by Lexy Timms
Brant kissed her head, wrapping her in his arms for a long hug.
“Now, what did you want to show me?” she asked, indicating the hallway beyond his shoulder.
Brant shuffled his feet a little, and in that instant Mel caught a glimpse of the kind of boy he’d been. Into mischief a lot, she guessed, and probably trouble just as often.
Laughter escaped her in a rush, and it was her turn to grab his hand and lead him into the hall and beyond. “Which way?”
He pointed, again and again, until they’d wandered back up the stairs and stopped in front of a set of double doors that would have been at home in a castle. She touched an ornately-carved lion in the center, fingers exploring the mane. “And where is this…?”
“Well…” Brant glanced uneasily over his shoulder, as if half expecting to see someone behind them. “Uh…Alice is a wonderful person, and I love her like a grandmother, but she’s a little…conservative. I told her to put you in my room.”
Mel pointed to the closed door and smiled. “I take it this is your room?”
Brant nodded. Apparently, it was his turn to act like a teenager.
“Well? Are you going to invite me in?”
Brant reached behind him and threw open the doors.
“Holy…” It wasn’t a room.
“You don’t have to—”
“Shut up,” Mel whispered. “This is bigger than the clinic!”
“It is not!”
It was. Or at least it had to be pretty close. The room carried the castle motif beyond the doors. The look had ‘Great Hall’ written all over it. Who needed a fireplace that big in L.A.? The giant chairs that huddled in front of it could have been thrones, had thrones had such plush seats or if they’d reclined, which she suspected these did. Dark paneling could have made the room look heavy, but gauzy white fabric hung over the windows, giving a lightness to the room that somehow worked with the modern blinds that hid the merciless L.A. sun in summer. An alcove held desk and bookshelves, giving a private work space, she supposed, had Brant not wanted to have to go all the way downstairs to the library to get things done. Openings gave hints of closet space with enough room to hold the clothing of all the inhabitants of Maria’s village, and a bathroom with a tub that could have doubled as a community swimming pool.
I will not be intimidated. I will not be intimidated. Mel tore her eyes from the master bedroom and fixed on him. “Yeah. I think it is. That’s a standard King?” She pointed to the bed, that stood on a pedestal no less.
“I think it’s a California King.” Brant said with some hesitation. “It’s a bit larger than a standard…it’s a King, whatever, why?”
“If that’s seven-foot, then…” she calculated roughly how many beds would fit along the two closest walls, multiplied for rough square footage. “Wow. Freakin’ wow!” She laughed, shocked by the size and that she had no idea how much money he really had. Belize must have been a nightmare for him.
“You don’t have to move in here; you can keep the other…”
His backpedaling was cut off by her kiss. “Promise me something?”
“What?”
“Pajamas with a compass?”
He tilted his head, pretending to think it over. “Compass, okay. Pajamas? Never.” He smiled wickedly then, and she laughed again.
They were them again. Mansions, huts, or palaces. It didn’t matter. Celebrities could go take a flying leap into the Pacific Ocean.
“No PJs. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Chapter 5
Brant had never considered asphyxiation to be part of parenting.
“So, what would you like to try first?” Brant asked when Maria finally let him breathe again. The hug she had welcomed him with was part happy child and part boa constrictor, but she pressed the good side of her face against his chest and held him as tight as she could for a very long time. It felt…odd. But good. Truth be told, he’d kind of missed the kid since he’d come home. He cleared his throat before he said something completely sappy, and clapped his hands together as she stepped away. “You’re in California! There’s Disneyland, the studio tours, Hollywood…you name it!” Maybe he was a little over the top, given the way the girl’s eyes widened, but suddenly the idea of doing the family kind of thing with Maria and Mel seemed completely normal. It felt right.
“Brant…” Mel said slowly, “I think Maria and I are kind of wiped out from the trip; maybe we could do some of those things later? Would that be all right?”
