Three

 

 

“I DID IT,” Melanie said into her phone on the way home from the airport.

“What did you do?” her sister, Emmeline, asked.

“I just abandoned Sienna on an airplane.”

“Oh, right. Today’s the day Sienna flies to her dad’s,” Emme said, the light bulb moment obvious by the extreme in her tone of voice. “Are you okay? Are you driving?”

“Yeah, I’m driving back to Granite Lake now. And, no, I’m not okay. I should have bought myself a ticket. What if something happens and Sienna doesn’t know what to do? She’s never flown alone before. What if there’s a terrorist on the plane? What if they give her those airline peanuts? Oh, fudge nuggets! I totally screwed up, Emme. I’m going to hell.”

There was a snort on the other end of the line as Melanie fell apart in sticky emotional pieces.

“You’re not going to hell. She’ll be fine. I know you, and I know you paid for a chaperone and it’s a direct flight. I promise, Sienna will be fine.”

Melanie couldn’t speak because of the lump in her throat. The road turned blurry and she wiped away the tears clouding her vision.

“Hold it together or pull over before you cause an accident,” Emmeline said.

“I’ve… I… I don’t think I can spend the entire summer without her.” Melanie couldn’t believe what a wreck she was. Yet the emotions rose up and were nearly incapacitating. Melanie sobbed and sniffled into the phone.

“Are you done?” her sister asked. “Pull over right now. You’re entitled to a little emotional release, but you’re not thinking clearly.”

“No.” Her shoulders shook as she wiped the back of her hand across her eyes once more. “And you’re right. I’m not acting rational.”

“Try to listen to me. You’re going to be fine. Remember how we anticipated this emotional meltdown last week?”

“Yeah.”

“And what did we decide you were going to do to help yourself?” Emmeline shifted into life coach mode on a dime.

“Stay busy,” Melanie said.

“Exactly. And how are you going to stay busy while Sienna is away?”

“I don’t know.” Melanie was perilously close to sounding whiny. Why was this so hard? She hardly saw the girl some days between school, swim team, friends, and her own schedule. “I can’t remember. I’m so used to spending all my time running Sienna around.”

“Well, try to look at it this way. You have all summer to do everything you want. Where’s the list you made?”

“The list! You’re a savior, Emme. I completely spaced out the list. I’ve been so busy getting Sienna ready for her dad’s and then I was wrapped up with a couple of projects in the shop and I totally forgot.”

“I know. You worship the ground I walk on. I should start charging you for my services.”

“Yeah, go ahead and bill me. Fat lot of good it will do. I don’t even have money to fix up the house the way it needs.”

“But you have enough money to do the small stuff and that’s how you’re going to keep your mind off of Sienna and the ex-hole this summer,” Emmeline reminded her.

Melanie inhaled and let the breath out slow and steady. Her sister could always bring her back to sanity. Sometimes they would vent to each other in long sessions of raving PMS-driven verbal explosions, but by the end they would both feel a hundred percent better. Emmeline was the one person who could always be counted on when Melanie needed an ear to bend.

“I do, and I am. Refinishing the aspen wood bed set is taking a lot of hours and I have an appointment with a new customer who’s interested in the armoire.”

“Sell any pieces yet?”

“Just some small tables, but at least it paid for my supplies,” Melanie said and felt calmer at the thought that her repurposing hobby was slowly becoming profitable.

“Yay! You’re going to sell that gorgeous hall table next. I just know it,” Emme said, clearly excited over the newest completed project.

“That would be nice,” Melanie said. “I’ve invested a hundred dollars into it and would love to at least get my money back. Maybe make a little profit.”

“You will. And you can go swim when you want, and hike, and sleep in. This is going to be the best summer of your life.”

“You sound a lot more confident about it than I do,” she said.

“And you know what else?”

“What’s that?” Melanie asked feeling almost normal now.

The highway buzzed by at sixty-five miles per hour. Her anxiousness evaporated as she continued to talk. Maybe her summer was going to be a good one. She hadn’t had a summer break for herself since she was a teenager. In fact, it was the last summer with Braden that had been her last summer without Sienna.

