The Game Changer (33 page)

Rita sniffled and reached hastily for the box of tissues on the coffee table. When she’d finished dabbing her eyes and blowing her nose she turned and looked steadily at Melody. “I’m sure you’ve figured out why I’m telling you this. You’re right that sometimes people do have to figure things out on their own, but I want you to learn from my mistake, and not make the same mistake with Olivia. I ruined an amazing friendship because I thought I knew what was best, and because I was hurt and felt abandoned.”

Melody let out a long, shaky breath and ran her hands through her hair. As much as she wanted to believe that what had happened between her mother and Diana would never happen with her and Olivia, she knew it was possible. Things were said in the heat of the moment that couldn’t be taken back; feelings could be hurt irreparably, and relationships could be broken.

“What do I do?” Melody asked quietly.

Rita let out a soft, humourless laugh. “I should tell you that I’m not really the one to ask, but I know what I’d do if I had it to do over again.” She reached out and smoothed down Melody’s hair, then brushed it behind her shoulder. “I know it’s totally cliché, but you need to give her time. This is new for her, it’s exciting, and this guy consumes her whole world right now. It won’t always be that way, though. If you remain the good friend you’ve always been and give her the time she needs to figure things out, things will change. They may never be the same again, but you don’t have to lose a friend the way I did.”

She smiled sadly and gave a helpless little shrug that almost broke Melody’s heart. “The reason I told you all this in the first place was because even though this stuff might seem like high school drama, it can happen to the most mature adults,” Rita added. “I was older than you are now when Diana and I had our falling out, and I was married and had two children. Shit happens, as they say. It’s how you deal with it that matters.”

Melody chuckled. “My mother, ladies and gentlemen.”

Rita laughed and poked Melody in the ribs. All traces of tears were gone now, and she looked more at ease.

“Whatever happened to Diana?” Melody asked.

“She and Dave are still happily married, and have two sons and a daughter, all in their teens. She wrote to me when they were born, and sent pictures. We’ve been in touch a few times over the years, and when she heard about your dad’s death, she told me she’d be on the next flight if I needed her.” Rita’s voice cracked on the last few words, and she blinked rapidly. “I couldn’t believe that after all those years, and all that had happened, she’d still be there if I needed her. I wanted her to come so badly, but I was afraid having her here would give me an excuse to fall apart completely because I knew she’d take care of everything. I couldn’t do that to you girls, though. I needed to be strong and learn to do things on my own.”

“And you did,” Melody said, her throat tightening with emotion. She waved her hands in front of her face, trying to stop the tears that threatened to surface. “No tears. Is that the last you heard from her?”

“No. No, we’ve been in touch on and off. She keeps asking me to come for a visit, believe it or not.”

“Really? That’s wonderful!”

Rita tilted her head back and forth in a ‘maybe’ gesture. “I thought so, too. I couldn’t believe it when she called and told me they’d love to have me out. I was seriously considering it too, until Ava came to live with me.”

“Oh.” Melody understood her mother’s hesitation now.

“Yeah.
But
, then I got to thinking: Ava’s settling in nicely, and school will be over in another few weeks. Maybe by July or August she’d be ready to take a trip. She told me that the longest trip she ever took was from Ottawa to Bellevue when I brought her to live with me.”

“Ugh, that’s so sad,” Melody said. “Every kid should get to go on a big, fun trip. The ones you and Dad took us on are some of the best memories I have.” Melody smiled wistfully, thinking of long drives in the car to beaches and amusement parks and museums. Those were the clearest and happiest memories she had of her dad, when he was relaxed and let his inner child show as he chased her and Jackie around Canada’s Wonderland, or showed them all the beauty and history of Old Québec City.

“I think you should do it,” Melody told her mother. “Pack up the car, take a few days to drive down, stay in really cool places along the way, and make amends with Diana. It would be good for all of you.”

Rita smiled slowly. “I was hoping you’d think it was a good idea,” she said, a conspiratorial light making her eyes sparkle, “because I want you to come with us.”

“Me? You want
me
to go with you?” Melody asked, her voice pitched high with surprise.

Rita laughed. “Yes, I want
you
to come with us. I think we’d have a blast. Three generations of Cartwright women hitting the road. Maybe we’ll make a plan or maybe we won’t and we can just fly by the seat of our pants and do whatever we want. We could stop in Québec City; I remember how much you loved it there, and with Ava liking history so much, I think she’d enjoy it. We could even go to Prince Edward Island. I always promised you I’d take you to the Anne of Green Gables house, but your dad died before we made it.”

Melody let out a breathless laugh. “I don’t know what to say.”

Rita shrugged. “Don’t say anything, then. Just think about it. I’m sure you have plenty of vacation time stored up since you never take any time off work.” She poked Melody again to emphasize her words. “You could take two or three weeks, or hell, even the whole summer.”

Melody sputtered out a laugh. “You’re crazy,” she said, shaking her head. A few weeks or even a few months off work? She loved her job, but it didn’t mean that some time off wouldn’t be nice. Her mother was right about her never taking time off. Maybe this was exactly what she needed to take her mind off things. Even though it wouldn’t be for several weeks, it would at least be something to look forward to, and she could spend her free time—the time she normally spent thinking too much—planning an epic trip for her mother, her niece, and herself. “If we go to Prince Edward Island, can we see the Anne of Green Gables musical?”

Her mother stared at her in silence for a moment, then she let out an ear-splitting squeal. “You’ll come with us?”

“Yes, if you’re serious about it,” Melody told her, laughing at her mother’s reaction.

