Chapter 14

Her room was decorated in pale pinks and purples. A corner filled with half dressed barbies was to one side and an antique, white dresser was on the other. And right in the middle was River’s daughter—Melodie—sleeping with her arms wrapped around a human-sized, stuffed koala. She couldn’t have been older than ten. Eight if Hunter were to guess. A sweet, young little girl and Hunter had somehow become convinced that she was the mystery wife.

River gently closed the door, making sure not to awaken the sleeping child.

“With all this excitement, I’m actually really tired,” River yawned as if on cue, leaning heavily against the corridor wall. “I’m gonna go to bed but you can sleep over if you want. If you’re willing to take the couch.”

Hunter turned, glancing at the spacious living room and the thick brown couch in the middle of it. Not the most luxurious place Hunter’s ever stayed in, but a couch didn’t faze him.

“The couch sounds great.” 

River smiled, turning to grab some blankets for Hunter’s couch stay. Their shoulders brushed and without thinking, Hunter’s hand snapped out to hold River’s. With the shorter man’s eyes on his again, Hunter swallowed the nervous lump down his throat.

“Then . . . we can talk about us tomorrow?”

River’s eyes fell down to Hunter’s lips and the younger man wondered if they would get a repeat of their heated moment outside. Then his eyes came up again and a single nod marked the end of the moment. 

“Sure.” 

Hunter squeezed River’s hand one more time before letting go and retreating to the living room. 

—————

Hunter’s neck felt sore and his eyes irritated. His mildly conscious brain registered the crust in his eyes, heavier than usual. His ears picked up whispering when suddenly a little girl’s voice was right by his ear.

“Good morning,” she whispered gently, trying to rouse Hunter from sleep. She went to repeat the simple phrase but was pulled away in a rush. Her work was complete though and Hunter pushed off his arms to sit upright. But, this was not his bed and getting into a seated position was harder than he remembered.

As Hunter’s sleep-muddled brain tried to command his body, he overheard the conversation between River and his daughter.

“Melodie, you can’t just go up to a stranger when they’re asleep like that.”

“But you said he’s a friend.”

“He is my friend but he’s also an adult and we have to be careful around adults, remember?”

“Yes daddy. Sorry.”

“Thank you for apologizing. Now please go get dressed.”

By the time Hunter was sitting upright and had successfully rubbed the boogers from his eyes, Melodie’s scampering footsteps were already deep into the house. River caught the fact that his guest was awake and hurried over to Hunter’s side.

“I’m sorry about her. She’s not used to finding new people sleeping on our couch,” River joked, sitting down on the armrest farthest from Hunter.

“It’s fine,” Hunter croaked, his voice still raw from sleep. Even though clearing his throat proved ineffective, Hunter did his best to keep speaking. “I appreciate that she woke me up gently.”

River laughed softly but when he quieted again, an awkward lull filled the air.

“So, I have a spare toothbrush you can use and a towel if you need to shower.”

River stood up from the couch, walking as if to find said toothbrush and towel but Hunter raised a hand, stopping his pursuit.

“I can just shower at my place. I have to head into work, anyway.”

“Right.” 

They stared silently at one another. This was a new dynamic for their relationship and clearly they weren’t prepared for it. Hunter then felt the ickiness of freshly waking up and shuddered, wondering if he looked as gross as he felt. As if sensing his change in mood, River cleared his throat.

“Um, then can you at least stay for breakfast?” 

Teeth freshly brushed, Hunter entered the kitchen to find that River had prepared an elaborate spread. The marble kitchen counter was filled with waffles, eggs, bacon, and fresh cut fruit. With her feet dangling off the barstool, Melodie dug into a bowl of strawberries. Brown curls were pulled up into a loose bun at the back of her head, keeping the wayward strands from falling into fruit juice. Glancing back and forth between River and his daughter who was several shades darker than him, Hunter assumed her mother was probably black. 

Hunter’s heavy footsteps revealed his presence and Melodie looked up. Noticing her sloped nose and two-toned lips, Hunter was even more sure of his guess. Yet, compared to her eagerness to wake him up that morning, Melodie abruptly turned back to her plate, shying away from the new person. She was timid as she continued to eat her food and Hunter felt guilty for making a child uncomfortable in her own home. 

River watched the entire exchange, laughing goodnaturedly at Melodie’s reaction.

“Melodie’s shy with everyone at first. Please don’t take it personally,” he explained. While the words were teasing, River still reached for his daughter, rubbing her back affectionately.

“Melodie, didn’t you want to say hi to Hunter?”

“Hi, Hunter,” she said quietly, eyes glued to her plate.

“Hi Melodie. It’s nice to finally meet you,” Hunter told her warmly. He pulled up a seat two chairs down from her as she and River sat at the end of the kitchen counter, but by the time he was settled, Melodie still hadn’t reacted to his words. Hunter looked up at River, begging him for help but River just shrugged. 

“River talks about you a lot, so I’ve heard a lot of great things.”

River’s eyes flash to him because he hadn’t mentioned Melodie before last night but Hunter just smiled. He can try to get along with his daughter and be petty at the same time. The tasks are not mutually exclusive. 

But Melodie didn’t bite and Hunter used the time it took to make himself a plate as time to figure out another angle. Getting kids comfortable was a lot like getting adults comfortable. You just had to find something they were passionate about. Once you got them talking, the rest was history. 

“Those strawberries look really nice, do they taste good?” Hunter asked, his hand ready to put some fruit on his own plate. Melodie nodded slightly, which was better than nothing but still not what Hunter hoped to see. Still, he grabbed some strawberries. 

He didn’t usually eat strawberries in the morning but if they for some reason helped get him into Melodie’s good graces, he would eat them every day. 

“Do you and your dad have any fun plans for today?”

