“No, and you never told me about Alex. I’m telling you now.”
Melanie made plans to visit the next weekend. She wanted to get away and clear her head, and she was very interested to meet this man in her mother’s life. When she hung up she realized that she didn’t even know his name, or anything about him besides that her mother was involved with him many years ago.
CHAPTER 14
The last thing that she needed to do before she could begin the long drive was make out a list of instructions for the neighbors who were taking care of Angel. When she searched through the junk drawer in the kitchen for a pen, she found the envelope that Cary had given her that day at the news station.
Sighing at her own disorganization, she threw the envelope into her purse along with a small box of notecards. She was determined to send every donor a handwritten thank you, and she might as well write them at her mother’s.
Soon after driving past the sign on the highway that read, Leaving Spokane County, Melanie felt herself start to relax. She turned the radio to her favorite oldies rock station and rolled her window down letting the warm breeze blow her hair into a tangle. The drive would be a long one, but there was no way she was going to fly this time. And maybe the long drive would give her the space she needed to work through her feelings for Alex.
One hundred miles later, she took an exit off the highway and stopped at a fast food restaurant. The place was empty, and after taking a few bites of an overdone chicken sandwich and eating a few limp french-fries, she pulled the envelope and notecards out of her purse.
Inside the envelope were four checks made out to Books to Kids. Three of them, were for one hundred dollars each: one from Cary, one from the station’s producer, and one of the news writers, and one check for two thousand dollars.
Melanie almost fell off of her chair when she saw that the last check was from Alex. On the note line he had simply written “good luck”. She stared at the handwriting on the check for a long time before sliding it back into the envelope.
It had been Alex that she’d first told about her idea for Books to Kids, and it was partly his encouragement that had motivated her to begin. And now she felt a passion in her work life, and everything was falling into place like it was meant to be. The days seemed to fly by, and she had an energy she’d never had as a nurse. It reinforced her thoughts that nursing had never been the right career for her.
She called and listened to the sound of his cell phone ringing with her heart in her throat.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Hi, it’s me. I mean it’s Melanie.”
“I know who it is. How are you?”
“I’m good, fine... I just got your check,” she said, not knowing how to begin.
“I wanted to give more, but...well it felt awkward, I guess”
“More? No Alex, it was so generous. I called to tell you thank you.”
“I do believe in you,” he said.
There was a pause and Melanie searched for something else to say. It wasn’t easy. She wanted to tell him that she’d changed her mind and that she wanted to see him, but the right words wouldn’t come. “Thank you. It means a lot to me.”
She took a deep breath and plunged in. “Alex, how are you? I’ve missed you. I’ve wanted to call, but...you know.”
There was another long pause before Alex responded. “I’ve missed you too.”
She breathed out and a sliver of happiness pierced the sadness that she’d been holding inside for weeks. She felt lighter. “Maybe we can get together soon.”
“Maybe very soon,” he said.
It was hot, and the cloudless blue sky accented the sharp, snow-tipped peaks that were everywhere she looked. Driving through the mountains made all the memories of the days out there with Alex come back in full force. How happy she’d been, even though in reality, lost and in danger.
But she hadn’t felt really lost, and it was because of Alex. There was that something about him that actually made her feel excited and safe at the same time. It occurred to her that the fear of losing him was the only thing that was keeping her from him. And so she had lost him.
There was really no winning, and if the last weeks had taught her anything, it was that her feelings for Alex weren’t going to simply go away.
She just made it for the last ferry run of the day, and after parking her car she sat on the deck with a cup of coffee and watched the hypnotic sparkle of the water.
She was anxious to see her mother, and in a way she was anxious to get her visit over with, because her mind was made up. If she really did still have a choice, she wanted Alex in her life.
She wanted to find out if the feelings she felt for him were something to build a life around. If he would only give her another chance, she would never run away from him again.
Melanie was surprised when she realized she knew the man that stood next to mother in her bright, cozy kitchen. It was Al, a pilot who’d she’d flown with a few times to the island and back home. When he’d smiled at her, she’d recognized him with a jolt.
He had the same warm, chocolate brown eyes as Alex. She held out her hand, but he grabbed her into a bear hug.
“Oh Mel, I’m so glad to know you as Dalya’s daughter,” he said. “You are almost as pretty as your mother.”
“We’ve met before,” she reminded him when he released her.
“Yes, that’s right. You’ve been a passenger with me. I’m surprised I never put you and your mother together, you look so much alike.”
“Well, our names are different.”
“It’s a small island, though.”
Her mother was chopping onions and Al, looking very comfortable in her mother’s kitchen, offered her a glass of wine.
“Or a soda? I think I saw some root-beer in here somewhere.”
Melanie gave her mother a look of bewilderment. How had she and this man become so involved, so quickly? Her mother read her look easily and shrugged her shoulders.
