Page 66 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Melody bent and placed the flowers on Alyssa’s grave now and stood, memories tossing around like ocean waves. Her father was standing beside her so it was awkward. They both just stood there quietly. “Is this what you do when you come here?” Melody finally asked.
“No. I usually talk to them.”
Melody glanced over. “You talk to them?”
He looked a bit sheepish as he shrugged. “Yeah. I think they hear me. I’ve been over to Sunrise Park too and I’ve spoken to Jo.”
“You have?”
Her father chuckled. “You think I’m crazy now?”
“No. Just sentimental. Who knew?”
“Well, an accountant has feelings despite what some might think.” He cleared his throat. “A father does too.” He hesitated for a long moment. Melody remained quiet because she could feel something heavy weighing on his thoughts. “Melody, your mother’s death destroyed me. I didn’t think I had any heart left to break after that, but then—” He took a shallow gulp of air. “Then Alyssa—” His voice cracked and Melody could see that he was fighting off tears.
She reached for his hand, covering it with her own. “It’s okay, Dad.”
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s not okay. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It was not okay for me to blame you for what happened to her that night. It wasn’t your fault. You need to know that I never thought it was.”
Melody’s eyes flooded with unexpected tears and her mind brought back memories of that last night in Trove Isle before she’d left town. Her father had asked why Alyssa was the one who was taken. Why her? Melody had taken that to mean: why not Melody? She’d interpreted those words as her father wishing she was the one who’d died instead. She shook her head. “You were just upset. Distraught. It’s understandable. You lost a daughter.”
“But you lost a sister.” He held her gaze, allowing his tears to cloud his vision. “Melody, I can blame my emotions, but that doesn’t make how I acted okay. I have regretted the words I said to you ever since they left my mouth. That regret has held me prisoner. It kept me from reaching out so many times after you left. What right did I have to keep you as a daughter after the way I acted? I was ashamed of myself.”
Melody swallowed. “It’s okay, Dad.”
He squeezed her hand. “Don’t do that, Melody.”
“Do what?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
“Accept my apology before I’ve even given it to you. You’ve always done that. You forgive so easily after someone has hurt you.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” She offered a half smile in his direction, not understanding what he was saying.
“Not in this case. You need to think about whether my simple apology is enough. It’s okay if it’s not. It’s okay if you need more time.” He nodded. “I just needed you to know, it was never your fault.”
Melody was overcome with an emotion she couldn’t quite pinpoint. The feeling washed over. She waited to speak until she knew she wasn’t going to break down. “I’m sorry too, Dad. All this time I thought I was justified in leaving and not coming back, but maybe I was just immature.”
He pinned his gaze on Melody’s mother’s headstone. “We all have regrets, Melody. No one gets out of this life without them.”
“Except maybe Alyssa,” Melody said. “She died too young to have real regrets. Maybe she’s the lucky one.”
Her father reached for Melody’s hand and held it. “All I know is that I’m glad you’re here with me now.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said, stepping toward him and throwing her arms around him now. She didn’t think, she just followed her compulsion to hug him.
“I’ve missed you too, Melody. So, so much,” he whispered in her ear. Finally, Melody pulled back and wiped at her eyes. “Do you think Mom and Alyssa are watching us right now?”
“And Jo too. They’re probably dancing up there. The three of them.”
“Alyssa is singing,” Melody said with a wide smile, imagining the scene.
“With her beautiful angelic voice,” her father agreed.
“She would have been a star.”
“She already was in my eyes. You too.”
Warmness moved through Melody’s chest as her father looked at her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt so much warmth radiating off him.
