* * *
Inside the house, Melody perched politely on the sofa in the living room chatting with Toni. Like the house, the living room was a large, open space. The couch and accompanying loveseat were a warm brown leather, careworn from years of use. The coffee table hosted several large picture books, fresh flowers, and a photo album of the Parker family though the years. On the far wall, there was a massive, brick fireplace, and on the mantle were pictures of Malcolm and Elise’s children. The was Pryce after a high school football game, muddy and stained, his helmet hanging low in his hand, his other arm thrown casually around his mother, both of them laughing at the camera. Toni, at what looked to be a ballet recital, up on her toes in fifth position, a shimmering blue tutu with a matching crown fashioned over her smiling face. And Devin, on one knee, smirking at the camera, a gold and white jersey adorning his teenaged frame. It reminded Mel of a photo of her on her mother’s end table at home, though the memories of that time, of that happiness, were clouded with what came after.
Devin’s baby sister was so much like him, yet so typical as the youngest sibling of the family. She was playful but effortlessly cool, and Mel laughed with her as she recounted stories about her brothers.
“So, in case you weren’t sure, my brother really likes you.” She folded her legs under herself and fully faced Melody. “How are you feeling about that?”
Mel swallowed. “Really good, actually, I really like him too.”
“Not to be the overprotective baby sis here, but Devin is like, my partner in crime. I mean, Pryce is cool, but he’s kind of an ass, you know?” She smiled as she placed her phone down. She’d been texting on it since dinner. “Devin’s great, so I just want to make sure you’re as serious as he is.”
Mel’s heart felt light and heavy at the same time. It wasn’t just that his little sister was protecting him, it was that he was the kind of man a little sister would want to protect. “Toni, I really care about him.” Her eyes filled. “Very much. You don’t need to worry.”
“Oh my God, Mel.” Toni leaned toward Melody, grasping her hand. “Are you in love my brother?”
Mel chuckled, a tear slipping out of her eye. “I guess so, yeah. I do.” She took a deep breath. “I didn’t really want to acknowledge it, because of all that that means, but, now that you’ve said it, yes. I love Devin.”
They shared a smile, the secret of it enveloping them both.
“Well, that’s really good to hear, because sweetheart, he sure does love you.” A voice came from the hallway, causing both women to jump. Elise parker stepped into the room, on hand on a cocked hip. “Now, I know y’all didn’t expect privacy sitting in this common room like this.” She approached Melody, placing her glass of wine on the coffee table so she could take Melody’s face with both hands. “I’m glad to hear you love my boy. And whether it’s worth something or not, I want you to know that I approve, sweetheart.”
Mel’s tears, barely held at bay but for one, spilled over. “It is worth something. It means a lot.”
“Well, good.” Elise patted Melody’s cheek and sat down between her and Toni. “If my husband is out there talking about what I think he’s talking about, then I’ll just go ahead and say me and you are gonna get along just fine.”
Chapter 16
If Mariah couldn’t have the man she wanted, then she would definitely make the bitch who had him pay. She fumed as she strode into Dave’s Hardware, her bracelets jingling with every step. She’d been perfect for him, gave him multiple chances, and that idiot still hadn’t chosen her. And to add insult to injury, Devin and Melody were still together, parading around town and meeting each other’s families. Well, she thought as she yanked a shopping cart from the set near the entrance, she’d make him see. He’d see how right she’d been all along. But first, she’d need to get Melody out of her way. And what better way to do that than to teach her a hot little lesson about messing with things that didn’t belong to her.
By the time she’d finished her shopping, she was overwhelmed with giddiness. She’d planned this for weeks, and it would go off without a hitch. It was timed perfectly, and because this town and its dumb little people were so predictable, she’d be gone before anyone knew anything. She smiled to herself as she shut the door on her Infiniti coupe and started the engine. Melody would never know what hit her.
* * *
“Babe, that’s way too much,” Devin commented as he watched Melody plop a thick layer of relish over her hot dog.