“I think Melanie would probably like a glass of that white wine in there, Babe. How was the drive?”
She put down her knife and gave Melanie a big hug. “Oh, dear, you’ve gotten so thin! Well, we’ll fatten you up. I made lasagna for dinner, and Al made minestrone to go with it. He’s a wonderful cook.”
Dalya let go of her and gave Al’s shoulder a squeeze.
“I think we even have some of your homemade ice cream in the freezer, sweetie. Maybe we’ll have that for dessert.”
Feeling a little overwhelmed, Melanie left the room to put her bag in the upstairs bedroom. Al seemed very nice, but she hadn’t been prepared for how close they were. They acted like they were madly in love, and she had to admit she hadn’t seen her mother so happy since before her father’s death.
She opened her bag, pulled out some fresh clothes and her toiletries and laid them on the bed. Then she curled up on the worn blue comforter that had been on her bed when she was a little girl, and closed her eyes for a minute. Her plan had been to shower and change before dinner, but soon she was fast asleep.
She dreamed of Alex.
They were back in the Cascade Mountains, and in her dream he was feeding her lasagna and warm buttered bread. Then he put the plate aside, and began running his hands over her. He looked in her eyes and smiled, and Melanie felt safe and warm and turned on. She reached up and began to unbutton his shirt. And he sat and watched her with the smile still on his lips.
When his shirt was off, she pulled him down on top of her and they kissed. She could feel his lips on hers, warm and searching. Then, in that strange way of dreams they were both naked, pressed together, his skin like a silk blanket against hers. She wrapped her legs around him. He searched her face, still smiling, and spoke for the first time.
“Melanie, wake up. Your mother says dinner is ready.”
These words entered her consciousness slowly, but she knew the voice was Alex’s. She hesitated to open her eyes almost fearing that it was all just part of her dream, but w
hen she did, she was flooded with a shocked joy. He was standing before her, solid and real and he was smiling just like in her dream.
“It’s you, I was just dreaming about you,” she said, “Why are you here?”
“Your mother invited me. Another strange thing, did you know that Al is my uncle?”
“I think I did know when I saw him again.”
Melanie sat up and rubbed her eyes. Having Alex there with her, when she’d just been dreaming about being naked in his arms was disconcerting, but it somehow felt right.
“I was thinking about you all the way on the drive here.”
She looked down for a moment. He came and sat next to her on the bed.
“What were you thinking?” he asked quietly.
She hesitated for a moment then decided it was the right time to speak. If he still wanted her, then it was the right time.
“Are you seeing Cary Andrews?”
He laughed and at once she knew her fear was unjustified.
“No, I’m not. If I can’t be with you, it will probably be a long time before I’m seeing anyone. I’m very selective, and I don’t meet that many women I want to be with.”
“Then, why....?”
“Cary is interested in buying my house. We were just discussing how to make that happen.”
Melanie was stunned. “Your house! Why?”
He took her hand in his and began kneading her palm absently.
“I thought about what you said. It’s not safe for children. I don’t know why I never saw that before. A house on a cliff...”
He shook his head like he was still in disbelief at his own foolishness.
“I guess when I began that project, having a family was such an abstract concept that it never occurred to me. But after you ran away that day, I kept having visions of babies falling down that slope, and over the balconies. I put the house on the market the next week.”
“Oh.”
“That’s all you have to say?”
He traced her cheek with his finger. Melanie felt a shiver all the way down her spine and she turned and looked into his eyes. Everything was clear to her now.
“I want to find out what these feelings I have for you mean,” she said.
Then her mother was calling from the bottom of the stairs. “You guys, dinner is on the table. Should I put it back in the oven to keep warm?”
The strangeness of the whole situation suddenly hit Melanie and she began to giggle. Alex soon joined in and before long they were rolling on the bed laughing and reaching for each other. He pulled her to him and kissed her. The sensations of her dream returned, and soon she was reaching up under his shirt and he was pulling her so their bodies were touching from top to bottom.
“Melanie! Will you just answer me?”
Their giggling began again.
“Put it in the oven, Mom!” she shouted happily. She nuzzled Alex’s neck and breathed in the scent of him.
Alex, still laughing gently pushed her away.
“You are such a naughty girl.”
“Yes, and you love it,” she said.
Alex sat up and began adjusting his clothing.
“We’ll be right down, Dayla,” He said in a voice loud enough to carry through the small house. Then he kissed Melanie on her forehead, the tip of her nose and finally a soft kiss on her lips.
“Let’s do something this weekend,” he said.
“Yes, let’s.”
“What would you like to do?”
“Well...maybe camping, but only if we can share a sleeping bag.” Melanie smiled into Alex’s eyes. “I’ll tell you one thing I don’t want to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Go sky-diving.”
The End
Unintended Love: A contemporary romantic novella Page 9
