Right in Front of You

"Just stating the obvious," he told her with the best smile he could offer.

"I...I really should get going. Are you sure there's nothing I can bring you? Either of you?" she asked.

Gregg told her 'no' then said, "I took another one of my mom's oxycodone's an hour ago so I'm feeling pretty good right now so if I say, 'No, just your stopping by was more than enough' I hope you'll understand who's doing the talking. Or maybe—what's doing it."

Melanie smiled warmly and said, "Whoever it is, he made me feel very nice so please tell him 'thank you' for me, okay?"

Gregg tried to smile and said, "I will," before walking her back to the door.

"Well, could I maybe stop back by tomorrow again? Melanie said as she got ready to leave.

"I'd like that," Gregg told her. "Very much."

She went to turn away then said, "Gregg? Would...would you maybe let me make dinner for you tonight?"

Immediately she said, "You and your mom, of course."

"That's very kind of you, but you don't need to that, Melanie," he told her.

"I...I'd like to," she replied. "It's the least I can do to repay you, which I can never really do, so...would you let me? Please?"

He looked down for a moment then said, "This may be the oxy talking again, but I can't afford to let myself think you might, you know, a woman like you might actually be interested in me. Not that making dinner means you're interested like that. I'm mostly just sayin'."

Just 48 hours ago, Melanie would have said something snide or at least made a face. But as she stood there looking at this younger man who'd essentially risked his life to protect her, she found herself saying, "Well, who knows? Maybe she could be."

As she walked away Melanie couldn't believe she'd said it, because she really didn't feel interested in him at all. At least not romantically anyway. So why then had she said it?

By the next morning she was regretting that she had. But after what he'd done for her, there was no way she was going to renege on a promise so she stopped by around noon again to ask what time they normally ate.

"Six o'clock?" she repeated after Gregg told her. "Okay. I'm off tonight, too, so I'll have it ready right at six."

"Oh, I thought you were coming over here to make it," he said.

"Oh. I...I just assumed you'd come to my place."

"Well, my mom can't really..."

"Oh, my goodness! I am so sorry. Right."

Melanie pretended to hit herself in the forehead and said, "Duh. No. I'll definitely come over to your place," she said.

"You don't mind?" Gregg asked feeling bad about the miscommunication.

"No. Of course not. I should have thought of that."

"I can come help you bring stuff over and if we don't have the right pans or whatever, I can bring those, too."

Melanie finally smiled again then said, "Your face looks a little better today."

The sudden change of subjects surprised him.

"Oh. Yeah, the swelling's down a bit," he agreed. "Getting ice on it so soon after helped a lot. And thanks for taking care of me."

"What? No! For heaven's sake, you took care of me," she insisted. "I just put ice in a cheap plastic bag."

"Well, it really made a difference."

"How bad does it hurt?" she asked as she surveyed the damage.

"It only hurts when I move," he said.

Before she could reply he added, "Or when I'm sitting or laying down or..."

Suddenly, Melanie felt a lot better again about doing this and was even kind of looking forward to it.

"So I guess I'll stop by around five so dinner will ready by six?" she asked.

"Sounds good," Gregg told her. "And I really can carry things if you need any help."

"No, that's okay," she said with a kind smile. "I got this."

And Melanie did have it. She came over a little after five and made a very simple meal—breakfast for dinner. It was just bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast, but it tasted particularly good because Melanie had taken the time to make it.

Beverly still couldn't get out of bed, but that was no problem as Melanie insisted they pull a couple of chairs into her room and eat together and talk.

"Wait. You graduated from Jasper High?" Gregg said when Melanie mentioned it during the course of their conversation.

"As I said, I barely graduated but yes, I most certainly did," she replied.

"That's where Gregg went," Beverly told her. "Class of 2001."

Melanie was chewing a bite and nearly choked.

"Seriously? Two thousand and one?" she said with feigned unbelief.

"Yes, indeed," Gregg told her.

"Well, I'm not sayin' when I graduated," Melanie announced before finishing the bite.

"Uh, you kind of already did," Gregg said.

"I did not!" she insisted.

"When you told me your age—accidentally, of course—you did sort of tell me the year you graduated. Well, give or take a year."

"Oh, okay. You're pulling the 'I'm good at math' card on me, huh?" she teased.

"Oh, he's very good at math," Beverly told her as the sarcasm went right over her head.

