by Robyn Amos
“Well, I think you’ve figured out by now that I’m never going to do that, so let’s please just give up the charade. We don’t have a relationship, and I’m tired of pretending. But cheer up, you still have two other perfect daughters. You don’t really need me, do you?”
Silence.
Melody hung up the phone. And then she crumpled to the floor and sobbed. In that moment she’d had total clarity. Women were supposed to date in the image of their fathers, not their mothers, but she’d never been one for convention.
She let her heart pour out on the floor in the form of her tears. She rarely cried, but now she released the emotions she’d kept jam-packed in her chest. The revelation she’d been fighting not to acknowledge washed over her.
Her mother didn’t love her.
“Will, what are you doing here?” his brother asked when he opened the door.
“I could smell Frieda’s hot wings all the way from the Upper East Side.”
“Come on in. I thought you’d been making yourself scarce ever since you started dating Melody. When you gonna bring her around to meet us?”
Will threw himself down on the living room couch. “That’s not gonna happen, bro. We broke up.”
Tony released a soft expletive, drawing out the first syllable.
“There he is,” Frieda said, coming out of the kitchen. “Hey, stranger,” she said, leaning down to kiss him, still holding a pair of barbecue tongs covered in red sauce.
Tony turned to his wife. “You can set that extra chair at the table permanently,” he said. “He just broke up with his girl.”
She propped a hand on her hip. “Okay, now what did that hussy do?”
Will held up a hand to pause his sister-in-law’s tirade. “I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I’m pretty sure she thinks it’s my fault.”
“Hold on, let me go turn off the oven.”
Will looked around. “Where are the kids? Usually they would have come out of hiding by now.”
“They’re at summer camp.”
Will’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? All three of them? How did you manage that?”
“It’s actually pretty cool. I wish I could go. They’re taught the inner workings of video games and how computer animation is done. Little Tony won a scholarship through his school, so they gave us a deal to send the other two.”
“So you and Frieda have the place to yourselves for a while.”
“Only for the rest of this week.”
That’s when Will noticed there were only two chairs at the table, and the unlit candles beside their good china.
He stood immediately, just as Frieda reentered the room. “I’m going to take off and let you guys relax.”
“What are you talking about?” Tony asked, pushing him back down on the couch. “You didn’t even tell us what happened.”
“I can see the two of you were planning to make good use of your time without the boys. I don’t want to interrupt.”
Frieda waved him off. “Don’t worry about that. You’re here now. Talk to us.”
Will stared at the carpet. “There’s really not much to say. Ever since her sister’s wedding, Melody had been more…edgy. She started picking fights about where we’d eat dinner and whose apartment we’d stay in. Things have been hectic at work, so I told her it’s easier if we stay at my apartment. But she started refusing to come over, and she dyed this big red streak in her hair. Finally, she showed up at a work function looking like Morticia. She was trying to embarrass me. We had a very public argument about it, then she stormed out saying I should lose her number.”
Frieda sat across from him twisting her rings. “So she changed after her sister’s wedding? What was she like before that?”
“She was easygoing. She spent almost every night at my apartment. We went out to dinner all the time, went shopping and to the spa. She even helped me shmooze my boss at a cocktail party.”
“So afterwards, she didn’t want to stay at your apartment anymore?” Frieda asked.
“Right. She got bent out of shape because she said I didn’t know what the inside of her apartment looked like. That I didn’t know any of her friends.”
Tony raised his brows. “Do you?”
“What?”
“Have you seen her apartment? Do you know her friends?” he pressed.
“I hadn’t gotten a chance to do those things yet. I would have. I’ve just been really busy with work. Things are just starting to cook for me, if she’d just given me a little more time…”
Frieda stood. “I love you, Will, but I would have dumped your ass, too. You didn’t even try getting to know that girl. You liked the relationship when it was convenient for you, but when she started demanding equal time, you bounced. I thought you knew better than that.”
“Frieda, it’s not as black and white as that.”
Tony shrugged. “It sounds like it is to me. How much do you really know about how she lives her life when she’s not with you?”
“I know a lot about her. I told you, she’s a comic-book artist. She does The Delilah Chronicles.”
“Have you read any?”
Will felt his face heat as their words began to sink in. “No.”
“So are you interested in working things out with Melody, or are you ready to move on?”
Will felt his anger resurface. “I’m really surprised you two are taking her side. She tried to embarrass me in front of my colleagues. Melody thinks our relationship is a game she has to win.”
“We’re on your side, brother, always,” Tony said, squeezing his shoulder. “I just remember all the things you said you liked about her—she’s sassy, strong-willed, not plastic like the other girls you’ve dated, not materialistic.”
“Sounds like all the things you liked about her are the things you’ve been trying to change,” Frieda added quietly.
“I’m not trying to change her.” Will surged to his feet. “I’m going to leave you two in peace. Call ya later.”
“Don’t you at least want some wings to go—”
Will heard Frieda calling after him, but the door had already shut behind him.
