“Sure, sir.” The woman took them to the back of the diner, away from all other occupied tables. Along the way, people turned up their noses at Melody, called her nasty names and even got up and moved their seats, the closer Melody got to their table.
Hank and Melody finally sat down, with his back at the wall, and her facing away from everyone.
“We’ll both have your cherry pie,” Hank said to the waitress.
“No, I can’t afford, it,” Melody said. “I don’t want anything.”
He ignored her and turned toward the waitress. “I’m buyin’. We’d both like a cup of coffee.”
The waitress walked away and he leaned down close. “Why don’t you have any money?”
“Well, my aunt fired me because she’s losin’ customers over the fake pictures—”
“Fake?”
She faced him directly, so he’d know she wasn’t lying. “Yes, sir. I was modelin’ for the greetin’ card company, and I swear I wore clothes every time. But they took my head and put it on a naked body. I’m not that buxom woman that they used. So, I marched in there today and quit my job.”
“What they did is against the law,” he said. “Want me to take care of it?”
“No, because they said they could do that in the contract I signed, even though I had no idea that’s what it said.”
“Typical. So they made you out to be a porn queen when you never wanted that. You just needed a job.”
“Sure did. I got back home on Sunday and Daddy was entertainin’ some woman in our house—right in our livin’ room! Can you believe it?”
“What did you do?”
“I left and slept in the car, then kind of broke into my aunt’s house so I could get warm.” She bit her lips, realizing she was talking to the sheriff. “That’s why you’re here, aren’t you? You’re gonna arrest me for that, aren’t you?”
He started to chuckle. “Not at all. Your aunt never said anything to me, and that was over a week ago. If you’re ever in that situation, I want you to come to my house. I have extra rooms and everything.”
“Thank you, but you also still have Bobby livin’ at home.”
“Not anymore,” he said. “He’s moved out and found a farm. He’s gone.”
“Good.”
He leaned forward and met her gaze. “You don’t like him, do you?”
“No, sir. There’s history there, and I don’t trust him one bit.” She studied him for a moment. “If you’re not here to arrest me, then what are you here for?”
“First, your daddy’s out of jail. I couldn’t keep him in because of various…things. I want you to be on the lookout for him. Stay away from him, because he said a few things, makin’ me think he’s huntin’ for you.”
“I heard that from Aunt Shirley. I only came to town to get a newspaper so I could get a job.”
The waitress brought them pie and two cups of coffee. She put Hank’s down nicely, but when she lowered the cup of coffee for Melody, she sloshed it over the side so it splashed out on Melody’s white blouse.
“What was that for?” Melody screeched, jumping backward. It was hot and it scalded her skin. She pulled her blouse out of her jeans and aired it so it wouldn’t burn her skin.
“Oh. Sorry.” The waitress walked away, laughing.
Hank got to his feet and took the waitress by the arm, walking her back to the table. “Tell this girl you’re sorry, or I’ll haul you in for assault.”
“You wouldn’t,” the girl said. “It was an accident.”
He shook his head. “No, it wasn’t and I’m a witness. Tell her you’re sorry.”
The girl turned to Melody, narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. “I’m sorry, but if I were you, I’d get out of town.”
“What was that?” Hank asked her.
“Nothin’.” The girl spun on her heel and walked away.
“Are you bein’ treated like this everywhere?” he asked Melody.
“Yes, I am. And I didn’t do anything to deserve it. I did my job, and never ever posed nude. You know I wouldn’t.”
He sat back down and glanced at her blouse. “I’ll buy you a new one.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll just bleach it if I have to.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry that happened. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she replied, holding back tears. Her life had turned upside down and for the worse. She turned and stared out the window of the diner, wishing she could just disappear off the face of the earth. No one would miss her—not even John, now that he had Nadia. She had no one left.
“I know better than that.” Hank leaned closer. “You’re not fine. What else is goin’ on?”
She wiped her eyes and turned back to him. “Do you mean besides not havin’ a job?”
“Yep.”
She took a deep breath. “John’s datin’ Nadia Jaffee, accordin’ to the television.”
“You’re still in love with him, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Yes, but it’s not important. We’ve been talkin’ every night on a cell phone he sent me.”
“Are you sure he’s datin’ Nadia?”
“I haven’t asked him directly, because he’s playin’ in the semi-finals today.”
“Oh, I see. I could have Chuck and Elise check it out when they get back from Europe if you want.”
She shook her head and wiped her tears again. “No, it’s not important. They have their life now, and don’t need to be spyin’ on John to find out anything.”
He leaned up closer. “Elise told me what you got her for a weddin’ present. Three hundred dollars is a lot of money. She wants to give it back to you.”
“No, it’s a present, and she needed it to live up there. It’s very expensive, and I know it. I just wish it could’ve been more.” Melody had to change the subject, because every moment she was seen with Hank was bad for his reputation. “So why did you want to meet with me?”
