Chapter 6

Melissa, Lindsey, and her mother went back to the family residence for the wake.

As Lindsey greeted people who came to pay their respects, she asked everyone not to bombard Melissa with questions or ask for autographs or photos. Even now, despite her own pain, she was putting her job and her sister before herself. Most of the people respected her wishes and gave her space.

They were well into the gathering after the funeral when Spencer and his parents walked into the house to pay his respects.

Mel was sitting at her mother’s side doing her best to comfort her.

Spencer approached them, hugged Lindsey, and said, “It’s good to see you again, Linds. I’m truly sorry for your loss.”

Lindsey accepted his condolences with trembling lips and downcast eyes.

“Nobody could match your dad for making people feel special. I’ll always remember being the smallest kid on the peewee baseball team he coached, but feeling big, because he made me team captain, Linds,” Spencer said.

Then, Spencer hugged Melissa’s mother and kissed her on the cheek.

“Such a tragedy what happened to Morgan, Evelyn. He was such a wonderful man. Call me if you need anything. I’ll always be there for you.”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it,” Melissa added a bit annoyed Spencer was ignoring her.

“I suppose with all your Hollywood money you can step up and take care of a lot of things. For the rest, she’ll have me,” Spencer’s voice was as cold as liquid nitrogen.”

Evelyn let pass her daughter’s rude comment and gave Spencer a soft smile. “I know, Spence. Morgan loved you as a son, you know that. You were very important in his life, you must feel as much pain as I do at his death.”

Finally, Spencer faced Melissa and squinted his eyes at her. “Sorry for your loss, Ms. Carpenter. Your father was a great man. He will be missed.” Then he extended his hand.

Melissa stiffened at ‘miss’. In fact, she hated it. She shook Spencer’s hand looking at him through her shades.

He turned around and walked away.

Lindsey could tell Melissa was hurt from Spencer’s cold treatment. She knew what every one of her sister’s facial features meant. Lindsey knew her sister was dying to have a talk with Spencer and rekindle their lost love. All these years, every time one of her Hollywood romances failed, Mel talked about Spencer, thinking about the ‘what if’s’.

“We were able to keep Dad’s death out of the press for now,” Lindsey whispered into her sister’s ear. “I think we can keep Middletown out of the media circus and buy us some free time with Mom.”

Melissa just nodded, her eyes still fixed on Spencer who was standing across the room.

“You need to talk with Janice Cooper. She is the editor of The Middletown Gazette. Make sure that ‘The Queen of Mean’ doesn’t mention me when she writes our father’s obituary,” Melissa said to her sister.

Lindsey nodded, “I haven’t heard that name since I was in high school.”

Melissa grimaced, “I’ve been told she is still the same bitch she was in the past. Promise her an exclusive interview if she leaves me out of the news.”

Paul Olson’s family approached to pay their respects. Sabrina looked at Melissa and said, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sabrina, this is not the moment,” her father warned his daughter.

“It’s alright,” Melissa smiled and bent down so that she was level with the girl.

“Are these guys who follow you everywhere your friends?”

Melissa couldn’t help but laugh. Sabrina’s mother opened her mouth to tell her daughter to leave the poor woman alone, but Mel stopped her with a gesture of her hand. She looked at the guys around her and grimaced.

“No, I don’t know them. They follow me because I work on TV and I’m famous. Are they friends of yours?”

Sabrina looked at the group and shook her head. Then she turned around and pointed to Spencer. “He is my friend. He makes wooden furniture. We have a table that he built for us. Now, Mom is pushing Dad to buy the chairs. Do you know Spencer?”

The look on Melissa’s face was so uncomfortable that Lindsey felt sorry for her. “We used to be friends a long time ago,” Mel answered with a sigh.

Melissa raised her eyes to look at Spencer, her face full of remorse.

Lindsey took Sabrina’s hand and told her, “Why don’t we go to say hi to Spencer?”

Lindsey and Sabrina walked hand in hand to the corner of the room where Spencer was standing, chatting with a group of people. Sabrina, Lindsey, and Spencer made small talk for a while and then, Sabrina went back to her family and Lindsey asked Spencer if they could talk outside.

They sat down on a bench on the porch. Spencer could confirm that Lindsey had grown up into a beautiful young woman. She was not as beautiful as her sister, but certainly pretty in her own right.

“How have things been, Lindsey? I hope Hollywood treats you well.”

“Things have been great for us. Mel’s been busy with interviews, social events, photoshoots, and she’s reading some scripts for her next movie.”

“I didn’t ask you about your sister, I asked about you,” Spencer corrected her softly.

“I’m fine,” Lindsey could go on for hours talking about Mel, but when it came to talking about herself, she was fond of two-word sentences. “Well, till Mom called us...” she gulped hard. Spencer nodded, placing his hand on hers and squeezed it gently.

“I’m sorry about your Dad. I’m here for you if you need me. I don’t forget you were there for me when your sister betrayed me. It meant a lot to me.” He placed his hand under her chin and lift to meet her eyes. “Now tell me the truth. You don’t need to hide from me.”

Lindsey shrugged. “Dad’s death came as a shock. He was still young. I’m worried about Mom. Mel was pretty shaken by the news too. We’re hoping the news doesn’t filter out to the press so we can mourn in peace. But other than that I’m as well as I can be.”

“Always thinking of the others before yourself,” Spencer mumbled giving Lindsey a soft smile.

As answer, Lindsey just shrugged.

“When was the last time you had some time off. Even now, instead of grieving the loss of your dad, you’re still doing your job keeping those idiots away from your sister.”

She waved his concerns aside. “I hardly notice what I’m doing. After all these years it comes naturally to take care of her.”

“I missed you, Lindy.”

“I missed you too, Spence. You know, ever since I left Middletown, I had always felt something was missing. It took me months to figure that out. But now I know that I missed you. Your friendship is very important to me.”