"Melanie?"
She loved the way his deep voice sounded in her ear.
"So would I. It's Melanie Andrea Foster."
"I like it," he murmured, tension evaporating. "And I'm looking forward to seeing you again. Goodnight."
He hung up before he could give into the temptation to ask her to forget everything and come over to his place. He would play it safe and keep things slow for now. Even though everything inside him wanted to rush ahead.
*****
"Mom!" David raced towards her as soon as she parked under the old elm tree and engaged the alarm. "Guess what?"
"How about a proper greeting?" Opening her arms, she waited until he launched himself at her before wrapping around him tight. Her baby. He smelled of pear soap and deodorant and was growing out of his navy pants.
"What?"
He wriggled out of her arms and stepped back, discreetly looking around to see if any of the children piling into the chapel had seen the embrace.
"We made chocolate chip cookies. Grams showed me how and I made it all by myself. She said I'm a natural."
"Of course you are." She wrapped an arm around his thin shoulders and smiled at her grandmother. "Sorry I'm late."
"Better late than never. The boy kept me awake almost the entire night."
"Oh grams, I'm sorry."
"Stop the nonsense girl," she waved an impatient hand. "We kept each other up playing cards and baking. It was quite entertaining."
"Grams taught me how to cheat."
At Melanie's measured look, Eloise chuckled. "That was supposed to be a secret."
"Sorry." He had the grace to look sheepish. Sighting two of his friends, he wriggled free and raced over to join them.
"I can't keep up with him."
"He's young." Tucking her arm through Melanie's hand, Eloise leaned on her and gave her a curious look. "How was the night?"
"Wonderful. I met someone."
"When will you bring him around for me to interrogate him?"
She shook her head and realized that she was also about to lie to her beloved grandmother. "We're just talking for now. I'll let you know if anything evolves."
Eloise squeezed her arm. "My prayer for you is that you find a man to love you and that sweet boy of yours. Anything less is not acceptable."
"I know," she acknowledged quietly as they stepped inside the chapel.
*****
Later sitting at her functional white desk in the corner of her small bedroom, Melanie sipped the glass of wine and stared at the notes she had scribbled in her notebook. She had tried adjusting some of the bills, but it was still looking bleak.
The electricity had gone up by five percent, throwing her off balance. And there was the fact that she had to get new tennis shoes for David. Her son was growing by leaps and bounds, and she just could not keep up.
Tapping the eraser end of the pencil on the book, she frowned at the figures in despair. She was short a whole two hundred dollars. She could ask her grams for a loan, but asking for money did not sit well with her. She was responsible for her son, and it was her duty to provide for him.
It was just that it was so damn hard sometimes. Her thoughts strayed to the man she had met last night. He was wealthy. Oh God!
