Would Melissa get out and approach me? The two times I’d seen her since her birthday party had been brief and one-sided. Basically, I waved, and she pretended not to see me.
It would be a little bit harder to keep up her avoidance right now, considering the company she was keeping.
“Young man, you get over here,” the lady called out.
Oh yeah, there was no avoiding me now. Melissa knew it. She was chewing on that gorgeous bottom lip of hers like it tasted good. I bet it did. I loved her wild curls, and her curves, and her innocent brown eyes that had filled with fire when she spotted me reading in her arm chair. I had a hunch it was her favorite spot in her whole house.
Yeah, Melissa was off-limits, but Natalya wasn’t here, my roommate, Rob, wasn’t here, and didn’t I deserve a little bonus for all my hard work today? Besides, I’d been summoned.
“Hi. Um, would you like some help?” I went to take the walker out of Melissa’s hands once I realized what she was doing and why her companion hadn’t gotten out of the car yet even though Melissa had opened up the passenger-side door for her.
Melissa pulled the walker closer. “I got it. I know how it unlocks.”
“Okay.” I held my hands up in surrender. “So, is this Granny?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” The woman slowly stood, holding onto the car frame for support, and then she pointed a long, bony finger at me. “Are you the young man who didn’t help Melissa move in? She saw you watching through the window. What are all those muscles for if you can’t lift anything with them?”
“Granny,” Melissa murmured, turning red.
She wasn’t any redder than I was. I ducked my head. “I’m sorry. I had to study that day.”
“Hmph.” Granny waved me aside and slowly made her way towards the door off the carport, using the walker. “Are you going to do anything about this yard, or were you too busy studying to notice how terrible it is?”
My good day was losing its goodness fast. In less than a minute, this woman had managed to poke holes in places I couldn’t defend like she was a high-powered prosecutor taking down a defense witness.
“The yard was like this when I bought it.” It sounded weak to my own ears, but it was all I had.Putting in a yard was expensive and time-consuming. So, I just hadn’t done it.
“And when was that?”
“Last year. Well, it was nice to meet you. I’ll see you two later.”
“Going so soon?” Granny cackled. “That’s good because Melissa here isn’t single, and I know that’s the only reason you came over with that hopeful look in your eye. She’s engaged to my grandson. He’s a hero, you know. He witnessed a robbery and had to go into hiding.”
“Into the witness protection program?” I asked, goosebumps raising up all over my arms.
Melissa’s chin raised a little at my mocking tone. “Yes.”
Oh, this was bad. I’d read the situation all wrong. The fiancé wasn’t a lie Natalya made up, but Melissa’s own ghosting story. I was suddenly seeing Melissa in a whole new light, one not nearly as flattering. Warning signs were going up everywhere. Melissa had been ghosted by a desperate, desperate man. He’d wanted away from her badly enough to ditch his own grandmother.
I knew first-hand what that kind of desperation felt like. I had never known someone so wholly tone-deaf to the word ‘no’ as Natalya. At first, needing space had been a matter of not failing out of year two of dental school. But then, I’d needed space because the more I pulled away, the harder she held on. She was jealous of every woman who talked to me. We had the ‘I’m-breaking-up-with-you’ talk four times, and it never stuck. I finally told her I was moving and never coming back. I blocked her number and swapped apartments with a friend for the semester. I stopped going to the same place for coffee. I changed my pharmacy and grocery store.
Three weeks later, she pulled up behind me in the drive-thru at Taco Bell. I’d been betrayed by my need for tacos and the person ahead of me who couldn’t decide what to order.
Natalya had left her car and stalked over to mine. “Visiting Arizona again, Connor?”
I was too tired to lie. Too tired and too hungry. “I just want a hard taco supreme, Nat. Okay, actually, I want four of them. And I want extra mild sauce to take home. It’s good on burritos.”
She’d blinked at me and then her face turned tomato red and angry. “I never want to see you again, Connor Harwood.”
“Fine by me.”
Those were our last words to each other. Until Melissa’s birthday party—the one thrown by Melissa’s mom. Another red flag I’d almost ignored.
Maybe being a bad neighbor was exactly what this situation called for. Being un-neighborly had saved me from another clingy relationship. What a relief.
“You called it, Granny. I’m no catch. I don’t volunteer to move stuff if I can help it, and I don’t care about my yard. There’s no H.O.A. here, so it makes no difference to me.” I gave them a salute and jogged back to my house.
The sad thing was, I’d totally been planning to put in a yard as a graduation present to myself. I’d even talked my brother and sister into coming to help once they were on summer break. Now it would look like I did it all out of guilt. Whatever. That would be even better. Another reason for Melissa Cooke and her granny to look down on me. I’d make sure they had lots of reasons.
