Mitch set Mel on top of her bed, which was unmade and in an embarrassing state of disarray. Mel usually wrapped all her blankets around herself like a cocoon; Greyson had used to sleep with his own set of blankets because she was such a cover-hog.
“There we are,” Mitch said, then leaned over her on the bed and said, “Can I get you anything else before I head to work?”
Even if she could have thought of anything, Mel would have said no. She didn’t want to like this too much, or get too used to this. He had lived with his fiancé and son for years; he was just being considerate because he was used to it. Mel knew it had nothing to do with her.
Mitch left her with her mug of coffee and a remote control, and only returned to her room once before leaving, carrying a plate with scrambled eggs. Mel listened to him lock the front door, and returned to her plate of slightly overcooked eggs. She smiled to herself. It would have been incredibly intimidating if he were a good cook, too.
For someone who likes to be active, there just wasn’t much to do while resting her knee. Mel channel surfed for a while, but she felt full of pent-up energy that she needed to burn, and nothing else interested her. She hopped to her crutches, then managed to get to the bathroom and make herself a bath. After she had spent close to an hour trying to get clean and dressed, she decided she wanted to decorate her house for the holidays. She had a box of Christmas decorations that her brother-in-law had gotten from her crawl space, and she thought she could put most of it up without any help.
Still, she didn’t want to overexert herself, so she texted Amos, and he came during his morning break and promised to return after work. Having someone who could help out made Mel feel pretty brave, so she was with Amos outside, directing him where to hang her wreath, when Mitch pulled up.
He was driving a pick-up truck instead of the Mercedes he’d come in the day before, and it was clear he’d been home to change and pack a clean set of clothes. As he grabbed the duffel bag out of the bed of his truck, he called, “What are you doing? You should be resting!”
Amos turned to Mel at once and said, “You said you were allowed on your feet some. Mel!”
Mel, who was leaning against the front railing around her porch and had no weight at all on her leg, knew that they were overreacting. “I am resting,” she said. “Amos is doing all the work.”
Mitch seemed to pause for a second as he walked past her, and Mel raised her eyebrows at him. He was probably so in the habit of greeting Ashleigh when he got home that he’d almost kissed her hello. He blushed and ducked his head, then continued inside, calling over his shoulder, “You have no idea how much it annoys doctors when a patient won’t take our advice.”
Ouch. Mel hadn’t meant to annoy him. She just couldn’t stand doing nothing. And besides, most patients had the advantage of not spending every day with their doctor—although, overall, she could hardly say she minded it. Amos helped Mel to the couch and, seeing as she had help, decided to take off for the night. It was after five and Mel’s stomach was starting to rumble. But she knew better than to continue irritating Mitch by walking around, so she put her leg up and went back to her magazine while she waited for him to finish doing whatever he was doing.
When Mitch finally came into the living room, it was almost quarter to six.
“Where’d you go?” Mel asked.
“Guest room. Sorry,” he said. “Ashleigh called and left me a message, so I was getting back to her.”
“Oh?” Mel sat up straighter.
“Yeah, listen. She needs me to take Aiden this weekend.”
Oh. Mel’s heart sank, but she nodded. “Well, he comes first,” she said, trying to be cheerful. She hadn’t realized until that moment how much she was looking forward to spending time with him this weekend. It was so nice not to live alone anymore. Mel had always had roommates in college, and she’d had Francy before that. She envied Mitch, who would always at least have Aiden. He might be lonely, but he wasn’t truly as lonely as her.
“He does,” Mitch agreed. “But I know you can’t get somebody else here to help you on such short notice. Why don’t I bring him by Friday?”
That was surprising. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, why not? You’ve got that nephew the same age as him, and I saw all the kid stuff you’ve got downstairs for them.” Mel had a closet full of toys, bunk beds, and bean bag chairs in the basement for when the kids visited. “You’re all set up, which is more than I can say for my apartment right now.”
That was right. He had moved to an apartment, and apparently, he hadn’t even made up a room for his son yet. Probably because he didn’t want or intend to stay there very long. Mel sighed. It was such a sad situation. Maybe she should just sing to him now and get it over with.