The reminder of who she had run into earlier this morning almost made her blip out again. Her breath caught and she felt like she might choke. Could someone choke on air? Yep, Melanie could.

“Hello? Mel, are you still there?”

“I’m here,” she said, gasping as oxygen made it into her lungs. She wasn’t ready to tell her sister about her run-in with Braden. Emmeline had been a huge part of her support system when Braden disappeared. She hadn’t had nice things to say about the boy who broke Melanie’s heart. Her sister had also given her unwavering support during Melanie’s freshman year of college when she met Dylan, accidentally gotten pregnant, and shortly thereafter, engaged.

Melanie met Dylan in their Environment and Conservation classes. He was cute and made her laugh. They had similar interests and loved being outdoors. She liked that he liked her, and he took her mind off of Braden. When she dug up her old feelings from the year she was getting over Braden, she painfully had to admit she originally dated Dylan because he reminded her of him. It was a hard, cold truth, but true nonetheless. And something she had learned to live with. She was pregnant before she had the guts to break it off with him. Their marriage lasted nine years and she doubted they had ever been truly happy with one another after the first year or two. Melanie didn't want to bring up Braden in conversation yet. It would reawaken all the old doubts and regrets and she wasn’t ready to talk about it.

“I was going to wait until tonight to call you with the news, but since I have you on the line now, I may as well tell you,” Emme said, breaking Melanie’s long-lost train of thought.

“What? What’s going on?”

“Don’t get mad at me,” she said and paused.

“I can tell I don’t like it already.”

“Hahaha.” Emmeline laughed into the phone and Melanie knew it was going to be bad. “Do you remember me telling you about the new guy at Carson’s office?”

“No…maybe. Oh God, you didn’t!”

“Didn’t what?” Emmeline asked with bogus innocence.

“Tell me you didn’t tell a total stranger about your divorced sister,” Melanie said.

“No, I didn’t.”

There was still too much fake lilt to her tone and Melanie waited for the ball to drop.

“Carson did. We went to the company picnic yesterday for Memorial Day and I met him. His name is Romany and he’s really nice. You two have so much in common, so guess what?”

The color drained from Melanie’s face.

“Hello?” Emme asked again.

She should have hung up, but for reasons beyond her comprehension, she stayed on the line. Maybe she was in denial over what she suspected was coming next.

“Carson and I set you up on your first date since Dylan. Isn’t that freaking great?”

Melanie didn’t think it was great. She thought it was terrifying and the absolute worst idea Emme had ever come up with.

“Call him back and tell him I’m not interested,” Melanie said.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No, seriously, I can’t. I don't have his phone number.”

“What? Tell Carson to cancel then,” Melanie said.

“Umm... Carson’s in San Diego for business. He lost Romany’s number.”

“And you told this Romany person to just come over and pick me up without any warning or even bothering to ask me if I wanted to go out on a date?” Melanie’s nerves were already frayed and smoking at the edges from her morning with Sienna and running into Braden. A blind date and a baffling argument with her sister about some strange guy is the last thing she needed.

“This will be good for you, Mel. You should trust us on this. I’ve seen Romany—I didn't actually speak with him very much—but you’re not going to be disappointed. If he’s a dud at least he’s nice to look at, and according to Carson, he’s extremely intelligent.”

“But—” Melanie hesitated. Emme and Mel had similar tastes in men. If Emme thought this Romany guy was hot, then Melanie probably would as well. “And your husband convinced you I should meet this man?” she asked skeptically.

Carson wasn’t someone who played matchmaker on the weekends. As far as Melanie knew, her sister’s husband never thought about much of anything other than his family, work, and sports. The occasional golf game may flit through the man’s head, but hooking his sister-in-law up with a coworker seemed more like the work of Emmeline.

“Carson likes him. And I think you should get out and do something other than work in your shop and swim laps in the lake. This will be good for you and besides, it’s a free dinner. How could you possibly pass that up?”

“I don’t need some strange man to buy me dinner, Emme. I’m not going. Tell him I’m sick for the rest of the summer.”

