by Mya O'Malley
“Oh, Jack.” She covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. “Jack.” She fell to her knees on the floor and sobbed. Nothing else out of the ordinary had happened, but she had watched the entirety of the movie, knowing somehow that Jack was watching right there, alongside her. Cassie came home after the movie had ended and Melody was still sitting on the floor, legs crossed, holding herself.
“Mel? Are you okay?” Cassie sat beside her friend.
“He was here.” Melody spoke, as if in a trance.
“Who? Oliver?” Cassie reached for her cell, as if she were ready to call the police.
“Jack.” Melody said the word in wonder.
“Jack? Melody, what are you talking about? You’re being ridiculous.”
“He was here,” Melody said again, this time with more certainty. “Jack was right here, in this room.”
“Melody, you’re scaring me. What happened?” Cassie put her arm around her friend.
“I smelled him, his aftershave. I’ve been smelling it for a while, but I thought that my mind was just playing tricks on me, you know?” Melody glanced at Cassie, whose eyes were wide. She continued on. “Then the television, it started flickering, and then I saw the channel had been changed and do you know what movie was playing?” Melody’s eyes lit up.
“No,” Cassie said cautiously.
“It was that movie, our favorite Christmas movie — the one we used to watch together.”
“Oh. I’m sure there’s a good reason for that. I mean, the weather can sometimes do some funny things to the reception. It’s coincidence, Melody, that’s all.”
Standing to her feet, Melody paced. “He watched the rest of the movie with me, too. I felt him there. Don’t look at me like that, Cassie.”
Cassie got to her feet and reached for her friend. She placed her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You need to calm down, you just had a pretty good hit to the head. Jack was not here.”
“He was! You have to believe me!” Melody cried out. Cassie grabbed her by the hand and guided her to sit on the coach beside her.
“Honey. You lost Jack. I know he meant the world to you, but please, he wasn’t here, you’re just scaring yourself.”
“I’m not scared, as a matter of fact, I haven’t been happier in ages.” Melody smiled widely. “Don’t you see? He came back because he missed me, or maybe he’s trying to tell me something.” Melody gave that some thought. Perhaps he had come to warn her about Oliver. That actually made sense considering the potential threat there was with Oliver out there. She would keep her conclusions about Jack to herself because it was evident that Cassie couldn’t wrap her brain around the idea of Jack coming back as a ghost.
“I think you’re overwhelmed and stressed, you should try to get some sleep,” Cassie advised.
Melody played it cool. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
The smell of aftershave was long gone now, no more unexplained happenings in the bedroom that night. Melody did not dream; she figured that he had already come to her tonight, to give her a message. She just needed to figure out what it was that he wanted to tell her.
Chapter Sixteen
“Where are we going?” she giggled, clutching onto Jack’s hand as they ran through the snow. He had taken her to see the tree in the center of town. It was lit for Christmas, the branches twinkling white, green and blue. The smell of pine was in the air.
“Come on.” She had wanted to see the tree earlier, but Jack had worked late, so here they were, in the middle of the night, in the center of town, standing all alone. It was the first snow of the season. Melody always felt like she was a child again the first time snow fell each year.
“There’s nothing better than being with the woman you love, watching the first flakes of snow at Christmastime,” Jack called out, pulling Melody closer to the tree. They had finally reached their destination when Jack stopped and scooped her up in his arms, twirling her around.
“Jack! I’m going to be dizzy!” she squealed in delight. He stopped and kissed her, slowly at first and then with more passion. Melody delighted in the kiss, the moment. Jack let her go and stood facing her with a look of serious intent upon his face.
Dropping to one knee and pulling a small black box out of his jacket, Melody covered her mouth to contain the squeal that escaped from her lips. He couldn’t… She could hardly believe what he was about to do. She had waited for this moment for a long time. Wanting to savor every minute of this special moment, Melody glimpsed around her so that she would remember everything—the tree, the lights, the smell. “Jack!” she exclaimed, upon seeing the cushion cut diamond. It sparkled under the lights of the tree, the snow.
“My lady…will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive? Will you marry me?” Gazing up at her with a look of love and adoration, Jack waited for her response. His eyelashes were covered in snowflakes as the intensity of the snow increased.
“Yes, oh yes, Jack!” She jumped up and grabbed him around the neck, planting a kiss smack on his lips. Smelling the faint scent of his aftershave, the smell that was all him, she buried her face deeper into his chest, inhaling.
Taking her face in his hands, he pulled her chin up to see her. A gentle smile formed on his lips as his eyes went wide. “My Lady, you’re going to make me the happiest man in the world. I’ll never let you down, scout’s honor.” He raised his right hand.
And he hadn’t. Theirs had been a love built on passion, mutual respect and friendship. Melody couldn’t look directly at that tree for at least a year without tearing up. Now, driving through town around the same time of year, passing the tree, it hit her hard. One of these days she promised that she would walk up to their spot by the giant Christmas tree and allow herself to remember it all, to cherish the memory. But not today.
