by james
He’d almost killed for her already. Two years ago, he’d found the house of worship, the house across the street from her own temple. The house where he could witness her beauty. He would have killed to gain possession of his home, but the owners had been perfectly happy to take cash for it. His inheritance wasn’t even close to running out, giving him all day, every day, to reflect upon the words of his goddess. To learn from them. To become one with them.
She stepped outside, and peace settled over his body like a warm blanket. She was alone now. She’d been living with a man for sixty-two days, but he was gone now. Charles had never been jealous. Jealousy was unnecessary. When the time was right, Melody, sweet Melody, would know who her true servant was.
She got into her truck and drove away. He smiled. He could feel a change in the air’s vibrations. The time was coming. Soon he would sacrifice one of his own kind for her. And Melody would be pleased.
* * * * *
Her boss would be in the meeting for another twenty minutes, so Melody picked up the phone and dialed the number for Dual Streams. It didn’t open until eleven, and waiting this long had been almost unbearable.
“Lyle here, yeah, we’re open,” answered a surly-voiced person on the other end.
“Hey, how ya doin’?” asked Melody, speaking in what she hoped was a Boston-type accent. “I’m callin’ foah Tim Neffstah.”
“He’s not here yet. He’s allowed to come and go as he pleases, since he’s not paying for a useless education.”
“Ya wouldn’t happen to know weah he’s goin’ to dinner tonight, would ya?”
“Nobody tells me anything. I’m lucky they open the door for me on the bus.”
“Tell me somethin’, Lyle, would ya like to make fifty bucks?”
* * * * *
Tim walked into the kitchen, feeling queasy. He’d slept terribly last night, but at least the nightmare would be over soon. He’d go out with Karen, be an excruciatingly boring companion, and she’d never bother him again.
Of course, if you had any guts, you would’ve just told her the truth in the first place, said a little voice inside his head. He told the voice to shut the fuck up and mind its own business. The voice said okay.
Somebody else’s voice said something. “Excuse me?” he asked.
“I said, how’s it going?” repeated Lyle.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t even see you. It’s going fine. How about with you?”
Lyle shrugged. “I can’t complain. Nobody would listen, anyway. Hey, I was thinking, we never hang out. If you wanted to tag along, we could go clubbing and I could show you how my poem works.”
“You know what, that sounds fascinating, but I already have plans.”
“Aw, c’mon, what could be better than the two of us gathering chicks?”
“Nothing in the world could top that. But I’m already going out for dinner and a movie.”
“Not me, I’m gonna eat the free food I get here; that way I don’t have to get a fourth job to stay alive. Going anyplace good?”
“A place called Hansen’s. I’ve never been there before.”
“Well, I’m working until seven. If you let me out early, we’ll hit a couple of clubs before your date.”
“It’s not a date, it’s dinner with a friend. And no, you can’t leave early.”
“C’mon, just an hour! It’ll bring us closer together.”
“I’m supposed to be there at six.”
“Three hours, then.”
“Lyle? Work.”
* * * * *
“Hansen’s at six,” Lyle told her.
Melody wrote that down. “Ya didn’t mention why ya wanted ta know, right?”
“Of course not. Not that it would matter…I’m sure the whole conversation has already faded from his memory. Story of my life.”
She thanked him and got his home address to send the cash. Then she had yet another moment of doubt where she wondered what on earth she thought she was trying to do. Then she got over it and called Alex.
* * * * *
Melody opened the closet door and tried to figure out what to wear. She didn’t want to look like a slob, but it had to be something simple. It couldn’t be something that made it seem like she was trying to impress Alex, but if she ended up having to make a scene in front of Tim, she wanted to be sure he knew what he was losing.
Decisions, decisions…
* * * * *
Karen stood in front of her bedroom closet. The red blouse was a little too dressy for a movie date. The greenish one was a possibility, but it kind of made her shoulders look pointy. The blue-and-white one needed to be thrown away, quickly, before she actually decided that it might look good on her or any other human being.
The black one was maybe a little too revealing. She didn’t want to send off the wrong message.
Well, no, on second thought, the black one was okay. It was definitely the best of what she had to select from, and Tim was a nice guy. She didn’t have to worry about him thrusting his face between her breasts and making motorboat noises during the meal.
Yep, the black one it was.
* * * * *
Tim didn’t want to be too obvious in his attempts to turn off Karen, so he wore a decent dress shirt but didn’t iron it. And he selected the scuffed-up shoes. He considered mismatched socks, but that was a little much.
He checked himself in the mirror. Unappealing. Perfect.
* * * * *
Alex picked his blue T-shirt up off the floor and gave it a quick sniff. Yeah, this one would be okay.
* * * * *
“Wow,” said Alex, as Melody walked into the restaurant and toward the corner booth where he was sitting. “You look great!”
“Thanks,” Melody said, sitting down across from him.
“No, I mean it, you look really, really great. You’re, like, radiant. You’re almost glowing.” Alex couldn’t believe it. He’d never seen her looking so attractive, and it wasn’t the clothes or makeup. She’d acquired some sort of aura.