“Is not. It’s perfect.” She proved her point by taking a large bite, wiggling her eyebrows at him as she chewed. Devin laughed and kissed her on the top of the head, throwing his arm around her and guiding her towards the park.
Every year, well into summer and approximately three months after the spring festival, the town of Spring Branch hosted a nighttime movie in the park. This year, the feature film was When Harry Met Sally. Mel and Devin had stopped at a stand near the entrance to the park for food, loaded up with snacks for the film, and were heading down the steep hill towards the outdoor projector screen. The night was muggy and warm, the kind of weather that loosened your bones and made it almost impossible not to relax. They settled downhill, a few dozen feet from the screen, and Mel unrolled a blanket for the two of them to sit on.
“Is that the blanket from the back of your couch?” Devin asked, one brow quirked inquisitively.
“Mm-hmm.” Melody mumbled, straightening it on the grass. She looked up to see his mischievous grin. “But,” she ambled over to him and kissed him lightly on the lips. “We will only be sitting on it this time.”
“For now,” he said, tipping a beer bottle up to his mouth. The grin on his face stirred her senses, and she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pushed the beer away for a long, deep kiss.
As they lay in the grass, Melody allowed herself the joy of living in this moment. So often, especially before Devin, she worried about what would come next. Every action, no matter how small, had a consequence. Especially when it came to men. But for the first time since her father disappeared, she felt at peace with the moment just the way it was. As Billy Crystal swapped seats with stranger on screen to sit next to Meg Ryan, Melody turned her head to glance at Devin. He looked at her, and his mouth quirked up in a grin, and she felt him squeeze her a bit before his gaze returned to the screen.
She loved him. She didn’t know exactly when it happened, or how, but she’d fallen comfortably, unfailingly in love with him. It wasn’t the sort of wild, teenage infatuation she’d felt before in her life. It was secure, and steady, and she knew it could last for the rest of her life. And, best of all, that love didn’t scare her. It felt natural, like it had always been there, waiting to emerge and blossom and make her life even more beautiful. She didn’t know for sure if he felt the same way, but she had a strong suspicion that he –
“Mel!” A voice shrieked. “Melody!” Aunt Gwen came running down the hill toward her, her face wild, her long caftan swirling around her madly. “Honey! Your store! There’s a fire!”
Mel was on her feet and running before another thought entered her mind. As she sped past her Aunt, she called back, “Call 911!”
She raced uphill, the plain Toms she’d chosen to wear that day fighting her with every step. Her breathing was labored when she reached the street, her legs burning, and oh God, she could see smoke a block and a half away. She forced herself to pick up speed, wondering what the hell she’d do when she got there. Would it be safe enough to go in? The insurance papers and the property agreement were in the safe upstairs. The safe was fireproof, she thought. She couldn’t remember. She wiped tears from her face and let out a wounded sob as she skidded to a stop in front of her place. The glass in the front of the building was shattered, and the entire left side of the store was up in flames, thick laps of fire curling up from the window. The name, her mother’s name, stained with smoke
, melted metal and plastic groaned as it folded in on itself.
She heard sirens in the distance. She turned both directions, looking up and down the street, but saw nothing. No one was coming, not soon enough. She peered inside her store, squinting as plumes of smoke unfurled through the broken glass. She could see it from where she was. The photo. The faces of her mother, her grandmother, and the woman she’d never met, the woman whose kerchief was tucked into the corner of the frame. She’d have to go in. She’d be fast. She’d hold her breath, stay away from the flames, and grab the photo from behind the register. She would not let Adelaide’s only remaining possession burn with everything else. She couldn’t.
She rushed toward the building, tears and smoke clouding her vision. The heat was so intense she felt as though her flesh was melting. It would take seconds, she reassured herself. She’d be fine. She balled her fists and took a few deep breaths before stepping forward, but she was grabbed and whirled around by a force.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Devin screamed. His eyes were frantic, breathing heavy. He gripped both her shoulders.
