Mostly Love

by Jayna Fontenot

  Practices were on Mondays and Thursdays, and games against other local teams were on Saturdays. Her coach, Miss Tanya, was really nice, and she was tall and pretty and had bright, polished nails and loved basketball and knew everything about it. She taught Melody how to run with the ball, and how to dribble with one hand, and Melody began to wear her Little Angels t-shirt tucked into her basketball shorts the way Miss Tanya did.

  Her parents came to every game, and her father would scream for her from the front row. She didn’t often mess up, but when she did, he’d stand up and scream, “that’s okay, Princess!” and she’d feel so warm inside that she’d want to run to him right then. After games, they went out for ice cream, and he would put her on his lap and talk to her about the game, about what she did well, about what she should do next time, and about how proud he was.

  When sign-ups rolled around the following year, Morris put Melody back in the league. He took her to a sports store, and she got special shoes for basketball and lots of new pairs of shorts. “I’m so proud of you, kiddo.” He’d said, playfully tugging her ponytail, and she felts so happy she thought her chest might burst.

  One Wednesday evening, Miss Tanya called practice early and told Melody and their teammates that they could play in the gym until it was time for their parents to pick them up. Melody was stoked. She could finally practice her free throws without other kids having to practice with her. She stepped up to the free throw line and shot. It went really far to the left. She chased the ball down and tried again. And again. And again. She shot at least 40 free-throws, and each of them missed the hoop by a mile. Frustrated, she plopped down onto the floor, and then she got an idea. Maybe Miss Tanya could show her how to throw. Hers were always really perfect, and she was always willing to help Melody.

  Leaving the gym, Melody ran her hand along the painted brick wall of the YMCA hallway. The fluorescent lights gleamed against the freshly waxed floor, and she listened to the joyful echo of her shoes against the tile. Miss Tanya had a small office in the front of the building, right past the vending machines. She ran the last few paces to the office, her basketball tucked under her arm. The door to the office was closed. Melody gripped the handle and turned it, leaning against the door to push it open. And when she opened her mouth to speak to her coach, her words caught up in her throat.

  Her father was there, in Miss Tanya’s office. The lights were off, but she could tell it was him. He stood between Miss Tanya’s legs, and she was sitting on the desk. And he was kissing her. Not the way he kissed Melody, on the cheek or on the forehead, but on the mouth, for a long time, the way he kissed Mommy.

  She stood frozen for what felt like an eternity, her hand gripping the door handle so tight it hurt. Tears formed behind her eyes. “Daddy?” She squeaked, scared, although she didn’t understand why.

  They jumped apart, and when they did, Melody saw that her coach wasn’t wearing a shirt.

  “Melody!” Morris said, stepping in front of Miss Tanya. He paused, clearing his throat. “You ready to go home, Princess?”

  In the car, Melody was quiet, only peeking at her father from the corner of her eye. She knew that something was really wrong, that married people were only supposed to kiss each other. That had to have meant that what her father did was bad. It was mean to her mom.

  “Princess?” He said. She looked up at him.

  He was gripping the steering wheel with one hand and glancing at her as he drove. “Do me a favor, kiddo. Don’t tell Mommy about today.” He waited. “About what you saw.”

  Melody was quiet. She turned and looked out the window, watching the trees whip by so quickly that she couldn’t count them. She told her mother everything. Even when she did bad things, she told her mother so her mother could make it okay.

  “Did you hear me, Melody?”

  “Yes.” Her voice sounded small. She wished it sounded bigger.

  “Miss Tanya was really sad, Princess, and I was just giving her a hug to make her feel better. Do you know how I hug you when you’re sad?”

  “It didn’t look like a hug.” She deliberately sharpened her tone, still looking out the window.

  “Well, it was.” His tone was sharper. She turned to look at him. His eyes were staring, unblinking, at the road ahead of him. “You won’t tell anybody Melody. You like Miss Tanya, and if you tell, she’ll lose her job and you’ll be in a lot of trouble. Do you understand?”