Melody smiled politely at him and then picked up the menu. “What’s good here?”
“I’ve never been here. You picked it.”
“That’s right. What are you going to have?” Melody glanced around the restaurant, obviously afraid to meet his gaze. She had to be embarrassed about the way she’d treated him.
“Probably the trout.”
“Oh, that sounds good. I’ll have that too.”
“But you hate fish. Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m feeling fine,” Melody assured him, her body language making it clear that she was extremely uncomfortable. Somehow Alex knew that if he were to take her back right now, all the problems of neglect would be over. She’d learned her lesson. Everything would be wonderful. They could finally be happy, the way they were meant to be.
He’d make this whole evening easy for her.
“I have a confession,” he said. “I miss you a lot. And just looking at you, I can see how much love you have stored inside you, how much you’re willing to
give now. I think we’ve both changed, and can work through our problems.”
“Mmm-hmm,” said Melody, barely acting as if she heard him.
Alex reached across the table and took her hand. “Melody, I have something
very important that I want to say to you.”
Suddenly Melody perked up as she appeared to notice something across the room. Even for somebody in the undesirable position of begging an ex-lover to
take her back, she was acting weird.
“Melody…?”
“Hmmm?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“Can it wait for a second? I’ve got to hit the ladies room. Be right back. Watch my purse.” She scooted out of the booth and walked slowly toward the back of the restaurant.
Alex grinned. As soon as she returned, he’d put her out of her misery.
Oh this is so pathetic you are so pathetic what’s wr
ong with you you pathetic pathetic pathetic individual?
Melody glimpsed Tim as he vanished from sight, hidden in his booth behind the random junk that was placed all over the restaurant to serve as decor. She couldn’t believe that she was marching over to his table, even though the only possible result could be him thinking she was an obsessed stalker.
This was nuts. This was insane. This was ridiculous. She couldn’t do this. She needed to regain full control of her brain before she did something stupid that she’d regret forever. Now.
“May I help you with something?” The waiter was a Chinese man who bore no trace of a Chinese accent. Melody realized she’d been standing in place. How very uncool.
She shook her head at the waiter, and then noticed Alex staring at her. Okay, well, this was certainly embarrassing. Time to move forward. Don’t trip. Slapstick would not be a good thing right now.
Melody walked quickly—too quickly—past Tim’s booth and over to the restrooms. She pushed the door open, stepped inside, and took a deep breath to regain her composure.
Her composure was lost again as she realized that the other occupant of the restroom was a rather large, burly man standing in front of a urinal of the type generally found in the category of restrooms where she was not invited.
“I’m so sorry,” said Melody.
The man glanced over at her, shrugged, and returned to his endeavor. “Doesn’t bother me.”
Melody started to leave, but then hesitated. “I have a question. Have you ever been so much in love that you acted like a complete childish fool?”
“Couple months ago I let some of my drinking buddies run me over with a wheelbarrow to impress a cocktail waitress.”
“So it’s not just me? Because a man I met just days ago is here, and I let my ex-boyfriend meet me here just so we could be in the same restaurant because I wasn’t sure the man was telling me the truth about eating here with an old
friend. You’re a guy—very much so—do you think that’s psychotic?”
“Yeah, a little,” the man admitted.
“I’m going to scare him away, aren’t I?”
“I dunno. Some men like psychotic women.”
“God, I hope so. Listen, it was nice talking to you. I’m going to get out of here so you can shake off or whatever you need to do. Thanks.”
Melody turned around and pushed open the door, praying to every deity ever worshipped by any culture in the history of civilization that Tim hadn’t watched her walk into the men’s room. She really didn’t need that.
She stepped out of the restroom and found herself staring at a woman who was seated in Tim’s booth and, despite her imposing physique, was by no means male enough to be the person Tim was talking about. Melody had worked herself up for this moment, planned out exactly what she was going to say, but she couldn’t speak. Tears welled up in her eyes as she returned to her table.
Karen let out a snort of laughter. “Some woman just fortuitously entered the men’s lavatory.”
“It happens,” said Tim, unhappy to be reminded of an unfortunate indiscretion during his youth.
“I really am favorable that you agreed to our date,” Karen told him. “It’s been an interminable duration since I’ve socialized like this.”
“Really? I wouldn’t think you’d have any trouble forcing—I mean, convincing men to take you out.”
“That’s generous of you, but the truth is that I intimidate a large percentage of men.”
“Ah, they’re just cowards.”
Melody sat down at the table and did her best to keep her composure. Maybe the woman was Tim’s sister, and he’d just gotten confused as to whom he was having dinner with. Or maybe he was a cheating lying piece-of-shit bastard. Probably the latter.
“What was that all about?” Alex asked.
“What?”
“Walking into the men’s room.”
“I was hoping to glimpse a penis. Do you have a problem with that?”
Alex looked at her very closely, as if checking out the dilation of her pupils.
“I haven’t driven you to recreational drugs, have I?”
“No.”
“So is it okay if I tell you something?”