“Oh. Shit—I mean, yes. Yeah, of course. I should’ve thought of that. I took a few days off, so we’ve got time. Let’s spend the day here and we can look at doing some of that later in the week.”
Mel kissed his cheek and Maria grinned at him. The girl’s smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. In fact, if anything, she seemed slightly withdrawn. He reached out to stroke her cheek and tousled her hair. “Alice has dinner for us; are you two hungry?”
“I think Dr. Mel has worked up an appetite,” Maria said slyly.
“MARIA!”
The girl giggled. “Dr. Brant, you have a big, fancy house, but the walls are very thin.”
Mel might have only looked horrified, but Brant about swallowed his tongue. As Mel turned away, blushing furiously, Brant decided that no child was going to embarrass him. “Tell you what, Maria, I’ll put her in my room at the other end of the house. You won’t hear a thing.”
Now he had them both blushing.
Sometimes he forgot this ‘child’ was considered nearly an adult in her village.
He shook his head as he led the way to the dining room, making jokes with Maria, teasing Mel until he had her blushing again. That odd feeling came back as they settled at the table; looking across at Mel and Maria seemed right somehow. Natural. Like family.
For a moment, he imagined himself as a husband and father. Would it be like this? Loving wife, cute, clever children? It was a fantasy, but for the moment he allowed himself to imagine it, to feel what it might be like. It tasted…good. Better than the soup Alice served with the first course. And Alice served a pretty good corn chowder.
“Sir,” Alice said formally, and with a touch of acid in her voice as she set a bowl at his place. “Could I speak to you in the kitchen, please?”
“Sir?” Brant smiled at the woman who’d helped raise him when his mother’s busy schedule required her to be gone for prolonged periods as she filmed in exotic locations. The dead look in the woman’s eyes killed the nascent smile on his lips. “Ah, of course.” He turned to Mel. “Excuse me, please.”
“Please don’t hesitate to ring that bell there, if you need anything,” Alice said, pointing to a little silver bell next to the salt shaker. It was with some coolness that she preceded Brant out of the room, her shoulders held stiff and straight.
Brant followed her into the large kitchen, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. Alice wouldn’t take him from his soup unless something was wrong. Very wrong.
Alice rounded on him the second the door swung shut behind them. “Are you aware that child is fighting tears? I spent a half hour trying to calm her down while you were upstairs with that…that woman. She’s alone and thousands of miles from everything she’s ever known. You need to go slowly with a child like that. Not throw her around in some of the most crowded areas of the state! Disneyland?!”
Brant winced. He’d forgotten about Maria when he saw Mel. Could Alice blame him? He opened his mouth to argue, but held off. Mel had come here because of Maria. He’d set those wheels in motion. Maybe he’d been rushing things a little bit. That whole family vibe had gotten to him. He’d barely sorted things out with Mel. They’d had sex. Damn good sex, but hadn’t really talked. Was he supposed to sit down and talk to her? He stared at Alice, like the problem was her fault. What the hell was he supposed to talk about with Mel? How work was? How much he’d missed her? How life had gone back to normal less than a week after he’d returned?
Maybe this who
le thing was going a little too fast. He put up his hands to forestall further tirade, knowing his contrite look was maybe a little bit over-practiced, but no less sincere. “I didn’t realize. No, you’re right; I was just so happy to see them both that I didn’t think.”
“No. You. Did. Not.” Each word was clipped short. “You’re still not thinking. I gave that woman the room for several reasons; one was to be close to the girl who is now separated from the only person she has left as a tie to her old home.”
Brant waited. There was something else and he could feel the weight of it.
“And you know why I didn’t set her up in your room.”
There it was. They’d never talked about it. He couldn’t talk about it. He sure as hell wasn’t going to try now. Brant felt his spine stiffen. “Alice,” Brant warned, “this is my decision.”
“Then make it.” Alice hissed. “One way or the other! Or are you always going to let other people dictate your life?”