“Is that okay?” Mitch said when Mel didn’t answer.
“Oh! Yes, of course. That’s totally fine with me, if it’s alright with you.”
“Great!” Mitch smiled, looking relieved. “Honestly, this will probably work better. He’ll love coming over here.”
Mel smiled. “Can’t wait. And hey, speaking of things I can’t wait for, are you as hungry as I am?”
Because he was used to waking up early, Mitch didn’t need to sleep in the next morning. Mel, who usually woke to the slightest sound, heard him puttering around and launched herself out of bed. Having him here made her excited.
She remembered to grab the crutches, and emerged to find him walking aimlessly up and down the hallway. He didn’t seem to know what to do with himself.
“You’re up!” she said. “First day of vacation.”
He smiled. “Yeah. I’m not sure this was such a good idea. I feel…” he bunched up his fists and shrugged his shoulders, smiling. “What is this I’m feeling?”
“Restlessness?” Mel suggested. “Um…boredom?”
“Guilt,” he supplied, with that charming smile of his. “I should be working. I should be doing something, anyway.” Then he held out his arms and said, “Put me to work, boss.”
Mel hobbled past him down the hall toward the kitchen, and while she went, she said, “Let’s go by the studio. I couldn’t get over there on my own, but now that you’re here, I can get a little work done.”
Mitch was reluctant to let her do anything that would cause strain. “I feel like that’s a terrible idea,” he said, “but I know if I don’t help you, you’ll just do it by yourself.”
Mel, remembering his comment the night before, said, “No, I won’t. Honest. If you think I shouldn’t then I won’t. When it comes to the knee, you’re in charge.”
That comment alone was enough to win him over. He smiled, sighed, and said, “Okay, okay, I’ll take you. It should be fine, as long as you try to sit instead of standing as much as possible. I’ll drive, obviously.”
“Obviously,” she confirmed.
After breakfast and getting ready, they were out the door by 8 o’clock. But, not knowing how she’d hop up into the pick-up truck, Mel gave Mitch the keys to her Prius.
It has been a week since she’d driven it, and the car had a scarf of Francy’s in it. “Oh, shoot,” Mel said as she seated herself. “This is my sister’s. Do you mind if I call her quick?”
Mitch shook his head. “No, not at all. But I don’t know where we’re going.”
“Just two minutes,” Mel insisted. She dialed Francy, who worked at a school as a speech therapist but never saw any clients on Thursdays. “There’s my long-lost sister,” Francy said. “I was wondering when I’d hear from you.”
“You can call me, too, you know,” Mel said. She glanced at Mitch, who had put the car back in park and was apparently waiting for her to finish up the call before leaving. That was fine; this wouldn’t take long.
Francy laughed. “I know, but with all the baby prep, I never have a spare minute.”
Oh, no. Was Mel’s own twin going to turn into one of those women who made her feel like the only thing that mattered was babies, and Mel was a pariah for having
no children? Annoyed, Mel answered, “You never had a spare minute to check in on your twin sister who just had knee surgery?”
“Oh! That’s right!” Francy said. “I totally forgot you had knee surgery.”
Mel wished Mitch wasn’t in the car, suddenly. She had some things to say to her sister at that moment that were probably best not overheard. Swallowing her anger, she said, “Well, I did, and now I’m a cripple, just hobbling about as best I can. Don’t worry about me, though, what with your continual baby prep.”
“Mel—”
“No, really, I’m fine. Just wanted to let you know your scarf is here. You left it in my car. But I guess I can put it in the mail for you.” Mel wanted to hurry up and end the call before she started to cry. Francy had made her really angry.
But Francy said, “Oh, don’t mail it. I’ll just pick it up when I come see you.”
Mel said, “That might be a long time from now.”
Francy laughed, and at that exact moment, Mel saw her sister’s SUV in the rearview mirror. “Francy!” she cried. “You’re here!”
