Melanie narrowed her eyes. “I’m not following you.”
Rhoda clapped her hands. “Thank you, Lord for revelation.” She leaned further into the table. “Melanie, whether you like it or not, your deafness saved you. If you had stayed with Janet, you could have ended up a junkie or behind bars.” Rhoda looked Janet’s way. “Sorry.”
Janet waved her hand. “It’s okay. It’s probably true.”
Rhoda continued. “Janet had to be locked up because she would never have gotten clean. Now, she’s accepted Christ. Ted Lawson, if he is Uncle, is also saved. His guilt eventually led him to Christ. Seeing his father change made Chase give his heart to God. If that isn’t a Higher Power at work, I don’t know what is.”
Trust her mom to inject positivity in her bleak past. Rhoda had taken all the trash, dumped it in a box called salvation, and wrapped it in a pretty bow called forgiveness. Melanie rolled her eyes.
“So now God wants you to pay it forward. He needs you all to forgive each other. That’s why you had to fall in love with Chase. Your love for Chase is what made you read Janet’s letters. You did it because he felt you should. And, it’s your love that will help you forgive Janet and Ted,” Rhoda said.
“You missed your calling, Mom,” Melanie said. “You should have been a storyteller. That’s way too many coincidences.”
“It makes sense to me,” Janet said.
“God moves in mysterious ways. His ways are not our ways.” Rhoda broke out the word from Isaiah.
Melanie leaned into her chair. She pinned Janet with a hard gaze. “Is Ted Lawson Uncle?”
“Get the picture, honey,” Rhoda said.
Melanie dug into her pocket and pulled out the picture. She unfolded the paper and held it up for Janet to see. “Is this him?” she asked.
Janet’s eyes were so wide Melanie could barely see her irises. She gave a brisk nod. “That’s him. That’s Uncle.” She smiled. “My Teddy Bear.”
Melanie collapsed into Rhoda’s arms.
25
“Teddy Bear?”
Ted lowered his head. The light blush against his father’s cheeks confirmed Chase’s fear. “Melanie texted me to ask if you were Teddy Bear aka Uncle.” Chase backed up. “I hoped she was wrong but I can see …” He spoke through gritted teeth. “You’re Uncle.”
“I need to go see her,” Ted said, leaning against the stool in Chase’s kitchen. “I need to speak to Melanie. Beg for her forgiveness.” Ted wrapped Chase’s spare robe around him. He lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the Florida sun. Though Chase had closed the blinds, there was no keeping the sun’s beam from shining inside.
Chase had taken Ted home with him the night before. Chase did not want Ted staying alone after his relapse. Judd had helped Chase get Ted into his Jeep then followed him home. Once the men settled Ted into the spare bedroom, Judd went home.
Chase had spent a lot of the night in prayer. He was thankful he did not have a shift today so he could devote his energies on Ted.
“Dad, trust me. You’re the last person Melanie would want to see.” Chase slid the tomato juice in front of him. “Drink this.”
Ted rubbed his head. “I forgot how deadly a hangover could be. I’m out of practice, I guess.” He took a gulp before wrinkling his nose. “What’s in it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Chase said. “When you’re done, you’ll feel better.”
“Where did you learn about homemade cures for hangovers?”
“You don’t want to know.” Chase reached for the croissants he had purchased at Dunkin Donuts the day before. “I wasn’t always saved. You know that.” He opened the refrigerator for the butter. He offered it to Ted. Chase returned to the refrigerator. He gathered a stalk of kale, a lime, a green apple, and a cucumber to make a smoothie. He retrieved a glass out of his dishwasher and placed it on the counter.
Ted took small sips of his tomato juice. “Thank you, son.”
Chase gave a brisk nod and worked on washing and chopping his ingredients. He was not in the mood for conversation. Chase poured all the contents from the bowl into the blender. The thought that his father committed such a heinous crime was tough news.
“That’s green.” Ted was trying hard to make conversation.
“It’s good.”
Chase poured his concoction into a long glass and slipped onto the stool next to his father. Chase avoided eye contact. “Dad, I need you to tell me everything.”