"No, I'm sure he is," Melanie said as she smiled at Gregg. "You don't get through college and become a dentist if you're not."

"I'm not all that smart," Gregg said modestly. "I just don't give up."

"Okay. I'm on to you, Gregg," Melanie teased.

"Doctor Wilkens," Beverly said out of unbridled pride.

Melanie's eyes went from Gregg to Beverly then back to Gregg who was just shaking his head which caused Melanie to laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" Beverly wanted to know.

"Nothing, Mom. It's an inside joke," he said rather than hurt her feelings.

"Oh, okay," she said before finishing her toast.

"So where are you gonna start practicin'?" Melanie asked to change the subject.

"In Plano, I hope. Dallas would be okay if it's the northeast side. Actually, anywhere within a 20-mile radius. I've been talking to three dentists where one of them is getting ready to retire. But I'd have to buy his share, and well, we'll see."

"Are you gonna stay here with your momma?" she asked.

"He's certainly welcome to," Beverly replied before her son could answer.

"Just until she's up and around again. I plan on getting my own place, though, to answer your question."

"Well, you should be able to afford a right nice house bein' a dentist and all," Melanie said.

"A dentist who's up to his eyeballs in student loans," Gregg said with a smile that was a little closer to normal as he really was healing rather quickly.

"I didn't even think about that," Melanie replied.

"I probably won't make much money the first year or two, but once I get established, I'll be okay. And maybe in another ten years or so I'll be completely out of debt."

"It should be smooth sailin' after that though, right?" Melanie offered.

"Yeah. That's the plan anyway."

"Plans. Boy could I use a plan," she said.

"What are your plans, Melanie?" Beverly asked.

"Mom. Please," Gregg said knowing that was a touchy subject.

"I wasn't being nosy, Gregg. I was just politely asking."

"It's fine," Melanie said. "The truth is I don't really make plans. I just kinda fly by the seat of my pants, you know."

No one said anything for several seconds so she said, "And that's been my main problem all my life."

There was another period of silence before said, "That and managing to choose the worst kind of guy a girl could get involved in."

"Oh, you like the edgy kind," Beverly said without any hint of judgment.

"Yes, ma'am. That'd be me."

"I had a bad-boy phase," she said, causing Gregg to perk up.

"You did not," he said.

"It was well before I met your father, but yes, I did like 'em a little on the wild side."

"So...how'd you stop likin' the wild ones?" Melanie asked with genuine interest.

"That's easy," Beverly told her. "I met Gregg's father."

Gregg knew how they met but had never heard about his mom's 'wild side' and was now all ears.

"He seemed so...straight-laced when I met him. I almost didn't give him a second look."

"What changed your mind?" Melanie asked. She'd set her plate aside, and was also 'all ears' but for a very different reason.

"Oh, well that's easy, too. He was so...charming. He was a senior in high school and I was a junior. Every time I turned around he was offering to do something nice for me. At first, I thought it was an act because I was...well, I guess some would say I was..."

"My mom was beautiful. She still is, but I've seen pictures. She was very pretty."

"I don't know about all that, but Gregg's father was so persistent and helpful that I finally said 'okay' after he asked me out three or four times."

"Helpful?" Melanie asked.

"Yes. I was failing math, chemistry, and barely surviving in English. Mark, Gregg's father, saw me in the library trying to do math and asked if he could help. I was mostly talking to my friends with the book open, but he seemed to know all about me. I gave him a dismissive look and he walked away. But he kept coming back and one day I let him help me."

"And that changed things?" Melanie asked.

"Oh, heavens no! I still had my eye on the baddest boy in school. He smoked and drank and rode a Harley, and he had the most amazing long hair I'd..."

"Mom? I'm sitting right here, you know," Gregg said having heard enough.

"Sorry, honey. Anyway, by the spring, Mark had quite literally saved me from failing and when he asked me to the prom, I reluctantly said 'yes'. We had a nice enough time, but I wouldn't go out with again until summer, and even then I wasn't ready to give up chasing boys in leather jackets. Anyway, he went into the Army and came back three years later, and I'd just gone through another terrible breakup, and there stood Mark Wilkens at my front door a few days later. I swear I didn't even recognize him, but as soon as he said 'hello' I invited him in. And the rest is, as they say..."

"History," Melanie said finishing the sentence.

