“I want pancakes, I want pancakes!” Lola chanted.
The woman took a deep breath and then laughed. “I… if it’s okay with you, yes…pancakes sound heavenly.”
“What’s your name?” Jackson asked quietly, catching the woman off guard by the expression of her eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m Melanie Cartwright and this is Lola.”
“Aunt Mel, can we go now? I’m starving!”
Melanie rolled her eyes. “That’s up to Mr…?”
Jackson smiled and replied, “It’s Gilroy. Jackson Gilroy.”
Chapter Three
Breakfast was a fairly interesting event with the two girls, Lola and Sarah, chatting away as if they had known each other their entire lives, and then there was Jackson and Melanie—nervously watching one another, barely able to utter a syllable. Jackson felt like laughing several of the times the two girls made funny faces, or gasped or talked lively, but was nervous for some reason in front of Melanie. She looked miserable, as well.
“I’m sorry if you’re uncomfortable,” Jackson said quietly. He hoped to have gotten off to a better start with the neighbors, but he had no idea he would be living next to someone as young as Melanie.
“I’m not…it’s just. Well, I saw you last night.” Melanie’s face reddened with the admission and she looked down at her half-eaten plate of pancakes.
“Don’t. I was looking out the window and then saw you sitting at your table. I wasn’t trying to watch you or anything, it’s just…well, you looked so sad.”
Melanie took a deep breath and tried to keep herself from crying. She bit her bottom lip and nearly drew blood. “I can’t believe you saw that.”
“I did. I know pain, Melanie. Do you want to talk about it?”
Melanie looked up at him as he spoke and wished she hadn’t. He had the most bluest of eyes. His were large and round and sad, just like hers. Melanie shook her head.
“My wife died two years ago,” Jackson found himself saying. She was thirty two and she was in an awful car accident. The man that hit her was on his fourth DUI. He got out of his car and walked away without a scratch on him.”
Melanie was so shocked she could barely breathe. “I am so sorry, Jackson,” she said softly. “I can’t even imagine. I have nothing to be sad about compared to you. I am...”
“You’re what?”
“Nothing. I feel really stupid.”
“You should never feel stupid,” Jackson said. He took a deep breath and then reached over and grabbed her hand gently. The sudden rightness of it nearly made him drop it. Melanie gasped.
“You looked just like I did. Like something was bothering you.”
“It was.”
“What was it?”
“It’s really stupid.”
Melanie looked down at their joined hands and felt a tremble as his thumb rubbed over her knuckles.
“I’m still single,” she finally said. “I know it’s nothing big—or even remotely terrible—especially with this day and age, but I was feeling incredibly sad last night.”
Jackson smiled sadly. “I’ve been there. I’m single, too.”
“Yeah, but you’ve got Sarah.”
Jackson looked into her eyes and his lips rounded as he said, “Oh.”
Melanie nodded, trying not to cry. “Yeah. Anyway, I’m thirty two and it’s been a long while since I’ve dated.”
Jackson was surprised at her admission. “Really? I can’t see that.”
“Sure,” Melanie replied. She knew she wasn’t any bathing beauty, and with the ten pounds that refused to come off, she wasn’t feeling all that confident in front of her gorgeous neighbor.
“I mean it. How long has it been?”
“Two years,” Melanie said, reddening.
Jackson couldn’t help but think it had been two years since he lost Emma, and now this woman was telling him that it had been two years since she had dated someone. “So, we are kind of in the same boat?”
“Not really…I wasn’t married—never married.”
“No, you didn’t get married, but did you love him?”
Melanie couldn’t believe how much she was talking to this guy about her life. She had just met him, yet she was sitting there sharing intimate details about herself that she hadn’t shared with anyone. Not even her own sister. “I did.”
“What happened?”
“Well, he just…he didn’t love me.”
“Impossible,” Jackson said, as he smiled into her eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”
“Thank you, Jackson.”
