Chapter 78
“Mx. Garcia, we think we’re going to have to cut your program.”
The last couple of days with Rhys and Alfie must have lulled them into a false sense of security. Because Dirk’s statement took them completely by surprise. It was certainly not why they thought Veronica asked them to come in.
“Why would you do that?” Mel managed to ask. “We just brought on a certified counselor.” They had so many more ideas. It hadn’t been a full year. They promised Mel a year to get this program off the ground. They had made so much progress. How could they end it now?
“We aren’t sure it’s going to be worth it.”
“To whom?” Mel asked, without thinking it through. “Your pocketbook or the kids who come through here? We’ve already helped so many of them.”
“We’ve had to repair damage to the building once,” one of the directors, Lance—who always brought money up before anything—said from all the way at the other end of the table. “Insurance didn’t cover everything, and our premium still shot up.”
Mel hadn’t even put in to replace all the books.
They had known better than to expect that.
“There’s no guarantee that’s going to happen again.
” Although the police closed the case without making an arrest. “These kids need this place. They feel safe here. Some of them don’t have anywhere else in their life like that. We can’t abandon them, too.”
“No one is abandoning anyone,” Blaine said from the middle of the conference table. “We are deciding where the best place to put our funds is. We aren’t sure it’s your program. We haven’t made a final decision, though.”
Mel drew in a deep breath. “How long do I have?”
“The end of the month,” Dirk said. “If it isn’t evident that this is actually helping anything, it’s done. If there is another attack…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry Mx. Garcia, but we can’t do it.”
“You’d prefer to bend to the hate?”
His face hardened, but it was Veronica who spoke. “I understand why you would view it that way, Mx. Garcia, but we have other considerations to factor in.”
“I understand,” Mel ground out. They would put their own interests, their money, the other children—the cisgender, apparently hetero ones—over the clearly queer ones who came through here. The ones who would never be seen as enough in so many of their eyes.
They didn’t want to think it was true. They had initially approved the program, after all.
It seemed nearly half of them—Dirk and Blaine—were always trying to sabotage things.
Maybe Mel was paranoid, and looking for judgment no matter the assurances of acceptance—Just like they got from their parents—but Mel didn’t think so.
They walked out of the conference room. They needed to get over to the center, and figure out a way to break it to the kids who were there they might not have that safe haven for much longer.
Where would that leave Mel? They’d still have their job at the coffee shop, and sure that brought in more money, but they’d been building something good here.
What did it mean if they couldn’t even keep that going?
They pulled their phone out as they walked to their car and saw a missed call from their mom.
Mel tried hard not to groan. It had been two days since their argument during Mel’s shift.
Mel hadn’t heard a word from her in that time.
Or from the twins. It worried Mel, but what could they do?
If they confronted their mom, they’d make things worse. She’d get over her snit soon.
“I can’t believe you won’t even pick up your phone, Melanie. How petty are you going to be? I need you to come get the girls this morning. I have a meeting about my research. I’ve put too much time and dedication into this project to just abandon it. I can still depend on you, can’t I?”
Mel let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of their nose. They should tell their mom no. After everything she’d said the last couple times, Mel shouldn’t put themself out there, but they were never going to leave their siblings hanging there without any support.
Instead of calling, and having to listen to what a disappointment of a daughter—shudder—they were, Mel sent a message.
Mel
I was in a meeting. I’m on my way over now.
They’d pick the twins up then head over to the center. And figure out a way to keep this from falling apart.
“I expected better, Melanie. To ignore me that way.”
“I already told you, Mom, I wasn’t ignoring you.” Mel wasn’t sure why they were bothering to keep arguing. Obviously their mother didn’t care to hear them. “I had a meeting with the directors.”
Their mother actually rolled her eyes. She tried to say the twins were immature, but at least they had the excuse of being literal teenagers. “I don’t see why you put your volunteering above your sisters’ well-being.”
Mel took slow careful breaths to keep from screaming at their mother. Mel wasn’t the one putting anything above anything for their siblings. Pointing that out would never solve anything. Their mother could not see anything beyond her own point-of-view.
“It’s not simply volunteering. It’s my job, Mom.” If Mel didn’t figure out what to do, it would be gone.
Their mother ignored that,. “I need you to take them for the day. They’ll come back here at night, but I can’t do my job and keep an eye on both of them all day.”
But, Mel was supposed to. Because whatever their mother was researching this time was more important than the work Mel did.
Maybe serving coffee wasn’t life-changing, but they liked to think the work they did at the center was.
Their mother wouldn’t understand, though.
Mel was so tired of fighting to try to get her to.
If they stopped, where would that leave the twins?
“I’m happy to have them with me,” Mel said. “As I’ve told you before. You’re the one who insisted I couldn’t take care of them the right way.”
Their mother waved that away as if that would make it never have happened. “Of course you can take care of them. Even if I am not happy with how permissive you are with them. I need you to keep them tonight, but make sure they stick with their regular school routine.”
A month remained before they would be going back to school.
“I’ll just go see if they’re ready to head out,” Mel said, not willing to argue any more with their mother. It’s not like it ever got them anywhere. Sometimes they weren’t sure why they even bothered.
“Talk to Denise while she’s with you. Get her to drop some of these ridiculous notions.”
Mel bristled at which of those notions their mother was talking about. They didn’t want to have that confirmed. So, they continued back to the twins’ bedroom.
Denny sat on their bed with their bag in their lap. “Is Mom done lecturing you yet?”
Mel didn’t bother answering. Their mother treated the twins like they were still little kids, but they both understood a lot more than either of their parents gave them credit for.
“Come on,” they said. “I need to stop at the center, but then we’ll get some ice cream on the way to my house.”
When they parked in front of their house, they got an even better treat than the peanut butter cup in a waffle cone they’d splurged on. “Don’t you have a game you’re supposed to be at?” they asked Rhys.
“Over,” he said. “We lost.”
“They should’ve put you in,” Denny said. “At least to pinch hit. It was a mistake to leave Tavell in there. He’s slumping bad.”
Rhys gave a short nod. “We all have moments when that happens. Never know when you’ll get hot again. They don’t want me to overdo it until my shoulder’s a hundred percent.”
“Then they’ll be okay with you overdoing it?” Mel asked.
He leaned in to kiss them, pulling back at the last moment and glancing toward the twins. Mel couldn’t help but laugh. “They’ve seen me kiss someone before. Come on inside. We just had ice cream, but I’m sure these two are already hungry again. I can throw something together for dinner.”
And then maybe Rhys could help them forget how off the rails this day had gone.