internally I was impressed. Laney seemed craftier than I’d given her credit for. Maybe the apple didn’t fall so far from the tree.

  “Yup,” Warton said. “Good thing we have surveillance cameras, or she would’ve gotten away with it. She didn’t know about them. I showed Bertha the footage, which meant I got to keep my job. Footage couldn’t put three thousand dollars back in that cash register, though.”

  “How terrible.” Mentally, I added three grand to the two Mark had told me Laney stole. Five G’s – how much of it was left? How much had she stolen since? And how much could I convince her to give to me?

  “So no, she d
oesn’t work here anymore,” Warton said. “And good riddance. If she ever walks in here again, I’ll spit straight in her face. I will.”

  “I’m sure she wouldn’t dare.” I took out my phone. “You must have an address for her, though. Somewhere you sent her paychecks, or some way to get in touch with her?”

  “Have you not been listening, kid? She stole from us. If we knew how to find her, we’d have the cops after her.”

  My heart dropped. “She just disappeared? How can that be?”

  Warton shrugged. “People like that, they know how to drop under the radar. She won’t be found unless she wants to be found, and believe you me, she doesn’t. She’s dead to me, if not dead in reality. And I sure hope she is.”

  “But…” My mind whirled. There had to be something he could do for me. After all the effort it took to find this place, it couldn’t be a dead end.

  I should’ve known this would happen. Laney Jefferson hadn’t made anything easy for me in my entire life, so why would she start now?

  “Do you have an employee file?” I asked. “Anything about her?”

  “It’s private information.”

  “I really need to find her.” I gave him my most pathetic gaze. “Really.”

  “Well… I suppose it won’t hurt nobody. Lord knows I don’t care if it hurts her.” He led me into the back room, where he dug through a filing cabinet. “I don’t know if there’s much that’ll help you in here, but that’s all I’ve got. Have at it.”

  Eagerly, I photographed each page. There wasn’t much – a form with her name and old address, which I already had. A contract, which she’d clearly broken. I’d kind of hoped they’d have a picture of her in here. A morbid curiosity made me want to see her face.

  “How about the video footage?” I asked. “Do you still have it?” It wouldn’t be particularly useful – I assumed it’d be too grainy for anyone to recognize her from it. I mostly just wanted to see it for myself. To get my first look at the woman who’d brought me into this world.

  “We don’t generally keep those things, but this one we kept for evidence in case we were ever able to prosecute her. I’ll dig it out for you. Give me a minute.”

  “Great.”

  Pausing in the doorway, Warton gave me a funny look. “You sure are keen to find her, aren’t you? How did you say you know her, again?”

  I smiled grimly to myself. “I didn’t.”

  EIGHT – ANDY

  I jogged on the treadmill at four-point-five miles per hour, just fast enough to raise my heart rate and get a light sheen of sweat on my forehead. A podcast about the latest financial news blasted into my headphones, keeping me motivated.

  As fast as I went, I couldn’t outrun the guilt that’d been chasing me for the last few days. I’d been thinking about that guy, Tyler, and the way I attacked him over nothing. I’d only wanted to protect my mom, and I still thought I was right to have done that. But I’d gone too far, even trying to sabotage his search for his own mom.

  The treadmill beeped, signifying that my time was up. My legs shaky, I climbed off and turned off the podcast. In the shower, there was nothing to distract me from my thoughts about Tyler.

  My conscience was killing me, and my guilt was only increasing as time went by. I was going to have to seek Tyler out and apologize, or I’d never be able to feel okay about what I’d done.

  And if part of me was also curious about the man with the mysterious past… well, I’d readily admit my life was dull. I was going to hang onto this bit of excitement a little longer.

  I toweled off, careful to not look at the other gym-goers changing. I always worried they’d see me looking and think I was a pervert. It was a holdover from my high school days, when I’d been terrified that anyone would find out I was gay. Even though no one actually cared when I came out, I still wanted to make sure people felt safe and comfortable around me.

  Back at home, I took out the file on Tyler that Wright had given me. The address in Shade Valley still confused and intrigued me. And since Mom had never gotten his number, I had no other way to contact him.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I jumped in the car. I was going to apologize to Tyler, get this off my chest… and get a little insight into his life, too. Then I was never going to see him again – for real this time.

  I knew I was getting close to his place when the houses started to get bigger and bigger. This was definitely the “right side of the tracks.” In fact, I’d never known a neighborhood this fancy even existed in Harrotsford. I’d never had a reason to come around here before.

