Page 12 of Takedown

“Very funny, Melanie. Did he marry you without a ring?” She drops her daughter’s hand, scoffs, and goes back to the oven.

“It was a little too big, so we got it resized. It’s upstairs, Mel.”

“No one calls her Mel,” her mother says.

“Her husband does,” I announce.

“As stimulating as this conversation is, we’re going to go.” Mel walks out of the kitchen, but instead of going to the front door, she goes to the back of the apartment and into her bedroom. I follow, and when I get there, she’s shoving clothes inside a suitcase. I walk to her closet and grab a handful of clothes still on the hangers.

“Let’s go.” I turn and nearly collide with Jason. He steps into the room and closes the door behind him.

“Mellie, you don’t have to leave.”

My wife walks to Jason and points a finger in his chest. “If you think I’m staying under the same roof as our mother, you’re nuts. Feel free to give yourself brain surgery. And did you know she was coming?” she asks, lowering her voice. “This is what I get!” she yells. “I knew I should have moved out last month, but you and Alex convinced me to stay, and now look. My entire life has gone to hell!” She runs a hand over her face and walks to the door, but the door opens and her mother walks in, with Alex waddling behind her, holding Addison’s hand.

“Hi, Ada!” she runs to me, holding up both hands.

I drop the pile of clothes and pick her up. She kisses my cheek before she lays her head on my shoulder.

“Why don’t we all have dinner?” Mrs. Dupree says. She looks at me and smiles, but the smile never reaches her eyes. “I want to talk to all my kids,” she says, looking at Jason, Alex, and Mel, but when she looks at me, her fake smile slips. “I was thinking that with the baby coming soon, maybe I can stay for a few months.” The suitcase falls from Mel’s hand, landing with a loud thud against the hardwood floor.

“What about the house? Aren’t you due to close on it in two weeks?” Jason asks.

His mother shrugs and says, “That fell through. I’ll tell you all about it over dinner. Come on.” She starts to walk away, but looks at Mel before saying, “I’d like to get to know your uh, your Adam,” she says. “Although, Melanie, I’m surprised by the news. Not just this so-called marriage, but the groom. He’s not exactly the kind of man you’ve always talked about. Couldn’t you find your type in this city or did you scare them all away? You’ve always been so headstrong.” She laughs and turns to me. “And she has expensive taste, so be warned. Champagne taste on a beer budget. What is it that you do again? Whatever it is, you’d better get a second job.”

“Mom, enough!” Jason yells.

Melanie steels her spine and walks to her mother. Jason goes to stand right next to her, and I stand on her other side and throw my free hand across her shoulders. For the first time ever, she doesn’t shrug away.

“And what would you know about my type, Mother? When was the last time we had a heart to heart? Worry about your own type since daddy left you.” Alex gasps loudly, and Addison mimics her mother’s actions and giggles at her own cleverness. “For that much younger woman, too. I wonder why?” All color leaves her mother’s face. Jason closes his eyes and rubs his forehead. “Let’s go, Adam.”

“Some things never change, Melanie.” Diane Dupree closes her eyes as if she’s pained.

“Wrong. A lot has changed. For instance, if you want to dish it out now, you better be ready to take it.”

Jason takes Addison from me, and I grab the stack of clothes on Mel’s bed. Without another word, I follow my wife out of the bedroom and out of the apartment.

7

She tosses the suitcase in the middle of my living room, and it crashes into my coffee table. The mug of coffee I left there this morning falls over and spills. She starts to pace, cursing like a sailor with each angry step.

After hanging her clothes in my closet, I wipe down the spilled coffee all while Mel’s pacing continues. For the first time tonight, I look at what she’s wearing. She’s in purple and gray yoga pants and a matching hoodie. The hoodie hugs her narrow waist, showing off her hips and thick ass. All I can think about is walking over there, putting my hands on her hips, and kissing her until she calms down.

“Okay.” She takes several deep breaths before coming to stand in front of me. “I’m going to need a little time to find my own place, but in the meantime, I need a small favor from you.” I arch my eyebrows at her declaration. “I need you to let me stay here. At least until Alex has that baby.” I sit on the couch and put my hands behind my head. I school my features so she won’t see how happy I am by her announcement.

“Is that right?” I ask.

“Yes. Do you know why, Adam? Because it’s the least you can do after what you did to me in Vegas. Besides, Jason always folds where our mother is concerned. She drops this bombshell, and he’s too much of a nice guy to tell her to G-T-F-O. So,” she says, sighing deeply, “I guess I can sleep on the couch, but it would be nice if you would let me have the bed.”

“The bed is yours.” I quickly agree to her demand. She stops her pacing, turns to me, and narrows her eyes. “But let’s get one thing straight. I didn’t do anything to you in Vegas, so you can stop that lie right the hell now.”

“I’ll pay rent of course,” she says, ignoring my last comment. “Name your price.” I stand and approach her. She backs away and ends up stuck between my body and the wall. “I’d go stay with Ananda, but she just got married and I don’t want to be a nuisance to her right now, and a hotel would cost too much money and would set me back. Dammit.”

“And you hate being alone, so I’m your next best choice.”

“How do you know I hate being alone?” She crosses her arms and stares.

“You live with your brother and his family.” I shrug. “I bet you never had any intentions of moving out. You only offered to move knowing they would ask you to stay.”

---