Melody For A New Day

Hearing the imminent tears, Melody consoled her. "Of course, you have me! David and Auden will also be your friends, regardless of what you decide on your date night. I'll speak with them to make the arrangements and let you know when it can happen."

"Thank you, Melody. You really are the best!" Chelsea sniffed, but her upbeat disposition was already rebounding. "I'll wait for your call."

"Take care, Chelsea."

"Bye!"

She rested briefly, then called Officer Blane and gave him her cell number and email address for his records. He thanked her then they hung up.

Melody got up from the couch to walk to the kitchen to prepare her lunch when she heard the doorbell. Frowning, she changed course, looked through the peephole, and saw Keith on her step again.

She opened the door and gave him a concerned look. "Keith, is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no. I was so rushed this morning that we didn't really have much time to talk. It's my lunch hour, so I came home to check on Jackie. She's resting, so I thought I'd see if you could continue our talk," he said quickly.

"Certainly, come in!" Melody said and stepped back. Keith stepped inside, and they took seats in the living room again.

He gave her a crooked smile. "It's easier to discuss this with David and Auden at school. Oh! You can let David know his mother is making dinner for us tonight." She just nodded with a smile, so he continued. "David told me how much you helped him over the weekend, and I can see such a dramatic and positive change in his behavior. I'm truly grateful for that. As I said this morning, I'm still struggling with the relationships he's in."

Melody nodded. "I wasn't expecting anything like this myself, but it arrived when I was at my lowest moment and saved me. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm hopeful."

Keith nodded gently, then frowned. "I-I'm at a loss as to what to do with Jackie. She's so emotionally distraught about David's relationship with you and David's decision to move in with you. The scope of her anxiety is frightening. I've never seen her like this."

Melody nodded and wondered if she could draw some answers from Keith. She'd have to be very careful about what she said.

"This weekend, David mentioned Jackie also experienced a lot of stress when she had to return to work. There were some bad days?"

Keith nodded glumly. "I remember them well. She was not a happy person for months, and when I begged her to quit and look for another job, she'd flare at me and tell me she couldn't and remind me that we needed the money." He looked at her. "Our expenses were getting out of hand, and the extra paycheck was needed, but she was so unhappy." Keith smiled. "Then David began helping at home, and Jackie's mood swung around one-eighty, and we've been happy ever since." His smile slipped. "I don't know what to do this time."

Melody nodded and decided to take a chance. "I've been worried about Jackie too. I remembered David saying Jackie returned home from work with a lot of stress, so I dropped by Jackie's office this morning. I saw the environment was very nice and learned that her coworkers love Jackie. They told me she's really good at her job and that her manager has been grooming her to take over his job for years. I met him briefly and saw that he isn't well. I didn't get to spend any time with him to see if he might be a source of stress."

Keith frowned and gave her a stern look. "Why would you think her job is the current source of her anxiety when she's clearly upset about you and David?"

Melody realized she might have overstepped. She certainly couldn't explain about the massages Jackie was getting from David as proof of her current job stress.

"No, of course, Jackie is upset about me being with David. I was just considering the idea that there might be some underlying cause this event just released," she explained. That was as close to the truth as she was willing to go.

Keith nodded but seemed dissatisfied with her answer. He glanced at his watch and sighed. "Sorry, I'm out of time. I gotta head back to work."

They stood, and Melody followed him to the door. "I'm terribly sorry Jackie is suffering like this. I'm certainly willing to sit down with you both to talk this through."

That brought some relief to Keith as he turned on her steps to smile at her. "I'd welcome that. I'll speak with her tonight and let you know. Thanks!"

Melody watched him jog over to his driveway, get into his car and drive off. She was still in her doorway when a police car pulled into her driveway and stopped. The driver got out, and she saw it was Officer Blane. He reached into the back seat and lifted out a file box and her husband's carry-on sealed inside a clear plastic bag. He carried these items up to her front door and placed them on the landing before her.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Dawson," he said.

"Officer Blane, nice to see you, though I wasn't expecting it to be so soon. What do you have there?" she asked, but she already had some idea.

