Serendipity

Chapter 6. Spaghetti Junction

I checked out of the conversation a little after that, not wanting to hear the rest of it. I ordered a cone with two scoops of vanilla ice cream and strolled over to Melanie who had just gotten off the phone. “Hey.”

She flickered her eyes to mine. “What do you want?” she asked bitterly. 

“Uh, just saying hi.” I attempted a genuine smile. “I couldn’t help but notice your conversation. You okay?” 

“No,” she spat, “I’m not okay.”  

“Want to talk?” 

 She glanced up at me and scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. “We aren’t friends, remember?”  

Suddenly remembering, I sighed. “Look, I’m sorry about that. I’m just not used to being around people who care.” 

Melanie’s coffee colored orbs lit up, “I do care! Whether I just met you or not, you mean the world to me.” She jabbed afinger in my chest.“You’re my friend and friends care about each other.” 

“Yeah.” I glanced down. “Thanks.” 

She offered a friendly smile before changing the subject by pointing to her phone. “Joe. We got into another argument. It turns out my parents were right after all.”  

I furrowed my brows. “Right about what?” 

“They didn’t want me dating Joe because he’s white,” she explained briefly. “They don’t understand that love comes in many shapes, forms and colors.” 

“They might have a point,” I said, “about Joe, I mean. You two have a lot of fights.” 

Melanie averted her gaze from mine, staring out the window. “Joe’s guarded, that’s all. He has a lot of stuff that he’s going through.” 

I examined Melanie’s behavior more closely. There were gaps in her story that she knew I knew. But I decided not to prod too much. “I’ll take your word for it,” I ended up saying, “I wish you luck.” 

*          *          *          *

I was currently sitting on a long extensive table with The Samuels. Gretchen and her husband, Henry, sat on opposite side of the table. I was seated in between Levi and Sam. Their youngest son, Jax, sat on the side opposite me with their eldest daughter, Crystal, who was just visiting. 

Getting here wasn’t difficult. It was the only big estate in town and the house was secluded from everyone else’s which made it even easier to find. When I got there, I was instantly greeted by the family. They were standing outside of their big fancy house with big fancy smiles on their big fancy faces. They really where the perfect family unit.  

Now, here I was, sitting awkwardly at a table filled with people who were much wealthier than me. 

Sam nudged my ribcage with her elbow and smirked. "Are you having the time of your life?” she questioned, waggling her eyebrows. I could sense the sarcasm that was dripping from her words. 

I gave her a half smile as I turned my attention to Gretchen, who had her big forest green eyes on me. “So Damien, how do you like your food?”  

I glanced down at my plate of spaghetti and meatballs. “It’s good,” I told her, “I’m a real fan of spaghetti.” 

She nodded in agreement, “Your father told me.” Her red-painted lips spread into a full smile. “Did you know that the wheat used to make this spaghetti was grown on one of the richest farms in the United States?”