Mrs. Quinn shakes off her longing stare at me and follows my brief explanation of Parker with a change of topic, which is definitely welcomed at the moment. “One of us needs to go home and let the dog out,” she says, looking back and forth between Journey and Melody. Mrs. Quinn’s mind must be in a million places. I can’t imagine what she’s going through.
“I’ll go,” Melody offers.
“I can go let the dog out if you’d like. It’s no problem,” I say. I’m sure Melody would rather stay here with Harold as long as she can tonight. If I recall, their house is on the way home for me anyway, and it’s no trouble.
“You are too sweet,” Mrs. Quinn replies, sounding as if she might take me up on the offer.
“That’s okay, I can rush home and take care of him,” Melody speaks up a little louder than last time.
“He’s offering,” Mrs. Quinn argues with her daughter.
“He’s already doing enough,” Melody mutters and stands from her seat.
The tension in this room is almost unbearable.
“Brett, don’t forget to bottle up the Quinn Pine next week,” Harold says as if he hasn’t reminded me a dozen times in the past day. By the groggy look on his face, I might assume he’s forgotten the other reminders.
“I would never forget something so important,” I say to Harold, stepping toward him to say goodbye.
“I’m running home to let Benji out. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Melody spouts off. She swoops over to Harold’s side and kisses his cheek before nearly knocking me over while rushing by.
“Do you need a car, maybe?” Journey asks Melody.
Melody’s cheeks burn her signature hue of rose petal red. “Yeah, uh—” Journey tosses a set of car keys over to Melody. “Thanks.”
Melody is gone before I can blink again, and I’m standing here with three gawking mouths and six wide eyes, likely wondering why Melody ran out the door as if she were on fire. “She’s not taking this very well,” Mrs. Quinn says. “Plus, she can hardly breathe when you’re around, but don’t tell her I said that.”
Oh God.
“Mom,” Journey scolds her. “It’s been ten years. Relax.”
Ten years and nothing has changed.
“I remember Harold telling me about your daughter now, how you’re raising her all alone. You’re a wonderful man, Brett. You truly are. No wonder your mother is so proud of you. We just spoke for the first time in years and I can’t seem to recall the reason we ever stopped speaking.” Mrs. Quinn looks lost as she speaks, almost as if she doesn’t know what she’s saying, or she’s just filling the silence with whatever thoughts come to her mind.
“Life happens, but I’m sure you two have time to catch up,” I say, trying to find a way to ease my way out of this room.
“Of course,” Mrs. Quinn says.
“Oh, Brett, Melody is going to need a ride. I gave her the wrong keys. Oops.” I look over at Journey in time to catch a wink and grin, the same wink and grin she used to give me every time Melody ran away from me when we were teenagers.
“Do you want me to give her the correct keys?” I offer.
“Nope,” Journey says. “Thanks for helping with the dog and Melody. Have a good night.”
It’s all coming back to me—the dynamics of this family. Journey and Harold are one of a kind and Melody and Mrs. Quinn share their traits. They were always comedic with the way they carried on.
“I’ll go rescue her from the parking lot, I guess,” I say, pressing my lips together. “I hope you feel better, Harold. Mrs. Quinn, please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.”
“Thank you, Brett. You’re too kind.”
With that, I take my opportunity to leave and hurry down the hallway toward the elevator with hope of catching up with Melody before she’s roaming through a dark parking lot trying to unlock a car without a proper key.
I turn the corner, finding the elevator doors closing. I slip my hand between the doors, triggering the motion detector. As the doors reopen, Melody comes into view, standing in the left corner of the elevator holding her arms tightly around her body. Her beautiful eyes are screaming for help, but her lips are clamped shut, firmly holding in the sob heaving through her chest.
10
The elevator sealsus inside the confining walls. I have my gaze locked on Melody’s face, but she is staring past me toward the metal doors. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I figured you were hungry. I know hospital food isn’t great.”
