Mark

I wish I didn’t just blurt it out like that. I sounded like a total dick, and now she knows how screwed I am, too. “I um, I’m going home. I mean, where else am I going? Founders’ Day is coming up and I have to go. You know Dad…” I chuckle, a huge wave of insecurity flooding me.

I can tell from her flushed demeanor that she’s upset and about to crumble. I'm in the cupcake shop with her, and the more I watch her closely the more it seems as if she might burst into tears.

Man, she’s going through it. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so nasty to her. It’s not like I’m doing any better.

“Yeah,” she over-scrubs the counter, and it flushes her cheeks even more. She might be feeling bad, but she doesn’t look half as bad as she thinks she does. I put my hand out on the counter but retract it as the last of the customers leave.

“Shoot! I’ve gotta call the administrator back. This oven was supposed to be—”

I’m listening as I stand at the counter but she cuts off mid-sentence. “Wait, keep going! What were you going to say?”

I’m hoping if I listen to Melody, it will distract me from my own mess of a life. “You already came in here to gloat, and I’m not about to give you any more ammunition, Mark. If you can’t already see, I’m at the bottom and don’t need you rubbing things in any more.”

The guilt clause sets in again as I see Melody’s eyes glistening. I can tell I’ve put my foot in it. I pause, thinking of the right words to say. “Sorry, my bad.”

It’s all I can think of in the moment.

“I have to pack up, and I’ve got a full night ahead. I don’t know how I’m going to get it done,” she says in distress.

“Hey now, you should really let me help you.”

“No Mark, I’m good. The last time I had somebody help me they screwed up my entire business and I had a bunch of people come in with bad reviews. It’s pretty much how my business started going downhill.”

Her face falls, and now I feel like an even bigger ass for teasing her. Back in Dulver Springs, I always secretly admired Melody.

She looked so happy with her little scrappy pigtails, hanging down the front of her, rolling out flour and making cupcakes with Grandmother Cramer in the kitchen. I used to ride my bike past with Carlos, wondering what was going on in that kitchen.

Me, on the other hand—my father was always busy putting me in time out for hammering and banging too loud in the night. But hey I was a kid, always wanting to build things.

“You’re not a builder, son, you’re a lawmaker. You won’t have time for that soon. I’m gonna start bringing you to the office with me, so you can learn.”

“Wow, I stand corrected.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can do it. My life is a mess, and I’m probably going to be home for Founders’ Day, too. I wanted out of Dulver Springs. I thought I’d made it, ya know? I guess maybe I was too young to leave. It must be the Cramer curse. Has to be.”

Puzzled, I lean on the counter as Melody walks to the front to flip over the closed sign and holds the door open for me. “The Cramer Curse? I didn’t know there was one?”

Melody shouts over her shoulder as the last person in the shop leaves. “It’s called being stuck in the town.”

Am I really that bad that she wants to kick me out?

I shove my hands back in my pockets, wanting to bridge the disconnect. “I get it. Dulver Springs is claustrophobic. Doesn’t help that both our families founded the place. My father’s on my ass about law school, but to be honest, Melody, I hated it and it made me miserable.”

She stops at the door, the Boston wind cutting into the bakery cafe. “Yeah, it’s shit, but hey what can we do? We have to go back and face everyone. Maybe I’m just destined to be a small-town gal,” she contemplates wistfully.

I want to tell her how brave I thought she was when she left, and that her leaving encouraged me to leave, but stupidly I don’t.

“Or maybe not. You could always try again?” I encourage, but her phone ringing stops any further conversation.

“Hey, I gotta go. Nice to see you, Mark.”

“Sure. See you back home, I guess. When you gotta be outta here?”

“End of week. I have a lot to do sooo…” She gives me the heave-ho with a hand on the hip, and it’s time to dip out.

“Okay, got the picture,” I mumble quietly. “See you back home.”

“See you back home. Take care, Mark, and sorry to hear about law school.”

Melody closes the door behind me as the nostalgia kicks in, and I head to my car. Damn, I just wanted to talk to someone from Dulver Springs.

On cue, my phone vibrates in my sweatshirt as I walk to my dodgy car. It’s temperamental at best, running hot and cold—a lot like me lately, I reason. Running hot and cold.

A large sinking weight fills my chest. “Hey Dad. How’s it going?”

“It’s going to be even better when you get home. I can’t wait for you to sink your teeth into a few of these town civil cases. I think it will really help as you progress.”

Cringing, I drop into my front seat, thumping my head against the headrest while I stare at Melody’s bakery. He doesn’t even ask how I am, just straight into the lawyer talk.

I loved the high-backed Windsor chairs she had at every table, and if I’m being honest, I find myself wondering who created them. It’s a pipe dream, let it go. You can’t build things for a living. You’ll ruin the family name.

All the touches in Cramer’s Delight remind me of Dulver Springs. I watch through the translucent glass, her dark hair falling forward, a glum look on her face.

Why does it have to be this every time he calls? Not, “Oh hey how are you? Do you even like college?”

“That sounds cool, but you know there are other career paths and maybe the Lennons aren’t just the lawmakers of the town.”

Scoffing, my father chuckles. “Of course, we are! That’s what we’re known for. It’s the reason I pay for your lease there, and your tuition. Make us proud son, make us proud. Just a quick reminder call, but ah—it’s mac and cheese night, so I have to go. Your mother’s calling.”

“All right, say hey to Mom for me,” I sigh in cloaked frustration. Is he ever gonna ask me if I’m happy?

We both have to go back for Founders’ Day. There’s no way they wouldn’t have asked her to go home. At least I won’t be the only one rolling back into town a disgrace.

In a split-second decision, even though the doors are closed, I cup my face up to the glass to look inside.

Where is she? Uh-oh, I can’t see her out front. I scuttle around to the front and pound on the window, hoping she’ll hear me.

“Melody, come on.” Pound, pound, pound.

I see a flurry of hair as Melody reaches the door a touch out of breath. “Did you forget something?”

I shove my hands into my pockets because it feels a lot like groveling to ask her.

“Ah hey, umm, this might sound a little bit off, but umm, you know it makes sense to me, but do you want to go to dinner before you leave? We’re both heading back to Dulver Springs right, so umm, yeah? Old time’s sake?” I hunch my shoulders up as both her eyebrows shoot up.

For some odd reason, my heart’s pounding in my chest, anticipating her answer, but all I can see are the pigtails from childhood and Melody’s joyful laugh.

How can she be my best friend’s kid sister? She’s all grown up now. It’s nuts.

“Are you serious right now?” she replies slowly, a shaken look on her face.

“Yeah, I mean, what’s the harm? Your brother’s my best friend, and we might as well face the sad music together. Right?”