"So he was better lookin' when he came home?" Melanie asked.

"No. Not really. But he looked so...good...to me, you know? He was everything I needed but wouldn't admit before that because I wasn't ready. But once I saw him, I didn't care that he wasn't exactly drop-dead handsome."

"I wish I knew the secret," Melanie told her.

"There's no secret, Melanie. It's a conscious decision. You just decide to change. It's no more complicated than that," Beverly told her.

"You make it sound so easy."

"I didn't say it was easy. I said it was an intentional decision."

Several more seconds passed in silence before Melanie said, "I suppose you're right, Beverly. It's just that making it seems so hard, you know?"

"I do. But when the right guy comes along, it won't be quite so difficult," the older woman promised.

Starting to feel depressed, Melanie looked over at Greg then said in a more cheerful voice, "Can I get anyone anything else?"

"Not me," Beverly told her. "That was just so good. I sometimes forget what a treat breakfast for dinner can be."

"I'm good," Gregg told her when she glanced at him.

"All right then. I'll go ahead and grab your plates and get 'em cleaned up then I'll be outta your hair."

"Oh, no. You are not washing the dishes," Gregg told her. "No way."

He got up and took his mom's plate then held out his hand for Melanie's.

She looked at him for a second as she tried to imagine Landry, or any guy she'd ever dated, doing something like that after knowing him for more than a few days.

She smiled, handed him the plate, then said, "Thank you, Gregg."

"It's the least I can do after you made dinner."

"Scrambling a few eggs and putting bacon strips in a pan isn't exactly cooking," she reminded him.

"No, but you made toast, too, and you managed not to burn it, and that is cooking," he said very seriously.

"Your son's a nut," she said to Beverly as she smiled at Gregg.

"He's got a wonderful sense of humor. Even after Mark passed away, he never stopped smiling or trying to make me laugh."

"I was wondering about your husband but didn't want to ask. I'm so sorry to hear that, Beverly," Melanie told her after Gregg left with both hands full of plates and utensils.

"It was very hard, that's for sure. He loved playing pick-up basketball with his friends. One Saturday morning he left early to go play, and he had a heart attack on the court. I never even got to say goodbye," Beverly said quietly.

"It was actually an aortic aneurysm," Gregg called out.

"Oh, right," Beverly agreed. "I'd never even heard of such a thing, but Gregg's right. It wasn't a heart attack even though the end result was the same."

Greg walked over to the bedroom door and said, "His aorta, the largest artery in the body, had a bulge in it where it meets the heart no one knew about. In fact, he could have gotten off a treadmill during a physical exam, and the doctor would have told him he was perfectly healthy. Until the bulge ruptured."

"That's...that's awful," Melanie said in horror.

"The only good news is he was probably unaware. It happened so fast he passed out immediately and was gone in a couple of minutes. Even if it had happened in a hospital, they still wouldn't have been able to save him."

"Oh, my goodness. I am just so sorry," Melanie said again.

"Thanks," Gregg said before going back to the kitchen.

"Thank you," Beverly told her again, too.

"I have a picture of him over there on the wall," Beverly said, pointing to it.

Melanie got and took a look and immediately saw Gregg in him. She also noticed that Beverly was quite a bit better looking than her husband, and although Melanie wasn't ready to admit it, the things she'd told her had made an impression. Or more accurately, they'd helped serve to confirm the things she already knew but wasn't yet ready to abandon.

"What a beautiful family," she said as she looked at the three of them. "I'd love to have that one day."

"It's not too late, you know," Beverly reminded her.

"No. No, it isn't," Melanie agreed as she turned around. "I'd just have to grow up and stop...what did you call it? Chasing leather?"

Beverly laughed even though it hurt.

"Yes, bad boys in leather. That was my big weakness. Looking back, it seems so silly, but at 18 or 19, I couldn't see past the external things, you know?"

Melanie could see Gregg through the doorjamb and said to Beverly, "Yes. Unfortunately, I very much do know what you mean, I'm still doin' it at 35."

She sighed deeply then said, "If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go dry the dishes Gregg's washing."

"Oh, sure. And thank you again for making dinner," Beverly told her.

"It was pleasure. And thank you for the advice."

"Do you know what I really couldn't see back when I was young?" Beverly asked her just as she was turning to leave.

Melanie stopped turning and listened.