“Just because my mother—”
“Don’t you dare!” Alice raised a warning finger. “Right now, you’re a stinking liar.” She jabbed the finger into his chest. “And until you’re ready to stand on your own two feet and tell the world exactly what you want, you can make your own meals. I’ll be back when you’re all grown up, not before.” She started untying her apron.
What the hell? She was leaving? “Alice. Wait…”
“For what? Brant, I’ve known you since you were a little boy, grabbing at your mother’s skirt with one hand and blanket with the other. You’ve been a grandson to me. Even when you were away at college you wrote me almost as much as your mother. I won’t watch this, Brant, I won’t.” Alice walked to the kitchen door and paused with her hand on the knob. “Understand this: whatever happens, I’ll come help you pull yourself off the floor. I’ll help you become whatever you’re planning on being. But I will not watch you get hurt. And you’re going to get hurt, Brant. And this time, you’re not the only one who’s going to pay.”
Then she was gone through the servant’s entrance.
Brant stood where he was, as though rooted to the floor.
In the dining room, his soup was growing cold.
He had no idea where to even find the rest of their dinner.
“Brant?” Mel called. “Everything okay?”
“I’m in here.” Brant called back as his cell phone rang. “Brant Layton.”
Mel wandered into the kitchen, holding two empty soup bowls.
“No,” Brant nodded to her, but addressed the phone. “I’m not coming in for…now? Seriously? Are you kidding? No, I know it’s not you, Lisa, it’s the old man. I just…I take one day off and still… Yeah, tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can get there; depending on traffic, it may be a while...okay. Thanks, Lisa.” He tried to stab the phone with his index finger. He only managed to smudge the screen and still hadn’t disconnected the call. He hit it again, until he was sure Lisa had been consigned back to the ether, and closed his eyes.
“Everything okay?” Mel’s sweet face burned with concern.
“I’m very sorry,” he said as he stuffed his phone into his back pocket, “but I have to make a run into the office. It shouldn’t be too long. Two of the senior partners want us all to have a conference meeting, of all things, and they’re making a big deal…”
Mel reached a finger to his lips to quell his anger. “Shh. It’s okay. Really. I’m worn out between the flight, the rollercoaster ride here, and the…” she leaned up to kiss him, “…the wonderful way I was greeted when we arrived. Honestly, I’m happy to just hang with Maria. Maybe doze off a little.”
Brant smiled and wrapped her in his arms. “I missed you, Doctor,” he whispered into her hair.
“I missed you, too, Doctor.” Mel laughed into his chest. The she slapped his butt, sharply, and pulled back. “Go to your meeting; we’ll be here. And hey, we have Alice, right?”
“Yeah, about that…Alice is taking some time off. A family matter. So, you two will have the run of the house.”
“What happened?”
“A bad grandson,” Brant said and kissed her again. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Mel smiled and caressed his chest once more. “Take your time. We’ll be fine.”
Brant went out the front door, keys in hand, thankful Mel hadn’t asked why in the hell he was being called in to the office for a meeting at 8:00 at night.
He wouldn’t have known what to say. Except that he had a bad feeling about it.
Chapter 6
“Well, kid, it’s just you and me for a while,” Mel said as she walked back into the dining room and set a plate down in front of the girl.
“Okay.” Maria then just about jammed an entire potato into her mouth.
Mel looked at her and raised an eyebrow.
Maria blushed, and retrieved her knife, making a big point of cutting off a tiny bit of chicken before eating it daintily. “What happened?” she asked as she chewed carefully.
Mel smiled and put table manners on her list of things to teach the child while they were here. “Alice had an issue with her grandson and Brant—Dr. Layton—got called into the office for an emergency meeting.” She eyed Brant’s cold soup still sitting on the table. The poor man hadn’t even had a chance to eat.
“Ish it ush?” The rest of the potato had been popped into the girl’s mouth the second she thought Mel hadn’t been looking.
