Page 71 of Remember Me?

She would be lying if that thought didn’t hurt. But Ollie, having the undivided attention of that man, made it all bearable. Ollie deserved to be loved and cared for by his entire family, and she was done keeping him from that.

Ollie rushes towards Graham but stops himself and stands a few feet away as Graham talks to him. Then pulls the cookie out of the bag. Ollie looks to her through the window, asking for consent. She nods to him. She can see that he mouthed thank you, then sat on the bench next to Graham. Ollie's little body is dwarfed by his much larger frame. It was one of those images that will be forever seared in her brain.

He reaches up to tousle Ollie’s curls. Then Ollie reaches up to tousle Grahams. Their hair was so similar that she knew Ollie was going to start asking questions. He was always asking about his daddy. The only men in her life were Uncle Duke and Grampy Tim. So he had questions, and she was honest, or at least as honest as she could be.

She gave him vague descriptions and how he looked just like his daddy. How his dad was a superstar swimmer. Needless to say, Ollie had been on the Little Minnows swim team all this year. He was among the youngest on the team but so determined that he could easily keep up with the older kids. It also helped that he was pretty giant for his age.

She sees them coming out of the play place. Hand in hand, and her resolve to remain strong melts away. Tears well up in her eyes. She had imagined this so many times in her head, but she never thought she would see it come to fruition.

“Momma! I'm gonna give Dr. Stevens Dino Dave to put on his desk at work!" Ollie announces. "He says he has a collection in his attic, and next time, we can do a trade challenge. I have to get all my dinos ready."

Graham looks at her, seeing the tears gathering. He sits back down next to her. His hand hovers over hers but doesn't pull her close the way she needs. She reaches over and grabs his hand, giving him a reassuring smile. One that conveyed that she was okay. She just needed a minute.

"I have to get back, but maybe we can go to the park later this evening? Talk some more?” He wanted more time with Ollie. She knew that, and they did need to talk.

"Okay, yeah."

"Let me walk you guys to your car." She gathers her trash, but Graham intercepts her and throws everything away, Ollie chattering happily between them as they walk back to the clinic.

After strapping Ollie in the back seat, she leans against the driver-side door.

Graham is staring at her. His eyes searched for something in her face. She has no idea if he finds it or not.

"He has a lot to say, huh?”

Melody huffs out a laugh. “Tell me about it. When he talks like that, he always kinda reminds me of Marisol." They both smile at that.

"He is beautiful, Melody. Thank you." He says cryptically. His body moved in closer until there was barely even an inch of space left between them. She can feel the heat trickling off his body. She brings her arms up, wanting to close the space between them, but his body backs up suddenly. Leaving her feeling bereft and small.

He swallows hard and gives her a nod before walking back up towards the clinic.

"I’ll see you guys later this evening. Seven? Same place we went to as kids?" He says, not really asking, even though they were framed as questions.

“See you there, Graham." She slides into her seat, turning on the ignition.

Oliver sits in the back seat, his eyes calculating. She can see the wheels in his brain turning.

"Is he my dad?" He blurts out. "His name is Graham, like my dad and his hair is dark and curly, like mine, and he was on the swim team, like me."

She stiffens. She doesn't know what to say. Does Graham even want to be in Ollie's life in that way? Does he want to be the one to tell him? She pulls out of the parking lot and onto the expressway. She pretends to have not heard him. He did speak quite softly, if he asks again, she will answer him. Otherwise, she will just let him keep chattering away.

She starts the drive towards her parents' house and clicks on some meditation music. It always seems to put him to sleep. And just like that, within two minutes, Ollie's out like a light.

They really need to talk all this out, but first, she has to kick Marisol's ass.

That was the only explanation. Marisol knew he was going to be there. Why would she do that? Play those games with her.

Pulling into the driveway of her parent's house, Melody parks the car.

Marisol is already waiting for her on the steps. She is on her phone, her face pale.

"Look!” Marisol says as soon as Melody steps out of the car. "I gave him a heads up that you would be there and that he should schedule you with a different PT. That you weren't ready to talk to him yet." She is pleading with her, her eyes round and wild.

"Honestly, the heads up was for him too. I didn't think he would want to see you yet. Not until y’all were both ready. He took your departure pretty hard. I thought he would take steps to avoid you, not pull you into his schedule! He wasn't even supposed to work after 2!!" The words just tumble out of her mouth. "I'm just so sorry, Melody. I didn't think this would happen." She looks to be on the verge of tears. Her eyes are shiny, and her face pale.

"Are you ok? Is Ollie ok?" The panic on Marisol's face takes the wind out of her sails. She isn't mad, not at Marisol, but she collapses into her friend's arms and bawls like a baby. The stress and pressure just boil over.

"Was he awful to you? He has been an absolute ass for the last few years, especially with women. He is demeaning and rude. Please tell me he wasn't mean to you or Ollie." Marisol pulls her back, searching Melody’s face for any hint of harm.

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