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Chapter Twenty-six






THE NEXT FEW days were a blur for Melanie. Between the packing, situating things with the movers, the drive back to Rochester, the bookstore, and her new apartment, she barely had time to breathe, let alone think too deeply about the events of the previous weeks.

She was in the bookshop on Wednesday morning, waiting for the sign guy to come and hang the new sign out front, when Lynda popped her head in the unlocked front door. Melanie smiled, peeking around the doorjamb of the office and recognizing her visitor.

" Hey, there, stranger, " Lynda called in greeting. " I was getting worried. Haven't seen you in a couple days."

" I went home, " Melanie stated, dusting her hands on the legs of her gym shorts. " Had some loose ends to tie up."

Lynda looked around in appreciation. All the shelves were fully stocked. Melanie had pushed the overstuffed chairs into a corner, where she had a display of periodicals, including the area gay newspapers, creating a cozy and inviting spot to take a load off. The windows had been washed. There were small, unobtrusive bowls of potpourri set out to give the place a warm, charming aroma.

Lynda nodded. " This place looks terrific. Are you just about ready for Monday? "

" Almost, " Melanie answered, leading the café owner to the chairs and taking a seat herself. " I'm trying to get my computer hooked up in the office. I want to get the inventory on it... of course, most of it's here already. The sign guy is coming this morning to take care of that. I'm only waiting for a couple more shipments of books, and I think we're there."

She sounded excited, Lynda was glad to note, although there was a glimmer of something in the younger woman's eye that the café owner couldn't quite define.

" I saw your ad in The Empty Closet, " Lynda commented, referring to Rochester's gay newspaper. " Looks great."

" Yeah, I was happy with that."

" You nervous? "

" About the opening? " Melanie took a deep breath. " Yeah. Yeah, I am. I mean, I don't expect that I'll get swamped with customers or anything. I'm not Barnes & Noble. I know that. Hell, I may not get one customer. But..." She searched the air for the right words.

" This really means something to me, and I want to do it right. I want to make it work. You know? "

Lynda smiled and nodded, completely understanding the anxiety of her companion. " Absolutely. I felt exactly the same way when the day came to open the café for the first time. I had so many butterflies in my stomach, I thought for sure I'd be sick. I was so excited, it was terrifying."

" That's exactly it, " Melanie cried, pointing to her friend. " That's how I feel. I'm so excited about this that I'm contemplating hiding under my desk for the duration. How silly is that? "

They laughed together like childhood friends, thinking how ridiculous human nature sometimes was.

" How are things with Taylor? " Lynda asked.

Melanie's chuckles died away quickly and she swallowed.

" Uh oh." Lynda was concerned about her friend's sudden change in demeanor. " What happened? "

" Long story, " Melanie said simply, leaving her chair to brush a nonexistent spec of dust off a shelf.

" I've got plenty of time, " Lynda said simply, sitting back in her chair, resting one ankle on the opposite knee.

After several minutes of silence, Melanie resigned herself to the fact that Lynda wasn't going to change the subject, and she sighed in frustration. Suddenly, there was a rapping on the glass of the front door. Melanie was relieved to see a smiling young man in ratty jeans and work boots... Glen from the sign shop. Saved, she thought and let him in.

She spent a good twenty minutes with Glen, going over the details of where and how to put up the large, wooden sign, before leaving him to his duty. When she returned to the corner, she was dismayed to note that Lynda had not even shifted her position and was watching her expectantly.

" God. You're relentless, " Melanie complained.

" My middle name. Now spill it. I can tell it's bothering you."

" All right, all right. You win." She sighed in defeat and plopped into the opposite chair. She debated with herself for several minutes, before deciding to just be blunt and honest about the situation. " I slept with Taylor."

Lynda clapped her hands in delight. " That's great." Seeing the look on Melanie's face, she furrowed her brow. " That's not great? "

" Oh, it was great, " Melanie assured her, a blush creeping up her neck. " It was really, really great, as a matter of fact. The next morning's what wasn't so great. Sam showed up out of the blue. She put two and two together pretty quickly."

" Now there's a surprise, " Lynda joked. " Okay. So Sam found out. So what? "

" Well, that on top of the whole bookstore thing left her in somewhat of a foul mood."

" I repeat: so what? "

Melanie sighed. " Not five minutes after Sam came home, Ben decided to drop by."

" Ben..." Lynda wrinkled her nose, trying to place the name. " Ben. You mean the flower dude Ben? As in Taylor's father? That Ben? "

" That Ben."

" Oh, shit."

" Yeah. Taylor and I were half-dressed."

" I bet that wasn't the least bit awkward."

" Oh, no. Not at all."

" A fun time was had by all, huh? "

" Uh huh. You bet. I somehow managed to have the best sex of my life, seriously piss off my closest relative, and completely destroy a father-daughter relationship all in the course of a twelve-hour period. That's got to be some sort of record, don't you think? "

The sarcasm was a weak attempt to lighten the mood, but Lynda could plainly see the pain in her friend's eyes.

" So, what does Taylor have to say about all this? "

Melanie studied the floor carefully. " I don't know. I haven't seen her since."

" You what? "

The redhead winced. " I kind of...well...left for Chicago right after the shit hit the fan."

