Chapter 7

I seated everyone around the kitchen table. After the initial surprise had worn off Syliva had gotten a lot cooler towards me and refused to answer questions saying she had some for me first. Melissa sat close to me. A few years ago I had torn down the wall to the dining room and merged it with the kitchen. That allowed me to have a decent-sized table in the kitchen which was useful sometimes. By now everyone had a bottle of water from the fridge and after Sylvia had given it the silent once over I was glad I was a bit obsessive about keeping it spotless.

“So, Sylvia McCallister,” I started.

“Heller,” She interjected. “I gave up McCallister when I got married.”

“In college?”

“Yep, I got pregnant with Lavi while I was still in. I had to finish at an American university satellite when we moved to Israel with her dad. Did you know Peter, Peter Heller?”

I thought back but couldn’t place him so I just shook my head no.

“He was an engineering major. We got married and he took a job with a startup in Tel-Aviv. He had grown up in Israel anyway.”

“Are you Jewish?”

“I am now, raised Southern Baptist but I converted when we married.”

“And you’re here now? A long way from Chapel Hill.”

“His company did stuff with microprocessors and got bought out. His coming here was part of the restructuring. I had missed the states anyway.” She fidgeted with the water bottle in her hands. “He’s at home right now but he is awfully curious why I left the house with the girls though. I told him I had a mystery to solve.” She gave that same smile I had seen on Lavi’s face. OK, clearly they had more in common than their hair.

“So ... why are you here?”

“Well, I caught these two sneaking out.”

“We were not sneaking out. We were walking out.” That was Lavi.

“You were sneaking,” her mother countered.

“And failed,” Melissa added. Lavi glared at her. “Lavi and I were talking and I was wishing I could visit you.”

“And spend the night apparently,” added Sylvia.

“We didn’t say that,” said Lavi.

“You didn’t have to.”

Melissa looked at Sylvia, “It’s fine Lavi. It’s true. I don’t see anything wrong with my wanting to spend the night with Robert.” Then she turned to look at me squarely, “By the way, you said to call you Robert, what’s this Rob thing?”

I sighed. “It sounds weird to have people call me Rob but in college, they thought I was kind of stuck up so I started using Rob. I still do sometimes but trust me, I’m Robert.”

“Ah.”

“But while we’re on names,” I motioned with my head towards Sylvia while looking at Melissa, “what’s with the mom thing?”

“Huh?”

“You called her mom outside.”

“Oh, you know how Lavi is mini-mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s the full-one.” She pointed at Sylvia. “Back when I started hanging out at Lavi’s my mom made a really big deal about minding Sylvia as if she was my mom. So she became other-mom or just mom sometimes.”

Lavi, “She sarcastically called mom her mom so much that eventually, it stopped being sarcastic and just started being a habit.”

“Peter used to say thank god she wasn’t really our daughter, a second one would have left him bald instead of with gray hairs,” Sylvia added.

“Mother!” That was Lavi.

“What, it’s true! We’ve worked hard to protect both of you. Which brings us to ... this.”

“We really didn’t think you’d think it was such a big deal,” offered Melissa.

“Going out to see a grown man...”

“Going out to see my boyfriend. How many times has Jerry picked me up from your place,” asked Melissa?

“That’s different.”

“Really?”

“Your mom knows Jerry.”

“I’m an adult and my mom doesn’t have a say if I choose to see someone.”

I could tell Sylvia was getting heated. “She does so long as you live in her house.”

“I don’t have to live there.” I knew that tone of voice from Melissa from our one and only fight. I thought about saying something but looking at her staring down Sylvia ... yeah, she didn’t need me to fight her battles for her. So, instead, I just took her hand and squeezed it.

A long pause passed where the semi-adopted mother and daughter had a non-verbal showdown. Lavi looked like she wanted to disappear but eventually broke the silence by saying, “Mom, I know you love her but it’s her decision, just like it would be mine. Seriously, you weren’t nearly this wound up until you heard his name.”

Sylvia took a long deep breath. “When you said he was older and had his own house I was imagining in his twenties, not my age.”

“I think he’s a little older than you,” Melissa said. That jab hit Sylvia like a soft left swing but she mostly ignored it.