After three hours of talking and watching the girls play with each other, Jackson was invited out to the roller rink with Melanie and Lola. He was told to be ready by six that night.
“Hey, little lady, you better hurry up! Melanie is going to be mad at us,” Jackson yelled up the steps.
His daughter ran down at lightning speed once he said that. “You don’t thinks she really will be, do you?”
Jackson tipped his head back and laughed. “No, I really don’t think so, but Lola may.”
“No, Lola doesn’t really want to go. She said that she has never been skating and she is scared.”
“Why?”
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe she’s afraid of falling or something.”
“I’m sure we will all be fine. You kids have a softer rump than us old folks do. If I fall I could break something.”
Sarah looked up horrified. “Maybe we shouldn’t go!”
“No, baby, nothing bad is going to happen like that. I just mean I could get a bruise on my butt or something.”
Sarah Jane’s anguish was immediately washed away with a succession of giggles.
Jackson smiled at her and ruffled her hair. “Thanks, Imp. It’s nice to see that you’re worried about your old dad.”
An hour later they were all at the skating rink. The girls were amateur pros already, skating around, laughing and holding hands. Jackson fell twice and once landed not so gracefully on Melanie, nearly taking out a whole fleet of children.
“I can’t believe you yelled ‘lookout’!” Melanie guffawed. The sound of her laughter made Jackson’s eyes twinkle.
“Nice of you to notice that.”
“How could I not! I nearly lost it when you came toward me. Your arms were flapping around like a kid pretending to be drowning. It was ridiculous.”
“We’ll see what you look like when you take a dive!” Jackson said, laughing.
Melanie pushed at his shoulder and then looked at the girls as they were racing around the corner of the rink. “Thank God they have nachos. I haven’t had them in such a long time.”
“Why? They are going to be a staple at my house. That and pizza.”
“God, I miss pizza, “Melanie cried.
“What’s all this talk about missing food? Are you on some kind of diet or something?” Jackson queried, taking the time to look up and down her figure. It was nearly impossible with them seated at the food court, but they never gave an A for effort for not trying.
“Of course. I need to take off ten pounds. That and I’ve been working like a slave over at Top Fit.”
“Are you insane? Ten pounds? Where?”
Melanie’s face colored with embarrassment. “Well, here,” she said pointing to her hips, “and here,” she pointed to her breasts, “and definitely here,” she said as she grabbed her thighs. “Really everywhere.”
Jackson shook his head, but kept eye contact. “Melanie, and don’t take this the wrong way, because I like you, but you are damned near a perfect ten. Why would you want to lose anything from any of those places?”
Melanie was shocked. Jackson actually sounded as if he were sincere. “It’s okay, Jackson, I know it’s there. I’m not fishing for a compliment.”
“Nor am I reeling them out. I don’t get it.”
Melanie smiled shyly. “Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me.”
“I’m just stating the
facts.”
“Daddy, look!” Sarah Jane interrupted from the rink. She was now attempting to skate backwards.
“Oh my God!” Jackson exclaimed. “Be careful!”
“I love this place, Aunt Mel!” Lola cried with a big grin on her face.
“So, what are you guys doing tonight?” Jackson asked, as he absently messed with the zipper on his coat.
“Well, I don’t know. My sister, she is coming to get Lola.”
“Oh,” Jackson said quietly, “I thought you had her all weekend?”
“Yeah, me, too. My sister is funny like that. She gets…”
“Jealous?” Jackson supplied and Melanie nodded, biting her lip. She was really cute.
“Well, I guess we better get going,” Melanie said as she got up, feeling bad that her time with Jackson and his daughter was ending way too soon.
“Wait a minute,” Jackson said, pulling her back down to sit. “Can you come over? I know Sarah Jane will be there, but we’re thinking about putting our tree up tonight. Maybe you can help?”
Melanie smiled. “Already?”
Jackson laughed. “It’s November…we have to have something to look forward to.”
“I’d like that, Jackson. What time?”
“As soon as your sister gets Lola. I’ll wait.”
