"I thought we were going to the park?" My daughter Melody asked as I ran around trying to find my keys. I swear, some days I would lose my head if it wasn't attached.
"Monkey, as soon as I find my keys we'll go to the park."
Melody sighed dramatically before turning away. The girl was three and a half feet of pure sass and attitude, but I still loved her with all my heart. She stomped into the kitchen with her long curly brown hair bouncing behind her. I kept searching the couch. Where the hell could I have put those freaking keys. "There," Melody said appearing beside me with my keys in one hand and the other hand on her hip. "Can we go now?"
"Where were they?"
"Fridge on top of the juice." She answered as I took the cold keys from her, "Now let's go." She took my hand and pulled me out the door.
"What has you so excited about the park today?" I asked as I locked the door.
"My friends are going to be there! We have to go!" Melody rolled her eyes as we walked to the car. I was still chuckling as I buckled her into her car seat.
I got into the car and started to drive to the park. "Can I turn on the radio?" I asked.
"No! Sing!" Melody always loved it when I sang. I was a singer when I was younger. Now she's pretty much my only audience.
"Okay, what song are we singing?"
"Ariel song!"
I should have known. I began singing Part of Your World. Melody clapped as she began to sing along. Once she saw The Little Mermaid 2 and discovered that Ariel's daughter was named Melody too, she became obsessed. Not that I minded, I'm a lifelong Disney fan.
We pulled up to the playground in no time. I had barely undone the buckles of her seat belt before she jumped down and ran to the playground. "Hey be careful!" I yelled after her.
"I know Mama!" She yelled back.
I shook my head as I grabbed my bag. I locked up the car and walked over to the playground. I sat on one of the benches to watch Melody play with her friends. After a few minutes, I pulled out my book to start reading.
"Do I have to Dad? I don't know anyone! I'll be all alone." I turned to see a little boy about Melody's age talking to his dad. My heart broke for the boy. I put my book away and started to walk over to see if there was anything I could do to help.
"Hey, you won't be all alone bud. You'll have me." His dad said.
"I don't want to play with you! I want to play with my friends. I want to go back home." The little boy looked to be almost at the point of tears.
I walked over and knelt down beside them. "Hi there, I'm Olive. What's your name?"
"Will." The boy answered looking up at me with clear blue eyes that were filled with tears about to spill. It made me want to do whatever I could to help the little boy.
"So Will, I couldn't help but hear that you didn't know anyone here."
"Dad had to move. I didn't want to go."
Poor kid. I remember having to move as a kid. I hated leaving all my friends. It felt like the end of the world. "I know, moving is the worst, but there is good news for you Will. Would you like to hear the good news?"
"Yes!" He said, a smile breaking out on his face. That's what I like to see.
"The good news is that you get to make all new friends! How awesome is that?"
"But what if no one here likes me?"
"That's not going to happen. Trust me, I can always tell." I smiled, "I also have a daughter who is about your age that can help you make friends. She's playing with a bunch of her friends right now."
"Really?"
"Yep. Come on, I'll introduce you." I stood and held out my hand to Will. He looked over at his dad before he took it. His dad followed behind us. I didn't pay much attention to him. I just wanted to make sure Will was taken care of. I lead Will over to Melody. She stopped what she was doing and looked up with her big brown puppy dog eyes. I knelt down to look her in the eyes, "Melody. I want you to meet Will. He's new here and needs some friends. Do you think you can help him out?"
"Of course! Come on, we're about to play tag!" Melody took Will's hand and pulled him over to her group of friends who were trying to decide who would be it.
"Thanks for that. I really hate to see him upset." The dad said as he came to stand beside me. I pushed myself to my feet and began brushing the dirt from my worn jeans. I didn't really pay him a lot of attention, instead I focused on the kids as they accepted Will into their group. I felt a lot of pride in Melody for being so accepting of Will.
"No problem. I moved here from the east coast when I was about their age. I remember how scary it was to be the new kid."
"Well, hopefully, this is the last serious move for us. I'm Reid by the way."
I turned my attention to Reid as he held out his hand and finally noticed just how drop-dead gorgeous this man was. He was a dead ringer for Thor; tall, extremely in shape, long curly blonde hair, full well-groomed beard and piercing blue eyes. Although his hair is much better than Hemsworth's. His curls were a full mane that went way past his shoulders down his back. I was sure I was blushing as I took his hand with a smile. "Olive. This is a really nice neighbourhood by the way, and everyone is super friendly."
"I can tell." He smiled revealing a full mouth of perfect white teeth and my pulse ticked up a notch, "Your Melody is very sweet."
"She has her moments. Usually, she's just a walking ball of sass."
Reid laughed as we turned back to watch the kids. Melody was giving one of the other kids a telling-off. I couldn't help but chuckle as she put her hands on her hips to emphasize her point. "No! Those are not the rules. If you don't follow the rules then why are we even playing!" Will came to stand beside her with his arms crossed to help her in dealing with the rule breaker.