“Sorry, Mel. I can’t call it off.”

Emmeline used the putting-her-foot-down voice and Melanie felt her nostrils flare with stubbornness. She despised that tone of voice from her sister, because she knew that once Emme set her mind to something, there was no changing it.

“I refuse to be pressured into this. I’m not ready to start dating and you can’t make me.”

She heard her sister clear her throat. “I have to run. You know, all the usual kid stuff. Take a chance, Melanie. The date is going to broaden your horizons.”

“No, it’s not,” Mel said. “My horizons are broad enough. The sky is wide and—”

Emmeline talked over her sister. “He’ll be there at seven tomorrow.”

“No. No way!”

“Gotta go. Kids need me. Have fun on your date.”

The phone went silent and Melanie hit the brake, signaled, swerved, and almost missed her exit off the highway.

 

* * *

 

Melanie’s only date was going to be with her electric sander, and then much later, a carton of dark chocolate and cherry coconut milk ice cream and her television. It wouldn’t be glamorous or exciting, but it was the best she could do given the current state of her mood. A few hours in the workshop followed by no responsibilities and a movie sounded just right. She may even cry during the emotional scenes and not feel self-conscious and embarrassed about it.

She pulled into her drive and turned off the car, refusing to look at the house next door. The Nichols house was now Braden’s. Did he know who lived next door when he bought it? Did he really not recognize her? She had been wearing dark sunglasses and her hair was partially covered by the bandana. And it had been almost eleven years since they saw each other. Did that explain the lack of recognition? His house was the last one on their cul-de-sac. The two-story wood-sided home sat farther back from the road than hers, closer to the water, and surrounded by mature evergreen trees. Melanie didn’t want to see any of it. She didn’t want to know if there was a wife or kids that came with him. She didn’t want to see what kind of car he drove. She didn’t want to know anything about what was happening next door, because she could feel how much it meant to her and that was dangerous.

It had taken years for Melanie to stop thinking about her first true love. He was on her mind daily for what felt like forever. Braden Keehn had never left her thoughts completely, but she had become proficient at pretending he no longer existed. Even so, he would sneak into her dreams whenever he felt like making an appearance. It unsettled her every time. It felt like a betrayal to Dylan when she had those dreams, but what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t control what happened while she slept, could she?

Melanie grabbed her purse and stepped out of the car. With head down, she made a beeline for the front door, her gaze never leaving the path directly in front of her shoes. Once inside, she immediately thought about what to cook for dinner for her and Sienna. She had a numbing moment of realization that she didn’t have to cook for Sienna for the next two and a half months. She swallowed hard against the ache that rose afresh. Her daughter wasn’t in the house. It suddenly felt immensely quiet and cavernous inside the lake house by herself. She shook it off and opened the fridge. She needed to mentally fool herself into thinking that Sienna was spending the night at a friend’s house. A sleepover. Melanie could feed herself and not have to worry about what Sienna ate for dinner. Not that she ever stopped worrying about Sienna's food allergies, but she couldn’t hover over every bite Sienna took. By necessity, Sienna had become a child expert at reading food labels and knowing which foods could make her sick or cause anaphylaxis. The huge and enormous “but” crept in and reminded Melanie that Sienna was still a child and children forget and make mistakes, as did all humans. She must have faith that Sienna would be alright, otherwise she would go crazy.

Sienna’s allergies were probably to blame for Braden not recognizing Melanie. She had aged what she thought would look like decades on any normal person during the years of trying to figure out what made her baby so ill for so long. Unimaginable stress and too many sleepless nights were not a recipe for youthful skin and shining locks.

She sighed and glanced at the clock on the stove. She could call Sienna in about thirty-five minutes. That would give the plane time to land and taxi to the gate. Melanie told herself to stop fretting. Would the entire summer be like this? A constant worry fest and thoughts a thousand miles away.