"I couldn't see that true love was right in front of me. I was so focused on all the excitement of being with a certain kind of boy that I wasn't able to see the real thing even when it was standing right there looking at me."

"But at some point you did, and that's all that matters, right?"

Beverly smiled and said, "That's true. It was almost like...scales falling from my eyes, you know? Once they did, everything was so clear. I wanted someone to love me more than anyone else on earth, and it became obvious that had nothing to do with leather jackets or motorcycles or going to bars."

For a moment, it looked like Beverly might cry before she said, "That man was Mark. He was right there in front of me and I couldn't even see him because I was too blind to see."

She looked over at Melanie and said, "Don't let that happen to you, honey. It really isn't too late."

Feeling like she might cry herself, Melanie walked over to the bed then bent down and hugged her.

As she did her best to hug the older woman, Melanie said, "I sure hope you're right."

When she raised up, Beverly smiled again and told her, "I am. I promise you I am. All you have to do is open your eyes."

Melanie briefly took her hand then said, "I also hope you feel better soon."

Beverly thanked her then watched her walk out of the bedroom.

"You need some help over there, doc?" she asked Gregg.

"Nope. I'm drying the last of them, but thank you for offering."

The plates were neatly stacked inside the pan she'd used for the bacon with the knives and forks laid across them in an orderly way. Melanie couldn't help but see that as a metaphor for Gregg's life while hers would be represented by broken plates with the silverware randomly scattered over the broken pieces with everything laying on the floor.

She picked up the small stack of things and smiled at Gregg.

"Well, I guess I'll be seein' you around, cowboy," she told him.

"Yeah. I suppose so," he replied.

Melanie headed for the door and Gregg opened the door for her when she got there.

"Can I help you with anything?" he asked.

"Um...yes, actually. Could you unlock my door for me?"

"Yeah. Sure. Where are your keys?"

Melanie laughed then said, "On second thought, maybe you should carry the dishes."

When she looked down at her pants, Gregg shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"

"You're not embarrassed about that, are you?"

"No. Not unless I think about it," he told her.

His dry sense of humor made her laugh again, and she said, "Here. You take these, and I'll fish out the key."

Gregg carried them inside and sat them on her kitchen counter then thanked her again for making dinner.

"I had a really nice time," she told him.

"I could tell my mom really enjoyed having some company," Gregg told her. "And that goes for me, too."

"Oh, sure. Yeah, it was nice hangin' out with you," Melanie told him. "I can't remember the last time I did so something so simple yet so pleasant."

Gregg smiled at her and she thought about the things Beverly had just shared with her, and wished she could get beyond all the superficial...crap...that kept her looking for love in all the wrong places. She almost even asked Gregg if he'd like to get together and do something sometime, but the words just wouldn't come.

"Well, I guess I'll mosey on down to the back 40," he said, nodding toward his mom's condo.

"You have the most amazing sense of humor," Melanie told him.

"That's a first," Gregg said.

"What is?"

"My sense of humor has been called great, fantastic, and wonderful. But it's never been referred to as amazing before."

His deadpan delivery was downright adorable, and Melanie laughed again.

"That's exactly what I meant," she told him.

He smiled again then looked toward the door and said, "Oh. I was serious about the carpet. I'm already feeling good enough to take care of it for you whenever you're ready."

"That is so sweet of you, but I don't think I could even afford to buy any on sale. But I'm glad you're feelin' better."

He hesitated then said, "I uh, I always feel better whenever you're around, Melanie."

He looked at her just as he finished saying that, and Melanie had to look away. She wanted to look back. She wanted to smile, too. A part of her even wanted to tell him the same thing.

Instead she just said, "Oh, that's...that's very nice of you to say, Gregg."

"Well, since I am feeling so much better, you don't need to feel obligated to keep checking up on me," he told her as he turned away. He hadn't expected her to say anything 'in kind' and when she didn't, it was no big surprise.

She did walk him to the door where he thanked her one more time.

"Good night, Gregg," she said sweetly with a weak smile.

"Night, Melanie."

The following day, Melanie was getting ready to go to work, when the same two police officers who'd arrived first on the scene stopped by to let her know Landry was out on bail.

"Oh, my God," Melanie said quietly.

One of the police officers brought up a restraining order, and she asked how to go about doing that. He explained the procedure and then emphasized why it was so important.