Chapter 52
MELODY
My laptop chimed with the incoming video call, and I felt a rush of relief. Finally. I’d been trying to reach my parents since I got back from Tahiti, but they’d been traveling as well. I was going to scold them like they scolded me for not checking in.
Their faces appeared on screen, both squeezed into the frame, and I felt instantly better. My mom’s hair was sun-bleached and wild. My dad’s face was tanned and sporting a few days of stubble. They looked relaxed and happy, exactly how people should look while living in paradise.
“There’s our girl!” my dad boomed. He had one of those voices that carried, even through video. “We thought you’d forgotten about us!”
“Never. You guys were just off the grid, living your best life.”
“Damn right we were,” my mom said. “But we’re back in civilization now, and the first thing we see is you all over the internet with that Bancroft kid. What the heck is going on in New York?”
I wasn’t going to correct them and remind them Austin wasn’t exactly a kid. But I was their kid and anyone I dated or was friends with was also kid.
I felt my cheeks heat. “It’s complicated.”
I launched into the story, starting with the moment Austin and I officially decided to give us a real shot. I told them about the private dinners on the yacht, the way he’d photographed me without me realizing. They had already suspected he was the mystery photographer.
My mom’s eyes softened as I spoke. “You’re glowing, sweetheart. Even through this screen, I can see it.”
“I was glowing,” I muttered.
“What happened?” my dad asked, his protective instincts clearly activating.
I told them about the dinner I had made. And the conversation that had sent my carefully constructed future spinning off its axis.
“Those Bancrofts are intense. All that money and power.” Mom leaned closer to the camera. “And how do I get some?”
My dad snorted, running his fingers over his balding head. “No Bancroft can compete with this. Pure magnetism right here.”
I burst out laughing. God, I needed this. Needed their ridiculous humor and their unconditional love and their ability to make everything feel less heavy.
“I’ve missed you guys so much.”
“We missed you too, sweetie,” my mom said, her expression softening. “Now, what are we going to do about your boyfriend?”
“I don’t know.” I took a breath. “I care about Austin. Really care about him. There was potential. Real potential.”
“But?” my dad prompted gently.
“We just want different things out of life,” I said.
“So you’re worried you’re wasting time with someone who can’t give you what you want,” my dad said. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes. Exactly. What if I stay with him, fall even more in love, and four years from now realize I’m no closer to the life I want?
” I felt tears pricking my eyes. “I’m afraid of getting in too deep and losing myself.
Losing the future I’ve always imagined. I can hear my biological clock pounding in my head. I can’t really afford to waste time.”
My dad nodded slowly. “That’s wise thinking. Protecting your heart and your future.”
“But also it might be premature,” my mom added.
“Mom, what if I spend time with Austin, and yeah, we have a great time, but he’s not my Mr. Right?
I could be walking right by my destiny because I’m caught up with him.
One day Austin will get bored. I might get bored.
I don’t think I’m ever going to change so much that I don’t want a house with a white-picket fence and all of that.
I just don’t see how this ends well for anyone. ”
“I didn’t want kids either,” Mom blurted out.
I stared at her. “What?”
“It’s true. Your father wanted them, but I didn’t.” She shrugged as if she wasn’t just telling her daughter she never wanted her.
“Mom, that’s—” I didn’t even know what to say. I would have been hurt and offended, but I knew my mother loved me. At least I thought she did.
“I never had a maternal bone in my body. The thought of being a mother terrified me. I saw it as sacrificing a huge part of my life. Giving up my freedom, my body, and my identity. I saw it as a burden.”
I blinked and tried to find the right words. She had blindsided me. In a big way. “I had no idea.”
“Because you weren’t supposed to know. Because by the time you were old enough to understand, I had changed completely.” She smiled, her eyes getting that soft look they always got when she talked about me. “I remember the first time I felt that flutter in my belly and I was immediately in love.”
“So, I was an accident,” I muttered.
“No! You were a blessing.” She looked at me with nothing but love and adoration in her eyes. “Once I found my true love and our lives started falling into place, something shifted. I started craving a sense of home. I wanted to build something incredible with him. And that included you.”
“Really?”
“Really. Motherhood ended up being the best part of my life. You gave me challenges to overcome, which gave me confidence. Resilience. Power. Strength. But also softness. Grace. All of it.” She leaned forward. “Having you made me more of who I was meant to be, not less.”