Eyes on the road, she kept driving until she reached the grocery store. She had some quick shopping to do before heading home for the night. Walking into the store, she heard the cheery holiday music blaring through the speakers. It was only a few days before Christmas and it showed all around. She had told Tom that she would bring dessert, so she scanned the boxes of cake mix, finally deciding to make a chocolate layer cake. The last thing she needed now was to grab some milk and eggs so she headed for the dairy section, her mind on her shopping list.
“Excuse me.” A man startled her by bumping into her from the next aisle. The man’s face registered recognition and chuckled.
“We’ve got to stop bumping into each other like this,” he chided. Melody couldn’t help but recall the first time they had met, bumping into each other at her store.
“Adrian.”
“How are you, Melody?” He glanced down at the black skirt and high-heeled boots. “You look great.”
“Thanks, you too.” She meant it, he looked unbelievably hot in his black winter coat with jeans and work boots. He was ruggedly handsome, a day’s worth of stubble on his face.
Adrian fidgeted and stammered. “Melody I…I miss you.” Gray eyes bore into her, causing her heart to skip a beat. Truth be told, he had been on her mind a lot lately too. She knew deep down the reason that she was running from him was because she was falling for him as well. Now with Oliver out of the picture, it gave her some space. Her feelings for Adrian were true, if only she were brave enough to act upon them. It was Jack who was stopping her. She needed to know that he would approve, but of course she would never know. She was relying on her own feelings, her own gut to tell her it was okay. There was also something else that she was afraid to voice. This was, perhaps her biggest fear of all — she was afraid she would forget Jack, forget their love, if she allowed somebody else in her heart.
“I miss you too, Adrian.” She was saddened by her admission, knowing that it couldn’t be.
“Why so sad then?” He lifted her chin, staring into her eyes.
“Because. Because I care so much for you, because I’m attracted to you, because of everything,” she admi
tted.
He actually laughed, sounding relieved. “What’s wrong with that? It sounds great to me. I feel the same, let me show you.”
Shaking her head, she distanced herself from him. “It’s not going to happen, you and me.”
“Melody, I’m tired, I don’t know what else to do to make you believe that it’s okay to let go of him. Keep his memories, but let him go, let me in,” he pleaded.
His words were the cold, hard truth and they stung. She came closer to him, closer until she stopped right in front of him. “How dare you tell me how I should or shouldn’t feel, Adrian?” Melody had almost forgotten that they stood in the middle of the dairy aisle, she lowered her voice. “Have a good night.” Curtly, she spun on her heels and left him standing there, his mouth hanging open.
Melody grabbed her groceries and threw them in the back seat. She knew that she had been hard on him, but where did he get off telling her to forget about Jack? He had chosen the wrong words. That was just the very thing she was afraid of most.
* * * *
Melody was closing up shop. It was the day before Christmas Eve and it had been a productive day, to say the least. Sales were steadily increasing and she hoped they would continue to do so even after the holidays passed. Melody was alone in the store, as Cassie had asked to leave right after closing. She had some last minute shopping to do and then she promised that she would be home soon. It had become sort of a tradition for the women to enjoy each other’s company the night before Christmas Eve. Melody was bringing home some chocolate cheesecake and Cassie had already picked up some spiked eggnog, which was chilling in the fridge at home.
A rap at the door caused Melody to look up. Cassie had locked the door when she left so that any last minute customers would know that the store was now closed. Who could it be at this hour? A startling thought came to mind— could it be Oliver? No, she recalled that Oliver somehow had always just walked in, with the door locked. She should have remembered that little tidbit of information about opening locked doors when she was filing a complaint with the police department. Given what she knew, or rather didn’t know, about the man, she wasn’t one bit surprised. He was probably a master lock picker, she thought to herself, grumbling.
“Just a minute!” She hustled to the door, prepared to tell whoever was there that she was closed for the evening. She saw him standing there, holding a gift bag.
“Adrian!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Looking at her sheepishly, he finally spoke. “I came to buy the first book in another trilogy.” Melody couldn’t help but crack a smile. She loved his sense of humor.
“Yeah, yeah. Well, sorry, sir. We’re closed,” she stated, but her face betrayed her by smiling.
“Can I come in? I have a little something for you.” He held up his gift bag, showing her.
“Sure, come on in, Adrian. You didn’t have to do that.” Feeling shy all of a sudden, she led him to the café area, where she sat. The holiday lights were still aglow and the soft Christmas music filled the background, as she had not yet prepared the store for closing other than counting out the register.
“It looks great in here.” Adrian took in the setting, his eyes scanning the store with a nod of approval.
“Thanks. Look, Adrian, I’m sorry about what happened at the store the other night. I was a bit rough on you.”
She had thought about it many times and felt awful for yelling at him. Sitting beside her, Adrian grabbed hold of her hand and squeezed. She had an overwhelming urge to just grab him and kiss him. Instead, she gazed in the other direction but allowed him to still hold her hand.
“Here, this is for you, just a little something for Christmas.” He released her hand and put the gift bag on the table.