“I don’t remember,” Ted said. “But, I’ll do my best to fill in the blanks. I was drunk for most of my life. I held it together on the job but as soon as my shift ended … one night I was cruising down Easy Street and I saw a woman strutting in four-inch heels in this tight mini skirt. I stopped …”
Chase swallowed a huge portion of his drink. For a moment, he entertained the thought of adding something stronger. Then he rebuked the thought. Chase prayed for strength instead.
“I rolled down my window and asked her name and if she needed a ride. It was so late. I had good intentions. I meant to take her home but once she was inside my car, Janet made a pass at me. I was weak and before I knew five months had gone by.”
“Five months?” Chase’s chest heaved. “You cheated on Mom that whole time?”
Ted touched Chase’s arm. “I was young and stupid.”
Chase snarled. “Don’t give me young and stupid, Dad. That’s a copout. Was Janet the only one?”
Ted shifted his gaze. “There were women here and there. Nothing serious. There was something about Janet, though. She was … different.”
“Janet was an addict.” Chase rose off the stool. He drank the rest of his smoothie to keep from spewing the terrible words the enemy brought to his mind. Chase was not going to dishonor his God or his father.
“Yes, and Janet is my past.”
Chase glared. “What about Melanie? How do you explain what you did to her?” He drew deep, long breaths. “I told you someone beat Melanie until she lost her hearing and you said nothing. In fact, you said the person who did that deserved to be hung.”
“I did,” Ted said. He stood and walked over to Chase. “I didn’t remember what I had done when we were talking. It was over twenty years ago. I wasn’t even thinking about that.”
“Melanie thinks about it. Every day of her life,” Chase said. “Every morning she wakes up she’s reminded she used to hear. Melanie’s a dancer. A really good dancer who cannot hear the music.” Chase splayed his hands. “Don’t you get that?”
Ted wiped his forehead. “I was drunk. I don’t remember hurting her. If Janet hadn’t confronted me I wouldn’t have known.”
“That’s nonsense and I’m not buying it.” Chase folded his arms. “Your fists had to have been bruised or something.”
Ted rubbed his palms. “My hands were sore and bruised. I couldn’t recall how I hurt them. Then Janet told me what I had done and of course it was all over the news.”
Chase narrowed his eyes. “Why didn’t Janet turn you in? I know she was high but I can’t believe a mother wouldn’t want to see the man who hurt her child punished.”
Ted shifted his gaze. “I paid her off.”
“You what?” Chase shook his head. Just when he thought it could not get any worse. “Who are you?”
Ted jutted his jaw. “I’m me. The father you’ve known the past three years. God changed me and I’m holding onto that. But years ago I did a horrible thing and I’m filled with regret. But God has forgiven me. All my past is under the blood.”
Chase bit back the snarky comment. “Jesus might have paid it all but you still have consequences.”
Ted squinted. “Are you going to turn me in?”
“You should turn yourself in.”
“You don’t think I’ve thought about it?” Ted asked. “But then I say, what’s the point?”
“The point is it’s the right thing to do.”
Ted quit fighting. “I’m scared. So many people looked up to me. I’m scared to see the
ir disappointed faces and knowing my actions put it there.”
“I’m scared to look Melanie in the face knowing your actions damaged her for a lifetime.”
Ted dragged himself from the kitchen to the bedroom. To Chase, Ted appeared broken and his heart constricted. He thought of Melanie and his chest tightened. He felt pulled in opposite directions. Chase blew out a huge expanse of air. He loved them both but he could not have them both. The question was, should he go with the man who gave him life or the woman who was his life?
Chase rubbed his temples. He closed his eyes. “What do I do, Lord?”
The Lord was quiet.
He needed to do something. He pulled on his fingers. He ran his fingers through his hair. He wandered the kitchen.
Then inspiration struck. Chase rushed into his bedroom to get his phone. He pulled up the pictures of Melanie dancing.
Chase flipped through the pictures. His heart smiled seeing Melanie’s poses. She soared as high as an eagle. Her swanlike grace was evident by her extended arm and pointed toes. He cupped the phone in his palm and walked out to the patio.