  Melody felt tears well up in her eyes. She squeezed them shut. “Yes, sir.”

  They rode in silence until he pulled into the driveway, and when he shifted into park, she looked up at him.

  “Tell me why,” she said. “Tell me why you did that.”

  Morris sat back and sighed. He looked at her a long time, his expression as blank as she’d ever seen it. “I don’t love her, Melody. I love your mother. I suppose I did it because she made me chase her. I wanted to know if I could catch her, and I caught her.” He unbuckled his seatbelt. “It was the chase.”

  It was two weeks before Melody told her mother what she saw. After that, everything happened really, really quickly. Her father left, and her mother stopped taking her to basketball. After Bethany sent Melody to bed in the evenings, she would sit in the kitchen at the little table and cry, and sometimes she would call Aunt Gwen to talk.

  “He took it all, Gwen,” she’d said when Melody crept downstairs to see about her mother. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  Soon after, Bethany quit her at-home business and started working two different jobs, one at the hospital and one at the cleaners. Melody wouldn’t find out until middle school that her father had disappeared with most of what they owned, leaving Bethany and with the cash in her purse and the small bank account she kept for emergencies.

  * * *

  Realizing that she was crying, Melody batted her tears away and spoke quietly, her eyes watching the gentle lap of the water against the rocks. “So, I don’t trust very easily, and I think I took that out on you.”

  Devin was quiet. “I’m sorry that happened Melody.”

  “It’s okay.” She sniffed. “Long time ago.”

  They sat for a while, and after a minute, Devin put his arm around Melody and drew her close.

  “So, tell me about the store,”

  She was thankful for the topic switch. “Things are good. Well, except for that brick.” She took a slow sip of her water and re-capped it.

  “Brick?”

  “Yeah, we had some vandalism trouble. Broken window, lost some merchandise to the damage. The cops came. No updates since then.” She gave a shrug.

  “Wow. I’m sorry.”

  “No big. It happens, though not usually this fast. I didn’t even get a chance to reject someone’s return.” Her mouth quirked up in a small smile.

  “Hm.” A thought briefly crossed his mind, but he batted it away.

  As if sensing his thoughts, Melody asked, “That woman I see sometimes… Mariah? I know she’s kind of hung up on you.”

  “Yeah, kind of.”

  “Do you think she would have done something like that?”

  Devin considered it. Nothing he had seen Mariah do indicated that she was a criminal. She was just really, really intense.

  “I don’t think so. I just think she isn’t used to being told no, so she’s a little severe. That’s all.”

  “Okay.”

  After a moment, he cleared his throat. “How’d you get into the clothing business? I vaguely remember us discussing this before someone showed up to ruin our conversation the last time we talked about it.”

  Melody laughed. “Right, right. Well, my mother, when I was small, would sew a lot, and she taught me to sew. She was starting this clothing business, before all that stuff happened.” She paused, then cleared her throat. “So when I graduated, I decided I’d try to open a store just for her and name
it after her. And I sort of discovered that I loved it, too. Not so much the sewing, but the managing a business, being my own boss.”

  “Mel.” Devin met Melody’s eyes. “That’s incredible of you.”

  “Thanks.”

  They ate cookies in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the water splashing against the rocks on shore, the birds chirping in the distance.

  “Thanks for coming out with me.” He turned to her, a small smile at his mouth as his eyes casually dropped to her lips.

  Her heart began to thunder. “You’re welcome.” Without waiting for him, she grabbed him by the back of the neck and planted her lips on his. He groaned raggedly and pulled her into his lap. Their tongues moved lazily, Devin savoring each sensual sound she made. Melody clutched him as if he was the only thing holding her to the earth, sighing softly when he lifted the bottom of her shirt and slid his thumb against her skin. She broke away from him slowly, breathing heavily and searching his eyes.

