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After a week’s worth of cleaning, Miss Elizabeth’s store looked presentable. The windows sparkled, allowing the sun to caress the hardwood floors that gleamed after a vigorous sanding and waxing. Delilah and I worked out a solid marketing plan including a fancy website and all the social media outlets. I sunk my small savings into the security deposit, the first month’s rent, and supplies to get the business off the ground. One night, Pete brought over Greek food and helped me come up with a business plan that I’d take to the bank to get a loan. There never seemed to be a good time to bring up the photo with the woman and the child. It was Friday night and I was cleaning up my paint when there was a knock on the door.
“Pete’s right on time.” I glanced at my watch and headed to the door.
Benny jumped up from his bed with his tongue rolling out of his mouth as he trotted next to me. The clouds covered what little moon that was out. The one streetlight threw a yellow glow in a ring outside of my door.
“Hey handsome, I am starving.” My voice trailed off as I met the stormy grey eyes of Vance standing in the doorway. My mouth dried, and my jaw felt like it hit the floor as my heart pounded like a jackhammer. “What...how...why?”
“Nice to see you, Mel.” He wrapped me in a hug and pressed a kiss to my sealed lips. “I missed you so much the last few weeks.” He held me at arm’s length. “You’ve gained some weight. Texas has been rough on you.”
“Gee, thanks. It must have nothing to do with everything I have gone through.” I snarled at him and tried to pull away.
“Are you going to let me in or can we go back to my hotel?”
“How did you find me?” I tried to ignore that last comment as I ushered him into the store.
“I called your mother and she told me where my wayward bride-to-be was.” He looked around the room. “What are you doing in little Sunnydale, Mel?” He brushed up against the wet wall and light-yellow paint covered his hand; he dared not to wipe it on his Armani suit. “Your mother and I would’ve put up the money for you to open your own shop in New York. This is just silly.” He stalked towards me with that steely glint he got when he argued his cases in court.
“Seriously,” I stomped my foot and placed my hands on my hips, “you’re going to walk in here and...”
“Hey Melanie, I know this is a small town, but you’ve got to keep the door locked.” Pete walked in backwards with a large pizza and a case of beer, closing the door as he came in. As he turned around, his face blanked and his eyes darkened as Vance slid his arm over my shoulders even as I tried to shrug it off. Pete set the pizza down before extending his hand.
“Pete”
Vance puffed out his chest like a peacock and took Pete’s hand. “Vance, Melanie’s fiancé.”
Pete glanced over at me with a raised eyebrow.
“He’s not.” I crossed my arms and shook my head.
“So, who might you be?” Vance threw his arm back over my shoulders and tugged me closer to him.
I cringed, and Vance gave me a dark look. Pete’s brows furrowed as he watched us. He ran his hand threw his sandy brown hair making it stand on end.
“I know why I’m here, but what’s a big New Yorker such as yourself doing here?” He popped the top of a beer and handed it to me. The cool liquid eased my parched throat.
“I came to pick up my fiancé and take her back to New York, where she belongs.” He took off his suit jacket and tossed it over his shoulder. I slipped out from under his arm to stand away from both of them.
“What if she doesn’t want to leave?” Pete grabbed a second beer for himself as the two men stared each other down for several minutes.
The tension was getting unbearable. They were strutting like two roosters, taking each other’s measure. They drew themselves up and flexed their muscles. It would be any minute before they started circling each other. The walls were halfway painted, and I couldn’t have them ruin the job that I’d been working on all day.
“You’re both being ridiculous!” I threw up my hands. “I’m not going anywhere but you both need to leave.” I handed them their jackets. “Now!” I pushed them both out the door and locked it behind them.
“Good riddance. Boys.” I wiped my hands on my jeans before reaching for another piece of pizza. “Well, Benny, I guess no date tonight.” I wrestled with the lid of the next paint can. The paint splattered onto my jeans and on Benny. He yipped in excitement and raced around the room, leaving yellow pawprints on the drop cloth.