Chase squatted on his workbench. He ripped off the blanket he had used to preserve the wood. Chase ran his hand along the edges of the Basswood. Then he picked up his whittling tools.
26
“The only person sulking should be me,” Tricia said. She bit into a pineapple chunk. “I’m bigger than a whale. I’m about to charge admission for a view.”
Melanie eyed Tricia’s rounded stomach. Tricia was five months along but she was huge. Her obstetrician said there was no need for concern, though. Nevertheless, Tricia tried to control her urgings with salads and fruit.
“You’re beautiful and I’m not sulking,” Melanie signed.
Tricia adjusted her body on the green oversized loveseat, then plopped her feet on the ottoman. Emory purchased the sofa because after two months of camping out in her room, Tricia screamed for a change of scenery.
Melanie had spent the night. She had visited with Rachel and stopped by Tricia’s house to update her. Rachel’s trial would begin in two weeks. Both Melanie and Tricia had prayed for their friend but they knew Rachel would do time. The question was, for how long.
Melanie stretched as her aching back protested bunking on Tricia’s couch. She missed her deep sleep number bed mattress.
“Why don’t you give Chase a call?” Tricia asked.
Melanie shook her head. “Too much time has passed. He’s most likely moved on by now. Men like him don’t stay single for long.”
“Didn’t you say Chase hadn’t dated for three years?”
Melanie nodded.
“I find it hard to believe he’s found someone new, or even looking,” Tricia said. She saw Tricia cover her mouth. “Excuse me. I burped.”
Melanie shrugged. “I couldn’t tell.” She swung her feet to the floor. “I’m trying to stop thinking about Chase. There’s no hope for us.”
Tricia’s eyes softened with compassion. “There’s always hope. Love brings hope.”
“His father beat me.”
“Chase is not his father.”
“He chose Ted.”
“He shouldn’t have to choose.”
“I’m not having anything to do with Uncle,” Melanie said. “If I’m with Chase, I’d have to deal with him.”
“You don’t have to deal with Uncle. Uncle is gone. You said yourself he’s changed. You’d be dealing with Ted.”
Melanie pursed her lips. “They are one and the same,” she signed.
“Can you get me some strawberries?”
Melanie grinned. “You’re like a garbage disposal.”
Tricia threw a pillow her way. Melanie jumped to her feet and went into the kitchen. She washed and chopped two cups of strawberries, one for herself and one for Tricia. She returned into the living area.
“Here you go.” Melanie handed Tricia the fruit.
Tricia ate several pieces. Melanie bit into a strawberry but her stomach was closed for business. She put her fruit cup on the coffee table. She had lost about ten pounds. Melanie knew it was because her appetite had waned and she had been dancing twice a day for hours. Dancing was meant to distract her heart from Chase but it had the opposite effect. The more she danced, the more Chase flooded her mind.
Not dancing was not a cure. She had avoided the studio for a week. But, somehow, some way Chase invaded her thoughts. She saw Tricia’s waving her hand in her peripheral vision. Melanie faced her.
“What’s that face about?” Tricia asked. She held up a hand. “Don’t tell me. You’re thinking about Chase.”
“I can’t shake him,” Melanie said.
“Maybe you’re not supposed to.”
Melanie gave Tricia the evil eye. “Obviously, you’ve not been listening to a word I’ve been saying.”
“Have you tried praying?”
Melanie lifted her hands. “I’ve prayed and prayed and I’ve prayed some more. I find myself praying for Chase, asking God to keep him safe on the road.”
“Girl, I don’t know what else to say. You’ve got it bad.”
“Tell me about it. What was my life like before Chase Lawson?” Melanie mumbled. Her feet tingled. “I’m going to the studio.”
“You’re there so much, why don’t you buy the place?” Tricia threw her head back and laughed.
Melanie kissed Tricia on the forehead. “I’m going home to shower and change. Do you need anything else before I leave?”
“Hand me the remote. I’m hooked on the Maury show.”
