Survivor Read Free

brush it out and ignore it, and it bobbled around my shoulder in untidy
waves.
    Janice saw my horrified look and laughed.  She
patted my shoulder as she made her way back behind the desk.  “You look fine,
Melody.  You’re a beautiful girl no matter what you wear.”  Great, even the old
lady thought my clothes were hideous.
    I shook my head and gestured at the flower
arrangement.  “How in the world am I gonna get that thing home?”  I asked
practically, hiding my excitement.  “I can barely manage to get all of my crap
on and off the train every day.”  No way could I manage a giant pot of
rainforest on top of all that. Janice just laughed, knowing I was avoiding the
real issue here.  He brought me flowers.  And he was coming back.
    I sighed and got to work, losing myself as I tried
to get everything done quickly to make up for being late.  When noon rolled
around, I was organizing the lower shelves and straightening the chairs in the
children’s section.  I was so intent on my work that I had forgotten about the
flowers.  Coming around the front of the children’s display, I saw them sitting
on the corner of the desk and felt a little flush of excitement.  Just then,
the bell above the door jingled and the man from the subway walked in.
    He looked older today- or at least more polished.  He
was wearing black slacks and a button-down shirt.  His dark hair, which had
been a bunch of wild waves the day before, was tamed, brushed back from his
forehead to make him look sleek and professional.  His green eyes were the
same, and I swallowed hard as I tried not to look as flustered as I felt.  His
eyes found me immediately, and he came to help me straighten a small table the
kids had scooted off the brightly carpeted area designated for them.
    “Thanks,” I awkwardly gestured at the table, and he
smiled. 
“No problem.  Did you get the flowers?”  He looked around until he saw them
sitting on the edge of the front desk.
    “They’re so pretty,” I said hesitantly, scrabbling
to put my thoughts together.  “You really didn’t have to do that, but thank
you.”
    He shrugged.  “You helped me out, even though you
didn’t know a thing about me.”  He studied my face.  “I wanted to do something
nice for you.”
    I shrugged, and we were both silent for a minute.  It
could be that he just pitied me.  But it sure didn’t feel like that.  I had no
idea how to handle this.  I hadn’t dated since I was eighteen years old- before
my accident.  Not that I was thinking of him as my boyfriend or anything, but I
hadn’t talked to a good-looking guy in a really long time.
    “Um…so your name is Peter?”
    He smiled and held out his hand.  I couldn’t help
grinning in response.  He had a beautiful smile… captivating.  “Peter
Marcellus.”
    I shook his hand firmly.  “Melody Westcott.”
    Gesturing toward the door, he raised an elegant eyebrow.
 “Well, Melody Westcott, would you care to eat lunch with me?”
     I nodded immediately.  My parents would have a fit if they knew I was about to leave the premises with a strange man.  Of course,
my parents tended to overlook the fact that I was twenty-three years old and
not nearly as cognitively disabled as they believed.
    After I let Janice know I was leaving for lunch,
Peter helped me across the threshold and out into the sunshine.  Spring was just
breaking.  Birds were chattering, even here in town, and several of the brave
Michiganders passing by wore sleeveless shits and sandals.  I let out a sigh of
contentment as the warm sun touched my skin.  Peter paused in the threshold to
snap open a pair of dark sunglasses, and I was disappointed as he hid those
amazing eyes from view.
    He gestured down the street toward the local park.  “Would
you like to eat outside?”
     I smiled up at him.  “Very much.”  My smile
faltered.  “But is that okay?  I mean,” I gestured to his neatly creased pants
and starched shirt, “you