She had. Mel smiled again, trying not to chuckle. “Honey, if you’re going to take big bites, you have to wait before you can talk. Trying chewing, swallowing, then talking. I’ll wait. I promise.” How could she explain to this peanut that the house they were staying in required a bit more etiquette than they were used to?
The wait was rather a long one. Mel tried not to laugh as the poor girl choked down the rest of her potato while waving her hand in circles, trying to finish the large bite.
“I said,” Maria repeated after a judicious drink of milk, “is it us? We just got here and now he’s running off? And Alice left, too. At the same time.”
“I doubt it,” Mel said with assurance she didn’t feel. The thought had occurred to her as well. “Things come up all the time. That’s what being is doctor is like. It would be kind of self-centered to assume it all revolved around us, wouldn’t it?” Mel hid that fact that she, too, thought it was odd to be called out to a meeting at night. Cosmetic surgery didn’t really lend itself to emergency calls.
Stop! she told herself. There could be an emergency at the hospital that required his expertise. She was prejudging his clinic before she’d even seen it. Then again, why a meeting? It wasn’t surgery or a consult. Brant had specified it was a meeting. And she was pretty sure she’d seen worry in his face. He’d quickly hidden it, but she could’ve sworn she’d seen it.
Maria’s fork hit the plate with a clatter, catching Mel’s attention. The young girl seemed to have thought about what Mel had said and clearly, from the look on her face, she disagreed. “I don’t know how they do things in California, Dr. Mel, but in my village we try to make people feel like they are welcome. Do you feel that here?”
“Brant is very happy to see us.” Mel rose to his defense with a suddenness that surprised even her.
“Sí, I know.” She stared at her plate, her eyes filling with tears.
“What is it, Maria?” she asked softly, reaching out to touch Maria’s hand.
“I don’t want to get Dr. Brant into trouble just because of…” Maria pulled her hand away and waved at the bandages. “…me.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” Mel remonstrated her sharply, getting up to hug the girl. “No one is getting into trouble. And listen here, sweetie. You are no trouble at all.” She kissed the girl’s head and held her at arm’s length. “Maria. It’s not about us, it’s just…life. We’re kind of out of what feels normal for us, eh? We just got here. How could we cause any trouble when we’ve only been here for a couple of hours? Huh?”
Maria smiled and hugged her. Mel rubbed her back, wishing she had someone who could convince her as easily as she was able to assure the girl. “Now, what do you say we clear the table and see if we can figure out that dishwasher in the kitchen. I don’t know about you, but I think I’ve had enough.” Mel glanced at their plates. Neither had really eaten very much.
“ Sí, Doctor; maybe I’ll go to bed soon. I started to take a nap before, but I got woken up. Noisy neighbors.” She smiled at Mel to see if she caught the teasing took.
Mel felt her face grow hot, and laughed. “Well, maybe we’ll both get some rest then. If you get lost…I’m not so sure I’m not going to get lost in this place. I guess just start yelling, and we’ll find each other by following the sound?” She wondered briefly if staying in the room across from Maria might be easier. Or maybe the young girl just wanted some space.
“If this place is so big, why doesn’t it have slides and elevators? I saw on YouTube this one mansion had an indoor waterpark. Maybe we could convince Dr. Layton to put one in?” Maria nodded solemnly before she started giggling.
“Maybe Alice wants one?” The idea hit Mel as too funny. She was so tired, she couldn’t stop giggling. They fell against each other as they sniggered. If their laughter had an edge of hysteria to it, neither was willing to admit it. It was too much too fast, and on too little sleep. It would all be right again after a rest. It had to be.
Another hug, another kiss on the top of the head, and they let go reluctantly, slowly. The gathering of plates and silverware was done quickly and silently. And though there was little to do by way of cleanup, they both lingered a little over the chore. This was the only connection to a life a world away, thousands of miles of emptiness separating them each from everything and everyone they knew. To let go of that sole anchor for even a few hours was a leap of faith that it would still be there for them.