" You what? "

" I didn't know what else to do." Melanie sounded very much like a twelve-year-old defending herself against a grounding she knew she deserved. She looked at her hands as she tried to explain the turmoil she'd felt that morning. " It was such a mess. Sam was so mad and Ben just looked...God, he looked so hurt. And Taylor...she just wanted to make everything okay. It was too much. I couldn't take it."

" So you ran like a coward."

Melanie's head snapped up, eyes suddenly angry. " That's not how it was."

Lynda wasn't cutting her any slack at all. " That's what it looks like from here."

" You weren't there, Lynda. You don't know." Sam's words echoed in her head. I'm not the one playing both sides of the fence...

" All I've been able to think about is how I've turned Taylor and Ben against each other. Taylor's mom is dead. They need one another. What they don't need is me driving a nice, fat wedge between them."

" You know, it's funny." Lynda sat forward with her elbows on her knees and looked Melanie squarely in the eye. " I would have never pegged you as somebody who wouldn't stand tall to face down a problem. I thought you were one of the strongest people I've ever met." She shrugged. " My mistake."

Melanie didn't know what to say. Deep down, she knew Lynda was right. That didn't make admitting it any easier. She returned her gaze to her hands, feeling foolish and embarrassed. It was true, she had been busy since her return to Rochester the day before, but it would not have been that difficult for her to take five minutes out and pick up the phone to call Taylor.

The problem was, she didn't know where Taylor stood. Melanie missed her terribly, but she was mortified that she had come between her and her father, and she was discomfited by the situation in general. Most of all, she was terrified that Taylor would never want to see her again. Rather than face that reality head-on, Melanie chose to simply stay away and hope everything would just blow over on its own.

Lynda was right. She was a coward.

Lynda could practically see the train of thought as it chugged through Melanie's head and across her smooth face, and she knew she had struck home with the harsh comment. Before she could utter another word, the bell over the door jingled and a handsome, middle-aged man stepped into the store. By the expression of sheer panic that suddenly appeared on Melanie’s face, Lynda guessed it to be Benjamin Rhodes, the flower dude.

" I gotta go help Julie, " she said, standing, patting Melanie's knee as she did so. " Come see me later."

With that, she was gone. Melanie stood awkwardly facing Ben, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, the only sound being the pounding of Glen's hammer outside.

Ben seemed equally uncomfortable, but managed to speak first.

" Hi, Melanie."

" Hi, Ben." He looked dashing in his black, double-breasted suit and black and cream-striped tie, black leather briefcase dangling from one hand. He made a show of looking around, nodding his approval.

" It looks wonderful in here. And the exterior...nice color choice."

Somehow, the pretense of small talk was more unbearable than the silence. Melanie barreled ahead with the inevitable.

" Ben, I'm sorry about the other day...I..." She had trouble with her words, unable to find the right ones to express what she wanted to say...not really sure what she wanted to say, anyway.

Ben silenced her stumbling with an upheld hand and a small grin. " You and I have a lot in common, Melanie." At her puzzled expression, he ticked them off on his fingers. " We're both intelligent, we both like and dislike the same things about Corporate America, we both love my daughter..."

Melanie was annoyed to feel her eyes fill with tears, and she looked away. She was more annoyed that she couldn't think of any response.

" I won't say this has been easy, " Ben continued. " You're the first woman since my wife died that I had serious thoughts about.

The first one I thought maybe I could have something meaningful with. I'm not telling you this to make you feel bad. It's just a fact."

" I do feel bad, " Melanie said, unable to keep a tear from slipping down her cheek.

Ben smiled warmly. " I know you do. You're too kind not to. But, there's no reason. Taylor and I are adults. We've talked. We'll get through this. We're okay."

Melanie blinked. " You are? "

Ben shrugged. " Well, I'm okay. I've dealt with things, and I understand them. Taylor, on the other hand..." He let the sentence dangle.

Panic gripped Melanie's heart in its fist, and her stomach threatened to rebel against her at the thought of Taylor being anything but happy. " Taylor what? Is she all right? "

Ben smiled at the undisguised concern. " No, I don't think she's all right. I think she's miserable, Melanie. She's miserable without you. She'd never admit it, but she misses you so much it's tearing her up. And if she knew I was here talking to you, she'd kill me."

Melanie snorted a laugh through her tears. " It'll be our secret."

" You haven't called her."

" No, I haven't." Melanie sighed. " This is a lot to deal with, you know? "

" She deserves to know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours, don't you think? "

Melanie nodded silently.

" Maggie wore her out, Melanie." Ben's voice hardened. " She wore her out and I watched, helpless. She put my daughter through the emotional wringer, and I don't want to see that happen again. Taylor's like her mother, she pours her heart and soul into things she loves, without restriction. Anna used to say Taylor was the most passionate person she'd ever known. If you can't handle that, you need to tell her. Now. Before it's too late to save her from another disaster."

He was amazed with himself. He was actually talking on a strictly emotional level, although he did have to admit that it was much easier when he wasn't referring to his own emotions.

Melanie was amazed, too, not only by the wisdom of Ben's words, but by the fact that she'd acted so blatantly selfish by not contacting Taylor even in some small way. She'd never considered herself a selfish person. Now, she was faced with the fact that maybe there was more of Samantha in her than she cared to admit. The thought only made her feel worse.


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