I stumbled out into the street as the brass lock clicked in place behind me. The yellow light of the streetlamp shone down on us as moths fluttered around the quietly zapping light. Vance, the pretty boy, leaned against the lamp post. A lost puppy dog look came into his eyes as he stared through the window at the beautiful girl sharing pizza with her one-eyed Beagle. I fumbled around for my keys in my coat pocket as I turned to my truck.
“She’s pretty great.” I leaned against the hood of my truck. What do I say to the guy? Do I invite him over for a beer? After the couple weeks I’d known her, I didn’t want to lose her. Melanie said it was over between them, maybe he didn’t want to lose her, either.
“She is, and I messed up this time.” His back straightened. He tore his gaze from the window to me. “I’m going to win her back, no matter what it takes. You’re out of your league on this one, country bumpkin.” He strode to the black Lexus parked on the corner. I guess he didn’t want to get a beer then.
#####
The house was dark when I drove up to it. My truck idled for a few minutes before I turned the ignition off. I scrubbed my face with my hands. What was I doing chasing a girl like Melanie? Was I good enough for her? Could I even have a normal relationship with her? Or would I let her down, just like I did with Stacy? That pretty boy can give her everything she ever wanted. He dropped everything to fly out here. I can’t afford to do that, not with the ranch and loan payments on the dress shop. I was budgeted to the gills. What kind of life could I give her? Life in a small town with a boring nightlife and very little opportunities. She definitely wouldn’t make the money that she’d make in New York. I folded my hands over the steering wheel and groaned as I lay my head down. Lights flashed in my rearview mirror as a low riding car swung in behind me. The headlights flashed a couple of times as the engine reeved. I opened the door to dragged myself to the black Mustang behind me. Damien sat at the wheel, tapping a staccato beat out with his fingers.
“Dee called me about what just happened with Melanie.” He leaned back in his seat, placing his hands over his head. “I think that you and I need to go out tonight.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Let me guess. You feel sorry for yourself. You aren’t good enough for her. You will let her down. Just like you let down Stacy.”
“Ouch, man. That hurts.”
“Well, get in the car we’re going out.” Damien drove us to Cowboy’s bar, which was in full swing. The DJ spun current country hits and the dance floor was packed with couples two-stepping around as Damien led the way towards the bar.
“Two shots of whiskey.” He laid down his credit card before looking out across the crowd.
The bartender set two glasses between us. The whiskey burned my throat; I winced as Damien held up another two fingers. In a corner booth, that pretty boy, Vance, sat, nursing a beer. His phone lit up every once in a while.
“What do you know about Melanie’s ex?”
“Just the basics,” Damien took another shot. “Dee doesn’t like him. They met at some societal event, where they fell in ‘love’. He’s a big-time lawyer in New York City. Dee thinks he’s after Mel’s family money."
"Really? Is her family loaded?”
“Yep, her dad’s some type of financial guru. The kind with a yacht and country club membership.”
I groaned, just what I feared. I took another shot of whiskey when I noticed a couple of men slid into the booth with Vance. They were big, burly men, swathed in black leather jackets and black jeans. The three men huddled together for a few minutes, not ordering drinks or food. Then, the two newcomers left the booth. Vance drained his last bit of beer, leaving a twenty on the table before following them.
“Do you recognize any of those men?” I motioned towards the two retreating backs.
“I haven’t seen them around. But then I just moved back here.” Damien set his shot glass on the bar.
The DJ played a popular country song. The crowd went wild with people surging on to the dance floor. The loud music, flashing lights, and haze of cigarette smoke gave me a headache.
“I think I’ve had enough. I’m just not in the partying mood.”
Damien nodded. He settled up the tab and dropped me off at the house.
As I sat in the dark of my little house, I pondered what to do next with this relationship. Did I want to give it a go? I tried to imagine my life without her smiling face, but my heart broke into little pieces at the thought. My phone buzzed with an incoming text.
Melanie: Let’s have a try again tomorrow.
Pete: If you are up for it.
Melanie: Definitely! See you then.
With that, I went to bed. I needed to talk to her about my feelings for her as I realized with a start that they had grown into more than a friend; I needed her in my life.