Melanie wrinkled her nose. “How can you watch that?”
“I was channel surfing one day and now I’m hooked.”
Melanie took in Tricia’s sparkling eyes. “I’m glad you know your baby’s daddy.”
“I am, too.” Tricia’s eyes warmed. “God has been good to us, sis. Look where we were, where we could have been, and where God brought us.”
Melanie nodded. “Every day, I thank God for the Benson’s. I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”
Tricia’s eyes pleaded. “That’s probably how Chase feels about his father. Ted is all the family he has left. Surely, love can cover the hideous past. I’ll be praying for you.”
Melanie swallowed. Tricia’s words hit Melanie’s heart. She gave Tricia a hug before making her way out of the residence. Melanie trudged toward her vehicle. Once she was inside, she gripped the wheel. “Lord, help me know what to do.”
My grace is sufficient, flowed into her spirit.
Melanie mulled on that as she drove home. Twenty minutes later she was on her way to the studio. She pulled into the vacant lot and parked into one of the spaces. Melanie scrunched her nose and looked at her watch. It was close to noon. “Where’s everyone?” she voiced aloud.
Melanie walked up to the door. There was a blue paper taped to it. She squinted her eyes and read the fine-print. The studio was closed. Her stomach dropped. Eviction notices from the sheriff’s office were on the door. There was a scribbled note of apology from Delia and Hank.
Melanie noticed there were several notes taped to the door. She slid her eyes back to the notice and shook her head. But this made no sense. She was here a week ago. The Hartman’s had smiled at her like they had no cares or concerns. Not once had they mentioned their money troubles. Melanie read the notice again.
Tricia’s words teased her ears. You’re there so much, why don’t you buy the place? Melanie stood still. God had spoken. She knew it as clear as she knew her own name. Melanie missed working but knew she would never number crunch ever again. But dancing, she could do every minute and every hour.
Melanie plucked a few of the notes off the door and read them. Many of the parents had left their phone numbers. They expressed sadness at the studio’s closing. Melanie felt like God had left these notes for her to read. She snatched the other notes and quickly scanned them.
Clutching the papers in her hand, Melanie zoomed toward her car. She tossed the papers on her car
seat and grabbed her cell phone. Melanie raced over to the door and snapped a picture of the notice. There was a courthouse auction scheduled and a number to call.
Melanie’s heart raced. She rushed back to Tricia’s home with the papers in her hand. “Tricia!” she yelled, bounding inside Tricia’s home.
Tricia jerked awake and grabbed her stomach. “You’re loud enough to wake me if I were six feet under.”
“Sorry if I scared you but I’m just so excited,” Melanie said in a much lower tone. She scurried over to her sister and practically shoved the papers into Tricia’s hands. “You’ve got to read this.”
Tricia’s eyes widened. “Wow. God is moving on your behalf.” She waved the papers. “You can’t let the studio go.”
Melanie’s head bobbed. “I need you to call the number for me and get me the information.”
Tricia grabbed her cell phone. Melanie flew into the kitchen and pulled out the miscellaneous drawer. Tricia kept her appliance warranties, batteries—pretty much anything—in that drawer. Melanie rummaged in the drawer for a pen and paper.
Tricia’s eyes flashed with excitement. She was talking fast but kept moving her head so Melanie had a hard time deciphering all that was being said.
Melanie plopped next to Tricia and tapped her feet. “What’s going on?” she asked.
Tricia wagged her forefinger for Melanie to hand her the paper. With a flourish, Tricia wrote down April 27. Next Tricia wrote 9:15 a.m. Finally, she wrote down a figure and Melanie’s eyes popped wide.
Melanie cupped her mouth. The Guys and Dolls studio was on the market for an unbelievable price. Melanie laughed when she saw the paltry sum. Who could this be but God?
“Lord, why do You love me so?” she shouted.
Tricia ended the call and opened her hands wide. Melanie went into Tricia’s arms. They hugged and giggled.
Tricia broke the embrace first. “Get to the bank and secure that cashier’s check. Then call a real estate attorney to handle the paperwork.”
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