Moments In Time: The Complete Novella Collection (25 page)

The only person who dropped by on Saturday
to check up on her was Josie. Melisa told her everything. She
needed to open up to someone.

Josie’s eyes widened. “Why didn’t you say
anything? You slept with the most desired guy in school and you
kept your mouth shut? I would have climbed on a roof and shouted it
to the whole of Serendipity.”

“How would that have helped me? Lorene came
looking for him that night, to apologize for cheating on him yet
again, and he told me to climb out the window. Next thing I knew,
they were back together.”

“Was that why you left to spend a few months
in Madison?”

Melisa shifted in her seat. “Yeah, I needed
to get away.”

“Your first instinct is always to run, isn’t
it?”

“Sometimes it helps to get away from a
situation.”

Josie sighed. “Or it makes things worse.
Look what happened since you disappeared after Scott died. You lost
everything.”

“Can we not talk about that?” Being reminded
about losing her beloved Mel’s Delights was too much to bear. She
stood. “Do you want coffee?”

Josie grinned at her. “No, the reason I came
here is to ask you to come with me to Rockin’. You look like you
need a night of fun.”

“I can’t do that,” Melisa said vehemently.
“There’s something you don’t know.”

“Boy, another secret?”

“It’s not a secret. Just something I wasn’t
brave enough to share.”

Josie yanked her back down on the sofa.
“What is it? Are you okay?”

Melisa shrugged. “Now I am. But I wasn’t for
a long time after Scott died.” She paused and drew in a deep breath
for courage. “I’m a recovering alcoholic... and gambling addict.
When Scott died, I lost it. So I found a way to numb the pain. Once
I found that escape, I couldn’t go back. I don’t even know how or
why I started gambling. I found myself sneaking into The Roll &
Dice, and then I was there all the time. I lost everything and owed
people money.”

“So you sold Mel’s Delights to me so you
could repay the debts.” Josie’s face was a mask of shock. “God,
Melisa. I’m so sorry. You should have said something.”

“It’s in the past now. Right now I’m just
feeling so low and wouldn’t want to be tempted, you know?”

“Understandable, but hey,” Josie touched
Melisa’s knee. “You’ve lost a lot over the years and you’re still
standing. Now you have space in your life for new things. Things
will get better, I promise you that. Now you have to face the world
with your head held high. You need to start enjoying your
life.”

“I’m still not going clubbing.”

“Who said anything about clubbing? How about
we have a pajama party like in high school? With non-alcoholic
cocktails. What do you say?”

A grin split Melisa’s face. “I’m so in, but
I have to ask Carlene if she’s okay with it.”

Carlene and Nick didn’t have a problem with
it. In fact, they encouraged her to treat their home as hers and
have fun.

Carlene laughed. “Seriously, Melisa, do what
you would do in your own home. You don’t have to ask for
permission.”

Melisa remembered that having a girls’ night
in was harmless compared what she had done with Heat. She was like
a silly teenager, asking her parents for permission. “You know I
appreciate this, right?”

“I do. I’m here for you always. You can stay
as long as you like.”

“I’m planning on finding a place by the time
you get back next week.” Melisa wasn’t sure how, but she was
determined to find a place of her own. “You’re newlyweds, you need
to spend time alone.”

“Then why don’t you move into my old
apartment? I haven’t given it up yet. I’ll keep paying the rent, of
course.”

“I’d love that.” With those words, it struck
Melisa just how much she had changed. Since moving out of Oasis,
she’d done a lot of things that were out of character for
her—crying at the drop of a hat, asking for and accepting help.
Maybe those were all good things.

The pajama party was what Melisa had needed
to get her mind off things. She and Josie baked gingersnap cookies
and reminisced about old times. The non-alcoholic Caipirinha Josie
insisted she knew how to make tasted like pee with lemon, but they
laughed it off. Finally, they ordered a pizza and sprawled out on
the couch, watching reruns of
Friends
until they fell
asleep. Josie woke up at midnight and left. She had some urgent
things she needed to take care of before morning. Melisa moved to
the guest bedroom, happy to have survived the day.

