Melody For A New Day

Some officers rushed to check on them, saw they were okay, and headed toward the destroyed car.

David now had time to examine Auden closely and saw she had a shallow cut on her forehead.

"That son of a bitch!" David snarled, but her grip on his arm kept him from going after Jeff.

David spotted Officer Blane hustling over to them.

"Are you two all right?" the man asked.

"Cuts and bruises," David responded between clenched teeth.

"An ambulance is on its way. Why don't you have a seat on the bench there," Blane suggested, so they stepped off the street and sat side by side. "Can you tell me how this started?"

David nodded. "We were having dinner with a friend in the Lofton Estates neighborhood, Chelsea Cartright. We didn't know Jeff lived next door until she mentioned her neighbors were the Ducanes. After we left, I saw headlights rushing after us, and he tried to get us to pull over. I asked Auden to call the police." David explained how Jeff became more aggressive and dangerous, crashing into them multiple times. Auden added her comments and said they recorded her on the emergency call.

Officer Blane nodded as he made notes. When they were finished, he looked at them. "George Ducane, Jeff's father, reported that Jeff stole his car. That may impact your ability to get compensation from the car owner."

"More importantly, I want charges filed against Jeff, as he could have killed us," David growled, and the officer nodded.

They watched the police swarming over the wreck of the car. It seemed Jeff was trapped in it as the roof had collapsed when it went under the truck.

Firetrucks arrived, and an ambulance. Blane directed the paramedics to the two on the bench, but David insisted they treat Auden first.

George Ducane arrived and stood on the sidewalk, staring at the destruction. David walked closer, nursing the cut on his left arm, which was beginning to truly sting. He locked eyes with the man. "Your son just tried to kill Auden and me."

The man froze, then shook his head disbelievingly. "I'm sure you're exaggerating--"

David gave him an incredulous look as he gestured around them. "Jeff seems unwilling to accept responsibility for his actions. I now see where he learned that behavior," he said stiffly, then returned to the ambulance.

It was David's turn for bandages, but luckily, neither had any significant injuries.

He glanced over at his truck, still lying on its side, and he could tell it was a write-off. The twisting of the frame from the collision was clearly visible.

He turned to watch the firefighters peeling the car's roof back and the driver-side door off. Finally, they were able to extract Jeff and strap him to a backboard. From the bracing they used and the care they were taking, he might have had head trauma and broken ribs at the least. The ambulance rushed away with him and a police escort.

Excitement over, Officer Blane drove David and Auden to Melody's home. He told them the truck would be taken to the impound lot for assessment, but he was also convinced it couldn't be recovered. The young couple thanked him for his help as they left the cruiser.

When they got inside, Melody gasped as she stared at their bandages. "What happened?" she cried.

"That Chelsea's a wild one!" David said with a crooked grin.

"WHAT?" Melody gasped, causing David to chuckle. He quickly stopped as he ran out of steam.

Auden watched David with a small smile and saw how exhausted he was, so she gave Melody a quick summary of the evening's finale.

"I just want to go to bed and snuggle between my ladies, as today has been too long. We have school tomorrow, and now we'll be riding the bus until I can sort things out with my insurance and George Ducane's," David said wearily.

"You can take the Continental," Melody offered.

David looked at her in surprise, then leaned over and kissed her sweetly. "Thank you."

Melody smiled, and the three climbed the stairs to put the day behind them.

-=-

The next day at school, the rumor mill was running wild. David and Auden were the center of focus as they were still in their bandages. They'd also arrived at school in a vintage car.

Mr. Jenny, the auto shop teacher, was in the lot as they parked and quickly walked over to take a closer look. David popped the hood to let him inspect the engine, the interior, and the trunk. He could tell the teacher was very interested in it from how he was all but drooling.

"Might you be interested in selling this lovely car?" the teacher asked with a poor attempt at nonchalance.

David grinned. "The owner is a good friend of mine, and yes, she's putting it on the market. She's a recent widow and bought herself a new car."

Mr. Jenney's eyes lit up, and he pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket to scribble his name and number. "I'd like to make the first offer." He handed the paper to David.