Melanie’s heart hammered in her chest. “It may be late.”
“Don’t you worry about that. Sarah Jane will take any excuse she can so she can stay up late.”
“Alright. I’ll be there. Now, I better get Lola…she will probably fight with me for at least an hour before we can actually leave.”
Jackson laughed, knowing that it was the truth with his own daughter. “I’m right behind ya.”
Chapter Four
“Lola, I’m sorry, but Mommy called earlier and she said that she was coming to pick you up.” Melanie looked at her niece and wanted to cry. She knew that her sister wasn’t a candidate for Mother of the Year, but she didn’t think she was that bad, either.
“I don’t want to go! Mommy will just be with her boyfriend all night!”
“Lola, listen, Mommy loves you very much. Just ask her if you can color together or something. Mommy is a wonderful colorer.”
“No she’s not! She doesn’t like doing stuff with me!” Lola wailed.
“Honey, I am pretty sure that’s not true. It’s just more fun with your aunt. That’s how it is when you’re younger. Everything is more fun with the cool aunt!” Melanie tried, but Lola wasn’t convinced. She hung her head and folded her arms in front of her chest.
The doorbell rang.
“Here she is now. You’ll see,” Melanie said, then opened the door to her sister and her boyfriend making out.
Lola screamed at the top of her lungs, making Melanie startle.
“What is that girl’s problem,” Tessa, her sister said as she shook her head. “One night with you and she is already a brat! It’s going to take me all week to undo that!”
“Listen, Tessa, she told me about you and your…well your…”
“My what?” Tessa interrupted, irritated.
“Boyfriend,” Melanie whispered.
“Really? Are you five, Mel? He’s right here!”
“Yeah, Babe, I’m right here.”
Melanie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Tessa, Melanie doesn’t want to go home yet.”
“That’s an understatement! I just needed you for one night, Mel. Let’s go, Lola!” Tessa yelled on the last part.
Lola slumbered in with a tear-stained face. “Mommy, I don’t want…”
“Don’t you finish that sentence if you want supper!” Tessa said angrily. Melanie was outraged.
“You’d hold out supper?”
“Oh, this again, huh? You think you are so perfect! You don’t even have a boyfriend. I remember your last boyfriend. He was a great pick. I absolutely loved...Lola’s father. Too bad he wasn’t staying material. He was a good lay though.”
“That’s enough, Tessa.” The pain still hurt. Finding out that the entire time she was with Danny her sister was with him, too. And to think they had Lola together, it made her sick. Lola was the innocent party in all this, though.
“Let’s go, Brat!” Tessa said once more to Lola. Lola leaned in to Melanie and gave her a big hug. She whispered in her ear.
“I know what I want for Christmas, Aunt Mel.”
Melanie sniffled as she gave her niece a big hug. “What’s that, Lola?”
“Come on, Lola!” Tessa yelled once more, grabbing at her daughter, but not before Lola could finish her thought.
“I want you, Aunt Mel.”
Melanie looked up as Tessa and the boyfriend walked away with her niece.
***
“What are you doing with the Christmas boxes, Daddy?” Sarah Jane asked as Jackson unloaded a few more boxes from the storage pod that was parked in their driveway. It was dropped off earlier that morning by the moving men company he had hired.
“We are going to put our tree up tonight.”
“Already!” Sarah exclaimed, smiling.
“Yep, and Melanie’s coming over to help.”
Sarah got quiet then and went slow as if weighing her response. “Do you like Melanie, Daddy?”
Jackson swallowed. “Yeah, I do, baby girl. She’s very nice. And she looked pretty sad today. Lola had to go home, and she was going to spend the rest of her night alone. I wanted to cheer her up. Is that, okay?”
Sarah smiled. “Yes, Daddy. I like Melanie, too. Lola said that she is the best. She told me about all the fun things they do together and about how she even taught her how to color and how to jump rope.”
“She sounds pretty special,” Jackson offered, glad to know that his daughter didn’t find the neighbor unappealing.
