Page 64 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
MELODY
The fridge was empty. Melody had hoped to make dinner for her father tonight, but short of a trip to the grocery store, that wasn’t happening.
The front door opened and her father stepped in. He placed his briefcase on the floor beside the couch as always and greeted her with a quiet smile.
“Hi, Dad.” The D-word still felt foreign from all the years where Melody had so infrequently said it.
He looked up. “Good evening. How are you?”
“Hungry, actually. I was thinking, maybe we should go out for dinner tonight.”
He straightened and seemed to hesitate. Then he offered a small nod. “Where to?”
“Anywhere. Let’s just go have a nice meal together that someone else prepares. It’ll be fun.”
He gestured down the hall. “Let me just change into something less stuffy first.”
“Sure. I’ll change as well.”
Melody headed to her room and scanned the closet, which was now full of items she’d chosen for herself from Hidden Treasures. There was also a pale-blue prom dress hanging in there. She still couldn’t believe she’d taken it or that she’d said yes to being Christopher’s date. She pulled a soft-yellow sundress out of the closet and some strappy sandals with rhinestone accents. Perfect for a nice restaurant or something more casual.
Five minutes later, she met her father in the living room.
“You look handsome,” she said. “Maybe you’ll catch the eye of one of Trove’s single ladies tonight.”
He chuckled unexpectedly. “I don’t think so. All I want to do is spend time with my beautiful daughter. Shall we?” He opened the front door for her.
“We shall.”
Melody let her father drive. He was more familiar with where to go on the isle these days. He drove her to the west side of town to a little hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop place.
“I come here alone sometimes. They give me a quiet corner off to myself,” her father said as they got out of the car and walked up to the front entrance.
“Alone? You don’t mind sitting all by yourself?”
Her father held the door for her. “No, I’m used to it by now. And I like the quiet when I’m eating. I like to sit and eavesdrop on the folks around me too.”
Melody laughed softly. Who knew her father had a sense of humor? She was rediscovering him and realizing maybe she’d never known him at all.
“Oh, Mr. Palmer. You brought a guest this time,” the hostess said. It was a young woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes.
“This is my daughter,” Melody’s father told the woman, his voice full of pride. Melody felt the opposite of pride. The fact that she’d left town and her father had had to sit at restaurants all alone made guilt swell in her ribcage, closing in around her heart.
The hostess led them to a table in the back corner where her father said he was normally seated. “Here you are. Enjoy your dinner and company,” she said before heading back to the front entranceway of the restaurant.
Melody’s father sat and looked across the table at her. “Today I don’t need to eavesdrop. I’ll just talk to you.”
Melody felt oddly nervous. “So, what do you order when you come in?”
“The special, of course.”
“Always?”
“Always,” he confirmed.
“But what if you don’t like it?”
“Food is food. I’ll like it.”