"I'll speak to her tonight," David said.

With a happy nod, Mr. Jenny hustled away to his classroom.

Midmorning, David and Auden found themselves in a hallway facing the remaining members of Jeff and Rebecca's group. Dennis stepped forward. "Could you tell us what happened with Jeff last night?"

David was surprised by the lack of aggression in his tone. It was a far cry from the hostility he'd received since their falling out.

So, he told them.

Some started protesting, but Dennis shut them down with a raised hand and faced the group.

"Listen, I spoke with Jeff a few days ago, and the guy was irrationally set on revenge. I tried to talk him out of it and told him I wanted nothing to do with that shit." He looked at David. "I never expected Jeff would do something this bad. I'm truly sorry. We won't hassle you anymore. Take care."

The others were staring at Dennis in shock. "Let's go. We got classes." They moved.

David was impressed, and Auden smiled all the way to their next class.

-=-

Auden spoke with Ms. Moreau as everyone else left the art class. David waited by the door and glanced over to see them whispering to each other with little secretive smiles on their lips.

He gave Auden a curious look when he saw the heat in her eyes. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he saw the teacher was showing the same interest.

Auden handed the teacher a business card from her flower shop, then joined David, who followed her from the room.

"What was that about?" he asked when they had privacy.

"Nothing for now, but once the school year is over, we might have a dinner engagement with a certain teacher," Auden said with a coy smile.

David was stunned. "Ms. Moreau?" he whispered back.

Auden nodded. "I've always been curious about her. Her style is so Bohemian, and I discovered she is far more adventurous than her position here allows. She's been in the flower shop, and we've shared a few points of interest." Auden smiled at him. "You're now one of them."

David looked at her closely. "Are you sure? Our last dinner date went well, but Ms. Moreau is no Chelsea."

Auden looked at him closely. "Do you think you might drop me for her?"

David scoffed. "No! That's not what I mean! I'm just concerned this... inclusiveness might dilute what we have? Am I saying that right? Sorry, I'm a complete novice at this."

She smiled and hugged him. "So am I! If it wasn't for your support, I wouldn't have the nerve to explore these passions! I'm so grateful for the chain of events that led you to me."

David smiled self-consciously. "You mean my finally realizing what a loser I'd been for following Jeff and his posse for most of my high school career? Then, being humiliated by said idiot, fighting him, and missing an exam. There's a whole chain of events after that which Melody played a major role in."

Auden's smile was wide, and her eyes twinkled happily. "Yes, that! And I'm grateful to her as well!"

"Let's go home and show her our thanks by covering her with kisses," David said.

Auden laughed and looped her arm through his, and off they went.

As they slowly cruised home in the mammoth car, Auden rested her head on David's shoulder and left her hand on his leg. He couldn't help reflecting on how different his final high school days were from the previous years.

As a self-conscious follower in Jeff's posse, too nervous to take the initiative and hiding in the shadows of his friends, he'd missed out on so much.

It was true that he'd decided on his own to break away from his old friends, but Melody was instrumental in giving him the confidence to follow his new path.

All the more reason to give that woman kisses.

Chapter 7

David and Auden opted to skip their graduation ceremony and went out to a nice restaurant with Melody and David's family instead. He gave his mother a warm hug, the first since the revelation, and Jackie was pretty emotional about her baby growing up.

Melody presented David with the Breitling watch, and she was pleased to see how much better it looked on him. She'd taken it to the jewelers to have it cleaned, its battery replaced, and they added the spare links she'd found in her husband's dresser to expand the band for David's thicker wrist.

David was very pleased with it.

With graduation behind them, Auden's summer would be filled with taking care of her shops and planning her trips to visit the other stores.

On David's first day, he followed Melody's advice, dropping by the physiotherapy clinic to speak with the office administrator to inquire about the intern selection process. He wore one of his new outfits, including his new watch.

Barbara Sterling was a lovely blonde woman in her late forties who dressed sharply and had a presence that assured you that she was already on top of whatever crisis might occur. She was between meetings when she met David in the reception area. He noted her lack of a wedding band, the quality of her jewelry, and the stylish outfit on her curvy but reasonably fit body.

