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The next few days should have been filled with joyous anticipation for Melissa. Instead they were marred by long silences, Keith’s sullen, hers recriminatory.
Thursday, a good day health-wise after a dialysis session the night before, Melissa took a rare day away from her husband to work on a birthday gift for Kinsley. Always solicitous, he’d offered to drive her. She’d declined, suggesting that the best thing he could do was to contact the Oklahoma City dialysis center and arrange for her Friday afternoon treatment.
The confrontation the previous afternoon still simmered between them like a malignant stew. Keith refused to admit any fault, and though Melissa tried to put a positive spin on his actions, the effort failed miserably.
Reaching her destination, she did her best to put it out of her mind. Worrying wouldn’t change a thing, and right now she had more important things to occupy her thoughts. Melissa reached for the door of the jewelry store, pausing just inside with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. The clerks were so busy, and she had so little time to accomplish her task. She smiled when the nearest employee caught her eye.
“Welcome to Treasures. Someone will be with you in just a few moments. Feel free to browse while you wait.”
Melissa nodded and followed the man’s suggestion. What female could resist the displays of gold, silver, and sparkling stones? She meandered through the store pausing here and there to study something especially shiny. A case of rainbow-colored rings caught her attention, her eye going to the ring set with the mossy green peridot of August’s birthstone. They were beautiful and under different circumstances would have made a perfect gift for Kinsley. She shook her head and kept walking. Too personal.
She’d fretted all night about what sort of gift to bring to the party. Clothes wouldn’t do for the same reason as a ring. She had no idea of Kinsley’s size or preferences. She’d considered cash and discarded it as a thoughtless gift that might imply she was trying to buy Kinsley’s attention. Perfumes, books, accessories...
How do you buy a present for a child you’ve ignored for fifteen years? The thought made her flinch, and the logical part of her brain kicked into defensive mode. Not ignored. Melissa had made every effort to make sure the child grew up in the stable and loving home she deserved. It wouldn’t do anyone any good to second guess that choice in the face of the many questions Kinsley was sure to have for her.
“I’m sorry you’ve had to wait. How may I help you?”
Lost in her musing, Melissa jerked around at the voice.
“And now I’ve startled you. A second apology.” The woman extended a hand. “Welcome to Treasures, my name is Paige. Was there something in particular you wanted to look at?”
Melissa took the hand of a beautiful thirty something Asian woman and returned her smile. “You do have some lovely things, but...” She infused her sigh with regret. “I’m not here to buy anything. I needed to speak to someone about a small design job I need done.”
Paige smiled. “If you can imagine it, we can create it.” She motioned Melissa to a small table and chairs in the corner. “Come sit and tell me what you had in mind.”
Melissa took the seat and pulled a square velvet box from her purse. She touched the clasp and laid the box and the long strand of pearls it contained on the table.
Paige drew in a breath, looked at Melissa for permission, and lifted the heavy strand of luminescent orbs. She ran them through her fingers. “These are magnificent.”
“Thank you. They belonged to my grandmother.”
“Did you want us to design something to go with them?” Paige asked, still engrossed in her study of the pearls. “We have some lovely settings for earrings.”
“No. I wondered if it would be possible to remove one of the pearls from that strand and set it into a separate necklace. My...daughter.” Melissa stumbled over the unfamiliar word, “is about to turn fifteen. I wanted to do something special for her.”
Paige looked up with a smile. “That’s a fairly easy operation.” Her eyes lost their focus for a second, and then she grinned. “I have the perfect thing. Wait here one second.” She scooted from the table, crossed the busy room, and stooped behind a counter. When she returned, she laid a dainty silver charm on the table next to the pearls. The charm formed the number fifteen, and Melissa could see a space where a stone could be added.
“We just got these platinum charms last week. They really aren’t intended for pearls, but we’ve got a designer in the back who knows how to work miracles.”
“Oh, that’s perfect,” Melissa agreed. The creamy pearl would look stunning against the silver. She looked at Paige. “How long?”
“He’s a fast miracle worker. Three or four days. I’ll call you when it’s ready to pick up.”
Melissa lowered her gaze, swallowing back disappointment. “I was afraid of that.” She sighed, reached for the velvet box, and sent a smile of gratitude to Paige. “I appreciate your help. It was an inspired idea, but I’ll have to come up with something else.”
The clerk tilted her head.
“It’s sort of an emergency gift, and we leave for Oklahoma first thing in the morning. I figured it was a long shot, but I wanted to try.”
Paige studied her. “It’s important, isn’t it?”
“More than I have time to explain.”
She nodded. “Just give me a minute.” The clerk retrieved the charm, picked up the pearls, and disappeared through a door on the back wall.
Melissa fretted as Paige’s minute turned into five. She couldn’t leave without her grandmother’s necklace, and she needed to shop for an alternate gift. Movement at the door caught her eye, and she stood.
The clerk approached her with an impish grin. “How does five o’clock this evening sound?”
“Really?”
She nodded.
“How...?”
“That miracle worker I mentioned?”
“Yes.”
“He’s my father, and if a girl can’t wheedle her father, well...” She lowered her voice, held up a pinkie, and leaned closer. “He’s always been wrapped right here, but I try to use that power for only good things.”
Melissa laughed. “You are a lifesaver. What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?”