SATURDAY DAWNED BRIGHT and early. A groan escaped my lips as I rolled over in my twin bed in the second-story apartment above the dress shop. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes as Benny licked my cheeks by standing up on his hind legs.
“I am coming.” I kicked my feet over the edge.
Benny balanced on his hind legs and twirled in a circle. Excited yips exited his mouth as I tucked him under my arm and shuffled down the stairs. They creaked under my bare feet as I stepped from one wooden plank to the next one. I reached the door that led out the little backyard and put my shoulder into it, which swung open with a screech, Benny scampered into the little yard. The rusty patio chair groaned as I settled onto it to watch Benny actively search for overnight intruders. The morning sun shone brightly, hurting my eyes. They closed as I leaned back into the warmness, letting the sun caress my face. The backyard gate screeched like nails on a chalkboard and startled me out of my meditative state.
“I brought you some coffee and bagels,” Vance’s smooth voice said from over my right shoulder. “I know how much you love bagels and cream cheese.”
He cautiously approached me as I drew my knees up to my chest; while, Benny bounced over excitedly yowling at him.
“He thinks you brought him a bagel.”
“I stopped at a pet boutique and bought him one of those handmade dog biscuits.” He drew out a six-inch bone-shaped biscuit with frosting.
Benny hit another octave in his excitement for the special treat. He bounced up to chest level, howling for attention.
“You better give it to him.” I rubbed my forehead. “Before he wakes the whole town.”
The biscuit flipped several times in the air before Benny caught it, wagged his tail and ran to the door to eat it.
“Vance, what do you want?” I closed my eyes to the harsh sun and rubbed my temples again.
He set the coffees and bag of bagels down and knelt next to my chair. He cautiously touched my shoulder.
“Mel, can we go inside to discuss this?” His voice was so soft, it startled me into looking at him.
His grey eyes pleaded with me, which wasn’t a look I’d seen often from him. It took me back to when we’d first started dating and he was kind, before he went to law school and became a hardened lawyer. Somewhere deep in my heart, I felt a tug. Was the feeling nostalgia or real feelings? I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I slowly unfolded myself from the chair.
“I guess, before the whole neighborhood eavesdrops through the fence.” I motioned to the houses next door before turning to my apartment.
His eyes slid down my shoulders and settled on my backside as I walked to the door to my apartment.
#####
“THIS IS A DOWNGRADE from our place.” He looked around my humble abode.
A small card table sat in the middle of the kitchen, the paint peeled from the walls, and water stained the ceiling. A warm summer breeze blew through the open windows.
“Insulting me is not going to make me like you again.” I reached for a knife for the bagels. “What do you want?”
“I’m trying to apologize.” He took the knife from me and proceeded to cut the bagel. “The last few weeks have been hard on me. I’ve missed you. I can’t sleep at night.”
“So, take a sleeping pill.”
“The apartment is empty without you. My life feels empty without you.”
“What about what’s her name? She could be warming your bed.” My eyes narrowed at him.
“She doesn’t hold a candle to you. Besides, I am not seeing her anymore.”
He smothered my bagel with delicious cream cheese and held it up to my mouth. I took a bite, closing my eyes as the glorious tang of the cream cheese combined with the starchiness of the bagel. His free hand crept along my neck, firmly cupping the back of my head. His thumb rubbed in circles under my ears. It felt nice, but there were no somersaulting butterflies that Pete’s touch initiated. The thought startled me into pulling back away from him.
“You’re going to have to try harder than that.” I pulled my hair into a ponytail. “I have to see you mean it. Not going to chase the next young thing that bats her eyelashes at you.” I walked into my bedroom. “Think about that as I get changed,” as I closed the door in his face.
I pulled on my “creative” clothes, as my mother would call them. A pair of frayed washed-out jeans and an oversized T-shirt from college that I knotted to the side and rolled up the sleeves. My hair secured into a knot on the top of my head.
I showed Vance the shop, even if he had seen it last night. I shared with him my plans for the big open space as he wandered around the large space. I didn’t know if he was buying time or trying to visualize my plans for the room.