Busy. She needed to stay busy. It was her only plan of action. Melanie grabbed the salad out of the fridge and forked a serving into a bowl. She poured a small cup of juice and contemplated on whether or not to pour a shot of vodka in it. She didn’t have any vodka, so that fantasy quickly fled the kitchen. Would she really start drinking to help soothe her bruised emotions? No. Melanie rarely drank. And by rarely, that meant once a year, maybe. Motherhood had always been a twenty-four-seven job. She never took breaks. Her once or twice a year beer, or glass of wine, only happened when Sienna was with her grandparents or aunts. She wouldn’t even allow herself a drink if her daughter was at a friend’s house, just in case something happened and she needed to pick her up. Dylan liked to drink a little too much and Melanie was always the more responsible one when it came to parenting. Not that Dylan was an alcoholic. He wasn’t. But Melanie liked to be in full control of herself and not take any chances when it came to being ever present and available for Sienna.

Her control issues and inflexibility with her daughter were part of what drove her and Dylan apart, but at the time Melanie only did what she thought was best. Since the divorce, she could see a lot of things that were wrong with her marriage that she couldn’t see before, or that she had been unwilling to admit when they were married. Many of the problems she blamed Dylan for had been of her own creation, although this enlightenment only came after she moved to Granite Lake. Previous to these realizations, Melanie had been in a fair amount of denial for most of their marriage and had blamed Dylan’s affair for their eventual separation. It nearly sickened her now to think about how many mistakes she’d made as a wife.

Melanie put the last bite of salad into her mouth and chewed without tasting it. The bowl on the counter in front of her sat empty. She had eaten her dinner without paying attention to it. The baby greens with sunflower seeds, cranberries, apples, and feta cheese really deserved more respect than being gobbled up without any appreciation. With a clatter, she practically dropped the bowl into the sink and then vowed she would be more present in her life this summer. These weeks away from Sienna would give her time for introspection and figuring out what she wanted from her new life in Granite Lake. But that time of looking inward would be the only time she would allow herself to be lost in thought. Every other minute would be devoted to living in the now. To experience the life she often dreamed about while married to Dylan. She would do what she wanted and stop moping about the life she never had as a young mom. This summer would be her chance to do whatever she wanted.

With fresh motivation firing all her pistons, Melanie strode across the house to her workshop inside the garage.

After twenty minutes of sanding the old paint off of an antique headboard, Melanie put her tool on the workbench, stretched, and stared at the dust-covered clock on the wall. It was time to call Sienna. This was in no way going against her newly made pact with herself to be more present and stop worrying so much. She would never compromise her beliefs in being a good mother. She slapped her hands against her jeans, knocking off some of the paint chips and dust, and then sought out her phone. Melanie saw that Sienna had already sent her a message. She had missed it by two minutes.

Sienna: I’m here. Plane landed early. Hired babysitter is making me wait until plane is empty before taking me to Dad.

Melanie called back. “Hi! Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, I guess. Ohio sucks already. It’s like 90 degrees here. When you feel guilty enough, you can fly me home early.”

“That's not funny. And no. We made an agreement with your father. Let’s not break it on the first day.”

Sienna didn’t respond. The call dropped. Melanie redialed her daughter’s number and it went to voicemail. She hung up and dialed Dylan.

“Hi Melanie,” he said in monotone.

She despised that tone of voice. It was his way of turning off all emotion. In her mind, it was his way of turning into an automaton. A person without feeling or personality. He became an appliance, and a dull, uninspired one at that.

“Is she with you?” Mel asked, skipping all the formalities.

“Not yet. The plane landed, but I don’t see her.”

“I was just talking to her. She should be there any second.”

“I don’t need a play-by-play,” he said.

“Sorry. I’m anxious.” The uncomfortable pause stretched. Not wanting to hang up and be out of the loop, she said, “You guys going back to the house when you leave the airport?”

“I don’t have to tell you everything I do every second of the day, Melanie,” he said with his robot voice.

It was cold and hurtful and Melanie had felt this particular sting many times. She wouldn’t get snippy with him. Her reaction to him was all too predictable and this was yet another part of her life she wanted desperately to move on from.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t want to hang up until I know she’s safe with you.”