Both sisters laughed as Mel hung up the phone, gleefully pushing Mitch’s shoulder for a second and saying, “My sister came!” before hopping out of the car. She felt foolish for doubting her. She knew Francy, of all people, would never put something as vague and nebulous as “baby prep” ahead of her own twin sister. She really should have guessed.
Mitch made quick work of killing the engine before jogging over to stop Mel from falling on her face on her way to greet her sister, who had driven all the way from Chicago to come take care of her sister. “Easy,” he said, and Mel grinned at him and waited by her car for Francy to come give her a hug.
“Well, here I came all this way,” Francy said, “and I might not have needed to come at all. Hi, Mitch,” she greeted him with a smile. “I didn’t realize you would be here.”
Mel blushed, wishing that Francy wouldn’t say anything to really embarrass her.
“Your sister is too independent for her own good,” Mitch answered, with a wink at Mel, who blushed harder. Normally, a man saying something like that about her would make her furious, but Mel knew Mitch didn’t mean anything by it. Still, Francy raised her eyebrows at Mel.
“We were on our way to the studio,” Mel said. “Mitch has today off, so he came to help me. Are you staying the weekend?”
Francy shook her head. “No, sorry. Just today. I have a couple meetings tomorrow.”
Mel gave her another hug. “That’s okay. One day is better than nothing. Oh. Yay! I’m so happy you’re here.”
Francy laughed and teased Mel for falling for the “baby prep” line. Finally, Mitch said, “Well, since you’re here, I guess I’m not really needed.”
Mel didn’t know what to say. She really liked having Mitch around, and the idea of him leaving made her stomach drop. Her gift had nothing to do with it; she just wanted to spend more time with Mitch.
Francy caught on instantly. She said, “Well, there’s a lot I can do here. Why don’t you two get your work done, and I’ll put in some wash and make up some more meals for you next week? Mom said hers might run out.”
“Mom knows you’re here?”
“Yeah, everybody knows but you,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “Liz has been calling everybody. She can’t really come herself with the kids and all, but she’s so eager to make sure people are taking care of you. Our big sis.”
Mel was truly touched. It was funny how this experience kept impressing on her how she wasn’t really alone at all.
Somehow it was agreed that Francy could take Mel to the studio while Mitch ran to his own office to pick up some paperwork, and they’d all meet back at the house for lunch. It wasn’t until they were alone in Mel’s car that Francy, wrapped in her long-lost scarf, said, “Okay, so now you’re dating the doctor. Thanks for telling me!”
Mel shook her head. “I knew you would say that.”
Francy raised her eyebrows. “And?”
“And I’m not dating him, which is why I didn’t tell you the nothing I had to tell.”
“Then what’s he doing here?”
“He wants to help me,” Mel said. “Subha thinks he doesn’t want a lawsuit.”
“Subha is dumb,” Francy said. Mel smirked. Francy had a major grudge against any friend of Mel’s that seemed to be replacing herself.
“You’re about to see Subha,” Mel retorted, “so be nice, please.”
“Fine,” Francy answered.
The drive to the studio was short, and Mel walked in and saw several regular clients right away, all of whom were terribly concerned to see her on crutches. Mel visited for some time, then began to get together the books she needed to continue her work at home.
The new marketing campaign, memberships for the winter, and class schedules for the spring all needed to be handled. Mel was eager to get back to work. She hadn’t realized before how much she’d missed it.
Meanwhile, Francy and Subha were actually getting along, which made Mel smile. Subha sometimes taught a prenatal yoga class, if there was enough demand for it, and she had Francy doing some poses to help prepare her body for childbirth.
When Francy went to the bathroom, Subha approached Mel and said, “You know, your sister is sure you and Mitch are dating. She tried to get me to spill the beans.”
That wasn’t surprising. Mel said, “Well, did you tell her we aren’t?”
“No, I did not,” Subha said. “I told her that I can tell you like him, but I don’t know how he feels. And that’s the truth.”
Ouch. Mel looked up at Subha, and her miserable expression must have convinced her that she’d said something wrong. Right away, she apologized. “Look, that’s just what—I mean, my observations have been wrong before.”