"I think they're going to be good friends," Reid said.
"I think so too."
We watched the kids play for a while and chatted. Reid was easy to talk to. It was nice to see a father so invested in his child's life. The way his eyes lit up when he spoke about Will was so heartwarming. I was kind of wondering why he was even talking to me. Probably just doing it to be nice. Maybe he was hoping we could set up a play date for the kids? Whatever the reason, I was enjoying it. It was nice to have someone pay attention to me.
"So what do you do?" I asked.
"Oh, I work for a charity helping underprivileged kids." Of course he does. He's fucking perfect. Is there any fault to this guy? "What about yourself?"
"I'm just a secretary. Nothing too interesting."
"There's nothing wrong with being a secretary. What do you do for fun?"
"Sing I suppose. Melody loves it when I sing to her." I smiled and looked over at Melody. They were now playing on the monkey bars. She was swinging along when she missed the next bar and came tumbling down. She hit the ground hard. Her shriek sent a knife right through my heart. I was running over to her in seconds. Reid was right beside me, kneeling down beside her. Her arm was at a funny angle. She must have broken it.
"Shh Monkey. Mama's here. It's going to be okay." I tried moving her but the second her arm moved she was screaming again.
"It hurts Mama!" She cried. I had no idea what to do. I was totally frozen, not wanting to hurt her any more than she already was.
"Hey Melody. I'm going to help your mom get you to the doctor so he can fix you up." He said before looking up at Will, "Will, can you get me two big sticks? They need to be as straight as possible."
"Got it Dad." Will got a determined look on his face as Reid looked over Melody's arm. He took off his shirt, leaving him in just an undershirt, and started ripping it in strips. Will came over with the sticks and Reid made a splint for Melody's arm. I could tell he'd done it before from just how efficient he was. I was just there, holding Melody's uninjured hand unable to do anything else.
"I'll drive. Can you grab Will's car seat from my car?" He asked as he picked Melody up in his strong arms. He was so careful, barely even jostling her arm. I just nodded. I think I was in shock. "Will, can you show Olive where my truck is?"
"Follow me!" Will took my hand and pulled me to Reid's truck as Reid got Melody settled in my car. I grabbed Will's car seat and brought it over to my car where we strapped it in. I sat in the back between them so I could hold onto Melody's arm so it didn't hurt her any more than it already did while Reid took off towards the hospital.
"It's going to be okay Melody." Will reassured her, "I broke my arm last year and look, now it's all better. I got to wear a cool cast and everything."
Melody looked at him as she tried to stop crying, "Yeah?"
"Yep, then all your friends get to sign it. It's really cool."
"It just hurts real bad," Melody said.
"I know monkey, but the doctor is going to make everything all better," I reassured her.
"But- but I don't have Bunny! I can't go to the doctor without Bunny!"
"I'll call Grandma and she'll bring over Bunny for you."
"But I'll be scared without Bunny."
"I know Monkey, but if you're really brave for me and Bunny, I'll take you to get ice cream when we're done."
"Okay. I'll be brave." She nodded and gave me her best determined look. I smiled and squeezed her leg. I just wanted to cry, but I knew that she needed me to be strong right now. I can cry later. Right now, my baby is hurt, and I have to be brave for her.
We pulled up in front of the Emergency room and I got Melody out of the car as quickly as possible. I grabbed my bag before looking back and realizing I had just given my car to a complete stranger. He could just drive away with my car, and it would be all my fault.
"Mama! My arm!" Melody cried pulling me out of my thoughts. I carried her into the hospital as she cradled her broken arm.
We were sitting, waiting to be seen, when Reid came in with Will who was carrying a pink teddy bear in his hands. "Dad and I picked this out for you Melody," Will said as he handed Melody the bear.
"Th-Thank you." She hiccupped slightly from all the crying, wincing as it jarred her arm. Will sat on our right while Reid sat to our left. Melody hugged the bear to her chest as best she could as she talked to Will.
"Do you need to call her dad?" Reid asked.
I sighed already dreading the conversation. "I suppose. Can you watch her for a second?" He nodded so I maneuvered Melody out of my lap before I grabbed my phone. Why I was trusting a stranger with my car and child was beyond me, but I put it down to stress. I stepped just out of the way and selected the contact of Melody's Father. That was what I had him listed as. I braced myself as I put the phone to my ear.
"What is it this time?" My ex, Brian, asked. I winced slightly at his sharp tone. He was so irritating. I don't know what I ever saw in the douche.
"It's Melody. She's in the hospital. She broke her arm."
"So?" He asked.
I could feel my blood start to boil as I took a few more steps away so I could whisper yell at him without her hearing. "She's your daughter and she's scared! You should be here!"
"You're the one who broke her. You deal with it. I'm busy. I'll see you on Saturday." He hung up. That ass hung up on me! I could scream, but I also just wanted to cry. How I could have ever thought he loved me or Melody was beyond me.
