Life's Little Storms

Letters

Life's Little Storms Chapter 22

~Melody~

That night, I was sitting curled up on a recliner chair with a delicious bowl of spaghetti balanced on my knees. After Alice caught Jacob and I in a very compromising position on their kitchen floor, we sheepishly, well I sheepishly, cleaned up the flour mess before deciding that the cookies would have to wait for another day. I had dropped Jacob at home, insisting that I would leave me window unlocked.

Max was sitting in the couch next to me with his long legs stretched out onto the coffee table. His own bowl of pasta sat on his lap. He looked somewhat ridiculous. He had at least five paper towels covering his shirt so that he could casually eat his spaghetti without having to either lean forward and eat or without the fear of the noodles falling off of his fork and onto his green shirt.

We were competing with the Family Feud on TV. Steve Harvey was reading off questions and Max was trying so hard to beat me to it.

"Name something that you would not want to find in your wife's closet." The timer went up before either of the families could answer. Slowly ding by ding, answers started showing up.

Lazily I muttered, "Another man."

Max threw a hand up at the screen and yelled, "Money!"

Money popped up as the last answer before my answer popped up as the first one. Max let out a loud groan and his shoulders slumped in defeat, "If I can't beat my niece in a simple game of Family Feud, how am I supposed to keep running a business?"

"You're good at running your business, Max, and I'm good at beating uncles at television games."

"Games? As in your better at more than just one television gameshow?

"Oh yeah, you should play me in Jeopardy."

The conflict on Max's face told me that he was considering it, but I knew how he was.

"Challenge accepted!" He basically yelped. "You, me, tomorrow. It is on my know it all niece!"

I laughed and shook my head as I placed my empty spaghetti bowl onto the coffee table. Quickly, I retracted my limbs to prevent the cold from invading my body. It was a fail attempt because goosebumps spread over my poor arms and legs.

"Max?" I asked quietly, rubbing my hands over my limbs. He hummed as he looked over at me. "When I first got here, you were so different to how you are now."

He nodded, recalling his cool behavior during my first day here. "To be honest, Melody, I didn't know what to expect from you. When I caught wind that your mother had left you and your father, I told myself it was because no one appreciated her. But your father called me a few days later sounding so broken and confused. I knew it was her own choice. Then he continued to send me photos of you, most of them had that girl in it. Allison?"

"Anna." I murmured.

"Right." He said quietly, "Then he abruptly called me in August. He was sounding broken and confused once again. This time it wasn't for his sake, it was for yours. He told me that you had become a zombie because when Anna died, a piece of you died with her. When I saw you that day in the airport, I was afraid. Afraid to say something that would set you off or send you off the deep end."

Max placed his bowl on the table then rested his forearms on his thighs. "But you met that boy. And it was like something inside of you lit up again. Besides breaking the vodka bottle, you had been so good, so pleasant. And I knew that I loved you just as much as your father."