Mrs. Gregory played the last chord, and Melody realized there were tears streaming down her face. The song had come straight from her heart. The words, the tune, the message was all there, engraved in her heart forever, just like the memory of her father.
She smiled out at the audience, hearing their applause and knowing it wasn’t for her but for her father who had loved her on earth and her Father who loved her in Heaven still.
A few moments later, after a blur of hugs and congratulations from Mrs. Gregory and whomever else happened to be backstage, she found herself making her way down the aisle to join Reid and Michael, not quite sure how she’d gotten there.
Michael hugged her, and Melody scooped him up and set him on her lap, wrapping her arms around him as Reid slid his arm around her. The adult choir was about to begin their first song, but Reid leaned over and whispered into her ear, “You reall
Melody Murphy slid her way between boxes and antique furniture, careful not to bump or jostle anything as she made her way down the hallway to the attic door. The mess in the hallway was substantial, and even though she’d made it through about half of the collectibles and other treasures her father had stored in the extra bedrooms on the second floor of her parent’s Queen Anne Revival home, if she didn’t actually start moving them out of the hall, down the stairs, and to the antique shop, none of her hard work would be of any use.“Not today,” she said with a small smile as she finally reached the thick door at the end of the hallway. She nudged a nineteenth century school desk back with the toe of her slipper as she pulled the door open with a creak and waited for the waft of must and mildew to pass her by before she flipped the light switch at the bottom of the stairs. “Ah, the smell of memories,” she whispered
“Oh, my! That looks absolutely stunning,” Mrs. Gregory gushed as she stood back admiring the new finish on her fireplace. “The cherry stain really does make it look brand new again.”“I’m glad you like it,” Reid Perry replied with a polite smile, wiping his hands off on a stain covered towel.“Like it?” I love it! Oh, wait until Allen gets home and sees this,” the older woman continued. “I just can’t take my eyes off of it.” She stood with her head propped up on her fist, the other arm crossed against her bright red sweater. With her white hair, Reid couldn’t help but think she looked a little like Mrs. Claus. “Now, come on into the kitchen and let me fix you a cup of tea while you get that varnish washed off.”“Oh, Mrs. Gregory, thank you,” Reid began, “but that’s really not necessary. I don’t
Melody finally found a parking spot a few doors down from the antique store and brought her GMC Acadia to a halt. She thought the crowd was unusual for the time of day and absently wondered what would bring so many people downtown on a Tuesday afternoon. Perhaps it was just the excitement of the holidays.Making her away around the back of her SUV, Melody popped the door and pulled the box of carnival glass out, carefully balancing it on her hip as she clicked the button for the door to close. After situating the Santas, she’d decided to return to the mess upstairs and work on getting some more items to the store. She couldn’t get back into the attic, after all, so her December 1 decorating had dwindled. At least she’d been able to get this box ready and do some research on a couple more items, as well as update their website and post to several social media sites enticing potential clients to pay the shop a visit.Unl
Peterson’s Hardware had been in the same little building across the street and down about a block almost as long as Murphy’s Antiques and Collectibles had been around. If anyone could explain to her how to fix the door knob, it was Mr. Peterson. She stopped at her car to get her purse and then began the short walk to the store.On her way, she passed her friend Delaney’s bakery—aptly named Delaney’s Delights. She could see her inside behind the counter, chatting to a customer, a huge smile on her face. Any other time, Melody would stop and talk to her good friend, but not right now. She needed to hurry before the hardware store closed. Delaney also had long brown hair, and in school, everyone joked that they could be twins. Now, with that broad smile and her carefree attitude, Melody thought they probably looked nothing alike at all.Melody’s father had taught her to find the music in everything, and
“Where does Miss Melody live?” Michael asked from the back seat of Reid’s red Sierra.Glancing in the mirror, he could see that his son had broken into Mrs. Gregory’s cookies and a smear of yellow frosting streaked across his cheek. “Not too far from us, down the street from Ms. Karen’s house,” he replied.“I like Miss Melody,” the little boy added between chomps of the star-shaped cookie. “She’s pretty.” Reid said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself, until Michael insisted, “You think she’s pretty, too, don’t you, Daddy?”“Yes, I guess she is pretty,” Reid said with a shrug. “Careful not to get crumbs all over your booster seat.”“I know, Dad,” he said, sounding a little more like a tweenager than Reid would have liked. He was getting so big already. How could he po
“You like that train?” Melody asked, pulling her eyes away from Reid’s retreating form and focusing instead on the little boy looking longingly at the toy sticking up from the top of the cardboard box.“Yes,” Michael nodded. “Could I take it out?”Even though she knew the train was both very old and worth quite a bit of money, Melody didn’t hesitate to pull it out of the box. Made of tin and consisting of an engine, two cars, and a caboose, the black lacquer was a bit worn and one of the buckles that held two of the cars together stuck a bit, but other than that, it was in good shape.Michael’s eyes lit up as he took the train out of her hands. “Wow—it’s so cool!”“There isn’t much room to play with it up here, but would you like to go downstairs to the living room and play with it there?”
Melody sat at the counter at Delaney’s Delight’s, sipping a cup of her friend’s award winning hot cocoa and puzzling over whether or not to say anything to Delaney about her new friend—should the opportunity even arise. The bakery was busy today, and every time Delaney came over to speak to her, she was quickly whisked away by a new customer or someone wanting a refill.It had been nearly a week since she’d bumped into Michael and Reid at the hardware store, and even though she hadn’t seen either of them since, she just couldn’t get them out of her mind. Of course, Michael’s cuteness and outgoing personality resonated with her because he was just so sweet, but it was the curious blue eyes of his father that kept her up at night.She’d considered creating a reason to get his number from Mrs. Gregory and calling him. A clogged toilet, maybe a broken window, those would be great reasons
Michael Perry climbed aboard bus 312 on a mission. The bus driver, Big Max, as he was known, smiled and greeted him with a, “How’s my favorite kindergartner today?”“Good,” Michael smiled, hoping his dimple was especially adorable this afternoon. “I have a note from my dad. I’m supposed to go to his friend Miss Melody’s house today instead of Ms. Karen’s.” He held out the carefully typewritten note he’d taken most of the evening before to create, hoping it sounded like something a grown up might write, and waited.“Is that a fact?” Big Max asked, taking the note from his mittened hand. “Let’s see here.” He read over the note and then looked at Michael, who was doing his best to look innocent. “Well, okay then. That’s on my route. Take a seat, kiddo.”Michael nodded and made his way to his usual seat next to