"The Arizona Sherrif's department couriered your husband's effects and paperwork to us this morning. As I was going to be in the neighborhood, I offered to drop it off," he said with a nod.

He then frowned. "Oh! It seems his golf clubs were found in the trunk of Mr. Ballsom's car. Evidently, Ballsom believed you wouldn't mind him keeping them after he dealt with your husband," the officer said. "They're still in evidence as he's being charged with felony theft as well, but we can get them to you once the paperwork is done on the case.

Melody shuddered. "What a horrid little man he is!" She hugged her arms around herself. "I don't want the clubs."

Blane looked at her carefully. "Are you sure? I'm told they're quite valuable." He flipped open his notepad to read something. "They're Japanese. Honma Beres Black. One of my colleagues looked them up and said the set with the extras must have cost well over six thousand dollars!"

"What?" Melody exclaimed in shock.

Blane continued, oblivious to how upset Melody was becoming. "Apparently, there are some specialized drivers as well as the full set of irons in the custom Honma bag." He looked up and saw how angry Melody was becoming as her eyes were glassy with unshed tears. "Oh! I'm sorry," he gasped.

She gave her head a brief shake and gestured to her car. "The fact that that cheap bastard would indulge in expensive toys for himself while restricting our budget on--" Her throat closed up, preventing her from finishing her point.

Officer Blane's face reddened in embarrassment. "I'm terribly sorry for my insensitive handling of this."

Melody reached out a hand and touched his arm as she shook her head. "No! No, I'm sorry for this. I shouldn't burden you with my frustration." She took some deep breaths, wiped her eyes, then forced a smile back onto her lips. "Thank you for your help with everything." She took another breath. "I'll accept the golf clubs when you're done with them. I'll see how much I can sell them for."

The officer gave her a tentative smile, then returned to his cruiser.

Melody picked up the file box, noting its weight, and then put it inside the house before returning for the plastic-encased carry-on.

Once she closed the door, she carried the file box into the living room, placed it on the coffee table, and sat on the couch facing it. She removed the lid and looked inside. A large manila envelope was on top, which she pulled out and opened. It contained multiple copies of the official death certificate, which meant she could give one to her lawyer and the account manager at the bank.

Looking back inside the box, she spotted a white cardboard box sealed in plastic. Lifting it out, she saw the printing on it indicated it was the cremation ashes.

This was all that remained of the cold bastard.

She set them on the coffee table and contemplated how someone she once loved could end up like this.

Melody leaned back on the cushions and allowed herself a moment to cry for what should have been.

She took some deep, shuddering breaths as she fought for control once more. She swore she would shed no more tears for this man. His place in her heart was gone.

Melody picked up her cell and quickly searched the Internet to see if there was any value in sprinkling the ashes in the garden or under a tree and saw that wasn't a good idea. Instead, she picked up the box, carried it through the kitchen into the garage, and dropped it in the garbage can. It would go to the curb this Friday.

That done, she put him out of her mind and grabbed the box of black garbage bags from the shelf above the can. Returning to the living room, she went through the remaining items in the box, tossing the few clothing items and his shoes into a black bag to be donated.

She was pleased to see his set of keys. This meant they could pick up his car tonight.

His wallet contained over three hundred in cash, his credit cards, a membership card to the local golf country club, the airport parking stub for his car, and little else. She'd have to call a few places, like the country club, to cancel his membership.

His watch was a lovely classic silver and blue Breitling with a silver metal band. She'd always admired the watch's rugged and stylish look but thought her husband didn't suit the watch. While he had bony wrists, his arms weren't muscular enough to match the strength of the watch's design.

Her son wouldn't want it, but she thought it might look very nice on David's wrist. She decided to offer it to him, so she set it aside.

His wedding band and an ugly pinky ring, something else she found distasteful, went into a pile of items to sell.

Melody paused for a moment, then looked at her own hand. She still had on her wedding band and engagement ring. She wasn't even aware of them any longer, but it was time to take them off.

They were a little tight, but she felt an odd sense of liberation and sadness once they were on the table before her.