It wasn’t a particularly large bag, but when Melody lifted it, she was surprised by its weight. Curiosity got the best of her and she lifted a box out of the bag. Like a child excited about opening a gift, Melody placed the box down for a moment before opening it. “You really didn’t have to get me anything,” she repeated, feeling a slight blush warm her face.
“Open it.” Adrian rubbed his hands together and watched Melody fumble with the box.
“Adrian…” she whispered. “I…I love it. Where did you find this?” Holding up a sparkling, medium-sized snow globe, she stared, her mouth open in wonder. The snow globe displayed the inside of a cozy bookstore, quite similar to Melody’s own. It was decorated with twinkling white lights. Melody shook it and watched flakes of snow descend upon the bookstore. “Oh!” she breathed.
Gently taking it out of her hands, Adrian showed Melody one more feature of the globe. “Look, it plays music, too.” He wound up the tiny metal piece on the side of the globe as they listened to the instrumental of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
“I love it,” Melody repeated again, watching the light of the snow globe reflect in Adrian’s eyes. He leaned in for a kiss and Melody did not resist. For the spirit of Christmas she let herself have this moment. When he finally released her, she glanced down at the counter.
“Would you like some coffee or something?” she offered, knowing full well that she was providing herself with a distraction so that she didn’t have to face her feelings.
Adrian cleared his throat. ”Sure, I’ll take some decaf if you have it.”
Melody busied herself making two cups of decaf. “You know, I don’t have anything for you right now. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to get me anything. I just wanted to do a little something for you, that’s all,” he said.
“Milk and sugar?” she asked, bringing out both ingredients. She held her breath and finally released it as she watched him grab one sugar and some milk. Melody didn’t think that she could handle it if he poured three sugars into his black coffee. Another strange thing about Oliver, how he took his coffee the same way as Jack.
“What’s on your mind?” Adrian wondered.
Shaking her negative thoughts to the side, she took her seat next to Adrian once more. “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”
“Try me.” He was holding on to her hand again, rubbing small circles around her thumb.
“Nah, just the past creeping up on me. I would prefer to keep it in the past for now.”
“Is it Jack?”
“Yes, well, actually, no, not really. It’s a friend. At least I thought he was a friend. It doesn’t matter.” Melody cast her eyes down at her lap.
“Is it that guy Oliver?” he guessed.
“How do you know Oliver?” She sat up straight, all ears.
“You told me about him, that day at the park,” Adrian stated.
“But I’m sure I never mentioned his name,” Melody pondered over the thought.
Adrian explained how he had met Oliver that first time at the park and then how he had formed a sort of friendship with Oliver. Melody listened carefully, hanging on every word. When he was completely finished with his story about Oliver, Melody’s jaw was wide open.
“But didn’t you think it was odd that he was trying to set us up the whole time? And before he knew that I was already dating you, he didn’t approve because all along he wanted us to be together!” she yelled out loud. “But then why did he try to kiss me?” she wondered.
“Excuse me?” This took Adrian by surprise.
“Yes, he did! He was going to kiss me, but I was so mad at him for following me around.” She put her head in her hands, as if willing answers to come. “It’s like the more I find out about Oliver, the less sense it makes.” She couldn’t believe this. The one thing that came out of it crystal clear, though, was the fact that Oliver was insistent upon bringing the two of them together. Why was that? Why was he pushing the two of them together? It didn’t make any sense. There had been other guys that he had tried to set her up with at first, but according to what Adrian had said, he seemed persistent about Adrian specifically.
“What do you make of all this?” Melody
asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to make of it. At first he seemed strange, like he just happened to be there, where I was. Then when he started in about dating you, I told him to knock it off, that I had already met someone.” He smiled at that. “I have to tell you, all of that aside? I kind of like him. I hate to admit it, but I thought he was a good guy at the end,” Adrian admitted. “I guess he fooled us both.”
“Yeah, I mean, there was so much about him that seemed good. He must be a wonderful con man, that’s all I can say.” Melody shuddered at how close she had let that man come to her.
“But there’s still one piece I don’t understand. If he was after you, why was he so busy setting you up the whole time?” Scratching at his stubble, Adrian continued. “And another thing, why did he disappear so easily? He told me the last time that I saw him how important it was that I don’t give up on you, that he needed to leave.”
“He must have been confused. How do you explain the inner workings of a crazy mind?” Melody pondered.
Adrian sipped the last of his decaf and turned to Melody. “Can we stop talking about Oliver? I don’t know, it’s kind of giving me the creeps.” He took hold of Melody’s hand once more. “What do you say we get out of here?”
Shrugging her shoulders, Melody agreed that it was best to drop the subject for now. “Gladly. What do you have in mind?”
“Let’s take a walk, it‘s a beautiful night.”
Remembering that she and Cassie had plans later on at home, she figured she could go for a walk and still beat her friend home since Cassie was known to shop for hours, losing track of time. Just to be on the safe side, Melody texted Cassie, telling her she would be home within an hour or so. Cassie texted back, telling Melody to take her time; she had about two more hours to go before she was due home. Melody grabbed the leftover chocolate cheesecake, planning on putting it in her car.