He lowered his eyes for a moment. “Well, your daddy’s out, and there’s something I need to tell you in case you hear about it. He just posted bail, and there will be a court case over him tryin’ to kill you.”
As she studied his face, she realized he looked almost ashamed. What did he know? “Are you gonna tell me what he’s holdin’ over your head?”
He looked up at her, taking time to answer. “Yep. We’ve kept it quiet for a long time now, but it’s time you knew. When your parents were first married, they were fine, as were my wife and me. We were good friends, and each of us had a son. Your parents were first, about seven months after they were married.”
“So they had to get married?” she asked.
“Yes, they did.”
“That’s news to me. I never thought about it. Did they even love each other?”
“I don’t know. Anyway, one day, your mother came to visit my wife, but she wasn’t there. We got to talkin’, and she was upset about somethin’ your father said to her. He wanted to leave her because he wasn’t happy. He wanted to drink and she wouldn’t let him. So, I kind of consoled her and one thing led to another, and, uh…”
The wheels in her head started to turn, and something finally clicked. “You had an affair with my mother?” she whispered. “Is that what you’re tellin’ me?”
He lowered his head and nodded. “She got pregnant about the same time my wife got pregnant, and you and Elise are half sisters.”
“So my father’s not even my father?” Melody felt her mouth drop open. “No wonder he hates me so much. How long has he known?”
“Since before you were born. He wasn’t sleepin’ with your mother at all durin’ that time, and they even had separate bedrooms. She told him it was me. After that, he treated you both like dirt. It wasn’t your fault, and I loved your mother. When she got cancer, she told my wife all about the affair, who left me with my two kids. Your father wouldn’t let your mother get treatment because he considered it payback for cheatin’ on him. I tried to get her help, but he
said he’d kill me if I did anything more because I’d wrecked his family. He also forced you to work for him because you were the product of somethin’ evil.”
Melody sat back, tears filling her eyes. “No wonder I don’t look like him. He has dark hair and brown eyes, just like Jimmy. I got the red hair and green eyes from you, didn’t I?”
He glanced up at her, then lowered his eyes. “My mother was a redhead, and my whole family has green eyes.”
“Who else knows in my family?”
“No one. He’s been holdin’ it over my head since before you were born. That’s why I couldn’t put him in jail before, or he’d tell everyone you were my daughter.” He lifted his eyes and faced her. “I want to make it right for you. I want to give you everything I’ve given to Elise.”
She didn’t know what to say. No wonder she never wanted to date Bobby. Hank and Martin, the man she thought was her father, always stopped any flirting by him. They were…related? Bobby was her half-brother?
She stood up and placed her napkin on the table. “I don’t want your charity. I don’t want anything.” Opening her purse, she pulled out her wallet and put a few dollars on the table, then walked away.
“Melody, please!”
She kept on walking, got to her car, and drove to her apartment. At least she still had that.
~~~~~
Chapter 11
After stopping at a grocery store, Melody went home and ate a whole quarter-pint of chocolate ice cream before she turned on the television. The game was still going on, and John was ahead, but not by much. They were on their third set and he’d won the first one. The second one went to his opponent, but it looked like he might win the third set.
Melody threw the ice cream container away, flipped off the television and began to cry. Her whole life was crashing down around her, and there was nothing she could do about it. John had a girlfriend, her father wasn’t her father, and she had almost no money. She’d just gotten the mail and a bill for the hotel had come, putting her in more debt than she’d ever had in her life. At least she’d paid her rent for September.
A knock at the door had her off the bed and wiping her tears. She opened the door to a man in a courier outfit. “Are you Melody Gray?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“This is for you. Good day!” He handed her an envelope, spun and walked away.
She looked at the envelope in her hands with her name on it. There was no return address on the thing, so it made her curious. She closed the door, opened the envelope and sat on the bed, reading over the papers.
“A lawsuit? From Nancy Jenkins?” She read on. John’s mother was suing her for defamation of character and the breakup of her marriage, to the tune of twenty million dollars.
Melody started to laugh, because if she didn’t she’d be in tears. “Twenty million dollars? Good luck tryin’ to collect that, lady!” This was worse than she’d thought! She stopped laughing and began to cry. How many times could she be kicked when she was down?
She locked the door to the apartment and closed the curtains. Even though it was only two o’clock in the afternoon, she turned off the light in the small room, turned off the cell phone, snuggled under the covers and went to bed. There was no reason to get up. There were no new jobs in the paper for her to investigate. There was no reason for her to be awake at all.
As she lay in bed, her mind kept going back to John. She missed him, missed his smile and wanted to talk to him. But he was struggling to be something in his life, and she was just a pit stop along the road to fame for him. He had to move on and so did she. She was out of options, though, because she needed money for everything. Tears kept pouring onto her pillow and she hugged the teddy bear with the racquet to her chest, sleep finally taking over.
~~~~~
A loud knocking woke her, and she sat up in the dark with a start. “Melody,” someone whispered. “It’s Shirley.”