“I wasn’t sure until just now. It was an idea I’d been playing around with, but I hadn’t sorted it all out yet. Now I know, though.” Rita grabbed Melody’s hand and squeezed it excitedly. “This is going to be so great! We can both get online and start researching places to go, hotels, things like that. Maybe we could rent a cottage in New Brunswick or even PEI…and I’m getting ahead of myself.” Rita grinned at Melody, then covered her face with her hands in an attempt to regroup. “I’ll have to talk to Ava’s counselor and doctor, see what they think, then talk to Ava, of course. We can start planning, but let’s not mention it to Ava until we know for sure.”

“Of course,” Melody agreed. “She’s doing so well, though.”

“She is. She’s like a completely different kid than the one I brought home all those weeks ago.” Rita smiled, pride and affection lighting her face. “A cross-country adventure with my two girls,” she said, shaking her head. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer.”

“Me either,” Melody said, unable to control the wide grin that overtook her face. She had a fleeting thought of how difficult it would be to leave Olivia and Julian for an undecided amount of time, but then she reminded herself how busy they were with their own lives—Olivia with Cameron, and Julian with expanding his business. This trip could be exactly what she needed to gain some perspective on her
own
life.

At that moment, Ava came bounding back into the room, scattering Melody’s thoughts. She skipped over to the couch and wiggled into the small space between Melody and Rita, clutching a book in her hands. Melody shot her mother a look over Ava’s head, and the two shared a secret, happy smile.

Things were definitely looking up.

CHAPTER 17

That week was a quiet one for Melody. She finally heard from Olivia late Sunday night, but it was only to tell her she would be spending another night at Cameron’s. From years of experience, Melody had been expecting details about the night before, but it seemed now that it actually meant something her friend was keeping it to herself.

Because she knew she would likely spend the week alone, Melody stayed as late as possible at work each afternoon. She was less and less surprised each day that Olivia wasn’t home when she returned after work. She made herself dinner, then alternately worked on designing Ava’s room and planning their family summer trip. She discovered that being busy kept her mind off other things, like the distance between her and Olivia, or the fact that she missed Julian more than she thought she should.

She slowly grew accustomed to being alone in the evenings. She kept the TV or stereo on for company, and eventually learned to stop checking her phone every five minutes to make sure she hadn’t missed a call or text. She heard from Olivia and Julian at least once a day, but she made up her mind that if this was how things were going to be from now on, she couldn’t put her life on hold waiting to hear from them.

Angelica was absent from work all week. She left a vague message on Melody’s work line early every morning, telling her she wouldn’t be in, but that she needed to talk to Melody sometime soon. Whenever Melody called her cell or apartment there was no answer. By Friday she’d made up her mind to visit Angelica during lunch, but when she went to leave her desk Angelica appeared in the doorway of her cubicle.

“I was just coming to see you,” Melody told her. She tried hard not to stare; in the week since she’d seen Angelica, she looked completely different. Always the professional, with her outfit, hair, and makeup immaculate, Melody was surprised to see Angelica in jeans that were age-worn and ripped at the knee, paired with an equally worn, baggy t-shirt. Her hair hung loose and limp around a face that was wiped clean of any cosmetics. She opened her mouth to ask if she was sick, but decided that would sound bad, so instead she asked, “Is everything all right?”

“Not really,” Angelica said. At the look of concern on Melody’s face, she smiled weakly. “Let’s grab some lunch downstairs and we can talk.”

Melody followed Angelica through the office; she wasn’t surprised that nobody seemed to recognize Angelica. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Angelica waved her outside rather than through the small strip mall on the ground floor. They walked around to the patio of the restaurant and took one of the free tables closest to the building.

“Looks like summer’s on its way,” Angelica commented, tilting her face up toward the sky and closing her eyes against the bright sunlight. Despite her tired appearance, Melody thought she looked younger with no makeup on. She studied her face and noticed circles under her eyes that hadn’t been visible against her dark skin when they were inside.

“You didn’t come to talk about the weather, though,” Melody said gently. “What’s going on?”
You’re starting to scare me
, she added silently.

Angelica released a long, weary breath and opened her eyes, leveling her gaze on Melody. “The reason my mother came for a visit, and the reason she didn’t want to go home is because she’s sick. She was diagnosed with lung cancer about a month ago, and the doctor said she said had a 50/50 chance of surviving with chemo.”

“Oh my god, Ang, I’m so sorry,” Melody said, reaching across the table to take Angelica’s hand.

Angelica squeezed Melody’s hand, then held on like it was a lifeline. “She said she was afraid of chemo, and if she was going to die anyway, she’d rather spend the time living her life than miserable in the hospital.”

A waitress appeared at the table, pen poised over her notebook, but her bright smile faded when she looked at the two women. “I’ll just give you a minute,” she said hastily.

“No, no, it’s all right,” Melody told her quickly. Angelica looked like she hadn’t been eating properly, so Melody figured the least she could do was get some food in her. “Can we get two of the lunch specials with coffee, please?” Melody paused, glancing at Angelica. “Unless you want something stronger? A shot of tequila to steady your nerves maybe?”

That drew the desired smile, albeit a small one, from Angelica. “I don’t think I’ll ever drink tequila again after that night with you and Olivia. Coffee’s fine, thanks.”

When they were alone again, Melody motioned for Angelica to carry on. “She wasn’t even going to tell me, Mel,” Angelica said. Under the fear and worry, Melody could see anger in the younger woman’s eyes. “It finally came out when I lost my patience with her one night and asked her if she was ever going back home.”

Melody cringed. “Not the ideal way to find out.”