“Godiva raspberry truffles, but—”
“But nothing. I’ll be back here at five with as many Godiva raspberry truffles as I can find.”
***
CHARLEY LICKED FROSTING from her fingers on Saturday morning and frowned at her handiwork. The pink and purple iced cupcakes, arranged in the numerals 15, didn’t look as good as the ones she’d seen on Pinterest. How did the women in those videos have the patience to get their swirls and curlicues so picture-perfect? She studied the cupcakes with a critical eye, turning one a centimeter to the left to hide a partial fingerprint and another halfway to the right for the same reason. The action brought her knuckle into contact with a cupcake that had been a perfect pink specimen. “Drat!”
Frustrated, she fished a pair of tongs out of the utility drawer, used them to remove the damaged cake, and scraped the offending blob of rose-colored goo back into the bowl. With her tongue between her teeth, Charley piped more frosting through the little nozzle, holding her breath while she replaced the repaired cake with the tongs. Her hands came up like a criminal at gun point, and she took two steps back. There. Once she scattered the shredded green paper around all the blank spots on the platter, the decorated cupcakes might actually look like flowers in a garden...maybe. And I’d rather take down a drug lord single-handedly than do this again.
“Mom.”
Kinsley’s latest summons filtered up the hall. Charley wiped her hands on a dish towel. How, exactly, was she supposed to prepare party food for twenty guests when her teenaged daughter was demanding more time than a newborn in her angst-filled attempts to look perfect for her meeting with Melissa.
Charley tossed the towel over her shoulder, peeked at the pizza bites in the oven, and strode down the hall to her daughter’s room. “What do you need?”
Kinsley’s response was muffled from the confines of her closet, Charley raised a brow. Kinsley wore a pleated black skirt and an off-the-shoulder peasant blouse in a red-and-blue print. It was, at least, the fourth outfit of the day. Outfits currently in the discard pile included shorts and a T-shirt—too casual, her new teal dress—too fancy, jeans, stylishly ripped at both knees—just not right.
Her daughter backed out of the closet, turned around with a woeful expression, and put her hand on her hips. “I have no shoes to wear with this outfit.”
Charley sent a pointed look at the pile of shoes lying next to the tangle of rejected clothes.
Kinsley crossed her arms. “None of them look right with this skirt.”
Charley closed her eyes and expelled a small sigh. When she spoke, there was a hint of impatience in her voice. “Are you absolutely sure that’s what you want to wear?”
Soft blond brows rose over Kinsley’s blue eyes. She whirled to the mirror, turning this way and that. “Is something wrong with it?”
Charley frowned at the trace of panic in Kinsley’s voice. She narrowed her eyes, taking a good look at her daughter’s body language. Hand wringing, clothes adjusting, lips tight... The girl was on the verge of a meltdown. But why? Wasn’t she getting exactly what she’d asked for?
Selfish. Charley cringed at the adjective even as she was forced to own it. She’d been so buried beneath her own insecurities and grudging acceptance of Melissa’s upcoming visit that she’d failed to see the anxiety rolling off Kinsley in waves.
She crossed the room and pulled Kinsley into an embrace. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this outfit...or the other three. I only asked because I thought you might like to borrow my new black sandals if you’ve finally made up your mind.” She turned the girl toward the bed, pulled Kinsley down beside her, and anchored her with an arm around her shoulders. “Talk to me, sweetheart. You’re wound up tighter than last year’s jeans.”
Kinsley kept her head bowed while her hands picked at the skirt. “I just want to look good, ya know?”
Charley squeezed the slender shoulders. “It’s really hard to improve on perfection.”
Kinsley shrugged out from under Charley’s arm. “You kinda have to say that.”
“I kinda have to don’t,” she disagreed. “In this case, it’s the truth with no maternal fudging.”
Kinsley twisted her mouth into a half smirk and rolled her eyes.
“Out with it, kiddo. I’ve got five dozen pizza bites in the oven, a cake to finish, and punch to make, all per your request.”
Her sigh was a shudder. “What if...what if she...Melissa...” Kinsley looked up, her eyes filmed with moisture. “I don’t even know what I should call her.”
Charley swallowed past the lump in her own throat. “I think Melissa will work.”
Kinsley nodded, her voice a harsh whisper when she continued. “What if Melissa doesn’t like me? I mean...” She paused to sniff before her worries poured out in a flood. “She didn’t like me enough to keep me. What it she still feels that way? Not that I want her to keep me. I mean, I don’t, I’m grown, but what if she thinks I look too much like a baby, or I’m ugly, or fat, or...I don’t know...dumb or something?” Her face crumpled, and she buried her head in Charley’s shoulder. “I really want her to like me...just a little.”
Charley held her daughter and rocked, temporarily at a loss. If I ever get my hands on that Instagram creep... “Baby, it wasn’t like that. Melissa didn’t give you up because she didn’t want you.” Not really. “She was in a bad place when you were born and knew she couldn’t take care of you.” Charley angled away and looked into Kinsley’s blue eyes. “She’s going to like you just fine.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’ve known Melissa for a long time. I know she’s coming here because she wants to get to know you. That’s...going to be a good thing.” Liar. Charley battled back her own emotions and focused on what her daughter needed. “For both of you,” she finished. “I have no idea what today is going to look like, but I know Melissa is going to take one look at you and fall completely in love. The same way I did fifteen years ago.”