“I see her now. She’s with the flight attendant,” he said, his voice a modicum more human. “I need to go so I can collect my daughter. I’ll have her call you later.” He paused.

Melanie said, “Okay. Thanks.”

The line went dead.

Melanie somehow knew that another parenting milestone had just been crossed. It felt like too many for one day.

Before she could think of what to do next, the doorbell rang. Her thoughts exploded like fireworks. Is it Braden? Did he realize who I was after I left for the airport and now he’s back to talk? Would he explain why he disappeared off the face of the Earth when we were teenagers? Oh my God, I look like a troll.

Melanie ran her palm over her head, pulling out the bandana, then trying to smooth down the mess of her hair. She glanced at her dusty shop clothes and felt the petrifaction of her nervous system. Dirty and stained, she took a step toward the living room instead of toward the front door. Managing to move at all felt like a triumph. She couldn’t face the one true love of her life in her current state of disarray.

The bell rang again, and then again, with impatience.

Oh, screw it. This was her house now and her life. She looked like she worked in a woodshop and she liked what she created with her hands. If that included dust and smears on her clothes, then so be it. She scooted toward the door, hearing her sister’s voice ringing in her head—“Mel, put on your big girl panties and deal with it.” If she had to live next door to her ex, then that was what life delivered. It wouldn’t be long before Braden saw her swimming in the lake on a regular basis, and if he had judgmental thoughts about her work clothes, that was his problem.

Except at that moment she clearly heard a female voice on the other side of the door.

“Hello? Are you home? I have your dog.”

Melanie’s mind hiccupped after she popped the door open.

A mannequin with dyed raven black hair and breasts popping out of a tiny lime green bikini stood on her front step with Tweeny in her arms.

“Hi there,” she twanged. “Is this your dog?” she asked with an unmistakable southern accent. The lady—who apparently wasn’t a plastic doll after all—passed Tweeny over the threshold into Melanie’s arms before she had a chance to speak. “She was loose in our yard and, well, how do I put this?”

She stalled and wrinkled her pert little nose beneath oversized rhinestone studded sunglasses. “Your dog was seducing my little Barkley. Barkley is saving himself for a perfect match. He’s next in line with a top-rated breeder in Georgia. He can’t mate with just any ol’ little piece of trash runnin’ loose. He has to save up his swimmers for just the right Chihuahua.”

“Your yard? Excuse me?” Melanie asked, trying to sort out this lady’s story, while at the same time in denial that she may be her new neighbor on Piñon Court.

“I’m Alana. Barkley is my little precious. We’ll be around most of the summer. I can’t keep rescuing his untainted wiener from your…” She paused and Melanie could see the woman’s eyes shift behind her glasses to Tweeny. She stepped back and glanced over toward Braden’s house. “Your little pup there. My man bought the house next door. He’ll be doing most of the work fixin’ up the place and there’s no dog fence.” She pointed a manicured lime and black striped fingernail in the same direction. “Would you mind keepin’ her away from our property until we get the fence up?”

“Uh…” Melanie needed to get her mind to cooperate with her words. Somehow cotton filled the space between her ears and stuck to the inside of her mouth. She was unable to respond appropriately. This was a recurring theme today and one she didn’t care for. All she could think of was ways to make this woman shut up. The twangy voice sent grim shivers down her spine. Melanie wondered if she could get a twist tie around those bubblegum pink collagen inflated lips.

What is going on? The words untainted wiener played on repeat in her mind. Did she hear that right? And her dog, Barkley, needed to reserve his sperm for a proper bitch? If she wasn’t so flabbergasted, she could probably reply with a witty comeback.

“Thanks for bringing Tweeny home,” she managed to say.

“Fix your fence, all right?” Alana turned, leaving the patio.