“Sure. No, wait. I changed my mind about something. I need to do this. I’ll be right back.” Melody slid out of the booth again.
Tim Neffster was dead meat.
Approximately six quarts of cold sweat cascaded down Tim’s sides as he saw Melody walk up to his table. He was so deeply screwed. Maybe Karen would protect him.
“Well, hello!” exclaimed Melody, her voice tinged with acid. “Do you remember me?”
She hadn’t stabbed him with a steak knife yet, so maybe this would work out okay. “Of course I do! The Adams’ dinner party, right?” He gave her a pleading look, hoping his message of “Please play along until I can explain everything” got through. That was a tough message to get across with a single pleading look, but they’d made a connection, so maybe it would work.
Melody appeared to soften just a bit. “That’s right. That party where we had dinner with the Adams’. I was walking around to use the lovely restroom facilities here, and I thought I recognized you, but it wasn’t until I went back to my table that I realized that yes, it really was you. How are you?”
“Great, great. And yourself?”
“Oh, I’m simply super. I’m so very surprised to see you here, having such a wonderful time.”
“Uh, yeah, I’m surprised to see you too.”
Still no steak knife, though the look Melody was giving him was almost as deadly. But it appeared that she was at least giving him the benefit of the doubt. If he played things right, he could get out of this without a major commotion and/or his personal demise.
“Hey, why don’t you join us?” he asked. He turned to Karen. “Is that all right with you?”
Karen seemed a bit taken aback. “I suppose so. I mean, if that’s what you desire, certainly.”
“I’m here with a friend,” said Melody. “But if you’d like to join us at our table, you’d be more than welcome.”
“Yeah, let’s do that. It’ll be fun.”
Tim stood up, and he and Karen followed Melody toward her table. A guy sat there, looking less than pleased to see Melody bringing company over.
“Alex, this is Tim Neffster and his female friend. Is it all right if they eat with us?”
Alex looked unsure. “Okay.”
Melody scooted in next to Alex, while Tim and Karen sat on the opposite side, Karen closest to the wall. Tim extended his hand toward Alex. “Pleased to meet you.”
Alex shook it. “Pleasure’s all mine. So, where do you know Melody from?”
“A dinner party,” said Melody. “The Adams’ dinner party. You don’t know them. I quit going to their dinner parties after the salmonella incident.”
“That was a very nasty incident,” Tim added.
“Oh, it was horrible. And they’d just put in that beautiful new carpet.”
“You liked the carpet? I thought it was a little too white.”
“Well, from a whiteness point of view I guess you could criticize it, but it did have a wonderful texture. Did you get to walk barefoot across it?”
“Only once.”
That man may very well be the most attractive piece of maleness I have ever laid eyes on in my entire life, thought Karen as she stared at Alex. He was gorgeous! And she wasn’t even into younger men!
Karen was not somebody to judge people on the basis of physical attractiveness. A firm, muscular body meant nothing to her without an ample brain to go along with it. Personality was everything, looks were nothing.
Until now.
As far as she knew, Alex’s reading habits could be limited to Fuzzy Slipper Digest (“Coming in May: Periwinkle!”). She thought she could detect a definite spark of intelligence in his eyes, but that certainly wasn’t enough to explain the
way she was feeling.
Was th
is love at first sight?
She didn’t know. What she did know was that she was having very selfish, thoughtless feelings right now about how she could ditch Tim to be with Alex, and that scared her.
She’s really creeping me out looking at me like that, thought Alex. She was staring at him like he was a sixty-pound block of milk chocolate. Magic milk chocolate, without calories. He really wished she’d just go away and take her boyfriend with her.
Melody was the only woman for him; he knew that now. It was really adorable how nervous she was. So nervous that she brought these people she barely knew over to the table to help relieve her tension.
Well, these people were going to bear witness to the most special moment in Melody’s life.
CHAPTER TEN
Alex cleared his throat and placed his hand on Melody’s. When he turned to face her, there was a serious look in his eyes that she really, really didn’t like.
“Melody,” he began, “I’m sorry to have to say this in front of strangers, but it can’t wait. I love you. I love you more than you can imagine.”
“This isn’t a good time…”
“Of course it is. It’s the perfect time. We got together tonight to discuss our relationship, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I want our relationship to continue. I was wrong to leave you. I miss you, and I know that we can work out our problems. Would you mind letting me out of the booth?”
Melody was so shocked she didn’t protest. She slid out of the seat, observing Tim’s look of severe confusion and Karen’s surprising distress.
Alex got out of the booth and immediately dropped down on one knee. He spoke in a loud, steady voice. “Melody Talaway, will you marry me?”
Everyone in the restaurant turned to look. Melody glanced around at the smiles and anticipatory expressions, and spoke before she could stop herself. “Oh, shit!”
Alex furrowed his brow. “Excuse me?”
“Alex, this was our Just Be Friends meal! You can’t ask somebody to marry you at a Just Be Friends meal! It’s against the rules!”
“I know, but I love you, and I want to be with you forever! You’re the most important thing in my life, Melody. I realize that now, and I don’t think I can live without you!”