“Melody!” her mother exclaimed opening the door and running to them before Melody was out of the car. Mrs. Hartford wrapped Melody in a tight hug.
“Mom, can you go wait in the house with the others, please?” Melody asked, not wanting her mom to see her struggle to get to the door. Mrs. Hartford was confused, but agreed and walked back to the house. As soon as she was out of sight Aj and Howie immediately took Melody’s arms and started the walk. It was only a few feet to the front door, but it took them 10 minutes to get there.
Melody looked into the living room at all the people waiting to hear what she had to say. Her stomach felt like it was about to come out of her mouth. I can do this, Melody repeated to herself, so quietly no one else could hear. Everyone wondered why Aj and Howie had practically carried Melody into the room, but not one said a word. Melody sat on a chair facing everyone in the room. Denise sat on the other single chair, her parents sat on the love seats, holding hands tightly, Suzy, Vallery and Nick sat bunched together on the couch, while Brian and Kevin sat patiently on the floor in front of the couch. Howie stayed by the door, leaning against it, fiddling with the doorknob, and Aj stood behind Melody, holding her hand, there for her as promised.
“Are you ready Mel?” Aj whispered into her ear, she nodded slightly in response.
“I guess it is about time for me to explain,” Melody started, looking into the eyes of the people around her. “It all started last Thursday, when I was walking back to the house from getting off the boat. I didn’t make it; I collapsed halfway there. When I woke up, I saw a girl, an angel.” Melody choked back the sob that was trying to come out. She took a second to try to compose herself. She continued, her voice breaking, “she told me something.”
Melody looked at her parents across from her, their eyes wide, waiting to hear what she had to say next. There was no way to get around it; she had to tell them. It was so hard for her; she could hardly get her tongue to form the words. She needed to say it, she was going to, and there was only one way to say it.
“Mom, Dad, I’m dying,” she whispered, tears pouring from her eyes. Aj squeezed her hand. He could almost feel her pain and sorrow through her touch. The whole atmosphere of the room seemed to change. The feel was no longer a feel of anxiousness, but a feeling of deep, untouchable sadness.
Suzy and Vallery stared at Melody, unable to pull their eyes away. Suzy felt immediate guilt rush over her. She didn’t feel like she had helped Melody at all. She had yelled at Aj and upset her friend, if only she had known. Vallery realized why Melody had wanted to stay away from Aj; it became totally clear to her. Melody didn’t want to get involved with Aj because she was dying, and Vallery didn’t blame her for how she had treated Aj in the beginning.
Nick, Brian, and Kevin didn’t know Melody that well, but they still felt horrible about the news. They knew how much Melody meant to Aj, and they didn’t know what shape he would be in once Melody had left. Nick also pitied Vallery; Melody was her best friend, and not even he, as her boyfriend, could do anything to make her feel better.
Howie gazed out the window, everything coming together in his mind. He thought Melody was special, and how dear she was to his best friend. He looked at Aj, trying to be the strong one, to be strong for Melody. He stood up straight, and held her hand, helping her do what she needed to.
Nothing to compare to the pain in her parents eyes. Tear shown brightly through their eyes expressed all the love they felt for the daughter, and all the hurt of the idea of loosing her. No one spoke for a long time, they all just sat and thought, they couldn’t handle much more than that.
“How much longer do you have?” her Mom asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Until Saturday,” she responded.
“And how are you feeling right now?”
“Tired, weak, not like myself. I can’t even walk on my own anymore…” Melody said, trailing off.
“If there is anything you need these next few days, we are here for you?” Vallery said, walking over to hug her friend. Suzy followed.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Suzy asked, kneeling down by Melody’s chair.
“I didn’t want anybody to act differently towards me. I wanted to have as many ‘normal’ days as possible. I know everyone would have treated me differently had I told.”
“We were all worried about you anyway, we didn’t know what was wrong.”
“I know, nothing went the way I planned and I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about, you did what you thought was right, and I don’t think anyone in the same position would have had half the mind to think anything through. You were concerned with others, instead of yourself, for the most part. No one came blame you for anything, you did nothing wrong,” Kevin said, admiring Melody’s courage. He had never been nice to Melody; he had almost been cold to her. His words touched Melody, because they came from a person she least expected to commend her. If he could say that, then maybe it was true.
“Thanks you,” she said.
Denise stood up, “I need to speak to Aj for a moment.” She slowly walked over, grasping Aj’s arm slightly, and led him into the kitchen.
“Aj, are you all right?” she asked.
“Yes mom,” he replied.
“Don’t lie to me son, I can tell what you are feeling by looking into your eyes.”
“What did you expect mom, that I would be happy she is dying so I could move on to the next girl?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No, of course not. Talk about ME lying. You just think that I go from one girl to another, not caring about them at all, and that melody is just another one on the list. Not to mention the fact you totally quiz every girlfriend or date I ever have, because you think they have bad intentions. The fact is that I really care about Melody, if not I would be here right now, to hold her hand and tell her it’s ok. I love her mom, and she loves me too. Even after she is gone I am still going to love her, and you can’t change that, so deal with it.”
“How dare you talk to me like that!”
“It’s true, admit it! Don’t try to hide it anymore.”
“Okay, maybe I did think that, maybe I still do. I will not have you falling over a girl who won’t be there; it’s not possible Aj. You can’t have her Aj, she is dying, she is just a dream, not reality. I hope you realize that, because you need to move on.”
