by SD Saunders
“He pushes my buttons every time”, draping her arm over her sister’s shoulders, Melody led her to the front room, shooting a look at Alex as he motioned the sign for a cuppa; she nodded in acceptance, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’ and walked them over to the sofa.
Alex hurried around the kitchen, collecting mugs, now where had she put the t-bags. Pulling open cupboards in search of them, his usual calm demeanour deserting him, the call to Marsh still playing on his mind, no records of a Tim Abbott could be found, the man was a ghost. “Well, I just became a ghost hunter”, his frustration making him slam the cupboard door a little harder than it warranted.
“Everything okay in there”? Mel’s concerned voice filtered through.
“Just looking for teabags”.
“Top right-hand cupboard beside the cooker”.
“Thanks”. Get it together Alex, he silently berated himself, plopping teabags into the cups and adding hot water.
Seeing Mel all bruised and fragile had nearly sent him over the edge; he had wanted to keep her safe and had failed, damn it he had failed terribly. The new feelings he felt for her crashed over him once again, he had known he cared deeply for her, but lying on the sofa last night, stronger feelings had started to intrude on his overly tired mind. The thought of her lying just above him, tucked up safely in her bed had haunted him, a yearning to hold her, overwhelming his common sense, making him walk to the stairs several times that night, only to return to the sofa as he thought better of it. His declaration of love was probably the last thing she needed right then; love, the word so readily formed in his head, did he love her. ‘If it looks like a duck’, he quoted aloud, a saying Joel always produced whenever stating the obvious.
“Walks like a duck, probably is a duck”, Mel finished behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, “so what looks like a duck”?
Turning around to face her, he cupped her chin, “just a saying Joel favours”, he winked, placing a quick kiss on her lips. “Does your sister take sugar”?
“Just one”.
“One it is”, he turned back, spooning the sugar in, “here you go”, he handed her the mugs, grabbing his and heading towards the backdoor.
“Not joining us”?
“No, I’ll leave you to your girlie chat, I have a couple of calls to make”, raising his hand with his phone in it, “I’ll be out there if you need me”.
Walking back to the front room with the tea she sat down again, handing one to Sarah.
“He seems really nice, you’ve got a good one there”.
“I know”, Mel smiled sadly at her.
“Don’t do that”, Sarah wiggled her finger admonishingly, “it’s okay to be happy, and I won’t let you taint this with guilt”. Taking a sip of her tea, she continued. “And as you so rightly pointed out, this is no-one’s fault but Rich’s”. “Anyway, enough about that, how’s the progress on Lucy’s party dress going”?
“It’s finished and even if I do say so myself, it looks fantastic”, she beamed, “where is Lucy, by the way”?
“Dropped her off for a play date at her friend’s on my way over”.
“Little minx couldn’t wait for me to leave her, I’m sure she thought I was cramping her style”.
“Want to see it”? Jumping up, she headed into her craft room, returning moments later with the dress. “Here it is”, she swept it out in front of her dramatically.
“Oh sis, it’s beautiful, she’ll love it”, reaching out to touch the fabric as if it were fragile, “you always had a talent for sewing, I on the other hand, couldn’t sew to save my life”. “I remember grandmother trying her best to teach me, but I always wanted to run and play, a self-confessed tomboy”, she grinned at the memory.
“If I recall correctly, you shined at her cookery lessons though”, Melody chuckled, memories of them standing on the kitchen chairs stirring bowls of gloop around, more flour on their faces and hands than in the bowls, while their grandmother patiently instructed them.
“Well, if you’re going to make something, might as well be something you can eat”, she teased. “I could see the sense in that, unfortunately I always had a healthy appetite”, she moaned, tapping her stomach and winking at Mel. “Now, if I had those extra three inches of height”, she laughed as Mel rolled her eyes at the familiar tease.
“You’d be just the same”, she played back.
“Except taller”, Sarah finished for her.
They spent the next hour reminiscing about old times, while pouring over old photo albums that had belonged to their grandmother, the mood happy and light as they laughed at the photos of their young selves.
Glancing at her watch, Sarah made to get up. “Got to go”, she sighed, placing the photo album on the coffee table. “I’m meeting a friend in town”, she clarified, glancing at Mel’s questioning look, “a bit of retail therapy’s good for the soul”.