***

“Miss Bergfeld?” A freckled teenage boy
asked when Melisa opened the door.

Melisa covered her mouth with her hand and
yawned. “Yes, who are you? Do you know what time it is?” What
person went knocking on people’s doors at six in the morning? She
could still fit in another hour of sleep before getting ready for
work. Though her insides twisted when she thought of Mel’s Delights
soon being in the hands of a stranger, she couldn’t afford not to
work there now. She had to swallow her pride if she was going to
afford rent. Carlene still paid for her old fancy apartment, but
Melisa insisted on contributing a portion. She was used to taking
care of herself since the age of eighteen, when she’d moved out of
her mother’s house, and she wasn’t ready to live off anyone. Not
even a fabulously wealthy good friend.

“I was told to give you this.” The boy
shoved a manila envelope into Melisa’s hands and sauntered away in
his baggy pants.

Melisa walked back into the house and closed
the door. She unsealed the envelope slowly. Who, apart from Josie
and Heat knew she lived here? What would anyone want to give
her?

She flipped the envelope upside down. A key
and a folded note plopped onto her hand. Ignoring the key, she read
the note:

I’m sorry for being a jerk in the past.
Consider this my apology. Goodbye.

Florian

Melisa’s chest tightened as she studied the
silver key, frowning. It looked familiar, but she couldn’t place
it.

She picked up the phone and dialed Heat’s
cell, but no one picked up.

Confused, she dropped it into her purse.
She’d pass by his place after work to find out what it all
meant.

***

The day was hectic, so it was only during
lunch break that Melisa saw the key again and decided to ask Josie
what she thought.

Josie barely even looked at it before
shaking her head. “Maybe a key to his apartment?”

“No, I know how his keys look. Unless he
changed the locks.”

Josie sighed and took the key from Melisa.
She walked to the front door of Mel’s Delights, Melisa at her
heels, and inserted into in the lock. It fit perfectly.

“Josie, what’s this supposed to mean?”

Josie smiled. “Heat was the one who bought
back Mel’s Delights... for you. He told me not to tell you, but I
can’t keep this to myself any longer. He’d offered to buy the
bakery in the hopes that maybe someday you’d come back, and he
didn’t want you to find nothing left of your old life. If a man did
that for me, I’d snatch him up in a heartbeat.”

***

After work Melisa walked down the winding
streets of Serendipity, past shops and restaurants, offices and
apartment buildings. Work had been successful at keeping thoughts
of Heat at bay, but now her mind unleashed them until they were
battering her relentlessly. A cocktail of guilt, regret, fear, and
shame choked her so she found it hard to breathe. The sounds of
people talking and laughing, the honking of cars and screeching of
tires were not enough to drown them out. So Melisa walked faster
and faster until she was running so fast, the wind howled in her
ears, her lungs burned, and her muscles protested. She ran until
the dominant thought in her mind revolved around how much she
craved the next breath.

By the time she reached Lake Serendipity,
the sky had darkened and its soft drizzle showered her. As she
walked to the river bank, people walked passed her, shoulders
hunched, and heads covered with purses, briefcases, and newspapers
as they hurried to find shelter. Melisa didn’t care about the
blanket of dark clouds in the sky, or that the rain was now falling
harder, liquid darts pelting her head and shoulders, plastering her
hair against her neck and forehead, soaking her clothes, and making
her shiver. She loved rain. And right now, she needed it.

As a child, she used to run outside to dance
with the rain drops and welcome them with arms wide open and her
face upturned. Nothing was quite as invigorating and cleansing as
rain.

She approached the line where the water
started and stood gazing out at the lake. Fat droplets tap danced
on the surface.

On the first day of summer, people gathered
around the lake and sprinkled flower petals on that very surface,
wishing for good fortune in love. When Scott was alive, they used
to come each year. Then he died and there was no point. Not until
now.

Melisa reached into the pocket of her jeans
and pulled out the key Heat had sent her. As water dripped into her
eyes, mingling with a fresh dose of tears, she gazed down at it for
a long time, watching as raindrops showered the piece of metal and
formed a small puddle in the palm of her hand.