  Devin’s eyes were heavy-lidded, and he spoke, still looking at her mouth. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Not yet.” she said before leaning in to kiss him again.

  Chapter 12

  On the day of the Spring Festival, Melody awoke early to meet Carynne at her shop. Carynne, a natural early bird, typically got up at around four in the morning for work and was removing pastries from the oven when Melody arrived.

  “Morning, sunshine!” Carynne chirped as Melody entered the kitchen. She slid a tray of scones out of the industrial oven and padded over to the counter in the hot pink Crocs she wore while she baked.

  “Hey.” Mel yawned, dropping her purse and grabbing a paper cup for coffee.

  “I already made you one. There’s a latte by the register.”

  “Bless you.” Melody trudged out to grab it and returned after a few sips feeling slightly more energized. “Need me to do anything?”

  “If you could grab eight of those white pastry boxes from the top shelf and fold them, that’d be great. The big ones, right next to the wall. And the donuts are done, so you can box those.”

  Melody slid over and plucked them from the shelf, kicking the footstool Carynne used out of the way with her foot.

  Carynne snorted. “Tall people suck.”

  “Don’t we though?”

  Melody boxed donuts while Carynne sprinkled powdered sugar over the blueberry-lemon scones. When she finished, she slid them over to Melody, who boxed them while she yanked ham and cheese breakfast rolls from an oven. Glazing them with butter, she grabbed the last two boxes and placed them in.

  “Okay.” Carynne blew out, untying her apron. “This is enough food, right?”

  “I think so. But if you need to come back for more I’ll cover your booth.”

  “Cool.” Carynne kicked off her Crocs and wiggled into her flats. “Let’s go.”

  The Spring Branch Annual Spring Festival was a long-standing town tradition. No one knew for sure who started it, but it was widely accepted that it was held every year to bring money to the tiny town and its varied local businesses. Each year, the festival kicked off with an opening ceremony, followed by eating contests, shopping at local businesses’ tents and booths, a talent show, and finally, a parade that closed the festival in the evening. Melody had participated, in some fashion, since before she could remember. Carynne had won the talent show every time she’d entered in the past, for a grand total of seven wins. Being a part of the festival as business owners rather than patrons or contestants had a particularly different flavor to it. A good one.

  When Melody and Carynne arrived at the park, Dominique and Leana had already set up both tents and were busy organizing the merchandise brought down from the shop. They set up the pastry boxes, hung crepe paper and the trade show-style signs Melody had ordered, and were finished in time to catch the opening ceremony.

  “You guys should go watch,” Dominque said to Melody and Carynne as she tried on some earrings in the small standing mirror on the BB’s table. “No one will come by until the opening’s over.”

  They looked around. The few people that were nearby were setting up their own tents and booths.

  “Good idea,” Carynne said, grabbing Melody by the arm. “We won’t be long. Text us if you need us!”

  They weaved through the booths lined up along the east side of the park until they reached the stage at the northeast corner. A few hundred people were already gathered, chatting amiably and waiting for the ceremony to begin. Melody spotted Mrs. Talbert in a foldout chair on stage, alternately glancing at members of the crowd disdainfully and dozing off. Next to her, Mayor Henry, almost as old and half as tall, sat drumming his fingers on his legs. Next to him sat Devin.

  “Is that…?” Carynne asked, standing on her toes to see him over the people in front of her.

  “Yeah.” Melody furrowed her brow. “Wonder what he’s doing up there.”

  When their eyes locked, he smiled and lifted his hand. She could see that dimple from here. She gave a small wave.

  After a few minutes, Mayor Henry stepped up to the microphone, adjusting it lower so that he could speak into it.

  “Welcome!” He bellowed, causing the large speakers on stage to whistle. “Thank you all for coming. This is the opening ceremony for the Annual Spring Branch Spring Festival!”

  A few members of the crowd clapped weakly, still mostly talking amongst themselves. Melody heard a few whispers about the other man (attractive, tall, sexy, who is he again?) on stage. She smiled to herself.