“But hell for the bank balance”, Mel laughingly retorted, linking arms with her and walking to the front door.
“Take care love, say goodbye to Alex for me”, Sarah spoke softly, hugging her tight.
“I will, you too sis, and have fun shopping”, she squeezed her back. It was so good to have her feisty sister back, she mused as she stood there waving her off, the heavy feeling of guilt that had plagued her evaporating as she headed back inside.
Checking on the marinating salmon fillets in the fridge, she replaced the foil wrapping, pleased with herself. She would be serving them on a bed of baby potatoes, leeks and a creamy sauce, following her grandmother’s well-worn recipe to the letter, she felt quietly confident in its success. “Hopefully, it will turn out well, gran”, she mused aloud, moving the bowl of fresh mixed rocket salad to a higher shelf. It would be a great side dish, a balsamic dressing and a little shaved parmesan would make it perfect, the fact that it had come straight from Alex’s garden, an added bonus. She smiled at the memory, his pleasure had been evident as he had handed them to her ‘grew these myself, thought they’d go well with dinner’, his boyish smile of pride melting her heart.
Grabbing two bottles of beer and uncapping them, she headed into the garden to find Alex stretched out on a lounger, his sunglasses perched up on his head as he flipped through a file.
“Sarah gone already”? He smiled, shutting his file and accepting the beer she held out to him.
“Yes, she just left, she said to say goodbye to you”.
“Well, if the laughter I heard was anything to go by, I’d say you both had a good time”.
“We did, I’m glad she called round”, she settled onto the lounger taking a large gulp of beer.
“It’s good to see you smiling again”, he gazed at her, the warmth in his voice reflecting in his eyes.
The day had passed pleasantly, they had eaten their lunch in the garden and that afternoon Alex had driven them to the hardware store, where Melody had selected paints and dust sheets for the planned re-decorating of the front room, which Alex had insisted on painting with her the following day. A walk in the park had followed with Toby being his usual energetic self, insisting on Alex to throw the ball till they all headed wearily home.
As Melody busily prepared the dinner, she felt a contented glow wash over her; the domestic bliss seemed to envelop her as she all but danced around the kitchen to Mantovani’s ‘The Melba Waltz’ that Alex had selected to play, the cascading strings of the music sending her mind into romantic overdrive as she imagined dancing with him in her rose-pink gown.
The first guest to arrive was Lindsey; she swept into the kitchen, two bottles of wine in her hands, “I come armed”, holding out the wine, the laugh dying as she glimpsed Melody’s barely disguised bruised face. “Oh hun, what happened”?
“It’s a long story”, she sighed, filling her in as she shaved parmesan over the rocket salad.
“I’ll kill him”, Lindsey fumed, her usual soft demeanour turning ferocious.
“No you won’t, it’s all being sorted”.
“Who are we killing”, Charlotte’s playful voice chimed in as she entered the kitchen, dressed in crop jeans and a purple and blue tie dye t-shirt, her short spiky hair tipped with matching shades of blue.
“No-one’s killing anyone”, Melody admonished, turning to Charlotte.
“Wow, that’s a shiner”, she whistled, looking at Melody’s bruises, a warning look from Lindsey momentarily silencing her. “At least we’re all colour co-ordinated”, she teased, pulling at her t-shirt and glancing at Lindsey’s blue jersey dress, and then at Mel.
“But she’s wearing pink”, Lindsey admonished, frowning at the mischievous twinkle in Lottie’s eyes.
“She means my bruises”, Mel giggled, the fraught atmosphere evaporating as they all laughed at Charlotte’s incorrigible wit.
Joel followed soon after and the drinks soon flowed, the happy chatter and laughter making Melody finally relax; this had been just what she needed, she thought, smiling as she watched Alex holding the floor, regaling them all with tales of his and Joel’s air-force days. His handsome face alight with the stories he told, every now and then their glances meeting and a secret small smile would light his eyes, drawing her in and holding her breathlessly rapt.
“So, Joel, what’s with the wings tatt”? Charlotte asked, leaning into him and pulling at his t-shirt sleeve, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
“Put him down Lottie”, Lindsey playfully berated, rolling her eyes.
“Aw, come on Lind’s, don’t you want to know too”, she batted her eyes at her, turning back to Joel, she glanced at him coyly, “you don’t mind do you”?
