“Is Pierce here?” The woman who should have been the one opening the door asked. She stood on the porch in a pair of jeans and a simple gray sweatshirt, different from the cute outfit she’d been wearing the last time I saw her. Her hip was kicked out to one side, and she’d placed her hands on it like she meant business.
I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give up Pierce’s whereabouts, but answered her question truthfully. “No, Melissa, he’s not here.”
She visibly deflated from the news as if she worked herself up to talk to Pierce before driving here. Now hearing he wasn’t home, she’d lost her conviction in the span of a millisecond.
I hadn’t always been great with people. Emotions and understanding weren’t characteristics cherished in my home as a kid. We relied on cunning and social games. I was used to being the boss and telling others what to do. Honestly, I hadn’t had any improvement with those skills while in Guatemala. Silence lingered between us and I fretted over what to do. Did she want a hug? An apology?
While I hesitated, Melissa gently pushed her way past me, letting herself into the living room. “Do you know when he’ll be back? Where did he go?”
I knew the answer to the latter but not the former. “He should be home tomorrow.”
Pierce was only in Clearwater for the afternoon, but I didn’t want to give Melissa a time so she could lie in wait for him. If she didn’t come back until tomorrow Pierce would be able to prepare for her. It sounded like the fake wife thing to do.
She sighed, releasing a large breath. “Help me, Mari. I helped you. Right?” she pleaded.
I didn’t remember any particular event when she had helped me out greatly, besides the fact that she was nice on my first day here. Regardless, I found myself nodding in agreement.
“What do you think I can help you with, Melissa?”
Melissa turned away, facing back to the front door, and for a minute I thought she would run out. But then her shoulders unclenched along with her stance. “I didn’t steal anything from Pierce. I only had the checkbook in my hand when he walked in the room. He doesn’t have any evidence. I would never steal from the Kensington family.”
Honesty dripped from her words and her expression called to my forgiving side. I trusted Pierce when he said Melissa had issues before, but the woman in front of me was desperate. She spoke honestly about not having stolen anything that day, but what about in the past?
In a few ways I saw myself in her expressions. Had I not been the same woman begging for forgiveness and understanding not so many years ago? At a time in my life when I needed someone to befriend me and help me through a tough time, I had no one. Would I have made the same poor choices back then if I had a group of friends who were willing to listen? Friends who would buy me ice cream and spend a night complaining about men and how dumb they were?
They were questions I would never know the answer to, but my heart called out to her. Melissa was facing the loss of her job. Her livelihood. This thing that put food on her table and Milanos on her feet. She turned as I was contemplating the situation, and she didn’t keep my eye contact.
My eyes fell to the ground and took in her black-and-white striped sneakers. Okay, so not Milanos, but still shoes.
“I tried talking to Pierce,” I said, knowing it wouldn’t be enough.
People made false promises to me as well. In the end my aunt was the only one who actually stepped up to help me. Could I leave this young woman out on her own during her time of need? Had I learned nothing from my isolation?
“You don’t understand,” she continued, her eyes heavy. “I’ve defended Pierce for years. Every time someone said he was a hard ass, and he didn’t care about his employees, I argued with them. I fought and said he was a good employer who gave us vacation time and health benefits. He pays the most of anyone in the city. Why would I throw that away?”
They were good questions.
“Our families have been friends for years. I would never dishonor my family name by stealing from Pierce, especially not when I need this job. Who will help my grandmother and sister if I don’t have a job?”
“What’s wrong with your sister?” I asked as I got wrapped up in her story.
Melissa smiled as if she was her thinking of her sibling at that very moment. “She got mixed up with the wrong guy. You don’t want to hear the details. It happened before you came to Pelican Bay, but her boyfriend went to jail. He is awaiting trial now, and she’s trying to help him pay for a lawyer and keep her own household going. She has three kids. You know?”
“What did he do?” I took a step closer to Melissa, wanting to console her.
“Nothing. They wrongfully accused him.” She wiped a tear from her eyes. “They said he was selling drugs, but Ridge Jefferson caught the real criminals a month ago. Yet they still won’t let her boyfriend out of jail.”
I paused for a moment to think about where I’d heard that name Ridge Jefferson. It was heavy in my brain as if I knew it, but I couldn’t place a finger on where it came from.
“I’m so sorry,” I said again, knowing the words did nothing to alleviate her pain.
The hollow words of my fake friends had done nothing to fix my problem when I faced my tragedy and job loss. I needed their support, not fake platitudes.
“When Pierce gets home, I’ll talk to him again,” I said reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder.
Melissa ripped it away and stepped back, turning to the front door. “Don’t you understand?” she said, her voice rising with each word. “It will never be enough. The town was right. Pierce only cares about himself! He doesn’t care who he hurts in his wake. How will I get a job anywhere in this town when Pierce Kensington has labeled me a thief?” she screamed the last sentence.
Her eyes were hard when she stared at me as if she was willing to take out her anger at Pierce on me. I took a step back. “Calm down, Melissa.”