All four rings went into a pile she would tuck away in a corner of her jewelry box. She realized the rings weren't valuable enough to sell. One more symbol of her husband's cheap nature.

She carried the box of garbage bags upstairs and began unloading her husband's dresser drawers into bags. Everything was going, except the underwear. That was going into the trash.

Next, she tackled his closet. She didn't realize just how many suits he had.

Melody netted over sixty dollars in loose bills from his suit jackets and pants pockets. That would go towards the parking fee for his car tonight.

Eventually, she heard the thump of the front door and David's voice calling out. She looked at the clock in surprise and realized she'd spent the afternoon on this task and missed lunch.

"I'm upstairs!" she called out.

"There's a suitcase in a plastic bag by the front door," David called out.

"Oh! Can you bring that upstairs?" she called back.

Soon, David and Auden entered the room, and he handed her the bag.

"Going on a trip?" he asked with a grin before he leaned in and got a kiss. Auden was next and smiled at her happily.

She grinned at them. "No, I was just preparing to drop off all these clothes at a donation center." She turned to look at David and Auden. "Could we do that tonight?" They nodded. "I also need a lift to the airport to pick up the car."

"No problem. Do you know where in the lot he parked it?" David asked.

Melody paused, then looked at him with a frustrated frown. "No."

David hugged her. "It's no problem. I'll drive us through the lot until you see it."

"Maybe we could go out for dinner afterward, my treat? I missed lunch," she said.

"Works for me," David replied, and Auden nodded. "I need to get dinner started--"

"Actually, your father stopped by at lunch to speak with me. He mentioned your mother was making dinner tonight. She stayed home today," Melody said as she recalled the conversation.

David raised an eyebrow. "Dad stopped by?"

Melody nodded. "He didn't have much time to talk. He first stopped on his way to work but had to leave almost immediately. Then he returned at lunch after checking on Jackie, but again, it was only for a moment. He's struggling with what to do, and I offered to speak with them both. He agreed that would be helpful. I'm unsure when he plans to make that happen, though."

"Are you done with clearing the drawers?" David asked.

She nodded. "The only thing left are his shoes."

Auden knelt down before the closet and began lifting the pairs of shoes out. "He has a surprising collection of kicks, and none are dusty!" she noted. "Did he wear them all frequently?"

Melody picked up a pair of loafers and tried to recall ever seeing him wear them. They felt a little heavy in the toes, so she tilted them up, and something slid into view in both shoes. "What?" she exclaimed.

David was looking at her in surprise. "Are those rolls of cash?"

She pulled them out of the shoes, dropped the loafers on the floor, and removed the elastic band from one of the rolls. It was cash! After a quick count, she realized the first bundle had fifteen hundred in it! She checked the other roll, which had two thousand, eight hundred and fifty-five dollars!

She looked down at the floor beside Auden and saw she'd discovered eighteen more rolls, and some were very thick.

"What was he doing?" Melody asked herself quietly.

"Rainy day money? Secret stash? Was he a drug dealer in a secret life?" David suggested with a smile.

Melody rolled her eyes and shot him a grin. "I'll need to speak with our investment manager. There's something odd about this."

"You never looked in his closet?" Auden asked.

Melody shook her head. "No, never. He insisted on putting away his own clothes as he said he had a system."

David shrugged and picked up some of the garbage bags. "I'll put these in the back of my truck. Are you ready to go to the airport?"

Melody smiled. "Yes!"

Auden finished dumping the now empty shoes into the last trash bag. Then she carried it and two others to follow David downstairs. Melody tucked the cash into one of the empty drawers for counting later and followed them downstairs.

Melody grabbed her purse, collected the car keys and his wallet for the registration slip, then locked up as she left the house. She climbed into David's truck next to Auden and buckled in.

He got them headed toward the airport.

"How was school today?" Melody asked.

"It's winding down, and there's a strange atmosphere of... expectation, I guess," David replied.

"Maybe it's different for the seniors as we're all finishing our high school careers," Auden said.

David nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose the lower grades are just looking forward to summer break."

"What plans do you have for the summer, David?" Melody asked.