“Not at all”, he grinned at her and then at Lindsey, “it’s from my air-force days when I served in the RAF, these are swift wings”, he pointed to his arm at the two years tattooed in the middle of the wings, “this is the year I joined and this one when I left, a reminder of my time served”.
“So you served for twelve years”, she calculated, peering closely at the tattoo, “and do you have the real thing”?
“I do”, he nodded solemnly, “we all get them once we have completed our training”.
“Do you have one too”, she turned to look directly at Alex.
“Wings yes, tattoo no”.
Turning back to Joel, she smiled sweetly. “So Joel, you got any pets”? The combined roar of laughter from Lindsey and Melody caused him to frown questionably at Alex, who simply shrugged his shoulders and raised his hands in defeat. A startled Toby waking up and shoving his toy at Joel, sent them into fresh laughter.
Leaving them to their conversation, Melody headed back to the kitchen, the laughter still shaking her frame. Pulling out plates from the dresser, she placed them on the kitchen side.
“Looks like they’re all behaving themselves”, Alex’s seductive voice warmed her neck as he came up behind her, “how are you holding up”? He growled low as he nibbled at her earlobe.
“Mm fine”, she relaxed back against him, his warm hands seeming to burn through the thin material of her shift dress, quickening her pulse. “I’m glad you told Joel about my incident before he came, I don’t think I could have gone through all that again”.
“I thought as much”, he paused turning her to face him, “so, what’s with the joke”.
“Joke”? She frowned momentarily confused.
“Yes, when she asked if Joel had any pets”, he whispered, a smile tugging at his mouth.
“Oh that”, she grinned, her eyes sparkling mischievously, “it’s Lottie’s theory on men”, lowering her voice, she continued, “if a guy has a pet, he’s more likely to be stable, therefore good boyfriend material”.
“We better get him a cat then”, Alex murmured, his laugh rumbling through her.
The rest of the evening passed smoothly, with dinner a resounding success. After seeing the last of the guests off, Alex made his way back to the kitchen, leaning on the door jamb, he watched as Melody loaded the last of the dishes into the dishwasher, all the while keeping an overly interested Toby at bay as he tried in vain to lick at the plates. Closing the door and switching it on, she turned to catch him staring at her, a smile playing around his lips.
“That went well”, he mused, pushing away from the door and heading over to her.
“It sure did, and I think we have a budding new romance”, she sighed, reaching up to trace her fingers over his stubbled jaw, the feel of it like fine sandpaper against her fingertips.
“I guess she’s willing to by-pass the pet theory this time”, he groaned, playfully capturing her fingers in his mouth.
“I think you guess right”, she murmured back, wrapping her free arm around his neck, a look of desire flooding her eyes.
Chapter 13
Alex awoke with a start, the nightmare still fresh in his mind, images of Melody slipping away from him as he tried to grasp onto her hands, the cold faceless stranger pulling her deeper and deeper into the crowds, his knife glinting menacingly at her throat as her wide frightened eyes beseeched him for help, but he couldn’t move as he tried, his legs seemed to catch on something. He sat up, untangling the sheet that had twisted around them. “Pull it together”, he groaned, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he glanced around his room, the familiar space quiet and empty. Annoyed at himself for letting the nightmare get to him, he tossed the covers back and swung out of bed, the troubling thoughts of the thief and now this Richard incident had really got to him, all he wanted to do was check on Mel and drown out the images of his nightmare. Pulling on his running shorts and selecting a new t-shirt, he hurriedly dressed, grabbing his phone and shoving it in his pocket. He rushed downstairs, locating his runners at the back door, he looked around his chrome and black kitchen, so different from Mel’s, no pot plants on the windowsill or children’s paintings on the fridge held in place with goofy magnets; not for the first time, Alex decided he didn’t like the clinical look of his kitchen. Shoving his bare feet into his runners and picking up Mel’s keys, he locked his back door and headed over the fence to her cottage, the pull on him to check on her too strong to deny.