“I do like the yellow.” He said after a while.
“Was that after it got all over you last night or before?”
He chuckled as he approached me. His fingers crept over my forehead and pushed my stray hair behind my ear. “Probably after. I don’t think it will come out of the suit.” His other arm slid behind me and drew me close to him. “The dream is beautiful.” His warm breath caressed my face. “It brings a light to your eyes that I haven’t seen in a long time. You’re beautiful.”
His lips descended towards mine. The pressure was lovely. He rubbed my back and pressed me against his chest. Again, it was nice, familiar, even comforting. I kissed him back and slid my arms behind his head to bring him closer. He groaned as our mouths gave and take. But no spark, no fireworks, not even a little sparkle. I wished he was Pete. Where did that thought come from? I broke the kiss and searched his stormy grey eyes. His face was a little flushed and breathing a bit rushed. Could I trust him ever again? Was he the one I wanted to spend my life with? Or would things slide back to where they were before?
“I still want you and I think you want me too.” He kissed my forehead. “Come back with me to New York.”
“What about this?” I swept my arms around my little shop. “I want to give this a try.”
“You can do this in New York. Better, even. Your parents and I would support you, financially. You already know people to sell your ideas too. All the big shows are up there.”
“I know, but I want to do this on my own. Plus, I have friends here.” I didn’t want to say that I had Pete. “I signed a contract for this place.”
He frowned and his jaw tightened. “You signed a contract? Without consulting me? Mel, how could you be so dense? You aren’t good at reading the fine print.”
“Again, the insults. Not endearing, dear.” I stepped away from him.
“Babe, I’m just trying to look out for you.” His tone softened.
“Vance, you haven’t been looking out for me since you started cheating on me.”
“I know, but now I’ve changed. I realized how much I need you.” He placed his hand on my shoulder. “Let me prove it.”
“How?”
“Let me try to win you back.”
“Ok, but when I tell you to leave you leave?” Why did I just give in? Frustration tore through me. “I don’t know if I can trust you ever again.”
“Deal.” His face broke into a charming smile. “What’s on your agenda for today?”
“The back wall needs one more coat of paint. Then, I was going to finish a couple of orders.” I sipped at my coffee and raised my eyebrows at him.
“Great. I’ll paint and you can work on your projects.” He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt before opening a can of paint.
I shrugged and uncovered my first project. My client was a woman named Carrie Ann. She wanted to get married in her grandmother’s dress but the lace had yellowed and frayed. I designed a dress similar to the same style with as much of the original material as possible. Everything was pinned in place, ready to start the sewing with the dress set up on the mannequin, and I snapped pictures of every angle to add to my website before calling Carrie Ann for a fitting.
#####
CARRIE ANN ARRIVED in a little whirlwind of energy.
“Oh! Melanie, I was so excited to hear from you.” The bell above the door tinkled as she entered. “And who is this handsome man painting your walls?” She motioned to Vance. “I thought you were seeing Pete.”
The silence stretched across the room
Vance set the roller aside and shook Carrie Ann’s hand. “I am Melanie’s fiancé, Vance.”
“Ex-fiancé`” I stage whispered to Carrie Ann. “He is trying to get into my good graces, again.”
“Is he painting other walls with you?” She winked.
“Not yet,” Vance winked at Carrie Ann before dipping his roller into the paint. His back muscles flexed under his silk shirt as he painted the top corner of the wall.
“Too bad I am getting married.” Carrie Ann stared at Vance for a bit longer. “Now about my dress.” Carrie Ann stepped into the dress I held out for her.
“Be careful of the pins,” I gently moved some of the pins around. She stepped up to the mirror and twirled slowly around.
“That looks beautiful on you. Do you like it?”
Carrie Ann had tears rolling down her cheeks. “It’s perfect.”
“Great, let me take some pictures before you struggle out of it. And I will start sewing it today.”
After Carrie Ann left, Vance and I worked in silence together for the rest of the afternoon. The elephant in the room was getting bigger by the moment, but I was not going to be the one to mention it. Maybe, it would wander away if it was ignored.