Page 10 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
Liz shook her head and placed her hands flat on the table. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Yes, you should have. I deserved it.” Melody looked directly at Liz and offered a give-it-to-me gesture. “Keep going. Tell me everything you want to say. I’ll sit right here and take it. I won’t even say a word.”
Liz frowned. “Why? So you can feel better, and I can still feel abandoned by my best friend? It wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t fight back anyway.”
“I’m not here to fight.” When Liz didn’t say anything, Melody switched topics. “I can’t believe Jo didn’t have a funeral.”
Liz shook her head stiffly. Everything about her was rigid and guarded. “She wanted a celebration instead. Mr. Lyme has been waiting for you to come home. Jo’s wishes. Honestly, I thought we were going to be waiting forever.”
“Right.” Melody looked away for a moment. “Jo never did like funerals.” Jo had always said yes to a good party, but she’d opted out on memorial services, saying they weren’t how she wanted to remember that person. The only funerals Melody could remember her great-aunt ever attending were for Melody’s mother and Alyssa. She hadn’t worn traditional black though. Instead, she’d put on her favorite lime-green suit with her pink broach and she’d wrapped a soft silk scarf around her neck. It was her attire for all special occasions.
Melody brought her cup to her lips and took another sip. “I don’t deserve to have her store. I haven’t even seen her in years.”
“You’re a busy woman,” Liz said. “A successful event planner.”
Melody furrowed her brow. “Hmm?” she asked, partly confused by the concept of success. By whose definition did her career define anything remotely successful?
“Your dad told me.”
“He did?” Melody didn’t hide the shock in her voice.
“That’s how he explains you not coming home during the holidays. You have other people’s events to run,” Liz said, raising a skeptical brow over the rim of her glasses.
Melody bit into the cinnamon twist instead of responding. She didn’t want to lie, but she wanted to admit the truth even less. She barely did enough jobs each month to pay the bills. If she was lucky, she got enough business to afford a nice haircut some months. Other months, she stuck to cereal box dinners.
Liz lowered her gaze to Melody’s wrist where the charm bracelet had slipped out from under her sleeve. “What’s that?”
Melody practically choked on her bite of cinnamon twist. Then she pushed her arm forward for Liz to get a better look. “I found this in the glass case of Jo’s thrift store.” Melody pulled the bracelet off and slid it over.
Liz’s eyes were wide as she moved the piece of jewelry across her fingers the way Melody had done yesterday, no doubt looking at the random charms that had nothing to do with them. Then Melody heard the sharp intake of breath when Liz found the heart-shaped friends forever charm. The one that was bent at the top corner just like theirs. Liz looked up. “Where did Jo get this?”
Melody shrugged. “I have no idea. That’s the same bracelet though.”
“Yes, it is,” Liz agreed, looking at it again. Melody saw the small tremor of Liz’s hands as she held onto it. Melody imagined all the memories barreling back, the same way they had for her yesterday. Liz’s eyes grew shiny, and then she tried to hand the bracelet back.
Melody tucked her hands below the table. “No. You wear it for a while. We were supposed to share it after all. Wasn’t that Alyssa’s rule?”
Liz frowned. “How can we share something when we never see each other anymore?”
Melody swallowed past the guilt. “Well, I’m here through next week. The thrift store is right down the street from the bakery. We can pass it back and forth . . . Or you can just keep it.” Melody didn’t really want to get rid of the bracelet, but Liz deserved it more than she did. “Go ahead. Put it on.”
Liz hesitated. Then she shook her head and slid the piece of jewelry across the table anyway.
The bell chimed above the bakery’s door again and another customer walked toward the front counter.
Liz looked at Melody. “I’ve got to get back up there. You’re not the only busy one.” She scooted back from the table. “It’s nice to see you, Melody. Really. Will you be at Jo’s Celebration of Life?”
Ouch.The fact that Liz even had to ask that question spoke volumes.
“Yeah. Of course. Friday night at Sunrise Park. On the water.” Melody assumed, knowing Jo, she’d arranged for some kind of raft to be pushed off from the waterway’s shore, carrying pictures or mementos from her life. Jo was sentimental to her core.
“Good. See you Friday.” With a small wave, Liz stood and hurried back behind the counter. The smile she gave the waiting customer was much fuller. More real. Less guarded.
Melody reached for the bracelet and slipped it back over her wrist. Then she sat there for a moment before collecting and discarding her trash. She waved as she exited the bakery and returned to Hidden Treasures, wondering what in the world she was going to do with this place. She headed toward the register that sat above the glass case where she’d found the charm bracelet. That was maybe the most valuable thing the store had to offer, and Melody shouldn’t even have that after the way she’d left her friends. They’d promised to always be there for one another, and she’d bailed at the first sign of pain.
It was her sister who had died though. Melody was the one who’d lost the most. Yes, Liz had suffered with anxiety. So much so that she’d never gone to college like she’d planned to. And Bri had struggled with pain following the accident. She’d gotten addicted to pain meds and had spiraled into self-destruction, leading her down a path that had ultimately led her to a low-security women’s prison.
And yet . . . Melody had lost her very own sister. The one she was supposed to look out for. Alyssa was younger and her father was counting on Melody. After the accident, her father could barely look Melody in the eyes, even though she hadn’t even been the one behind the wheel. That was Liz—not that it was Liz’s fault.