I felt tears streaming down my face now. “But what if Austin doesn’t change his mind? What if he really doesn’t want kids?”
“Then you cross that bridge when you come to it, Melody. But our wants and dreams for the future can change day to day, year to year. People evolve. Especially when they fall in love with the right person.”
“Your mother is right,” my dad added. “I’ve watched a lot of my friends go through this.
The guy who swore he’d never settle down is now coaching Little League.
The woman who said kids would ruin her career just made partner at her firm with three kids at home.
People change when they find their person.
It’s a balance. It’s like getting a new pair of glasses and the world looks just a little different once you find the right one. ”
“But what if I’m not his person in that way? What if I’m just the person he loves right now, but not the person he wants to build a life with?”
“Only one way to find out,” my mom said. “Talk to him. Really talk. About your fears, your needs, your timeline. And then listen to what he says. Really listen, not just for what you want to hear. Maybe he truly knows what he wants. You can’t be mad at him for not sharing your dream.”
“And maybe give him a bit more time,” Dad said. “You two just started dating officially, right? Maybe don’t demand he have his entire life figured out right this second.”
I laughed because it was so true to who I was.
Cleo had said as much. I didn’t know if I was lucky or really unfortunate to know what I wanted.
I could see my future. I knew what I wanted and I knew how to get it.
I knew it required planning and hard work.
I was a lady that liked to make lists. And plans.
I set goals. I didn’t know how to fly by the seat of my pants.
We talked for another hour about their trip, about my work, and Cleo’s latest antics. By the time we said goodbye, I felt lighter. Hopeful, even. Maybe Austin and I still had a chance. Maybe people could change their minds about things they thought they were certain about.
Maybe.
I looked at my phone, thinking about calling him. We’d been giving each other space for almost a week now, and I missed him. Missed us. I picked up my phone, ready to call, and saw the notification.
A text message. From a number I didn’t recognize. I groaned when I saw it was another message from the anonymous sender. Attached was the folder titled “Austin.”
Again.
I stared at it, my mind spinning. This was the second time. Email and now text. Two times someone had tried to send me this folder. What were the odds it was spam or malware when it kept coming from different sources? When it kept being about Austin specifically?
It felt intentional. Targeted. Like someone really wanted me to see whatever was in that folder.
But why? Who would do this? If they had my email address and my phone number, why not just send me a message?
Just say it already. If they actually cared about telling me something important, they would just come right out and say it.
This was nothing more than an obnoxious taunt.
My finger hovered over the link. Just one click. That’s all it would take. One click to see what someone thought was so important that they’d contacted me twice to make sure I saw it. One click to potentially learn something about Austin that would change everything.
No. I deleted the message.
If someone had something to tell me about Austin, they could do it to my face. With their name attached. Not hiding behind anonymous emails and random phone numbers. Whatever was in that folder, I didn’t need to see it. Didn’t want to see it.
Because I would rather talk to Austin directly.
Ask him my questions. Hear his answers. Make my own decisions based on the person I knew, not some curated collection of information from a stranger.
I knew there were rumors and stories. People loved to stir up shit.
And the last thing I needed was more drama between the two of us.
I took a deep breath and called him.
He answered on the first ring. “Melody.”
Just my name, but I could hear everything in it. Relief. Hope. Fear.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” A pause. “How are you?”
“I’m okay. Better. I talked to my parents.”
“Yeah? How are they?”
“Good,” I said. “Tan. Full of unsolicited advice.” I smiled despite my nerves. “Austin, can we meet? And talk? I know I asked for space, but I think we should talk. Really talk.”
“Yes. God, yes. When? Where?”
“Tomorrow? My place? I’ll make coffee.”
“I’ll be there. Whatever time you want.”
“Ten?”
“I’ll be there at nine fifty-nine.”
I laughed. It felt good to laugh with him again. It felt so normal, like maybe we could find our way back to each other.
“Okay. Nine fifty-nine. I’ll see you then.”
“Melody?” His voice was soft. “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
After we hung up, I sat with my phone in my lap. I didn’t know what I was feeling. Hope? Dread?
Tomorrow, we would talk. Really talk. We would figure out whether it was worth moving ahead. I wasn’t going to pressure him, but I wasn’t going to let him change my mind either. People change when they find their person.
Maybe Austin would change. Maybe he wouldn’t. I felt terrible for digging in and deciding he had to be the one to change, but I knew deep in my heart I wouldn’t be the one to give up my dreams.