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“Daddy! Daddy! You’ll never guess what happened today!” she gushed as I circled around the truck to help her buckle her seatbelt. “We’re performing Mother Goose for the entire school, and I get to play Bo Peep! I have to practice my lines, but I’m so excited I don’t think I’ll be able to remember any of them!”
“Well, well. Bo Peep, huh? That’s a mighty big honor. I’m sure you’ll do just fine. You’ll memorize those lines in no time. I’ll even help you.”
“Oh, will you, Daddy!? Thank you, thank you!”
I laughed as she barely took time to catch her breath before rattling off to tell me about the rest of her day. She talked all the way to the library, where we stopped on the way home, then started up again and didn’t stop until we got home. I loved Em’s stories, and how worked up she’d get while tellin’ them.
I had even become rather invested in the dramatic twists and turns of elementary school kid society. I knew all her classmates' names and their ever-changing dynamics, like how Billy and Blake were best friends last week…but this week, Billy only wants to hang out with Chris, and Blake isn’t taking it too well. So, Em was a sweetheart and gave him a cookie at lunch to cheer him up. Just like her mama would have done.
“Go inside and put your things away while I get dinner started,” I told Em as we climbed out of my truck back at the house.
She took off running through the neighbor’s chickens that had crowded around my front porch. Cindy was standing nearby clucking and calling them home, but she stopped when she saw me.
“Well, hey there, Derek,” she smiled wide, holding up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “You’re a sight for sore eyes. Our paths haven’t been crossin’ as much lately, it seems.” She glanced over to my old basset hound, Hank, who was only just now realizing we were home. He slowly stood up and trudged his way over to Em with his tail wagging.
“I’ve been busy. You know how it goes,” I told her.
“I know,” she waved it off. “You don’t have to tell me. But I do owe you and Em supper some time to thank you for fixing my barn.”
“Don’t mention it. You don’t owe us a thing.”
“I insist,” she said firmly, and I knew without a doubt that whenever that supper happened, there’d conveniently be some single woman from around town also in attendance.
But Cindy’s attention had turned to the house across the lake. “Did ya hear about Mrs. Hart?” I shook my head ‘no.’ “That poor woman was only fifty, but she passed away a few weeks ago. She lived in upstate New York, and I hadn’t seen her around these parts much in the past few years. It was so strange for her to buy that place and just let it sit there and waste away. I hope whoever ends up with that place takes good care of it. I imagine it’ll need a lot of work to get it back in good shape.”
I stared at the lake house for a moment, remembering how pretty it used to look at night when its lights would shine out over the water. But Cindy was right. Those lights hadn’t been on in years, and far as I could tell…a crew came to do maintenance maybe once a year. Not nearly enough to keep it up.
We chatted about the old house for a few minutes, then I went to feed the dog and get started on dinner. I wasn’t a great cook by any means, but I knew how to make hot dogs, steaks, and hamburgers. Em didn’t seem to mind, and Hank definitely didn’t. He was accustomed to getting the leftovers, and I pretended not to notice when Em snuck little bites to him under the table.
I helped Em practice her lines after dinner then tucked her into bed. Turning out her light and kissing her goodnight was my least favorite part of the day. Because when all that busyness was over…the house was quiet, and I was alone. I missed the days when Rebecca and I would do all those things together, and the reward after a long, hard day was to cuddle up with her on the porch swing with a beer in hand and just talk the night away.
Most nights, I went out onto the porch alone and just stood there…though I couldn’t bring myself to sit on the swing without her. Instead, I paced around and sipped my beer while standing, staring out over the lake in every direction.
I couldn’t stop thinking of Rebecca’s smile that evening for some reason, and it made my heart ache. It got me thinking about everything my brother had said. Part of me wanted to believe he was right…that maybe I should try to find someone, even if only for Em’s sake.
I looked around the front yard as Hank rolled over and started to snore. Even more than remembering Rebecca, it hurt worse to imagine bringing someone else here…intruding on all the places that used to be hers. Still were hers, as far as I was concerned.
I quickly shook off any notion of that ever happening, knowing what was best for me and Em was just to push forward alone.
“Come on, Hank,” I whistled. “Time for bed.”
3
MELODY
I woke up extra early the next morning and was thrilled to be greeted with a glorious day. The sky was deep blue with perfect white fluffy clouds, and big bright beams of sunlight shone in through my windows.
I ignored how the light exposed my collection of unpacked boxes, making them seem even more dismal and depressing.One thing at a time, I thought.
I stretched in bed and considered attempting to get in a quick workout before heading into the office. I needed to clear my head and conquer the day, to prove to my boss that I really was back at full capacity and wouldn’t let him down. But what better way to prove that than to go in early? The old me was the first one there every morning and the last to leave every night. How else would Ethan have had so much time to run around behind my back with Natasha?
That was it. Old Melody was back…What was left of her anyway. I’d go in early, hit the ground running, and crush it, completely vindicating myself from bursting into tears and running out early the afternoon before, after my already long lunch.
After a quick shower, I slipped into one of my best pantsuits and headed off, stopping to pick up coffee and bagels for everyone on the way. My heart was still heavy, but I smiled and held my head high as I strutted down the sidewalks. My arms were full with the giant box from the bakery along with a to-go carrier of steaming coffee cups. I was convinced the gesture would make everyone in the office forget about how absent I’d been over the past few weeks. Food and coffee could make up for just about any mistake that didn’t involve losing the firm a lot of money. I may have put a few big clients at risk, but nothing had been lost yet. And I was ready to get down to business with cleaning up any areas that had slipped into disarray during my frequent days off.
My arms were so full, in fact, that when my phone started buzzing, I nearly dropped all of the coffee as I attempted to gently place them on a stoop to free my hand and answer. I would have let it go to voicemail had I not noticed my boss’s name flashing across the screen.
“Melody, hi. I hope you’re feeling better today,” he said in a rushed tone.
