Melanie’s alarm went off. Rolling over, she whacked the clock and turned to stare at the ceiling when a knock from the door jerked her back to reality.
Did he change his mind?
She turned her head to see her roommate leaning against the doorframe.
“How are you?” Tiana asked softly, concern lacing her brown eyes.
“I suppose you heard the lovely argument this morning. Sorry if we woke you.”
“Don’t worry about me. How are you?” The springs squeaked when Tiana sat on the foot of the bed.
“I’m going to be okay.” Melanie shook her head against her pillow. “I’m determined to be okay.”
“Honey, it’s me. You don’t have to pretend.”
Melanie’s mouth quivered, and she rolled closer to her friend. “Well, if we’re being honest, my heart is breaking.” Her hoarse voice cracked. “I gave him everything, and he just tossed me away.”
Tiana slid across the bed to be beside her. Heads on the pillow, they fixed their eyes on the ceiling in silent solidarity. “For what it’s worth, Damien looked terrible when he walked out.”
“Really?” Melanie’s interest piqued. “How so?”
“Mystified. Devastated. Confounded. Get those ten points so you can catch up.”
“Not up for the word of the day, T.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I was trying to make you feel better. Are you going to be able to work today?”
“I want to lay here until the world stops spinning, but I can’t. I have deadlines and interviews and employees. I will not act like a zombie at work. I will not crawl into a ball and die. Johnson and Johnson—”
“No tears,” Tiana finished.
Melanie’s phone chirped. “Please, let it be anyone other than Damien. I can’t take another I’m-sorry-I’m-trying-to-save-you-from-a-life-of-pain speech.” She reached for her phone, checked the message, and groaned. “I’ve been summoned by Aunt Dean. The woman doesn’t know how to mind her own business.”
“What does she want?”
Melanie shrugged. “She just texted that we need to talk. I know it’s about Damien. Hopefully his mother isn’t in on the conversation too. I don’t think I’ll be able to say anything civil about her baby boy.”
“Honestly, Mel, you shouldn’t be surprised. Those two have been planning you and Damien’s wedding since you were in middle school.”
“Bet you they didn’t plan on him being the possible sperm donor to his ex-fiancée.”
“And who would?” Tiana patted Melanie’s knee. “Just hear her out. She loves you, and her heart is in the right place.” She rolled out of the bed and stood. “I gotta go. I’m sure Nathaniel is going to be in rare form today. I have to be on full alert.”
“Right you are. I need to get up, too. Get out of here so I can jump in the shower.”
• • •
Melanie reviewed her game plan. Smile big. Pretend life in the Big Apple was fabulous. Try not to scream if her aunt and or Ms. Sandra pressed her about Damien.
A few hours tops. Acting wasn’t her talent, but today she’d fake it.
She climbed the steps to her aunt’s home, her back straight and shoulders tight.
The door swung open, and her aunt gave her a big hug.
Melanie melted into her arms. “Oh, Aunt Dean. I’ve missed you.”
“Missed you too, baby.” She stepped back to let Melanie in. “I’ve got your favorite pot of tea on the stove. Go sit down and take off those shoes.”
Melanie shuffled off her flats and wandered into the living room, feeling right at home. She sat beside the end table and grabbed the framed photo of her late uncle. “Miss you too, Uncle Rick,” she whispered to the frame. She returned his picture to the table and thrummed her fingers against her thighs.
Her aunt hurried into the room with a tray of cheese and crackers and a cup of her infamous green tea. Bending over, she placed the tray in the middle of the gleaming, spotless table and sat in the recliner beside Melanie. The sounds of Motown drifted from her aunt’s speaker system, which Damien had given her on Mother’s Day.
“How is Ms. Sandra?” Melanie asked. Might as well get to what she wants to talk about.
“Oh, about as good as you can expect after she heard from Damien that he may be a father out of wedlock.”
“Yeah. I figured as much. I’m sure she hurried to church and prayed.”
Aunt Dean shook her head. “Honey, I walked right on down there with her. Speaking of church, you haven’t been coming lately.”
Melanie sighed and sunk back into the blue-cushioned love seat. “I’ve been busy.”
“Was God too busy to breathe life into you?”
Here we go. “No, ma’am. I’ll do better. I promise.”
“Don’t promise me.” She pointed to the sky. “Promise Him.”
Melanie tilted her head back, eyes to the ceiling. “I promise.”
“Girl, don’t get sassy. Now … I called you over to check on my baby. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, auntie.”
Her aunt’s eyes looked disappointed. “Baby, you know you can tell me how you feel, right?” she pried again, crossing her legs. “I won’t go back and tell Sandra.”
Melanie groaned. “I told you I’m fine. Work is fine. Everything is just fine.” She grabbed the gold saucer and plopped her teacup on top.