Why didn’t anybody see his point of view? His career was important to him. He couldn’t let anything get in the way of that. Asking Melody to dress appropriately didn’t mean he was—
As the elevator doors closed, Will sighed. Except for their last encounter, Melody had stopped wearing her funky collection of boots and those tiny tops that exposed the little tattoo in the small her back. She’d been wearing clothes he’d picked out for her and taming that gorgeous hair.
Ever since the wedding she’d been bursting to be herself again—and he’d refused to see it.
Will reversed the elevator and headed back up. “Do the boys have any of The Delilah Chronicles lying around?” he asked as soon as his brother opened the door.
Tony disappeared and returned with a big box filled to the brim with comic books. “I’ve been after the kids to get rid of these, but you’re in luck, because they’re still here. See what you can find in there.”
Will dug through the box until he had a stack of twenty of Melody’s books in his hand. “Thanks, you guys. I’m going to go and do my homework.”
Chapter 13
Melody sat on the sofa with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey, trying not to feel sorry for herself. She didn’t even like ice cream. She rarely ate it. But this seemed to be one of those things girls did when they were depressed, and she was running out of options.
She was willing to do almost anything to fill up the giant void inside her. And the idea of packing it with ice cream actually amused her. Her very core would be sweet, but cold. The perfect way to attract men while protecting herself from their painful games.
The doorbell rang and Melody almost jumped out of her skin. It was nine o’clock on a Sunday morning. None of her friends would dream of being out and about this early. She wouldn’t normally be awake herself, except for the fact that she’d slept
so little the previous night.
She looked down at herself. She wore nothing but gym socks and a New York Giants football jersey. Reaching up she discovered her hair was a rat’s nest.
Shrugging, she trudged to the door. She no longer cared to impress anyone. Looking through the peephole, Melody was surprised by the wave of disappointment that crashed over her as she realized it wasn’t Will on the other side.
Unlocking the door, she pulled it open a crack and slogged back to her melting Chunky Monkey. Stephanie pushed into the room, and stood surveying it as though Mel were her daughter and she expected to find a man hiding in the closet.
“Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls?”
She shrugged. “Because I know why you’re calling and I don’t want to talk about it.”
Stephanie surveyed her, hands on hips. “Maybe I wanted to show you my wedding pictures.”
Mel looked up. “Okay, where are they?”
Stephanie crossed the room and made room for herself next to Melody on the sofa. “I didn’t bring them.”
Mel shrugged.
“Why on earth are you eating ice cream for breakfast? Do you know how bad that is for you?”
Melody shoved the pint into her sister’s hands. “Fine, I’ll go get a bottle of vodka instead.”
Stephanie ignored her, clearly mesmerized by the ice cream. “I’ve never tried this flavor before.”
“Go ahead and taste it. You’re not modeling anymore. You’re a housewife now, remember?”
Without hesitating, Stephanie dug out a big scoop and shoved it into her mouth. “Oh, my gahhh…” Her words dissolved into a series of moans that were only appropriate in the bedroom.
“Take it easy,” Mel instructed, fearing her sister’s eyes were going to roll back in her head.
Stephanie shoved ice cream into her mouth until the tub was empty. Then she stared into the container as though she’d lost her best friend.
“Great, you’ve eaten my only method of self-medicating. Now I’m going to have to go buy that black forest cake I saw in the deli window.”
Stephanie snapped out of her daze, instantly remembering why she’d come. “Mel, you’ve got to call Mother. She’s absolutely distraught over your last phone conversation with her.”
“What a shame. I’m sure she’ll get over it.”
“Melody!”
“I’m serious. I’m tired of trying to please that woman. It’s impossible. So I give up. Officially.”
“That’s not true, Mel. She loves you just as much as the rest of us. She’s absolutely harassing Vicky and me to find out what’s going on with you.”
Melody shook her head. “No. No matter what I accomplish, no matter what goes right in my life, she only sees the negative. Now that I finally could use a little TLC, I can’t deal with her heaping more crap on me. I need people in my life that already like me…for the way that I am, not for what I could become.”
“Oh, Mel.” Stephanie reached out and hugged her sister tightly. “You know that’s how I feel about you, don’t you?”
Melody nodded.
“Good, then start returning my phone calls. I’m not Mother’s spy. I’m here because I’m really worried about you.” She gestured toward the empty ice cream carton. “So, is this about Mother or Will?”
“A little bit of both, I guess. No wonder they got along so well. They had the same method of trying to change me.”
“Whoa,” Stephanie said, staring at her sister as though seeing her for the first time. “I guess I was so caught up in the wedding that I didn’t see it.”
“What?”
“That you’re in love with this guy.”
Melody sat up straight. “What are you talking about?”
“Girl, you eat men for breakfast. They don’t break your heart, you break theirs. But this guy really got to you. I’ve never seen you so much as flinch over anything a guy has said or done to you. But for this one, you’d try out an eating binge—also new.”