"I've applied for intern work at the physiotherapy clinic next to the hospital. It doesn't pay much, but at least I'll get some experience working in the clinic. The clinic administrator knows me from my sessions when I was injured in my first football season. I learned a lot and let them know I was choosing a career in the field."

"Did they hire you?" Auden asked.

"I believe they're still reviewing the candidates," David responded.

Melody smiled. "I think it might improve your chances if you dropped by to say hello and let them see your new style and maturity."

Auden grinned and nodded to David as he glanced over at them.

"If you think it will help my chances," he said.

Melody spotted a charity drop-off box in a parking lot. They pulled in, and David unloaded all the bags into the bin until it was full. That done, they got back on the road.

When they arrived at the airport, they drove into the long-term parking and went up and down the aisles to find the car. Finally, on the third level by the elevators, Melody spotted it. She handed David a twenty. "This is just in case the garage attendant wants you to pay for your time in the lot. They probably won't. I'll drive out first, and maybe we can go to that nice steakhouse we passed on the way in?"

David's eyes lit up, and Auden nodded.

Melody walked over to the car and let herself in. While she'd been in it often enough, she'd never driven it. It was his pride and joy, but to her, it was too large and too old. A 1970 Lincoln Continental was not her dream car, so it would have to go.

As she sank into the cushioned seat, she inhaled the faint scent of cheap cologne. That affirmed her conviction to sell it as quickly as she could. She adjusted the seat and mirrors, carefully pulled out of the spot, and led David to the exit. She paid the fee, waited for David, and saw him get waived through.

Smiling, she left the airport grounds and found a spot in the steakhouse parking lot where David could park beside her. When they were standing next to the car, David handed her back the twenty and gave the vehicle a once-over. "Are you going to switch to driving this one? It seems like it's better than yours."

"I'm selling both and getting a car I want!" she insisted.

Auden grinned at her. "Ooo! What do you want?"

Melody shook her head. "I have no idea. Maybe we can look at different options when we get home."

They walked toward the restaurant's front door, and Melody saw David's mind working. She smiled. "Penny for your thoughts."

He grinned self-consciously. "I was just thinking we could write a wish list of features you want in a car and determine how you intend to use it. This should narrow the scope of the search," he suggested.

They reached the hostess desk and were immediately guided to a table as it was before the dinner rush. Their waiter left them with menus.

Once seated, Auden looked at the others in their area, noted the abundance of carry-on luggage, and smiled at Melody and David. "It looks like we're with the travelers tonight. They're catching some dinner before check-in. This will definitely beat airport food."

David grinned at her. "I wouldn't know. I've never been anywhere."

Auden pouted in sympathy, then brightened up. "I have to visit my shops in Europe this summer. Maybe you could join me?"

David's eyes lit up then he winced. "Aww, I might be unable to take the time if the clinic hires me."

"London, Paris and Rome. It won't take more than a week, but then I'll be visiting the six shops in the US. That will be another nine to ten days, roughly. The locations are fairly self-sufficient these days, but having the boss lady stop in to sing their praises seems to give them a boost," she said with a smile.

David lifted her hand and kissed it as he smiled at her proudly. Auden's face flushed as she smiled back at him.

They scanned their menus and gave their orders when the waiter returned.

David looked at Melody as he opened a new document on his cell's note app. "So, you're selling your current cars." Melody nodded. "What don't you like about them? That might tell us what you want in your new car," he suggested.

Melody nodded. "I don't like anything about my car. It's too small. It has no ease-of-use or safety assist features, not even power windows! And it's too low to the ground. Getting in and out is not comfortable." She watched David tapping a note into his cell. "I don't like anything about the larger car. It's too big, and it's old-fashioned. No fun at all!"

David finished tapping something in. "Good start. Now, how do you see yourself using the new car?"

Melody thought about that. "Going to the grocers to pick up food--It will have to have good storage, and I'd prefer not to bend over the trunk to lift stuff in and out." David nodded with a smile and made another note. "It should be fun to drive and seat more than two people comfortably, unlike Chelsea's little sports coupe."