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Rosa's curious eyes come to meet Melody’s. "Oh, so polite and handsome, you know, my little boy is also named Graham! But he is not so little anymore." Rosa’s eyes just melt, watching Oliver's little eyes light up.
"Dr. Steven's name is also Graham. I didn't know there were that many people named Graham. Maybe that’s why my mom calls me Ollie."
"Let's go inside and get you a tortilla with butter. They were your mom's favorite when she was little." He nods eagerly, as Rosa lets us each pass, a lingering touch to her shoulder told her that Rosa was definitely suspicious. She was regretting her name choice right about now, as it was a dead giveaway to anyone close to the family.
Oliver sits on the stool in the kitchen with his backpack on the counter, eating his little tortilla while Rosa regales him with stories. He giggles and adds to the story with enthusiasm, making Rosa's face light up in a way I had never seen before. Ollie has that effect on people. He is just a cute fucking kid.
The front door swings open, Marisol and Theo walk in with Graham trailing behind them.
She will never get tired of watching him walk into a room. He has a huge gray plastic tub over one shoulder and still manages to close the door with ease.
"Tia Marisol! Dr. Stevens! What are you doing here?" He jumps out of the stool in some sort of ninja move and rushes over to hug Marisol and give Graham a fist bump.
“I found them, Ollie!" Graham grins triumphantly. "Check this out.” He dumps the contents of the box on the living room carpet as Ollie rushes over, backpack in hand, squealing with joy.
Right there, in the middle of the carpet, is a giant mountain of toy dinosaurs.
"He used to collect them when he was little. The fucking nerd used to sort them by their name, alphabetically, then he would change his mind and sort them by size, then the next week by weight." Marisol had sidled up to Melody without her noticing. She had been so enraptured by the sight before her. Both Graham and Oliver were lying on their bellies in the exact same position, talking about dinosaurs. She tried to be super into it for him, but she couldn't really understand the dinosaur fascination.
Rosa bumps her shoulder. "Come help me in the kitchen, Mija." She didn't really want to leave that living room. Watching Graham and Ollie together, being weird, was actually pretty fucking amazing. Those damn flutters are back. She could barely peel her eyes off them.
In the kitchen, she finds Marisol sitting on one of the barstools, drinking some soda while Theo leans against the wall next to her.
"Jesus, Theo, I almost didn't recognize you." Melody eyes Marisol discreetly. He had really filled out, and it looked like he had grown at least six inches since she last saw him- granted, it was five years ago.
"Sit, Melody, sit." Rosa tisks when she tries to go around the counter to help clean up. She plops on the bar stool nearest Marisol while Rosa gives her a long, hard look. Feeling a little uncomfortable with her perusal, she tries to speak, but Rosa beats her to it.
"My Graham, he feels things very strongly. He always has. Even as a little boy, his crush, well, his infatuation really, with you was so strong. At first, it was endearing, and we really encouraged him with the way we all teased him." She smiles distantly.
"I didn't know that at the time. I could never tell."
"No, you had your own life to live. We always worried, though, because he never really showed interest in the girls his age, always pining after his Melody. When he went to college, we encouraged him to go out and seek out female or male companionship. We didn't care. We just wanted him to have someone to share his life with. That summer, when you were both home, I tried to sway him away from you."
She seemed a little embarrassed, maybe? Remorseful?
"You had already been through so much. We didn't want Graham to ruin any possible connections you made. He can be very, well, persistent when he has a goal in mind, and it was obvious to us that he had set his sights on you again. He can be obsessive and single-minded, as I'm sure you have noticed."
Blood rushes up to her cheeks as she remembers how single-minded focus felt on her body.
"I am not sure exactly what happened between you two, but I can venture a guess.” She looks over at the carpet where Ollie and Graham seem to be in deep conversation.
A loud snort comes out of Marisol's mouth, and she can't seem to keep her face straight. “I bet we can alllll guess where he ventured.” She interjects loudly, choking on her drink.
Rosa gives Marisol and exasperated look before throwing a dirty dish rag at her daughter. "After that summer, though," She continues her story. "He was a different person. Very promiscuous, moving from girl to girl."
Suddenly, Melody felt uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation. She really didn't want to know about any other girls or what he was doing with them. "But my Mijo wasn't very nice about it, and he never smiled anymore."
"You can say it, Ma. He was an asshole to every single girl he fucked, or fooled around with. He was a dick." Marisol finished, her arms over her chest.
"But the past two days, Melody, he has been so happy, and now I think I know why. But because he feels things so strongly, I want you to really think about what you are doing here. Because if you rip that little boy away from him, I have no idea what kind of person you will leave behind."
Graham
__________________
"Do you know your ABCs, Ollie?"
"Of course I do! A, B, C, D..." He keeps going until the end. "I can say them backward too! Watch ‘Z, Y, W, W, V, U… ''