“Shirley?” She got out of bed and walked to the door, unlocked it and stared at her aunt. “Why are you here so late? It’s dark outside!”
Shirley walked into the apartment, took the cell phone from the television stand and turned it on. “John wants to talk to you.” She handed her the phone and walked toward the door. “I had to drive the whole way out here to tell you that. Now, I’m tired, so I’m leavin’.” She opened the door, walked out, and closed it behind her.
The phone rang and Melody stared at it. “Hello?”
“Are you okay?”
“Why?” She checked her watch. “It’s after midnight!”
“You didn’t have your phone on and I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m fine,” she said. “Go back to Nadia. I’m sure she’s waitin’ for you.” She turned the phone off and laid it back down beside the television. After climbing into bed, she started to cry again. He probably called just to tell her he wanted all his stuff back, so she made a decision to send it all back to him the next day. Why did life have to be so hard?
~~~~~
She was awakened again the next morning by a knock at the door. “Management. Open up.”
She got out of bed and checked her watch. It was seven in the morning on a Sunday. What were they thinking?
She opened the door and saw Lorene, from the front office, standing in front of her.
“Hello,” Melody said with one eye open. “What can I do for you?”
“I have to evict you. You have until this afternoon to get everything you own out of your apartment.”
This had to be a nightmare. “What? Why?”
“You’re a tramp and we’ve had nothin’ but complaints about you livin’ here.”
Melody felt her mouth drop open in shock. “But I’m quiet and don’t bother anyone!”
“Except for appearin’ nude for greetin’ cards.”
“I didn’t appear nude! They took my face and put it on a nude body! Do I look like I have boobs that big?” She pointed to get her point across.
Lorene looked down then stared at her face. “No, but that’s beside the point. Management wants you out. If you need help, I’m to help you.”
“I can do it. I don’t have a lot of things.”
“Oh, and you forfeited your rent because you didn’t obey the rules. Plus I need two hundred dollars more because you broke the lease.”
“But I didn’t break the lease and I did obey the rules!”
“Not accordin’ to management. Sorry. I’m just doin’ my job. Turn in your keys and two hundred dollars.” She turned and walked away.
Melody closed the door, got a quick shower and threw on some clothes. Fortunately, she didn’t have much in the refrigerator, so she ate whatever she could, then threw the rest away. She was packed up in no time, but getting the television and the stand to the car was almost more than she could handle. She pushed, pulled and tugged, while her neighbors stared at her, never offering to help her.
After struggling to stuff it all into the back of her car, she finally took her keys to the office and paid the two hundred dollar fee, giving her a balance of two cents in her checkbook.
“Usually it’s a month’s fee for breakin’ the lease,” Lorene whispered. “But I like you.”
“Thanks.” For nothing, Melody thought. She signed all necessary papers and went out to her car. She had nothing left and nowhere to go. Why did life have to be so cruel to her? What did she do to deserve all of this?
She drove around town for a bit, finally remembering her favorite place to go to think. It was near her childhood home, and she knew the man she thought was her father would never hunt for her there. But the more she thought about it, things were starting to fall into place in her mind. No wonder he didn’t send her to college like he did for Jimmy. He always liked him better anyway, and now it all made sense.
She thought about Hank, and how he must have been very hurt inside every time he saw Melody beaten by her father. Yet, he did nothing, just to save his own reputation. He was no b
etter than anyone else.
She drove into the park near her childhood home and pulled into a parking space. She could be alone here, look at the beautiful trees and hide from everyone. That’s all she wanted, anyway. She had to figure out how to start her life over, somewhere else. It was going to be the hardest thing she’d ever done and she knew it. And with no money, tougher than ever.
She wandered through the park, keeping to the paths until she got to an opening near the river. She walked to the bank on the side of the river and sat down on a bench to look out over the water. She had to have a plan. She needed some place to go—some place where no one knew who she was. Considering her picture was plastered all over the national news, it would take a while to become anonymous.
“I knew I’d find you here.” She heard a gun cock and closed her eyes. Martin, the man who she thought was her father, had found her, and she knew it was just a matter of time until he shot her and threw her into the river. It was deep enough, so no one would find her body for a long time if he weighed it down. She never should’ve come to the park.
Melody turned to face him, seeing the shotgun in his hands. She sighed, trying to remain calm. “What do ya want?”
“I want you dead. You’re the reason my life’s a mess and the reason I’m drunk all the time. I just have to see your face and I remember the day your momma told me you weren’t mine.”
“I just found out about that.”
“Who told you?” he asked.
“My real father. Honestly, I wish he’d taken me to his house, because I bet I would’ve been loved there. I was never loved in my home, was I?”
He scowled. “Not by me. You repulse me. And now you’re posin’ nude? You’re not my daughter.”
“You’re right, I’m not your daughter. I’m happy about that, too. I’d never want to be related to someone so evil.”
He raised his gun. “Prepare to die, Melody. I should’ve done this the day you were born. You’ve been nothin’ but trouble.”
“Drop it!” a voice yelled from behind him.
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