Melody slumped. It was too much work to hide her feelings, and she no longer had the energy. Tears started trickling down her cheeks. “Will caught me off guard. I wasn’t looking at him as a guy who wanted to date me, so I didn’t have my defenses up. We had this really amazing attraction, and next thing I knew we were in a relationship. It just happened, and I didn’t have time to shield my heart against him.”
Stephanie squeezed her sister’s shoulder.
“I thought he was different, and now I’m supremely disappointed. Mostly in myself for letting him in so easily.”
Stephanie stroked Mel’s hair. “It’s okay. Believe it or not, this happens to the rest of us all the time. It’s survivable, even though it feels like it’s not.”
Melody leaned into her sister, letting her cradle her. It felt good to finally let go and let someone else be in control.
Will wandered around the Penn Plaza Pavilion in awe. He’d never attended a comic-book convention before, but it was all he’d imagined and more. There were several fans dressed as their favorite comic or sci-fi characters, families, couples and individuals all milling about.
Will had spent the last week catching up on The Delilah Chronicles. He’d read the first one in an attempt to get into Melody’s mind. He’d kept reading because he’d gotten hooked. He’d never anticipated that this form of fiction would appeal to him.
In his mind comic books were juvenile and one-dimensional, but he’d been so wrong. The stories were detailed and character-driven, and the addition of beautiful graphics made them more vivid and compelling.
After staying up late into the night plowing through comic books, he’d nearly missed an early-morning meeting at the office. Finally he’d hit a gap in the series and had found himself running around New York City to find the missing issues that he needed to complete it.
He’d tried to reach Melody for the last two days, but he’d received no answer. Finally he’d resorted to looking her up on Google and found her Web site. He’d had no idea she even had one.
That reality had washed over him like a tub of ice water. Melody knew everything about his job. She’d even met his boss and coworkers. He hadn’t known anything about her passion. He hadn’t known what a poignant gift for storytelling she had or what a truly brilliant artist she was.
Will had developed a new level of respect for Melody. From her Web site, he’d learned that she would be appearing at the New York Comic and Sci-Fi Expo this weekend.
He’d tucked the most recent issue of TheDelilah Chronicles under his arm and set out to find her. But that was proving to be more difficult than he’d expected. The expo was taking place in a gigantic room and there were tables upon tables of comic-book displays. He didn’t know where to begin looking for the autographing sessions.
As the clock wound down, Will finally realized the signings were taking place on an entirely different floor. There were only fifteen minutes left in her scheduled appearance as he raced up the escalator.
Will found himself at the back of a very long line of fans, wondering if he’d be turned away before he got the chance to see Melody. It was strange now to be waiting in line to talk to a woman he’d been sleeping with every night only a month before.
He listened as her fans, mostly adolescent boys, chattered excitedly about meeting Melody in person. As he neared the front of the line he could hear what they said to her. And he saw an entirely different side of her. She looked the same, dressed in a black T-shirt, a denim miniskirt and her favorite army boots. Her hair was bound by cord into a long whip at the back of her head, with only the curling spiral of her sexy red streak flowing free.
But somehow, she appeared softer. She laughed with the fans, flirted harmlessly with the awestruck boys, posed for their pictures and generally accepted their worship with grace. And how they worshiped her, bringing her drawings they’d made in tribute and asking for her hand in marriage.
Will felt a ridiculous sense of pride as he saw how her fans
treated her. She was amazing—he’d known that. But he hadn’t known how amazing or how incredibly talented she was.
Finally, as the gangly young man in front of him stepped away, Melody looked up and saw him. For a split second, he thought he saw her eyes light up, then the light died.
“I didn’t realize you were one of my fans,” she said wryly.
“The biggest,” he said softly. “Shame on me for not telling you sooner.” He held out the comic book he’d brought over with him.
She studied the cover. “Did you actually read this?”
“Absolutely,” he said proudly. “And all one hundred and twenty-seven issues that came before it.”
She rolled her eyes as she signed the comic for him. “No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. Test me.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “How did Delilah defeat the Wind Commander in issue forty-two?”
“That’s an easy one, she trapped him in a subway tunnel.”
“Okay, who did Delilah fight in issue ninety-nine, The Enemy Within?”
“She fought a clone of herself.”
Melody rattled off a few more questions and Will wasn’t stumped because he’d read all of her stories over the course of the last week.
“Okay, you win. I’m convinced.” She tried to sound blasé, but Will could tell she was pleased. “So how did you know I was here?”
“I read about it on your Web site.”
“You’ve been to my Web site?”
“Of course, I told you, I’m your biggest fan.”
Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and Will felt like all was right with the world. All he had to do was ask her for another chance. She still loved him. He could feel it. And if he handled this situation just right, maybe she’d finally tell him.
“Are you ready to go, Mel?”
Will spun around and found himself facing a motley crew, led by a hulking man with red-streaked hair, wearing two layers of ripped T-shirts and skintight black jeans. Behind him was a thin preppy guy wearing makeup and a petite girl with half-black, half-platinum hair.
Melody stood. “Yeah, I’m all done here. Where do you guys want to eat?”
