Page 17 of Stick Side
As Ben stared around the room, he could see that Melody held her entire audience in thrall. Everyone appeared captivated by the story she was weaving with her voice.
As Melody drew out the last note of the song, Ben noticed a few seniors surreptitiously dabbing at their eyes. There was a collective pause as the last note petered out.
“That was beautiful,” he spoke into the silence.
Melody swung around the piano bench to face him. “Ben!” she yelped in surprise.
He couldn’t tell if she was happy to see him or not. Whatever else she might have been feeling was eclipsed by her surprise at finding him standing there. It was mildly discomfiting to imagine she might not be happy to see him when he’d spent his entire morning thinking about her.
“And just who might you be, Sonny?” Captain Thom asked for the group. Ben noticed a few others nodding their curiosity.
“I’m Benjamin Logan,” he replied. “I’m a new friend of Melody’s.”
“Define ‘friend,’” Captain Thom urged, his regard highly suspicious.
Before Ben could answer, Captain Thom turned to Melody and posed another question. “You aren’t going to let this ‘friend’ stop you from going out with my grandson now, are you? It took me months to convince you. Now that you’ve agreed, I’m not going to let this young whippersnapper get in my Nolan’s way of finding true love.”
Melody offered a smile that was both gentle and fond. “Ben and I aren’t dating, Captain Thom.”
We aren’t dating yet, Ben was tempted to interject, but chose not to gainsay her.
“Good,” Captain Thom pronounced. He emphasized his statement with a definitive nod.
Melody shot Ben an uncertain look before turning her attention back to Captain Thom. “And you really shouldn’t get your hopes up, Captain. Your grandson and I have never even met. There’s nothing to say that he and I will hit it off.”
“Sure there is,” Captain Thom said with what Ben hoped was misplaced confidence. “You have the heart and voice of an angel. And you’re smart and pretty, besides. Nolan is no dummy. He’ll see what’s in front of him and sweep you off your feet. And he’ll do it, too. The Flint charm, don’t you know.”
Ben assumed Flint was Captain Thom’s family name.
He was proven correct when Melody flattered, “If he has even half of your charm, Captain Thomas Flint, I’m surethat I will very much enjoy his company.”
Captain Thom puffed up with pride.
“Why don’t you turn that charm my way, handsome,” a well-kept silver haired lady in a smart athletic suit flirted.
Not for the first time today, Ben felt his eyebrows rise. Was there a winter romance brewing for Captain Thom?
Now that the Captain’s attention was engaged elsewhere and their audience had dispersed, Melody closed the piano cover and sauntered over to him.
The curious glint in her eyes coupled with the hesitant smile she offered him suggested she had no idea she’d hijacked his morning brain space. She also seemed wholly unaware she’d just blown him away with a voice that could have made a fortune in some fancy music hall.
“Nice scrubs,” Ben complimented as Melody moved close enough for him to take note of the cute little puppy dogs on her deep-rose pant and shirt set.
“Thank you,” Melody said as she modestly reached up to tighten her ponytail.
Ben loved the little wisps of hair that always seemed to escape the containment of the elastic. God, but she was beautiful. Andmore amazing still, based on the unpretentious way she spoke and carried herself, he would bet she didn’t even know it.
Melody’s eyes swept over him with obvious curiosity. “What are you doing here, Ben?”
“You ran out of the condo so quickly this morning that I thought you might appreciate some lunch,” he hedged.
Ben really hoped she was as eager to see him as he was to see her. She didn’t lookunhappy to see him, but the subtle hints of shyness she seemed to experience around him made it hard to tell whether she felt anything beyond surprised neutrality about seeing him at her workplace.
As he’d just done with Samantha, the receptionist, Ben lifted the takeout bag to illustrate his excuse for being there.
Melody squealed in delight at his offering. He couldn’t have fought the smile her uncontrived joy brought to his lips had he tried.
“You brought me lunch?” Melody asked. Her tone suggested she could barely believe he would have taken the time and effort to do something like that for her.