I turned around and met Melody's red eyes. "He's not coming, is he?" She asked.
"No honey. I'm sorry." I apologized.
"It's okay. I know he's an ass."
"Melody! You do not call your father that."
"Fine, he's a butt face." She said with a scowl, "I don't like it when he's around anyway."
"Let's just talk about this another time." I sighed not having the energy to deal with the whole situation. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Will. I swear, sometimes she has more attitude than a teenager. She is totally right in calling him an ass, but she still shouldn't be using that language.
I sat back down next to her. Reid gave me an apologetic smile, "Sorry I told you to call her father. I assumed it was a different situation."
"I wish it wasn't." I sighed and lowered my voice so she wouldn't overhear, "Melody deserves a better dad than she has."
"I get it. Will's mother abandoned him on my doorstep after he was born. I didn't even know she was pregnant. She just gave me Will and left, haven't seen her since."
"That's awful. I'm sorry." I don't understand how a mother could do that. I hate leaving Melody overnight let alone abandoning her.
"I'm not. I wouldn't have Will if it wasn't for her. I just wanted you to know you're not alone in single parenthood."
"Thank you, Reid. For everything today... and I promise to get you a new shirt."
"Don't worry about it. You gave my son his first friend here. It's worth the price of a simple t-shirt."
"I was just doing what any other parent would do." I was pulled away from our conversation when Melody was finally brought into the back for x-rays. I was not surprised when they told me it was broken. They got her cast done and soon she was laying in a hospital bed with a cast on her arm sleeping off the medication they gave her.
I heard a knock behind me and turned to see Reid and Will standing at the door. "Hey, what are you still doing here?"
"Dad said if we waited I could ask to sign Melody's cast first!" Will said.
"I also need to get Will's car seat from your car."
"Oh right, I totally forgot. The doctor will be in soon to discharge us. If you are okay with waiting a little bit longer, I'll take you both out for ice cream."
Will's eyes lit up as he looked up at his dad. "Ooh can we Dad?" Reid chuckled as he ruffled Will's blonde hair with a nod. Will jumped up and down in excitement.
"Mama?" Melody's groggy voice pulled me to her bedside.
"Hey Monkey, I'm right here."
"My head feels fuzzy." She said as she rubbed at her eyes with her free hand.
"I know baby, but the doctor will be here soon. Then we're going for ice cream with Will and his dad." She gave me a tired smile and wiggled in bed at the prospect of ice cream.
The doctor walked in and introduced himself to me before coming going over to Melody. "Hello there Melody. How are you feeling?"
"Fuzzy."
The doctor chuckled as he checked her vitals and looked over her chart, "Well Melody you are lucky someone splinted your arm. Had the bone moved too far out of place, we might have needed to operate."
I squeezed Melody's hand. I looked over at Reid with tears shining in my eyes. He saved my baby girl so much pain today.
"Well, we just need your mom's signature. You'll need to make an appointment with your doctor to get the cast removed in six weeks."
"Thank you," I said. I signed the paperwork and helped Melody out of bed. She stumbled slightly so I bent to pick her up. She was heavy, but there was no way she was walking out of the hospital.
I put Melody in her car seat as Reid put Will in his. I shut the door and leaned against it trying to hold back my tears. The day had just been so exhausting and scary. I never wanted to see her hurt and it broke my heart. Now I knew she was safe, I felt the waves of emotion trying to push the tears from my eyes. I tried to hold them back. I didn't want Melody to see me like this.
All of a sudden Reid touched my shoulder and I found myself collapsing onto his chest in tears. He tucked me under his chin as he ran his hand through my hair. His warm sandalwood scent filled my senses as I cried. It was comforting, like coming home. Everything about him was comforting. Including the muscular pecs I was resting on. They really were the perfect pillow. "Shh, it's going to be okay. Melody is safe." He whispered.
"I was so scared," I admitted as I stepped out of his embrace.
"I know. I remember when Will broke his arm, I was a wreck. I thought I'd failed as a dad. Luckily, my mom was there to help me out."
"It's hard doing this on my own sometimes. I want to be a good mom and I try so hard, but it feels like it's just not enough sometimes." I wiped my eyes. I'm not sure why I was telling him all of this, but something about him made me want to. He's never going to want to hang out with me again.
"I get it, but today you've got me to help you out."
I swear I almost melted. Where did this perfect man come from? "You really don't have to. You've done so much already."
"I'm always happy to help." He reached over and opened the door for me, "Now come on, we've got two kids who have been promised ice cream."
*****
Author's Note:
Welcome to Main Attraction! This is a follow-up to Legendary, however, you do not have to read it to understand this one. It will just help you understand more about the side characters.
Please don't forget to vote and comment if you enjoyed it. It really helps me out.
Sending you lots of love,
EJ Cornish