“I have to go in!” She screamed. “The picture! I have to go!”
Still gripping her shoulders, Devin looked over her head at the shop. He couldn’t see the frame on the wall, the smoke was too thick now. But he remembered, just about, where it was. He looked at Melody. Silent tears were sliding from her eyes, her face twisted into an incomparable terror and sadness.
“Stay here! Stay right here!” He yelled over the roar of the fire.
He took off, running full speed into the building before his mind could talk him out of it. Taking in a last breath of clean air, he kicked in what was left of the glass door and ducked inside. He couldn’t see anything, didn’t know one direction from another. The heat was so intense that it was dulling his senses. His skin began to feel tight, and he felt as though the hairs on his arms was burning. He got low, suddenly remembering that smoke was thinner close to the ground. He found the counter that housed the register, and hoisted himself over it, feeling for the wall. Unable to hold his breath, he let out air and risked taking some in, immediately choking on the smoke inside. The smoke burned his eyes, his vision a thick impassible grey he couldn’t see beyond. He felt along the wall, high and low, right to left, being careful not to knock it down, but hurrying, because he had maybe a minute or two more before he collapsed. The seconds drug by like hours, and his hands skimmed the wall to no avail. Finally, he caught a corner of the frame with his hand. He reached out with both hands and grabbed it, lifting it from the nail on the wall. He turned, noting that he was beginning to feel light-headed. Not enough oxygen. His lungs were desperate for air, and he was losing his ability to think clearly. The counter was too long to go around, and he didn’t know how far the fire had spread, so he’d have to go back over it. It was so much harder than it was mere minutes ago. He hoisted himself over, nearly collapsing from the heat and the smoke as he landed on the other side. Staying low, he pushed toward the door, following the billowing smoke as it searched for a way out of the building.
After what felt like an eternity, he emerged from the door, sweaty and coughing, gasping for breath. Melody was in her mother’s arms, shaking uncontrollably. Seeing him, she broke away and ran to him.
“You shouldn’t have done that! Why did you do that?!” She threw her arms around him.
Not speaking, he pulled away from her, kissed her forehead, and handed her the picture. The glass had cracked in the intensity of the heat, but the kerchief and the photo behind it were fine. Her great-grandmother smiled up at her, that balanced serenity on her face.
Melody’s tears came faster as she looked up at Devin, her eyes searching his for a reason he’d do something so stupid. He’d just run into a burning building for her, and if it wasn’t for love, then he was stupider than any man on the planet. She put a hand to his face.
“Thank you.” She whispered. She wrapped her arms around him and held on, listening to the rapid beat of his heart, thankful that it was still there, still fast and steady and unchanging.
He pulled back as a firetruck approached, men jumping from it before the engine came to a stop. A police car, then another, pulled up, and Pryce jumped out and ran towards his brother.
“You went in?!” He yelled at Devin.
Devin nodded, still breathing heavily, drenched in soot and sweat. Signaling to a nearby firefighter for an oxygen mask, he clapped Devin on the back before dragging his brother into a hug. “You idiot.”
Melody watched as the firefighters drenched what was left of Bethany’s Boutique. Within 15 minutes, the fire was out, but most of what she’d built was gone. Leveling herself against the abject shock, she cried silently, gripping her mother’s hand and clutching the photo to her chest. Aunt Gwen sat nearby on a curb, her long face drawn with sadness and temper. At some point during the madness, Carynne had come running, and when it was over, she held onto her closest friend and let her cry.
And later, when it was time to talk to the police, Melody pulled herself together. The fire marshal had found that the window had been broken, again, and an accelerant had been used to douse the shelves and the floor. Whoever had done it had, fortunately, run out of fuel, because the trail had stopped somewhere near the middle of the floor. Whatever had actually been used to start the fire was either still with the perpetrator or had been burned completely.
“I still have to conduct an official investigation, file reports, do my due diligence” the marshal had said, “But there’s no doubt. This was arson.”