Guilt stabbed her as she remembered what she
had done to Heat. How the anger she had brought with her from her
childhood had caused her to hurt him the way he had hurt her then.
She had used him and thrown him out and instead of lashing out at
her, he had given her the most precious gift, a piece of herself
she thought she had lost forever.

Heat had made a mistake those many years
ago, but since then, he’d tried everything to make things right.
Since she left Oasis, he’d been nothing but kind and helpful,
taking her in, paying her hospital bills, taking care of her when
she was sick. Instead of being grateful, she’d been cold and
insulting and hung up on the past. Yes, it was difficult to put the
past behind without turning back for a glimpse, and yes, there were
certain things she wanted to forget, but maybe it would all turn
out fine if she just took baby steps toward the future. The key in
her hand could be a sign that all would be well again.

Curling her fingers lightly around the key,
she tipped her hand to the side to allow the water to pour out.
Then she placed the key in her right pocket. She reached deep into
her other pocket and produced a handful of drenched, bruised rose
petals. She bent down, dipped her hand in the water and released
them. It wasn’t the first day of summer and the hard rain would
prevent them from floating on the surface, but she hoped the
gesture was enough to set her good fortune in motion.

Melisa banged her fist on the wooden door.
This time with force. She had swung her hand back again to make
another strike when the door was yanked open.

Lucy stood in the doorway, face stony. “What
can I do for you?” she crossed her arms over her ample breasts.

“I need to see Heat. Is he here? He’s not at
his place.”

“In case you’re wondering, I know everything
that happened between you two in high school.” Lucy leaned against
the door and her eyes narrowed to flints. “You know, before you
came back from wherever you had slunk off to, my brother was okay.
He wasn’t the happiest, because he still carried that torch for you
since high school. I used to think you two were made for each
other, but I changed my mind. All you do is make him
miserable.”

A bubble of anger formed in Melisa’s throat.
She clenched her fists, digging her fingers into her palms. “You
don’t know anything about me and Heat. So don’t talk like you
do.”

“I know you had a thing, and then you
disappeared, like you always do, leaving him high and dry.”

“Wrong,” Melisa snapped. “Yes, we had one
night. One single, amazing night, which was followed by him shoving
me out the window when Lorene showed up. Next day, they were back
together, and Heat didn’t even seem to notice me. I went to live
with my aunt, because I needed space. Just as I needed space when
my husband died. People deal with unpleasant situations in
different ways.”

Lucy pursed her lips and her cheeks flushed.
She unfolded her arms and sighed. “Look, Melisa, I’m sorry for the
accusations. I don’t know what I’d do if I were in your shoes.
Sorry for what I said.”

“It’s fine. Can you tell me where Heat is? I
need to talk to him. It’s important.”

“He left town yesterday morning. Went to
Boston.”

“When is he coming back?”

“He didn’t say. In truth, I won’t be
surprised if he never comes back. Before you came back, he was
planning on moving there. He’d even had several job offers.”

Melisa grasped the doorframe. “Is there any
way I can contact him? He’s not answering my calls. I need to make
things right.”

Lucy shook her head. “Give him a few days to
cool off. He seemed really upset after he came to see you. Try
again after a couple days.”

Melisa’s shoulders slumped. Receiving that
key to Mel’s Delights had changed her life yet again. It was more
than a key to her business—it was a key to her heart, which she had
kept locked for so long. When she swept the veil of the past from
her eyes, she saw what she had been oblivious to before.

“Thanks, Lucy. I’m sorry for barging in on
you like this.”

Lucy smiled. “I like you, always have. I
hope you two sort it out. Heat can do much worse than you.”

“I hope so too.” Melisa straightened up,
feeling lighter now that she knew what she wanted—
who
she
wanted. “Can I ask you something?”

Lucy nodded.

“Did Heat tell you why he came to visit me
the other day?” Melisa grinned. “We didn’t really get to...”

“Talk.” Lucy winked. “I get it. Well, he was
really excited that day. The only thing he said was he had a
surprise for you that would change everything.”