Reid took Melody’s coat off of the hook and held it open so she could slip inside. His fingertips lightly brushed her shoulders, and despite the fact that she was fairly certain he was upset about the conversation she’d had with Michael earlier, she still felt tingles at his touch. He pulled the front door open, and she went through, thankful it wasn’t as cold as it had been recently.
“Thanks for everything you did for Michael today,” Reid said as he walked with her across the porch and into the yard. “It really meant a lot to him.”
“Thanks for asking me to stay,” she said, pulling her keys out of her coat pocket. “It was a lot of fun.”
“It really was,” he agreed. “I think I might be vacuuming up tinsel for the next three months.”
Melody giggled. “I think I might be finding it in my hair for the next three months.”
They were standing next to her car now, and Melody suddenly felt very awkward. Part of her wanted to bring up the discussion of earlier, to apologize for the conversation she’d had with Michael, but she felt like she needed to let it go, that he would rather just pretend it didn’t happen. It was also really bothering her that she still didn’t know why his wife had left, and even though she knew it was absolutely none of her business, she wanted to find out so she could give Reid the same sort of reassurance she’d offered his son. No matter what had happened, she was certain it couldn’t have been his fault.
“If you have any problems getting him tomorrow, just give me a call.”
“I will,” she assured him. “And I’ll let you know when I drop him off at Ms. Karen’s, too, so you don’t worry.”
“Thanks, Mel,” he said, smiling. “I’m sure I’ll see you soon.” He opened the car door for her, and even though it was evident he expected her to climb inside and leave now, he didn’t seem like he necessarily wanted her to go.
“Yep, see you soon,” she replied, sliding into the driver's side and pulling the door shut. She waved as he backed away from the car, and she placed the key in the ignition, put on her seatbelt, and reversed out of the driveway. He stood in the yard and watched her go, and Melody wondered if that gesture meant the same thing to him as it had to her. One thing was for certain, the more time she spent with Reid, the more confused she became about his intentions. Despite the perplexity, she knew for sure that would not prevent her from attempting to spend as much time with him as possible.
***
It turned out Reid had not been exaggerating about the parent pick up line, and even though Melody was there before 2:30, there had to be close to three dozen cars in front of her. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want to sit in this line for a half-hour or more, but then, here she was, like a lemming, her car in park, waiting to shift into gear and scoot up whenever anyone else nudged a bit forward. For the most part, the line was stationary, and she could have used the time to read the book she had brought with her or work on editing some photos on her iPad, but once she was sitting in the line, she found her mind wandering, and rather than making the most of her time, she reviewed the changes her life had taken over the last week and a half. Never in a million years would she have expected to be sitting outside of an elementary school waiting to pick up a precious child who—for some reason—had claimed her as his own.
She contemplated the situation with Reid as well. There were times when she thought he might be interested in her. He had told her just yesterday that she always looked nice, and it didn’t seem to have been stated in one of those polite tones people often use when they feel like they should be giving someone else a compliment that they don’t really mean. Still, he seemed so distant at times, particularly after she told him about her conversation with Michael, and she wondered if he thought it was odd that his son had become so attached to her so quickly. Perhaps it was even more odd that the feeling was reciprocated.
Once the line began to move, a large smile formed on her face. Even though she was allegedly just doing Reid a favor, she was actually looking forward to spending a few minutes with Michael. She would’ve been more than happy to take him home with her, but she knew how Reid felt about that. Nevertheless, she’d get to be the first one to hear how his day went, and she was anxiously awaiting a chance to see his smile.
As she neared the front of the line, she picked up the card Reid had given her with Michael’s name on it, rolled down the window, and held it out for the staff member standing on the sidewalk to see. Using a megaphone, the woman shouted to a group of teachers waiting outside of the school near a set of five cones. All of this was fascinating to Melody; when she was in school, the bell rang, and all the children dispersed. There was no systematic parent pickup lane. If it was a day her parents were picking her up, she just walked out into the parking lot and looked for her mom’s or dad’s car. If she was riding the bus, she got on the one she knew stopped near her house. Now, everything was so much more complicated.
But the system worked, and when she pulled up to the second cone, Michael was standing there waiting for her with a young woman who hardly looked old enough to be a teacher. She pulled her car to a stop, and the woman said, “Your mom’s here, Michael!” and ushered him to the back passenger side of her car.
Melody was so shocked at the comment, she didn’t know what to say. By the time she’d regained control of her voice, the woman was saying, “Have a good night, Michael!” and closing the door.