“I miss Mommy. Lola said that Melanie is a good mommy.”
“Melanie is her aunt, Sarah.”
“Yeah, but…Lola says,” Sarah Jane said quietly, but Jackson already went out to the pod to get more boxes.
***
An hour later, Jackson finally heard the doorbell. He went to answer and found Melanie with tears streaming down her face. “I can’t come over tonight.”
“What’s happened?” Jackson asked, frightened. She looked like a wreck. “Did something happen with your sister?”
“I didn’t tell you everything about my sister. She’s…not a nice person,” Melanie said, noticing Sarah Jane next to her dad. Sarah frowned.
“Lola said that her mommy was very mean,” Sarah added, hoping that Lola wouldn’t be mad at her.
“What…what else did she say?” Melanie asked quietly.
“She said that you were a good mommy and that you do lots of stuff with her and that you were a good person and you needed a good husband and that she wanted you for Christmas. She said she is asking Santa for you for Christmas.”
Melanie’s eyes widened in pain. “Oh my God!” Melanie put her head on Jackson’s shoulder as he took her in his embrace, rubbing her back.
“Don’t cry, Melanie. It’s going to be all right. Do you want to call the police or anything? Maybe you can fill out a report or something.”
“Tessa’s my sister! I only have her, that’s it. My parents are both dead and she is my family. I can’t take Lola away from her.”
“Sometimes in a situation like this, you are what’s best, Melanie. If your sister is hurting her…”
“I know. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think she is physically hurting her. I just don’t think my sister knows what she is doing…she wasn’t expecting to raise Lola on her own.”
“So Lola’s dad isn’t in the picture?”
“No, he isn’t. Lola’s dad is Danny, my ex.”
Jackson brought Melanie away from him and looked into her eyes. “You were with your sister’s boyfriend?” he asked, shocked.
“No, I was with Danny for five years. Four of them in which he cheated on me with my own sister. I didn’t know he was Lol
a’s father until she was two. That was…”
“Two years ago,” Jackson finished her sentence. “I’m so sorry, Melanie. I don’t know if I could have spent time with Lola if I were in that situation.”
“I know. I didn’t think I could either, but you forget I spent two years loving her already. She is the innocent party in all this. She’s just a kid, but she looks just like Danny. She has her mom’s temper and her daddy’s looks.”
“Come on, you have to stay tonight. I have the boxes down and Sarah Jane is really good at stringing popcorn.”
Sarah smiled and held out her hand, waiting for Melanie to take it. She did.
“You are going to love the ornaments,” Sarah said, smiling. “My mommy loved them, and I made most of them!”
“I’m sure they are wonderful, Sarah,” Melanie said, following her into the room.
“They are, except for the ones that daddy helped make. He isn’t very good with glitter!”
Jackson and Melanie laughed. “I told you that was because of the size of my hands. It’s too awkward!”
Sarah laughed as Melanie’s gaze went to Jackson’s hands. Her face reddened and she looked away quickly, but not before colliding with Jackson’s gaze.
“Come on, let’s get some cocoa on and the tree out of the box!”
***
“Wow! It looks so beautiful. You were right, Sarah, you have beautiful ornaments!” Melanie said, looking at the completed project. She took her time, looking at each individual ornament as they put them on the tree, making sure she made extra comments on the ones that Sarah had made. “Yours are definitely the most beautiful.”
Sarah’s little face lit up. “Thank you, Melanie!” she ran over to her and gave her a hug.
“You’re very welcome. And you know what else?” she said, looking over at Jackson’s smiling face as she hugged Sarah.
“What?”
“Your daddy’s ornaments were awful,” Melanie said, laughing and Sarah joined her.
Chapter Five
Two weeks later
“So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?” Jackson asked Melanie as she was walking out to her car. They talked in the mornings before she left for school. Jackson always brought her a cup of coffee and they shared the paper.
A Mommy for Christmas Page 2