Melody felt numb, the words echoing in her head, clouding her thoughts and simultaneously angering and saddening her.
“Come on, Mel.” Devin spoke, his voice gravelly with exhaustion. “Let me take you home.”
* * *
Melody’s house had never been so full of people. Everyone was in and out, offering sympathies and committing to assist with the rebuild. Her mother put on a pot of tea, and then another, making sure Melody got at least two cups of chamomile to calm her nerves. Carynne was in the kitchen at the small dining table, raising hell with Mel’s insurance agent, whom she’d somehow managed to contact late in the evening. Ms. Talbert had visited Melody to sing her a quick spiritual, and Aunt Gwen had decided that even though it was a hot summer night, gumbo was in order. Melody spent most of the evening on the couch, showered and changed into a faded Rice University sweatshirt and basketball shorts, quietly eating or drinking whatever was placed in front of her. She didn’t want anything, but she knew it would expend more energy to argue than to just do what her family told her.
And next to her, also showered, visibly tired and solemnly quiet, was Devin. His arm unchangingly wrapped around her as people visited, advised, and comforted. Every once in a while, he’d look at her, something unsaid on his lips. After what seemed like an eternity, Carynne, satisfied with the night’s progress and assuring Melody that her store would be even better this time around, left, along with Aunt Gwen. Bethany had fallen asleep in Melody’s bed, and Devin and Melody sat alone in the living room, the low rumble of late night news the only sound filling the void.
“Thank you for doing that. For going in.” Melody murmured, her eyes still trained on the TV.
“Sure.” Devin said, looking down at her.
“You shouldn’t have done it. You could have died.”
“Yeah.” He said. “I wasn’t really thinking about that. I just didn’t want you to go in. And I knew if I didn’t, you would.”
Melody looked at him. His eyes were tired, but his gaze was warm and soft and intense.
“You know, Mel,” he sighed. “I don’t mind risking my life because I’m in love with a woman, but don’t make trying to run into burning buildings a habit, alright?”
Melody felt her heart swell, a million declarations of love yearning to pour out of her. Instead, she pressed a kiss to his
lips. “Alright.”
Devin lightly touched her chin, looking down into her eyes. “Good.”
Epilogue
Early in the morning of Mel’s second grand opening, standing in the exact spot where Melody and Devin kissed for the first time, he proposed.
Melody, and everyone that had offered to come help, drifted about the store completing final touches on decorations for the day. Carynne was hauling in a fresh batch of muffins from her shop, arranging them in a delicate pile near the register and readying her coffee machine for the coming fray. Bethany busied herself with wiping down every surface in the room, singing softly and smiling for no apparent reason. Aunt Gwen was lazily folding display shirts, Leana coming behind her every few minutes to correct them. And when everybody was ready, when all the people that Melody loved most were there and watching and waiting, Devin dropped to one knee in front of the woman he’d loved since the day he laid eyes on her.
His grandmother’s single, brilliant solitaire in white gold had sparkled under the light, and Melody felt her heart swell so quickly she thought it might burst in her chest. After everything she’d seen, everything she knew to be true about the failure of love and the untrustworthiness of the people you gave love to, here he was, the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen, and he loved her. Her eyes traveled to the recently re-framed photo on the wall, to the woman who she knew watched over her and her life, and hoped she could see this. Melody blinked the tears from her eyes and murmured ‘yes’ before he’d finished his speech, earning a laugh from her mother, who stood feet away, wiping tears from her eyes.
And when the store opened, the coming wedding was all that Spring Branch could discuss. After all, the past months had finally unfolded into a perfect fairy tale ending.
A few nights after the fire, police arrested Mariah for arson. Her trial had been quick, mostly due to her confession, and she’d been sentenced to six years. While Melody felt it tacky to celebrate the jailing of another person, she did pour herself a fine glass of champagne the night of the sentencing.
Mostly Love Page 11