“Seriously, mom,” Lavi decided to press the point, “you’ve always been upfront with us, made sure we had protection, told us we should wait until we were sure but it was our lives all that. This seems a bit of a turnaround.”

“Come on Lavi, you’re not stupid, you have to know what this looks like,” her mom countered.

“And what does it look like?” I didn’t like the sound of that implication at all.

Sylvia stared daggers at me now, “Like a middle-aged man getting his rocks off on a young piece of ass he can play games with.”

Melissa went as rigid as stone but that didn’t stop her voice. “YOU”

SLAM. The room echoed. I was seeing red, which was not good. The table shook and my and Lavi’s water bottles fell over. I had brought my hand palm down into the table as hard as I could. It hurt. The sound echoed. My palm was pulsing with the pain but it successfully interrupted Melissa before she said something she would regret. I looked at Sylvia and slowly removed my hand from the table. I looked at it and flexed the fingers before turning to look at Sylvia who stared at me.

“I want to make one thing clear. You are an old friend but you will watch your tongue. You can say whatever you like about me. Some of it is likely to be true. But if you imply for one second that Melissa would be treated that way by myself or anyone else in this house we will have words you do not want, do you understand me?”

She nodded and that’s when I noticed she had backed up slightly from the table, scooting her chair away. I stood up then and decided to do something for a few moments while I gathered myself and started looking through a drawer of take-out menus. I tossed a pad of paper and pen on the table along with the menu.

“I was trying to make noodles and learn to make Pad Thai because Melissa likes it when you arrived. It wasn’t going well and I’m hungry so I’m going to order it. If anyone else wants something, write it down, my treat. Order something for Peter if you want to take it home to him. We will talk after the food arrives.” My tone was terse. I was going for normal but failing. I took out the whiskey I keep around for when my throat is scratchy. I put it and a shot glass down.

“I only keep one shot glass around so if anyone wants one they’re going to have to be OK sharing it with me. For what it’s worth I’m fine with it.” I poured a shot, took it, then a second before walking outside. I heard the door open again a second after I had closed it. Melissa’s arms snaked around me as I was stretching and hugged me watching the moonlight on the pool.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I made a mess of this.” I felt her head press into my back.

“No, this is just messy. I’m sorry I got angry.”

“Mmmm,” she just hugged me and we stood like that, her holding me and me rubbing her arm until a moment later she started giggling.

“What’s funny?”

“I was wondering if Mrs. Heller is on the rag too and then thought she might be lucky if she is.”

“Why?”

“Because you might have made her pee herself a little and the pad would help.”

I tried to hold it in, I really did, but soon we were both giggling and like that the tension drained out of me. After a few more minutes we slowly kissed and then went back inside. The notepad was on the table with writing on it. The shot glass and whiskey bottle were closer to Sylvia now. Sylvia started to say something but I held up my hand to tell her to stop. I picked up the pad and ordered the three listed on the pad then the two others, combo pork and chicken for Melissa since I didn’t see her handwriting on the pad and chicken and shrimp for me.

I hung up. “They’re not busy so it’ll be here pretty quick.”

Melissa looked at me, “Two each?”

“Sure.” She started to get the salt and paprika out while I went to the fridge. “Eggs for the Pad Thais?” I asked Lavi and Sylvia.

“No thank you,” Sylvia said. “They can’t add it?”

Melissa replied for me, “Robert gets fresh eggs from a local farm, way more flavor.” She and I moved around for a few minutes. In the last few weeks, we had fixed snacks together enough that she knew where things were and we had fallen into a habit of her doing seasoning and other tasks while I did the main cooking. When the eggs were mixed Melissa picked up my phone and put in my passcode to start looking for music while I finished up. The sounds of Camille Caballo and Billy Elish started. Within a few minutes, the doorbell rang and she went to get the food. She came back and started passing it out while we added eggs to ours and sat down. During all of this none of us talked but I noticed that Sylvia watched us with deep interest.

I paused before taking my first bite. “Now, it’s not exactly breaking bread but I have invited you in and we’re eating so let’s try this again.”

Sylvia talked slowly, taking bites in between. “I’m concerned about her safety.”

“Physically?”