Aunt Dean shook her head sadly. “Everything is not just fine.”
“It is.”
“It isn’t,” she replied firmly. “You have the same countenance. The same look on your face you had every year at the end of summer. But worse.”
“But—”
Aunt Dean waved her hands for silence. “No, don’t bother denying it. You have sandbags under your eyes, and your clothes are hanging off you. So I’ll ask you again, and you’ll tell me the truth this time. Are you happy?”
“No!” Melanie shouted before slapping a hand over her mouth, surprised she’d allowed her emotions to bubble over.
Just as warm and comforting as a springtime day in Georgia, Aunt Dean leaned forward and squeezed Melanie’s hand. “Get it out, honey.”
“Oh—okay. Well, Damien and I aren’t together anymore. I offered to stay, and he … he rejected me again.”
Aunt Dean reclined into her seat and shook her head. “That boy. Sometimes he doesn’t act like he has the good sense the Lord gave him. Sounds like the woman is lying, if you ask me.”
A one-ton weight lifted from Melanie’s body. She was glad her aunt was on her side. For the first time in days, Melanie’s emotions began to level back from hormonal teenager to mature, capable adult. “So what do you think I should do?”
“Honey, there’s nothing you can do.”
And just like that, her gooey, homemade-apple-pie-on-a-Sunday-morning good mood scattered like cockroaches in the light.
Aunt Dean clasped her niece’s hand, stalling her escape. “Now wait a minute, honey. I have something else to say. You may not like it, but you need to hear it. Settle down and stop acting like your feelings are hurt.”
Aunt Dean was not a woman to be disobeyed, and Melanie fell in line like a well-behaved soldier.
“I know how it is to be in love. So deeply you lose yourself. But at some point, the haze of lust, new love, or infatuation diminishes, and the relationship becomes balanced.” Her aunt sighed. “Damien has always owned your heart. And you let him lead you around.”
“I’d hardly describe our relationship that way.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but my feelings run deep. I can’t help it. I love him, and he does own my heart. He’s all I ever think about. He’s my first thought in the morning and my last thought before I close my eyes. You of all people should understand. I saw how much you and Uncle Rick loved each other.”
Aunt Dean squeezed Melanie’s leg. “Now hear me out. You put that boy, excuse me, that man, on a pedestal. It’s not fair to you or to him. Every decision you’ve made as a child or an adult has been influenced by Damien. Your career, your relationships, and darn near your college choice.”
“Aunt Dean, I’ve always loved to write, and sports fascinate me. Sure, Damien introduced me to baseball and the like, but I love what I do. Not because of Damien, but because it’s my passion.”
“All right. Fair enough. Next point: you put him first.”
“When you love someone, you put them first,” Melanie said slowly and with pride.
“Wrong, young lady. You do not. You put God first, then husband, then kids, and everything else falls in between. Your priorities are all mixed up. You will never work as a couple until you have a chance to find yourself, and again, put God first.”
Melanie furrowed her brows, thinking through her aunt’s assessment of their relationship.
Aunt Dean lifted her teacup and sipped. She sat the cup down and sighed. “Now, baby, Damien is a man. He’s only human, which means he will make mistakes and he will disappoint you. But you made Damien your God when he doesn’t come close. The Bible says we should treasure God above all else because he is faithful to us in our failures.”
Melanie took in the advice and swallowed. She couldn’t argue with that. She’d made Damien her everything, which was why she was now seeking the scattered remains of her soul. No man, not even Damien, should be able to shatter someone’s soul.
“Now, dear, I believe with all my heart Damien is the man for you. I remember when he rode the Greyhound bus all the way from New York to escort you to prom. I think you both have something special. But you need to give yourself a little time and go to church,” she said, wagging a finger at Melanie. “And when Damien comes back and asks for forgiveness—and he will—make him work for it.” She smiled. “Don’t tell Sandra what I said, but you can’t always make it easy for him. If you need some pointers, you call me, you hear?”
Melanie tilted her head back and laughed. “I sure will. I could use some pointers.”
“Good. Now keep your head up and let everything run its course.”
Aunt Dean rose and smoothed her slender fingers over her light-gray slacks.
“Aunt Dean?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Thank you for always being there for me. I love you. More than you could ever know.”
“I love you too, Melanie. I’ve loved you since the day your mama called and told me she was pregnant. Even though your uncle and I couldn’t have any kids, we loved you like you were our own.”
Melanie’s heart squeezed at the memory of her uncle’s infectious laugh and the love her aunt had lost. “Do you think Uncle Rick knew I loved him too? Like a … ” She cleared her throat. “Like a father?”
Aunt Dean caressed her face. “Oh, baby, he definitely knew. Now keep your head up. Stay alert. Because, baby, you’re in for the fight of your life.”