  Once I found the right street, I slowed down and looked at the street numbers. Eighty-six… Eighty-eight… Ninety. I braked sharply, my jaw dropping. This was the biggest house on the street. It had to be four or five times the size of my mom’s place. With turrets and parapets and all sorts of fancy embellishments, it looked like a damn castle.

  How had Tyler ended up with such raggedy, garbage-bin clothes?

  Holding my breath, I knocked on the door. I had a feeling Tyler wasn’t going to be here, but I’d already driven all the way out here. I was in too deep to just leave.

  A middle-aged woman with bleach blonde hair and a spray tan opened the door and blinked at me. “I didn’t order anything… did I?” She raised a cigarette to her lips, and I wondered how she didn’t cut herself with her inch-long fingernails. “Oh, is it the sex swing? I wasn’t expecting that for another week!”

  “I’m not a deliveryman,” I said, shifting my weight from foot to foot. “I’m looking for Tyler.”

  The parallel between this and him knocking on my mother’s door wasn’t lost on me. Hopefully this woman – his adoptive mom, Sophie? – would be as receptive as mine had been.

  “He’s not here,” she said, her expression going cold. “And he won’t be, either.”

  “Are you his mom?” I asked, praying she wouldn’t slam the door in my face.

  “Sure am, although I’ve spent the last twenty-three years regretting the day I adopted him.” She huffed. “I kicked him out the other week. About time he learned to stand on his own two feet.”

  “Why did you kick him out?” I was being rude – it was none of my business – but my curiosity was too strong for me to restrain myself.

  “It was time,” Sophie said. “He’s an adult. He should be able to support himself.”

  I looked again at the house. It seemed like there would be enough space for Tyler here, and the owners sure weren’t lacking in funds to support him. “So he didn’t do anything wrong?” I asked.

  “No. My boyfriend moved in, so we wanted some privacy.”

  I could read between the lines. The boyfriend didn’t like having Tyler around. He would’ve gotten in the way of whatever activities necessitated a sex swing. The boyfriend had demanded that Sophie kick him out, and she’d obediently done it. Put her own son out on the whim of some man. I actually felt bad for Tyler.

  Sophie took another long drag of her cigarette. “You should’ve heard the way that boy yelled and screamed when I told him he needed to go. Pissed me off so bad, I told him to give back everything I bought him. His clothes, his car. The little brat didn’t deserve any of it. I paid for all of it. Me. I tried so many times to teach him the value of a dollar… tried to get him working, but it never worked out. All he wanted to do was lie around and sulk. I’ll never understand it.”

  I had a feeling Sophie hadn’t earned her own money from good, honest work, but I wasn’t about to ask.

  Things were starting to fall into place. Tyler had been abandoned by the only mother he’d ever known, who’d chosen a new boyfriend over her own son. In response, Tyler was grasping at straws, looking for his biological mother. He probably hoped that one would be better than his adoptive mother.

  Sophie hadn’t painted a very pretty picture of Tyler, and yet I still found myself sympathizing with him.

  “Where is Tyler now?” I asked.

  “Hell if I know.” She
blew a ring of smoke. “I haven’t seen or spoken to him since the day I kicked him out. Got his things boxed up in case he comes back and begs me for them. He better beg real good, though.” Her eyes fixed on me as if she’d realized she didn’t know who she was opening up to. “You a friend of his?”

  “You could say that.” She didn’t need to know the exact truth. “Do you have his number? Some way to reach him?”

  “You’re his friend and you don’t have his number?” She narrowed her eyes at me. “You have his address, though? How did you get this address?”

  I was on the other end of the suspicion I’d been throwing at Tyler, and it didn’t feel too good. “I knew him a few years ago,” I lied smoothly. “I think he changed his number, but I figured he’d be at the same place.”

  Sophie frowned. “All right, then.” She went to get her cell phone, and I stepped inside, awed by the rich surroundings. I’d never been in a private home like this before. The closest thing I could compare it to was my vacation in Paris when I went to Versailles.

  Sophie read out the number to me, and I copied it into my phone. I’d give Tyler a call and say I was sorry.

  Invading his privacy like this was going to require an apology of its own.

  NINE – TYLER

  I’d gone over Laney’s employee file a hundred times, if not more. Now, sitting cross-legged on the motel bed, the dimming light of early evening filtering through the window, I went through it again. There had to be something here that would tell me where he was. Some hint that had somehow slipped by Warton and the staff at Kiehlman’s.

  Of course there wasn’t. They would’ve combed through this even more keenly than I was doing, desperate to get their three grand back. That kind of money would make a serious difference to people like them.

  I didn’t know where Laney was working, or if she was still in Harrotsford. She could’ve been unemployed on the other side of the country by now. She could be anywhere!