Maybe it was the gaudy sparkle from the sunglasses, or maybe the close proximity to her chemically enhanced hair, or suntan in a bottle, that had her in a daze, but Melanie shook off the hypnotic stupor. She wanted, no, needed to answer the thought screaming at her—is Alana Braden Keehn’s wife? Girlfriend? Was Alana wearing a wedding ring? She hadn’t thought to look. Did she really want to know the answer? Well…yeah! If Braden liked women like Alana, then it was definitely for the best that they hadn’t stayed together all those years ago. Melanie could never be anything like the woman tiptoeing across her yard in heels. Taking a second look at her retreating neighbor was a horrible mistake, she realized too late. The G-string of her bikini bottoms could not be unseen. Alana stumbled over a pinecone and made a strange yip sound that reminded her of when she accidentally stepped on Tweeny’s toes. Brain bleach. Brain bleach was the answer.

Melanie twisted around and placed Tweeny inside the house. She closed the door and went to investigate the backyard dog fence. Melanie stared at the picket fence lining the yard.

“I’ll call animal control next time I find her harassing my little Mexican love bug,” Alana called over from her side of the joining yard.

It was almost painful for Melanie to watch the woman trying to walk over the uneven ground wearing those ridiculous heels. Pinecones were everywhere, as were rocks, pine needles, ant hills, shrubs, brambles, pretty much everything you would find on a forest floor.

Alana stumbled again, this time her ankle twisted to the side. “Oooh,” she yelped. The woman slipped off her shoes and literally tip-toed over the ground. “Keehn better get back here before I have to venture out again,” she complained to no one in particular.

She called Braden by his last name? The evening seemed to be getting worse by the second.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t get out again,” Melanie called back.

The fence was only about waist high, but Tweeny was only shin high. Going over the fence had never been a problem. Even when Tweeny had gotten loose, she never strayed far and the neighbors were so spread out that no one had complained before. Living at the end of the road in the mountains afforded Melanie a lot of privacy. It was a nearly perfect setting except for her one neighbor. But no one had lived in that house for what seemed like forever, apparently until now. She wondered if this mysterious Barkley had caused the problem and not Tweeny.

Then Melanie received her answer as a black and tan Chihuahua squirmed out of a hole beneath her fence. “Wonderful,” she swore under her breath and collected the rat dog to return him next door.

Melanie's evening of solitude and attempt at relaxation slid out of control like a landslide. Barkley came to visit Tweeny two more times. In the current state of hypocrisy, it was alright for Barkley to run loose but not for Tweeny. Melanie did her best to ignore Barkley’s yapping, but when the Chihuahua wouldn’t stop scratching her door, causing Tweeny to completely lose her mind, Melanie had to return the dog once more.

She locked Tweeny in the bedroom and stepped outside to put an end to this barking hysteria. Unfortunately, when she walked around the side of her house on a mission to end this lustful canine mania, she saw something that had her simultaneously enthralled and sick to her stomach. Melanie froze in place. Her mind went from seething frustration at dealing with two obsessed pups to complete and utter shock. Barkley snapped at her to be released. She set him on the ground, spun one-eighty, and hightailed it back inside.

Braden and Alana were in a state of undress on their back deck. Alana held the deck railing while Braden delivered his goods to her from behind. The erotic show with Alana’s voluptuous curves and Braden’s enthusiasm to get them off were burned on her retinas. She closed her eyes and the replay was even more vivid in her mind. Her heart fluttered inside her chest and warmth spread over her cheeks. Did they see her? Did it matter?

Melanie’s tongue suddenly felt like she’d been licking bricks. She hurried to the cabinet, found a glass, and filled it with water. After chugging a glassful, then another, she took a deep breath and decided she was acting irrationally. Even knowing her reaction was uncalled for, she couldn’t control the visceral response.

Stepping to the patio door and peeking at them again was in her control—maybe.

Why? Why had she looked?!

Melanie squeezed her eyes shut and jumped away from the door. Braden knelt on the deck. Alana had one high-heeled shoe parked over his shoulder as he buried his face between her thighs.

Melanie grabbed her phone off the kitchen island and ran for her bedroom. She shut and locked the door behind her. Tweeny graced her owner with an impatient and intolerant look. Melanie ignored the peeved pooch and climbed onto her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and Googled brain bleach. Yes, it did exist—but from what she could find, only in cartoons and nonsense memes. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the headboard. She willed the images of Braden’s incredibly sexy body and Alana’s intolerable personality to leave her head forever.