  “We’ve got a great festival planned for you this year!” Mayor Henry continued, the buttons on his brown three-piece suit straining as he shouted. “We hope you’ll enjoy the pie eating contest, courtesy of Jeanine’s Bakery, and we’ve got quite a lineup for this evening’s talent show!”

  More claps. Melody glanced at her watch. She should really be back at her tent, checking the display and making sure that card reader app worked correctly. It was her first year in the festival as a business owner, and she wanted to make sure everything was in order.

  “But first, I’d like to introduce you to this year’s special honoree. As many of you may know, we’ve made it to the finals this year in varsity basketball; our first time in over twenty years! We owe much of it to our coach, so I hope you’ll all greet him sometime today and thank him for doing such a great job. Please welcome Spring Branch High’s head basketball coach, Devin Powell!”

  More claps came, much stronger now, along with a few hoots from the high school kids in the crowd. Devin Rose and stepped to the mic.

  “Sweet Jesus,” one of the women near Melody mumbled. “That’s one fine man.”

  “You can say that again,” came another voice. Carynne elbowed Melody in the ribs and grinned. Melody bit down a smile.

  “Thank you all,” Devin bent down and baritoned into the mic, not bothering to adjust the height. Melody could feel his voice in her chest.

  “The team really appreciates your support, and we hope you’ll travel with us when we play in Austin in two weeks.

  “I’d go anywhere with you, baby.” came that same female voice. Melody cleared her throat. Carynne glanced at her, chuckling.

  “This honor really belongs to the team,” Devin nodded to the group of teenage boys standing near the stage. “We wouldn’t be anywhere without these kids. Let’s give them a hand.”

  The crowd applauded, and the high school boys whooped and high-fived. Melody glanced around. More than a few women were fanning themselves. Too early in the day for it to be the heat.

  “But anyway, thanks very much for supporting us. We’ll do our best to make you proud.” He stepped away from the microphone. After more applause and another brief introduction, Mrs. Talbert slowly shuffled to the microphone, her arm looped with Devin’s, as he had stood to walk her. When she approached the microphone, she gave him
a pat on the arm and one of her rare, sweet smiles. Then, she cleared her throat and wailed into the microphone.

  “Oooooh Sayyyyy. Caaaan. You. Seeeeee?!”

  “Oh God. Okay, time to go back.” Carynne said, trying to tug Melody away.

  “It’s not so bad.” Melody whispered, standing still with her hand over her heart. “Close your eyes and imagine the Whitney Houston version.”

  Carynne smacked her lips. “Impossible. Her singing’s as bad as everything else about her.”

  They giggled as they waited for the anthem to finish.

  Back at BB’s tent, customers that drifted down to the shopping area after the opening ceremony were browsing the displays and trying on jewelry. Melody hurried behind her table to assist Anitra with completing sales, and Carynne returned to her tent to count her remaining pastries. They greeted patrons, sold food and accessories, and enjoyed the general bustle of the festival.

  “Hey! You’re the owner, right?” A gorgeous bright-eyed woman with a toddler on her hip approached Melody at her tent. “You own Bethany’s Boutique?”

  “Yes, that’s me.”

  “It’s great to finally meet you!” The woman shifted the baby’s weight to quickly shake Melody’s hand. “I’m Toni. Devin’s sister.”

  Melody smiled warmly. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’m Melody. Devin’s told me a lot about you.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s not all true,” She laughed. “This is my son, Kyle. Say hi, Kyle!”

  The baby gave a jubilant wave. “Hi!”

  Melody gave him a wave and a smile as she came out from beneath her tent. “Hi, Kyle!”

  “Mom! Come over here!” Toni called behind her, and Melody felt her face go hot. Was she meeting his parents already? She quickly glanced down at her outfit. Denim shorts and a baseball tee weren’t exactly meet-the-family attire, but it would apparently have to do.