Mel sighed. “No, it’s fine. I mean, honestly, that’s what I’ve been thinking, too. He’s like, the smartest, sexiest—he’s my doctor, for crying out loud! And he’s a dad, and he’s fun, always up for anything. I really like him.”
She paused, wondering how much more she could safely share. Finally, she added, “But he wants to get back together with his ex. He talks about it all the time, even though she’s with somebody else now.”
“Oh,” Subha said with a knowing look. “So you are positioning yourself right there, for when he realizes he’s making a mistake.”
“No!” Mel insisted. “No, that isn’t it. I’m not trying to do that. I’m just…I don’t know, honestly. We’re just friends. He’s really nice.” Mel wanted to say, “I’m trying to help him,” but that wouldn’t have made any sense to Subha, who didn’t know about her gift. So instead, she said, “He’s trying to help me.”
Francy rejoined them, and Subha returned to showing her yoga poses while Mel continued her work. But she couldn’t help thinking that, if her crush on Mitch was really that obvious, then he must have noticed it himself. And nothing but wishful thinking could prove that Mitch returned any of her feelings.
Chapter 5
Francy stayed until dinner time that night. She grocery shopped, cooked, did laundry, and set up the bunkbeds in the basement for Mitch’s son’s arrival the next day. While she worked, Mitch and Mel both sat in the living room with their laptops, quietly typing side by side. Mel couldn’t tell what Mitch was doing, but their companionable silence was so much more pleasant than the usual silence that filled her house.
Distantly, Mel could hear Francy singing Christmas carols from the laundry room. It was all Mel could do to stop herself from joining in.
“She has a nice singing voice,” Mitch commented at one point.
Mel absentmindedly said, “Oh, thanks,” which made Mitch laugh when he realized that, as twins, they would have the same singing voice.
Mel determinedly did not sing, though, even though to do so then would have been the most natural thing in the world. She just wanted to see Ashleigh first—or Aiden, at the very least. She tried to tell herself that her own burgeoning crush on
Mitch had nothing to do with it, but after what Subha had said earlier, it was getting more and more difficult to lie to herself about it.
After Francy had put a hashed brown casserole in the oven, she gave her sister another hug and told her she’d text when she got home. Mel watched nervously as Mitch walked her out, though she wasn’t sure what she was nervous about.
He returned in the same pleasant mood soon after, however, and Mel felt more than a little relief.
“I really like your family,” he told Mel. “You guys are all so close.”
Mel smiled. “We like each other.”
“Not all families do,” Mitch added emphatically. Normally Mel would have pried. After all, this was an opportunity to inquire about his family, or Ashleigh’s. An opportunity to learn more about whether she should use her gift. But she really didn’t want to in that moment. She didn’t want to fixate on that right now. Just now, just this once, she wanted to have a conversation with someone at Christmas time that didn’t have ulterior motives. She was relieved when the dinner buzzer rang and Mitch left to serve their food.
Friday came, and with the morning light, Mel felt more equal to the task of getting to know Mitch and learn more about his deepest wish. Last night was just a moment of weakness, she decided.
She came to the breakfast table in the morning, where Mitch had helped himself to one of Mel’s many flavors of instant oatmeal, and asked when Aiden would be joining them.
“Oh, not until after dinner,” Mitch said. “He has kindergarten tonight, and then Ash wants him to have dinner with her before he comes.”
“I didn’t realize he was in kindergarten,” Mel said.
“Isn’t your nephew the same age?”
“Caleb?” Mel said. “Yeah, he is. But his birthday isn’t until October, so they didn’t start him this fall. He’s still in pre-K.”
Mel smiled, remembering how her Christmas carol to her sister had resulted in that first pregnancy, now six years ago. She could do this. She could learn about Mitch and grant his wish. She just needed to focus and remember that his flirting was nothing she should take personally. They were just friends. He wasn’t single. He was a dad, and recently engaged, and in love.
Christmas Melody: a romance for the holidays Page 6