“A little, but more emotionally and other things.”

“I’m a woman,” Melissa offered.

“Please, you’re a girl. I don’t care what the law says. Remember I was your age once. I don’t think I was a woman until I was nearly thirty, not really.”

“And what made you a woman?” Lavi asked, biting into a spring roll. “You always told me it was love and pain.”

She glared at her daughter. “Don’t throw my own words back at me.”

“Too late, I listened to you.”

“I always thought that would make me happier to hear,” Sylvia deadpanned.

“And I’m going to make mistakes and I’m going to get hurt. Maybe with Robert.” Melissa smiled at me. “Maybe not.”

Sylvia sighed and put her fork down. “This is so weird. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blown up. I came over all excited and all my feelings are jumbled up. Rob Carlo, I can’t believe it’s you.”

“Excited?” I asked.

“She was nearly bouncing,” supplied Lavi.

“I’m not your mom, not really.” She said to Melissa “but I do still have a responsibility both to you and to your mom. Just not the same one I guess.” She sighed deeply. “OK. Fine. I’ll keep my mouth shut but I reserve the right to raise a major bitch later.”

“I think that’s fair,” I said.

“How did this happen? Not the job, I heard about that but you two, together,” Sylvia asked.

“Well, I think it was while we were talking about Their Eyes Were Watching God,” supplied Melissa. Sylvia nodded as if this made sense. It didn’t to me. “We were talking about Janie and I kept expecting Robert to talk about her experiences from his viewpoint but instead it’s like he was living in her head and he kept challenging my assumptions. I assumed I’d know her better being a girl but he insisted we talk about her as a person, not a metaphor. And somewhere in there, I realized he saw me as a person too.”

“How long were you ... talking?” Sylvia prompted.

“Weeks? A month? I don’t know, forever. One day I hugged him and could tell he wanted ... what every guy wants but he didn’t act like others. I kept waiting for him to try to get in my pants but he didn’t. So, eventually I, well, eventually ... pushed.” Melissa supplied.

“Now, that does sound like the Rob I remember,” Sylvia said with a half-hearted chuckle.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“You always were oblivious to women.”

I looked at her, confused.

“No, not me in case you’re wondering.” Thank goodness, that would have been too weird. “There were other girls though ... more than one liked your intensity. Several were interested to find out if you could be just as passionate about them as you are about books.”

At that Melissa kind of turned red. Lavi did not let her life sister off the hook by loudly whispering, “Busted!”

I coughed to clear my throat. “Well, they certainly didn’t tell me.”

For the first time, the three shared a conspiratorial look. I knew they communicated something but found myself ill-equipped, perhaps literally, to understand it.

Melissa looked at Sylvia, “I initiated this. This was my choice. He kept telling me to leave.”

“Until he didn’t,” Sylvia offered. “A good manipulator could do that.”

“Please, you accused me of not being a woman but that’s bullshit!” Sylvia tried saying something but Melissa cut her off. “No, listen to me. I don’t know some things but there’s plenty I do know. I bloomed early and hard. I was a woman as far as guys are concerned before I knew what sex was, certainly before I wanted it. So I had to learn some things pretty damn early on. I was in the fucking hospital and had doctors leering at me and wondering what it would be like to fuck me while I thought I was dying.” She was almost yelling now and then got very quiet. “I know what I am to men. And I know what I am to Robert.”

I didn’t wait for the question. I looked at Sylvia. “I’m lonely when she’s not here. I was never lonely before I met Melissa, even when past women left me I might have missed them a little bit but space didn’t feel empty for them not being there. It does when she leaves.”

“Fuck,” Sylvia offered and threw her head back to loosen her neck up.

“Double fuck,” offered her biological daughter grinning. Lavi then got up and came over and gave me a hug, then looped in Melissa. Everyone returned to their seats and looked at Sylvia.

“You certainly have Lavi’s blessing. I guess that counts for something. She’d cut off a limb for Mellie without hesitation.”

“Are we good?” I asked.

Sylvia looked like she was making some kind of evaluation. “We’re good, just be careful with my other daughter.”

“I will.”

“And you,” she said looking at Melissa, “be careful with him. I’m not sure you’re not both damned fools.”