The sound of chewing was her reply. 

He was talking to a child, for goodness sake, but a familiar wash of embarrassment ran over his body. Hunter felt embarrassed that she wasn’t saying anything and worst of all, that River was watching him fail so badly.

After not stepping in at all, River took pity on the younger man. Melodie was a tough cookie to crack. 

“Melodie and I usually watch some shows together on Saturdays,” River interjected, lovingly rubbing her back again. “We’ll probably also get her art supplies out so she can draw.”

“Oh, you like drawing?”

For the second time that morning, Melodie nodded, the motion more energetic than anything else hunter had seen her do. His face brightened and finally, he saw a chance. 

“That’s awesome! I like drawing too,” he told her earnestly. “I draw a lot at my job.”

“You do?” She asked, eyes now lifting to his face in curiosity.

“Yeah!” Frantically, Hunter pulled out his phone, going through his photos as fast as he could. “Here’s a character I came up with last week.”

Hunter handed her the small device, watching Melodie’s sticky fingers carefully grasp the case. As her small eyes took in the image, her face seemed to glow and soon, she had a bright smile on her face. Now curious, River leaned over and smiled when he saw the picture. Hunter had created a 3D image of a green alien girl with rounded features and a plump body. The elongated claws and two projecting teeth were out of the ordinary but she still looked kind with a bright smile and large, rounded eyes. Yet, what made her the most interesting was the leap she was performing as the held two spears in hand. 

She was a fighter. Melodie loved her already.

“Why is she green?” Melodie asked, still holding the phone tightly in both of her small hands.

“Because she’s an alien,” Hunter replied lightly, reaching over to point at his phone screen. “You see her big teeth right?”

“Yeah,” she was smiling again, tracing over the alien's face with her finger. “She’s really cool.”

“Thank you.”

With a great deal of care, Melodie handed Hunter’s phone back over and he made a mental note to clean it before he left. Melodie reached for her fruit but stopped, letting her fork drop onto her plate with a clatter.

“Do you want to see some of my drawings?”

Hunter could have leapt for joy. Of course he wanted to see them. Especially when Melodie stared up at him, clear excitement on her young face. Instead of answering, though, Hunter looked over to River. They were in the middle of breakfast after all and the parent always got the final say.

“Why don’t we finish eating first,” he suggested, pushing Melodie’s plate closer to her small body. “Then you can show Hunter all of your drawings.”

“Okay.” 

The three of them got back to eating and Hunter felt a weight lifted as he dug into River’s fluffy eggs. 

“I can draw an alien too,” Melodie proudly said. “I made one yesterday.”

“That’s really impressive,” Hunter gushed, trying not to look too pleased even as River smirked into his palm. “Was it hard to draw?”

“No, it was really easy because . . . ”

Hunter’s plan to show up only an hour late for work went right out the window. Melodie was even more dedicated to art than Hunter expected, her work showing more consistency than one saw out of a kid her age. An age, which Hunter found out, was only 6 years old. 

So, when she decided to show him all her drawings, she truly showed him all of them. The ones that covered River’s stainless steel fridge were simply the tip of the iceberg. On the bright side, with each drawing shown and each positive reaction from Hunter, Melodie grew more comfortable. And Hunter was the perfect distraction. Within record time, River’s Saturday cleaning was finished.

Viewing Melodie’s art collection turned into creating more art with her and before Hunter knew it, the three of them were playing UNO and watching Sofia the First together. Hunter was having a blast being shown into Melodie’s 6-year-old world. 

But soon River was preparing lunch and they hadn’t said a word about what happened the previous night. It did need to be talked about since they almost had sex and Hunter found out about Melodie’s existence. Yet, they also couldn’t discuss such adult topics with Melodie in the room, sitting right beside Hunter as she laughed at another joke Sophia’s grumpy, bunny-friend told.

“Hunter, do you mind pasta for lunch?” River asked from the kitchen, speaking with his hands already ripping open the box of macaroni.

“Nope, pasta’s good.”

Hunter’s satisfaction with the dish launched Melodie into a mini rant about her love of macaroni, filled with recollections of eating it with cheese or tomatoes or even a funny green sauce that River loved. Looking away from Melodie for a moment, Hunter caught River reacting to the story with a fond smile. That was the smile he saw when River was on the phone, the look of pure, unfiltered love. Hunter should have known that was the love of a father towards his child.

That love oozed over every surface of River’s home. From the walls stained at the bottom from countless unsanctioned doodles to the box of art supplies in the corner, overflowing with papers. Hunter saw it last night when he took in how beautifully the walls were painted in Melodie’s room and felt it when he slept on the super soft, well-loved couch. Just spending the morning with River’s family had made him feel like some of that love was reaching him too. Hunter hadn’t left because he didn’t want to leave this cocoon of warmth. 

But the sleeve Melodie tugged to drag him to the kitchen had been on his body since yesterday morning and he mentally recounted all the tasks he had to complete today. Hunter really shouldn’t extend his visit any longer.

As River placed their dirty bowls into the dishwasher, Hunter announced,

“Thank you for being such a great host, Melodie, but I think I need to go home.”

Melodie seemed to retreat into her body at the news, her shoulder falling dejectedly. For a split second, Hunter considered saying that he’d been joking to get the smile to return to her face, but he knew hanging around just wasn’t practical.

“Thank you for visiting,” River jogged up to his daughter, holding her small shoulders in each hand. “Melodie, do you have anything you’d like to say to Hunter?”

Melodie ran into Hunter’s body, the noise loud when she hit his thighs. Hunter was concerned that she’d hurt herself but she simply wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly.

“Goodbye,” she whispered into the fabric of his shirt.

“Goodbye,” he echoed. Hunter crouched down and hugged the small human back as best as he could. “I’ll see you next time.”