A Melwood Story

/chapter thirty-six/

A Melwood Story
Chapter 36

Melissa

I wake to the violent ringing of my phone. I remember hearing it ring a couple times before, but I had just fallen back asleep.

I pick it up and glance at the name of who's calling. Chris.

It's 8:57 a.m., so I pick up the phone, knowing I should get up anyways.

"Hello?" I say, rubbing my eyes to wake up.
"Hey?" Comes his voice from the other end. "It's only seven in the morning on a Sunday and you're not at home."
I smack my head, not too hard, but not necessarily gentle either. "No, sorry."

"Where are you, then?" he asks.
"Not in California."
"Melissa."
"What?" I ask.
"Where are you and our kids?"
"Visiting my mom and dad."

"Where?"
"That's a problem."
"What's a problem?"
"That you don't know where my parents live."
"Where do mine live, then?" he asks, thinking I don't know.
"The city you were born in. Dublin, Ohio."

I can almost hear him groan in frustration. "Just tell me. I can come."
"No," I say firmly. "Stay wherever you are. We'll be back soon."
"I want to see my kids."
"I want you to see them too‍, but if they don't want to be around the dad that left them, I can't change their minds. Or blame them."
"Nya doesn't want to see me still," he whispers. It's not a question. He knows she hasn't changed her mind.
I shake my head, then realize he can't see me. "No, she doesn't."

"How about the twins?" he asks.
"They're on the edge," I tell him. "They don't know what they think because Nya knows what she wants and she's influenced their decision. The only kid you might be able to see is Sofia."
"Not Kaleb, or Adaline?"
"Definitely not Adaline and you left when Kaleb was no less than five months old."
"They're still my kids, Melissa."
"They're mine too, and that's the decision I think is best for them."

"Can I talk to Nya?" he asks.
I sigh. "I'll ask her if she wants to talk."
"Okay, thank you."

I put the phone on mute and go down the stairs to where I'm guessing she's probably sitting and eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Nya," I say when I see her eating cereal in the dining room.
She looks up with a smile. "Good morning, mom."
I sit down next to her. "I have your dad on the phone. Would you like to talk to him?"
The smile she previously had fades away. "I don't want him to come home."
"You don't have to see him," I tell her. "Just talking."
She nods. "Okay."

I set my phone down and take it off mute. "She's here."
"Hi, Ny," says Chris.
"Hi, dad," she says, her voice almost a whisper.

I stand to leave, but Nya puts her hand on mine. "Don't go. Stay," she whispers.
I nod, sitting back down.

"How are you? How's school been?" he asks her.
"I'm fine. School has been okay."
"You're in grade 5 now, right?"
"Yes."

"I want to come back and see you and your brothers and sisters."
"You'll just leave us again," she tells him.
"I won't, Nya. I promise."
"I can't trust you. Not when I have my brothers and sisters as well. If you break their trust and love for you again, they will grow up not trusting men in their lives. Do you want that?"
"No, of course not."
"Then stop trying," she says. "I know you want to see us, but if you really wanted that you should have come back a long time ago. And, on top of that Addy has never had a dad. Ever."
"I wish I was there for her, I'm sorry I missed it."

She looks up at me before continuing. "When she was a baby, Max, Lulu and I would tell her stories of you, stories of funny things you and mommy would do to make us laugh and so much more, just so that she maybe got a little bit of her dad in her life."
"And I'm sorry and I wasn't there."
"I wish you were," she says. "I want my brothers and sisters to have a dad, but I don't want them to have a dad that's just going to walk out on them again. On us."

"I told you I won't ever again, Nya. I want to be there for the rest of you and your siblings lives. I just need you to let me."
"I love you, dad, but I don't trust you anymore."
"Let me gain that trust back, I just need time with you and your siblings, okay?" he asks her.

Nya looks at me for reassurance, but I keep my face neutral, not wanting to be the reason she changes her mind.

"Two hours," she says. "You can spend time with me, Max, Lulu and Sofia for two hours. That's it."
"Nya—" he starts, but she pushes her chair out and says, "I'm going now."
I nod. "Okay, sweetheart."
She turns and leaves the room.

"What day will you be back?" Chris asks.
"On Thursday," I tell him.
"So, will Saturday work?" he asks.
"Sure," I say.
"Okay, see you and the kids then."
"Bye," I say, then hang up the phone.

My mom walks in the room right after I end the call. "How'd that go?"
I look up at her. "Nya wants him to come over for two hours when we get back."
"Two hours?" she repeats.
I nod. "Only."

She's silent for a minute, when I realize it.
"What did you say to her?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "Nothing."
I narrow my eyes at her. "Mom."
"Between granddaughter and grandma," she says with a slight smile.
"Okay, then," I say, still wanting to know what she said to Nya.

I head back up the stairs to get dressed for the day, when I hear Nya and Lulu talking in their bedroom.

"Why?" I hear Lulu say.
"If he's telling the truth, we'll know when we see him," Nya tells her.
"But he barely knows Kaleb and Addy."
"He won't see them. Just you, me, Max and Sofia. It'll be fine, Lu. Just wait."

They stop talking, and I head into my room, where Max is playing with Adaline and Kaleb.
"Where's Sofia?" I ask Max.
"Sleeping," Max whispers, pointing to a bump under the blankets on my bed.
"Oh, Sofia," I mutter, walking over to the open suitcase on the opposite side of the room to start packing.