The cottage was quiet as he let himself in; walking into the kitchen, Toby’s low growl greeted him. “It’s just me, boy”, Alex whispered, closing the door silently behind him. Did he just imagine it or did Toby sag with relief as he settled back down on hearing Alex’s voice; shaking his head hopelessly at his overactive imagination, he walked to the hallway. Taking the stairs two at a time, he hesitated outside of her bedroom door, quietly opening it, he peered inside. She lay curled in a foetal position in the centre of the double bed, her golden hair splayed over the pillows; silently he crept over to the bed, a slight smile played at her lips as she dreamed, her thick lashes twitching slightly as he tentatively brushed a kiss over her flushed cheeks. The relief he felt at the sight of her sleeping peacefully, soon warred with the feeling of guilt for having intruded into her space; quietly retracing his steps, he exited her room, making his way to the kitchen, he opened the back door for Toby.
Breathing in the crisp morning air, he stood watching the dog wander around the garden, his nightmare receding with every breath. The first night of staying back at home and he was acting like a fool, he berated himself; heading back in, he filled the coffee pot and grabbed his phone from his pocket, a couple of text message alerts appearing on his screen, one from Joel and one from an unknown number. Opening Joel’s, he smiled as he read, ‘hi mate, great fun last night. Could you forward me pixie’s number, thanks’. Sending a reply with Charlotte’s number, he then opened the unknown number’s text, ‘hello Alex, I’m afraid I don’t have any old birthday cards or documents. About meeting Jack, I’d really like to do that soon’ Christina.
Adding her number to his contacts, he texted her back, promising to arrange a meeting for the following week. Grabbing a notepad and pen from the dresser, he scribbled down a quick reminder to arrange it. Dropping the pen, he headed over to the coffee pot and poured out two mugs, a low whine from Toby brought his attention to
the dog, who had reappeared at the back door and was now pawing at his empty bowl. “Okay boy, I get it”, he huffed, grabbing the kibble from the cupboard and pouring a generous bowl full for him, patting his back fondly as his nose disappeared into his bowl, his tail swishing as he crunched merrily away. Fixing Mel some toast and a bowl of cereal, he arranged it on a tray, stepping out into the garden, he took a quick look around and he found what he wanted, snapping a simple pink flower, he headed back inside and found a small flute vase under the sink. Placing the flower in it, he added it to the tray, a glass of fresh orange juice and he was set.
“Morning beautiful”, he beamed, settling the tray down beside the bed, the mattress dipping as he sat on the side, making her roll slightly towards him.
“Alex”, she murmured, looking at him beneath her lashes, a slow smile spreading on her face, “thought I was dreaming you up”, she yawned, reaching out to him, a blush blooming on her already flushed face.
“Good dreams, I hope”, he smiled, brushing her golden curls off her face and trailing his fingers down her neck.
“Mm, good dreams”, she sighed, sitting up to look at him, “you brought me breakfast”? Her voice sounding husky as she cast a look at the tray.
“Yes, and a flower for my girl too”, he laughed, picking up the tray and placing it on her lap, “I thought I’d take Toby with me for a run”, he paused, downing his coffee, “you relax and enjoy your breakfast, we’ll be back soon”, he stood stretching out his leg muscles.
“Oh my, breakfast and a show”, she laughed.
“Anything for milady’s smile”, he teased, wiggling his hips at her, quickly side-stepping the pillow as she threw it at him. “Now that’s no way to treat your gallant knight”, he chuckled, heading out of the bedroom as she made to throw another one at him, her laughter following him as he descended the stairs.
The boot fair was buzzing, even the threat of rain hadn’t put people off from coming. Melody looked skyward, the blue sky and small white clouds belying any threat of rain, she smiled to herself, glad the weatherman had got it wrong once again. Heading towards a stall, the bright colours catching her eyes, she picked out some red, white and blue tulle. She guessed she could probably make up at least fifty scrunchies with the material, the no sew style she had in mind would be quick to make and with her unexpected time off, she would have plenty of time; the fact that they would sell like hot cakes in the shop with the queen’s diamond jubilee just around the corner another bonus. Mentally dressing the shop in the red, white and blue bunting, she calculated the time it would take to overhaul the shop into a jubilee theme, the union jack paper she had just purchased would look great banded around the leftover homemade candles Susie had made for the shop last year. Feeling pleased with herself and her plans, she headed towards the burger vendor’s stand; ordering two colas she found a seat and sat down, closing her eyes and lifting her face to the warmth of the sun.