Intervention

"Hi, sugar, you miss me?" she said as she swung into the empty seat on the other side of the booth.

"Did you go somewhere?" Dean said, his face dispassionate as he looked up from his books. "Oh yeah, that's right, your mother said that you went up to Concord for the weekend. Did you have a good time?"

Melanie found herself taken aback for a moment, unaware that Dean had known about her weekend excursion. A light of caution flashed in her mind as she considered her next responses carefully.

"It was okay," she said indifferently, as it had been nothing out of the ordinary.

"Anyone else go with you," Dean asked, "I know you don't really like to drive on long trips and Concord is, what, three or four hours away?"

"Oh, just the girls, you know, the usual bunch," Melanie said, trying to make it sound like just another one of those impromptu trips that they sometimes made.

She didn't give him a chance to ask any other questions about the trip as she quickly changed the subject from the weekend past to the one coming up, telling him in a burst of exuberance that she was looking forward to the concert down in Philadelphia.

Dean waited a very long moment before reacting. So long that a look of concern began to appear on Melanie's face.

"I thought we were supposed to be spending some time apart, isn't that what you said?" Dean finally replied. "To see if we really belonged together as a couple."

"Where did you ever get a silly idea like that?" Melanie said, acting like it was the first she was hearing of it. "Of course we belong together."

"That's not what you said Friday afternoon," Dean reminded her.

"Oh, don't pay any attention to that. I was just upset about those silly earrings," Melanie said, appearing to relent.

Again, Dean took his time in answering, prompting Melanie to raise the ante.

"You know, I was thinking, maybe we could stay overnight in Philadelphia after the concert and see what happens," she said.

"And what do you think might happen?" Dean asked.

"Oh, you know," Melanie continued.

"No, actually, I don't," Dean countered. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Here, in front of all these people?" Melanie replied.

"You could whisper it in my ear," Dean suggested.

"I'd rather it be a surprise," Melanie finally said.

"Well, I guess it really doesn't matter, because I don't have the tickets anymore, I sold them Saturday afternoon and used the money to finally get that computer I wanted. Picked it up yesterday."

"You spent my concert tickets on some stupid computer?" Melanie said, her flash of anger causing her to momentarily forget herself. "I mean, why would you do that?"

"Oh, let's just say I had an awakening," Dean offered.

"I don't understand," Melanie said, not used to having things not go her way. "What does that mean?"

"For one thing, I guess it means that you won't be going to the concert," Dean said, barely managing to suppress a smile.

"But I really wanted to go," Melanie insisted, not seeming to grasp yet that she had lost a lot more than the concert tickets.

"Well, here's a thought; why don't you ask Matt to take you?" Dean suggested, his smile now clear. "I hear he loves to take weekend road trips."

With that, he turned his attention back to the textbooks spread out in front of him, the smile on his face now impossible to get rid of.

Melanie sat there for a few long seconds before finally lifting herself out of the seat and quickly heading for the door. The expression on her face was one she really didn't want anyone else to see as it finally sunk in that she had just lost the best thing she had going for herself.

Watching her exit, Shirley also couldn't help but smile. Like the star of one of her favorite television shows, she loved it when a plan came together.

END