"Administrator Sterling, so nice to meet you again," David said confidently.

Barbara paused as she tried to place him then her smile widened. "David Spencer? I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you at first."

David chuckled gently and nodded with a twinkle in his eye. "That's understandable, as I'm no longer a high school student." Truthfully, his last appearance in this clinic was when he'd dropped off his application for the intern job. He'd been in a hoodie, shorts, and loose runners at the time. Not the best impression.

She couldn't stop herself from smiling in return. "What's the reason for your visit today? You haven't injured yourself, I hope!" This gave her an excuse to run her eyes up and down his body as if looking for damage.

He shook his head slightly, grinned, and subtly adjusted his stance to turn his body toward her as he held his palms out to calm her. "No, I'm fit, healthy, and injury-free!"

When her eyes eventually returned to his, he continued. "I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by to inquire how the summer intern selection process was going."

Her smile widened. "That's right! You're one of our candidates!"

David nodded, then glanced around. "It looks like the center has had some upgrades since I was here for treatment."

Barbara paused for a second as she gazed at him with a little smile on her lips. "Would you like to see what we've done?" she asked.

"Very much, if you have the time," he replied, and her smile widened.

They made their way into the facility as she pointed out the improvements. David listened attentively, commented when appropriate, and praised her efforts to modernize the clinic. She especially appreciated the latter, and he saw her touching her shoulder-length hair with a pleased expression whenever he complimented her.

He noted she stole glances at his physique when she thought he wasn't watching, so he hoped that was working in his favor, too.

Barbara introduced him to the other members of the staff, some of whom would be voting for the new intern, and he got to say hello to the therapist who'd helped him with his injury.

As they returned to the entrance, Barbara reached out and touched his arm. Her eyes flared a little as she felt the solid muscle there. "The selection process should be complete in the next week or two."

David turned to face her, took her hand in his, and looked into her eyes with a smile. "I'll keep up the positive thoughts then. Thank you so much for your time and the tour. You have a very impressive clinic in your care. I hope to one day be in your care as well."

Barbara's eyes widened, and she burst into nervous giggles.

David paused and reviewed what he'd said as his face heated up. He gave her a bashful grin. "My words were clumsy, but the sentiment remains true."

It was Barbara's turn to feel the heat rush through her body as her imagination ran wild.

David released her hand, and with a nod, he turned and left the building, feeling her gaze on his ass the entire way.

Aside from the tangled words at the end, he felt good about his chances and would thank Melody for her brilliant advice when he got home.

-=-

Melody was enjoying her new freedom. Between sessions at the fitness club where she and Chelsea caught up, she made plans for updating her home to excise any signs of her ex-husband.

David and Auden helped Melody pack all the items in her son's room. There were only two small boxes of personal items, which she put in the basement just in case, but the rest was donated to charity as she knew her son wasn't coming back for it. The queen-size canopy bed, which had been hers when she got married, had been replaced with the king-size bed by her husband. When her son moved to the room at the end of the hall, he'd used it. It and the matching dresser and mirror would find a new home next door.

She'd sold the beast of a car to Mr. Jenny and put that money toward purchasing a new, previously used truck for David as his insurance claim was tied up in court. He insisted he'd pay her back.

Speaking of court, Melody went with David to attend the criminal case against Jeff. George Ducane was doing what he could to limit the damage to his son's future. The man had his son plead not guilty due to mental impairment brought on by his addiction to anabolic steroids.

As George reported Jeff's theft of his car to the police prior to what his legal team was calling the incident with David Spencer's truck, George's insurance company claimed he and they were not responsible for damages. Jeff was not insured on his father's car, as he had his own, and Jeff's savings were currently frozen due to his claim of mental impairment.

George and his lawyers were pulling out all the stops to prevent Jeff from facing any repercussions for his actions. David just shook his head and whispered to her that he hoped it cost them a lot of money.

Two members of Jeff's posse spoke at the hearing and damaged Jeff's case with testimony of Jeff's history of being obsessed with controlling their group. His losing his shit when David broke away from his influence was just the last straw. This attitude was in place well before he began the drugs to bulk up.

