Home Again

Chapter 3 Facing the Past

Years ago,

She pranced across the stage looking into the vacant room, “This will be me one-day, you know?” she grabbed the microphone off the stand and pretended to sing into it.

He chuckled wrapping his arms around her glaring up into the bright lights, “I love you” He whispered in her ear kissing her neck as she wriggled slightly.

“I love you too but If I didn’t know any better Mr. Singleton I’d say you were funnin’ me” She accused in her death southern drawl as she broke away from him, “You’ll see one day, everyone will see Melanie Michael country music sensation, When I turn eighteen next year; Imma gonna go to Nashville and prove all y’all wrong.” She held her head a little higher.

“I wasn’t makin’ fun of you Mel, but one question for you Music star. What if I wanna change your dreams?”

“What? Well you can’t,” {I’m a dreamin’ of missin’}” She began to sing and rock on her heels and found herself tied up in his arms again.

“Not even”. He released her, holding one hand as he dropped to one knee, “If I ask you to marry me?”

She took a step back. “What?” She dropped onto her knees, looking at his face, not even noticing the small square box he had pulled from his pocket, “Bradley were only in high school, we can’t run off and get married.”

“No, but I can slip this ring on your finger and we can start dreaming together, and as soon as we turn eighteen, we can have a wedding that kings and queens would be jealous of.”

“Brad are you…”

“Say yes, Mel” He stroked her hand.

“Yes! Bradley, I will marry you”. She jumped into his arms and they both hit the stage floor.

He stared up into her eyes. “I’m the happiest man in the world.

Don’t you wanna see your ring?”

“Maybe in a minute” She kissed him deeper than she had ever kissed him before…

present

The show had ended but he hadn’t moved. He still sat alone in the arena. Even the girls, too excited by the t- shirt vendor to stay still, ran away. He hadn’t realized he had been sitting unmoving for forty minutes until the lights began to shut off, allowing the tiniest ray of light to drape across his face, drawing his attention back to the present.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever gonna snap out of it. I knew it would be a shock, but dang.” Dena went around and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet.

“You knew.” He stared ahead, “You knew she was a...”

“Famous and sexy superstar that just so happened to be performing right here in town for the festival and that your daughter was like totally her biggest fan.” She gave a sassy sarcastic little head bob. “uh yeah, I did, you would have known it too if you paid more attention to the little things like your daughter’s CD collection or the billboards here in town or the social media or…”

“Okay, Dee, I got it! Okay, I should have known!” He rubbed the back of his neck out of frustration.

“I have been after you to slow down forever now, Mr. Grouchy Britches, you work way too much,” She touched his arm “Since Daphne. You didn’t even know that Mel had succeeded in her dreams, did you?”

“Well no. Maybe I knew she went to Nashville and attended a school down there. Her brother said she had been playing some gigs here and there ever now and then, but I didn’t know she had made it.

this big. I went down there and saw she was happy once and I left and didn’t even say hello. I did hear once that she had released an album, but I didn’t realize she was famous enough to have a fan base, never mind my daughter being one of them. I did hear part of a song one time but...”

“Turned it off because it was a sad song you thought was all about you? You know she could have had a love life after you; THE SWOON WORTHY BRAD SINGLETON?”

“Well Mrs. Obvious I guess she did”. He snapped, “That song was about her twins, so yeah; I guess she did move on.”

“Oooh! Your jelly” She increased her pace, taunting him.

“Jelly, really Dena that sounds like something Ann or Jess would say. Grow up” He really hated having to play chase,

“No, you growup” she punched him in the shoulder. They both smiled.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He stopped looking up at the stars.

“Because you’d...” She looked down. “You know; you’d go into hibernation or something until after the festival.”

“I would not have hibernated or hidden or anything like that. I am a Singleton and I don’t hide, especially from...”

“You are so full of crap Bradley Wayne! You just sat immobile for forty- five minutes at the sight of her. You love that girl always have and you may not realize it right now, but you always will.” They walked sliding between the different lines of people waiting for the various things on the street; neither of them saying a word. She watched his hard expression so much like their grand- father turn soft after a few minutes.

“It doesn’t matter. She moved on and so did I.” He turned facing her once they had cleared the crowd and the girls were now back in eyesight.

“Liar!!! God rest Daphne’s soul, but even she knew you married her out of circumstances, because of Annie. Neither one of you wanted her born like that. With the press, the papers and the mighty Singleton family air born of a one-night stand; slandered all over the internet and everything. You two were married out of pure dumb luck and even Daphne knew it. She was smarter than you gave her credit for Bradley, she knew your heart still belonged to Melanie.” She paused letting that process; her brother was a stubborn man who didn’t like being under undermined, “You should know though Melanie is not married.” She added turning to walk away before he grabbed her arm.

“How do you know that have you talk to her?” He looked at her with his hat pulled low to cover his hopeful expression, “Did she say…”

“No, I haven’t talked to her, but she’s famous old timer; try the internet; do a web search on her, she has only pages upon pages dedicated to her on every music website, or God forbid, try turning on a TV and watching the country music station.”

Before he could answer her smarty-pants comments with some of his own, the wanna-be preteens came charging between them. “Dad”

“Mom” the two girls called out,

“Can we go back to the house now?” Annie grabbed his hand.

“What’s the rush squirt?” He gazed down at her.

“Melanie’s manager is gonna be announcing the winner of the drawing tonight on the news and We bought like four t -shirts and a cd.”

“The merchandise…” He looked at the price tag dangling from one

of the shirts, “Twenty- five dollars, for a shirt Annie”

“Uh Yeah,” She smiled sheepishly, “They have Melanie on them, see” He almost had to catch his breath. Melanie was on them. Those vivid eyes peered back at him as real as if she had been standing there and she was just flirtatiously dressed. He felt an interesting twinge that made him shiver a little.

“And this very expensive merchandise entered you to win what exactly?” Dena covered as if she knew what he was thinking.

“A meet and greet photo shoot, a chance to be on the next album cover and an autograph for two. We wanna win.” They rambled together, bouncing up and down. “So, let’s hurry.” They pulled him along.

“Ah, Dena not coming?” He stretched backwards to see his unmoving sister.

“Nope, have fun and let me know when you come to your senses.” She waved.

His feet were moving, and he could feel their hands on both his wrists, but his mind and body seemed to be elsewhere. Everywhere he looked he seemed to see her face; although he was not sure if it was the t-shirts of her on them or the fact they were standing on the corner. Maybe it was just him being nostalgic, but that eerie feeling was crawling up his spine again. What now? He thought.