“I will,” she said, still holding my hand.

Seconds later Sylvia got swarmed with Lavi and Melissa on each side giving her kisses on the cheek. Melissa got there a split second later but it seemed to be Lavi’s attention that surprised her as it was as enthusiastic as Melissa’s.

“So...” she was beaming from the attention a little. “Before I got distracted by dealing with ... the idea of Melissa as a woman now”

“It’s not like I was a virgin...”

“Ah! I don’t need to know that for sure, though it’s oddly kind of comforting. ANYWAY...”

She picked her purse up from where she had put it on the floor. It was one of those monstrous things that you could stuff a shipping container into and yet women never seem to have what they think they put into it. She pulled a hardback book from it and handed it to me. The cover was electric blue with a girl standing there and lightning from her fingertips. The cover said Sky Born, had several award stickers and proclaimed it a New York Times bestseller by Sylvia Newton. It looked like YA, which aside from maybe Harry Potter I had never read. Well, Hunger Games too. Unsurprisingly, the back cover showed the woman sitting across the table from me. At this point, she reached over and opened it to the dedication page and began reading from across the table

“I would like to dedicate this to my first editor, the second most important man in me becoming who I am after my husband.”

“That’s him?!” Lavi was pointing at the book.

“I still don’t get it,” I said.

Melissa looked like she did and filled me in. “I’ve heard this story. Sylvia-mom always tells us that it is really important to support people, that one person could change someone’s life. She’d tell us that when she went to college one guy was there who was editing the college literary magazine and he encouraged her and that’s why she became a writer.”

“I was editing the magazine and I took one of your stories...” I started.

“And you changed my life.”

“You were already a writer, I didn’t do much. Maybe encourage you a bit. You always had talent.”

“Encourage? That’s all? You’re the only man who did. My father told me I was stupid. My preacher told me I should settle for finding a reliable husband. You told me I had talent. I never thought anyone would care about anything I did.”

“You wrote it. It was all you.”

“You convinced me I had value as something other than a breeder.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. “You were amazing and obviously still are. Do you mind if I borrow this to read it?”

She smiled and laughed. “You can keep it, I did dedicate it to you! You know I looked for you a few times to tell you?”

“I don’t use social media much.” I swear I saw Melissa smirk at that but she didn’t say anything snarky though I’m sure she was thinking it.

“So, how the hell did you end up here?” Sylvia asked.

“Uh, long story.” I grimaced. “And not interesting.”

“But you’re not teaching literature?”

“No, I never finished. I had to drop out while working on my master’s.”

“So, you dropped out and then became a geologist?”

“I’m not a geologist. I’m just good at studying rock samples. I was doing a crappy help desk job. But they were using a heavily customized version of this statistics package and no one knew it. I figured it would be good if someone did, so I learned it. I got really good at it until they had me working with it full time. Eventually, I got to know the data really well until I got a good feel for making the guesses.” I shrugged again. I felt like I was doing a lot of that. “Here I am.”

“Why?”

“Long story.”

“We have time.” That was Melissa innocently sipping her water but not letting it pass.

I rolled my eyes. I guess I’d put it off. “My dad disappeared when I was in school. Creditors grabbed everything ... including a few shady ones. Apparently he grabbed what cash he could and decided Mexico was a good place to hang out. Or at least he went through there, the border was the last place anyone documented him. We haven’t heard from him since. My mom was homeless and needed me so ... I did what I could.”

“Where is your mom now?” That was Melissa.

“She’s living in North Florida. She’s working with a friend running a bed and breakfast. The friend has this huge house and wanted to make it into a bed and breakfast after her husband died but didn’t know anything about the business. My mom had been the manager of a small-town motel for ages. It was a perfect match.”

“How did you end up here?”

“I moved out of Chapel Hill to live with my mom in Atlanta. After she moved to Florida I could go anywhere. I ... was engaged for a while.” I paused to drink some water and take a few more bites of the noodles. At that point, you could have heard a pin drop as it was clear Melissa hadn’t been expecting that. Melissa was looking at me with a hundred questions. Answering what I thought were the most important ones, I started back. “Yeah. Remember I mentioned a restraining order?”