Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Melody sat at the counter at Delaney’s Delight’s, sipping a cup of her friend’s award winning hot cocoa and puzzling over whether or not to say anything to Delaney about her new friend—should the opportunity even arise. The bakery was busy today, and every time Delaney came over to speak to her, she was quickly whisked away by a new customer or someone wanting a refill.
It had been nearly a week since she’d bumped into Michael and Reid at the hardware store, and even though she hadn’t seen either of them since, she just couldn’t get them out of her mind. Of course, Michael’s cuteness and outgoing personality resonated with her because he was just so sweet, but it was the curious blue eyes of his father that kept her up at night.
She’d considered creating a reason to get his number from Mrs. Gregory and calling him. A clogged toilet, maybe a broken window, those would be great reasons to call a handyman, right? And accidents happen…. But she would definitely have to pay him the next time he came to fix a problem at her mom’s house, and as much as she wanted to see him, fake emergencies just weren’t in the budget. She couldn’t count the number of times her father had had to fix something quickly while she was growing up in the house. Busted pipes, broken faucets, a hot water heater. Now that she actually wanted something to go wrong, her house suddenly seemed like a brand-new build, free of any and all defects.
When her mother had returned from her bridge game that night, she was ecstatic to find the popular new handyman had made a call at her house. Apparently, Reid was the talk of the town, at least when it came to her mother’s circle of friends. Mrs. Gregory was raving about him, so all of the other ladies in their Bible study group—which happened to be many of the same women her mother played bridge with—had to give him a try. Now, Sarah was tickled pink that she would also be able to share in the discussion whenever Reid’s work came up again. Melody didn’t tell her mother that she’d paid him with a toy train. The last thing she needed to do was create a situation where everyone in town wanted to barter for Reid’s work.
“Hey,” Delaney said, sliding to a halt on the other side of the counter. “Sorry. We’re just so busy. I feel like there’s twice as many people here as on a regular Monday afternoon.”
“I’ve noticed there’s been a lot more traffic lately, too,” Melody agreed, glancing over her shoulder to see that almost every table in the bakery was full of families and couples enjoying treats, shopping bags nestled at their feet.
“I think maybe some of your advertising has had something to do with it,” Delaney offered. “Lots of people say they didn’t even realize Charles Town had such a quaint little shopping district.”
“Not people from around here,” Melody said, repositioning her mug. “Everyone who lives in Charles Town knows that.”
“No, a lot of them are from out of town. It’s really kind of cool.”
“What makes you think that they learned about Charles Town from me?” She hadn’t done that much advertising, only spent a few hundred dollars on Facebook and Twitter.
Delaney reached down behind the counter and produced a familiar flyer. “This?” she said.
The flyer was one that Melody had posted online in several forums and also physically sent out to a mailing list of potential customers. It was the same one her mother was talking about last week when she mentioned customers bringing in an advertisement. With an unassuming smile, Melody said, “I’m glad it’s helping.”
“I think so,” Delaney nodded. “And….” Her brown eyes twinkled, and Melody knew the next thing she shared would be juicy, “It brought in a really cute Christmas tree farmer from Shepherdstown.”
Melody couldn’t help but smile. “Delaney… did you meet a boy?”
Her face was glowing. “Maybe….” She said. Dropping so that she was leaning on the counter on one elbow, she lowered her voice and said, “He stopped by last Saturday. Said he usually drives right on through or around Charles Town when he’s out making his deliveries, but he wanted to check out the downtown area for himself.” Her eyes were still twinkling. “Melody—he’s so cute. And nice. And… I really want to see him again.”
With a giggle, Melody said, “Well, why don’t you just drive over to Shepherdstown and pick out a nice Christmas tree? Did he tell you the name of his farm?”
“He did,” Delaney nodded. “I was thinking about that. I think they do most of their sales at lots—but maybe they sell trees there, too.”
“Doesn’t hurt to drive over and find out.”
Delaney had a look on her face that told Melody she was about to ask a favor but didn’t know how to word it. “Have you picked out your tree yet?” she asked.
Melody pursed her lips, knowing that Delaney knew she was treading on dangerous territory. “No, we were going to go Saturday, but mom decided to stay home and make some soup for Mrs. Tresco. She fell and broke her hip.”
“Maybe… you could go with me?”
Delaney’s big brown eyes were pleading, and Melody really wanted to say yes, knowing how difficult it must have been for Delaney to even ask her such a question, but she felt her head shaking before she even formulated the sentence. “Delaney, you know my dad’s rule: Only Murphy’s pick out the Murphy Christmas tree.”
Delaney’s enthusiasm evaporated. “So you’re strictly following your father’s guidelines this year?”
Melody nodded. “Trying to.”
“Then I guess you’ll be singing at the festival….”
“Delaney,” Melody cut her off. “Don’t.”
“Well, I just thought, if you’re following all of his rules….”
“Do not go there.” Melody was doing her best to control her irritation, but she was shocked her friend had even dared to mention singing anywhere at all, let alone at the Christmas festival.
“I’m sorry,” Delaney said, and Melody could see that she meant it. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I know this time of year is a delicate balance for you, trying to keep your father’s memory alive while dealing with the anniversary of … the accident. I just miss you, Melody. I miss the old you, the happy you. I just thought, maybe, it might be a way to bring some of that joy back into your life, if you were to sing again.”
“Delaney, I’m not having this conversation right now,” Melody said, scooting her mug across the counter and rising from the barstool.
“No, don’t go. I’m sorry,” Delaney insisted, placing her hand on top of Melody’s. “I promise I won’t mention it again. Here, let me get you a refill.”
Taking a deep breath, Melody returned to her seat. She knew it wasn’t fair to take her frustration out on Delaney. Her friend was just trying to help. Still, she should’ve known that was the one topic that was off limits. As Delaney returned with her bright red mug, full to the top with steaming hot chocolate, tiny marshmallows peering over the top of the cup, she said, “I’m sorry, Delaney. I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you.”
“I shouldn’t have pushed so hard,” Delaney replied. “I’ve hardly had a chance to speak to you at all since you’ve gotten back, and I made you uncomfortable. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Melody assured her. “You know, just because I can’t get my Christmas tree with you doesn’t mean that we can’t go together to pick out your tree. If you still want me to go with you on Saturday, give me a call. We need to spend some quality time together anyway.”
Delaney’s beaming smile was back. “Thanks, Melody. Oh, I hope you get to meet Josh. He’s really nice.”
Melody couldn’t help but smile. Delaney deserved to meet a good guy. “I can’t wait to meet him.” Now, if she could only figure out how to bump into the guy she’d been thinking about for the last week.
Delaney was swept away by another customer, and glancing at her phone, Melody saw that it was almost 2:30. While she’d be perfectly content to sit and talk to Delany for hours, she had work to do at home, and apparently hanging out downtown was not the way to run into Reid, so with one last sip of her cocoa, she waved at Delaney and made her way out the door, hopeful that fate would intervene if things were truly meant to be.