The next morning brought Melanie a one-on-one consultation with a new client. Her excitement bubbled as she tidied the workshop and dusted the few finished pieces she had for sale. An appointment was exactly what she needed to keep her mind off her neighbors. Camilla Townsend arrived on time, wearing a red jumpsuit with a turquoise belt. Turquoise earrings, necklace, and rings matched the belt, and her silver hair matched her silver shoes. Melanie noticed the woman’s eccentricities and told herself Camilla was the kind of woman who wanted one-of-a-kind furniture in her home. She could potentially be the perfect client.

Camilla fell in love with the armoire Melanie recently found at a moving sale. Except that Camilla wanted the armoire painted blue with decorative stenciling. She pulled paint swatches out of her red leather with turquoise accents hand bag and placed the order for the large armoire to be painted with two rather unconventional colors.

Melanie eyed the paint colors and gave Camilla a price. For the first time ever, Melanie asked for a small deposit, because for the life of her she couldn’t imagine anyone else wanting a large blue armoire. Camilla smiled, handed over cash for the deposit, and Melanie had a commissioned piece to make.

The day zipped by in a blur of self-reliant satisfaction. The sale of the armoire would give Melanie an extra paycheck once it was delivered. The smile never left her face as she bought supplies at the hardware store and returned home to get to work. An entire day in the shop working on what she wanted was a luxury she’d never experienced. No interruptions from Sienna or anyone else intruded on her focus, save for Tweeny, who was locked inside the house. She only let the dog out on a leash when Melanie wanted to take a break.

Melanie left the workshop in the evening and mentally prepared herself for night number two without her daughter. She checked in with Sienna, listened to the same complaints about being stuck in Ohio all summer, although her daughter sounded less whiny today, and then went to shower. The spray of hot water loosened tense muscles and Melanie let herself enjoy the moment.

That is until she heard the doorbell ring.

“Hello. I’m Romany. Carson and Emmeline told me to pick you up at seven. Was I mistaken?”

Melanie didn’t often have vindictive or malicious thoughts, but ideas of how to make Emmeline’s life hell did cross her mind at warp speed as she smiled at the very handsome foreigner on her doorstep.

“Oh look. You have a little doggie. She’s beautiful," Romany said, and bent down to meet an extremely loud and obnoxious Tweeny.

Melanie should have excused herself with whatever lie she could have made up on the spot. Claiming to have an STD would have sufficed to cancel the date, even if it were a bit extreme, but she didn’t have it in her to lie. Romany’s face and demeanor were so kind, and it wasn’t his fault he’d been set up for failure.

Maybe it was the high of having a nearly perfect day all to herself, but something made her say, “My apologies. I’m running a few minutes behind. Would you like to come in? I’ll just be a minute.”

In hindsight, Melanie should have counted her blessings and not pushed her luck. Romany ended up being her first and only abysmal date as a new divorcée. He arrived prepared and took her to the nicest restaurant in Granite Lake, The Bistro. The food was superb, but Romany boring the ever-loving life out of her wasn’t worth it, regardless of Emmeline’s suggestion to enjoy a meal out with someone new.

He droned on and on about his work as a computer software engineer. She lost him completely when he wouldn’t stop lecturing about mathematical design analysis development and testing. The only time he talked about anything other than his job was to ask about Tweeny. Melanie’s toes went numb, as did her brain.

Disappearing into the ladies’ room was her only respite. A wonderful surprise greeted her in the form of her old friend, Treasure Vogle.

Treasure jumped on the chance to help Melanie end her date. A spilled tomato beer and a dish of cocktail olives on Romany's lap sent them back to Melanie’s house where she said goodnight with barely a muttered thanks for the meal and then had rushed inside.

Melanie had some talking to do with her sister, and her brother-in-law, but she couldn’t be completely irritated or annoyed with the two of them. Running into Treasure after ten years was worth the drudgery of Romany’s company.