Seeing the sour expressions on Jeff's and his dad's faces as they saw the scowl on the judge's face put a smile back on David's. But the case was ongoing.

Keith and Jackie were working on rebuilding the trust in their relationship. While it was early days, Melody and David were concerned as Keith seemed to have lost his playfulness. They hoped he'd find the strength to forgive Jackie for keeping her secret from him.

He had to let go of his hurt for everyone's sake but mostly his own.

-=-

The summer was heating up, and it was time to enjoy the pool. Instead, David was inside vigilantly working on the bedroom renovations for Suzanne and, soon, Rick. He'd taken a brief break to visit Melody as she lounged in the heat of her private backyard.

He left her tingling from head to toe after he'd brought her to the heights of bliss with his clever mouth and fingers. She said he was becoming an expert at that.

After a quick refresh in the washroom, David returned to examine his work. He stood in his old room with a smile on his face. The space was now bright and cheerful with a definite feminine feeling.

He heard the front door open and close with a thump and walked to the top of the stairs. Suzanne was standing at the bottom with an excited grin.

"Enjoy your time with Bianca?" he asked as his sister had a sleepover at her bestie's place the night before to keep her from spying on the progress of her new room. Her grin amped up.

"Is it ready?" she asked with an excited squeak, and he smiled with a nod.

Suzanne rushed up the stairs and stood before the closed door. A new nameplate was attached with her name written in script. She touched it reverently and traced the letters with a finger. David saw her trembling with excitement, and she glanced at him in anticipation. He nodded to her, and she opened the door.

David had turned to Melody for advice on designing the room. She'd seen how masculine his room had been, so it needed a refresh with a much lighter tone.

The walls were painted a light creamy yellow, and the baseboards a fresh pale green. Even the ceiling got a fresh coat of white paint.

David moved Melody's canopy bed, the dresser, and the mirror frame into her garage, sanded them down to the smooth wood, then painted them white. He replaced all the handle hardware with antique brass and cut crystal parts he'd found in an old antique furniture shop. Melody found gauzy pale green curtains with brass rings to hang from the canopy rails on three sides.

They kept the existing box spring, but David found a good deal on a new pillowtop queen mattress.

As a final touch, he found a pretty desk lamp with dangling crystals, then added the warm yellow glow of LED fairy light strips to the canopy rails. Suzanne could turn these on with a remote.

He left his desk for her to do her homework on. It didn't match the room's décor but was a great surface.

He looked at the expression on Suzanne's face and tried to see if she was happy.

All he saw was her shock.

"I know you'll want to decorate it to your taste, but I'm told this color palette is better suited for that."

Suzanne turned her face to her brother and burst into tears. She flung herself against him and wrapped her arms around his waist, squeezing him tight.

"Does this mean you like it?" he asked carefully.

She pulled her face back and looked up at him. "It's beautiful! I love it," she said softly.

"Sorry, I didn't have time to refinish the desk. I can do it later--"

"No! I want to keep it as it is. It reminds me of you. You did your homework there every day," Suzanne said with a trembling smile.

"Ah, okay," he said in surprise.

As she stepped back, he handed her a small remote. "Press the button."

Glancing up at him, she pressed her thumb on the control, and the fairy lights came on.

Suzanne squeaked in surprise and then bounced on her toes. "Oh my god! It's so beautiful! Bianca is going to die when she sees this!" she squealed.

David moved her computer from her room to his old desk, so he turned it on. The screen suddenly displayed a desktop showing a boy band. He chuckled, and she immediately became defensive.

"Shut up! Their music is good!" she said, but her tone had no venom.

He raised his hands in surrender. "I guess you'll be putting posters of them up on the freshly painted walls," he said in fake dismay.

"No... not for a while. The room is so beautiful. I'm just going to enjoy it as it is--"

"Holy shit!" Rick exclaimed from the doorway. "No fair! Suzy gets special treatment!"

David held up a finger as he clamped down on his immediate response to snap back at his younger brother. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then turned to face Rick.