WE NEED A LITTLE CHRISTMAS! OR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT?
MEL
"It's beautiful," Taylor Hanson said in awe.
Melody Banks smiled, proud of herself. "It's one of the very few things I'm actually good at without the help of a professional decorator." She carefully removed the new ornament from its box and held it out to Taylor. "I wanted to decorate the tree together, but since you weren't here and I couldn't wait, you wanna hang the last one?"
Taylor smiled and looked at the small ornament more closely as he took it from her hand. "Our First Christmas, huh?" The ornament was a clear, glass circle with the simple phrase written across it along with the year. "Isn't that more of a married thing?"
Melody, better known as Mel, frowned at her fiancée. "Well. It's Christmas. And we're together, so I just thought..."
Taylor smiled and kissed her lips, silencing her. "I love it. And I love you. And I'm going to hang this right now."
Mel grinned happily. It was moments like these that she lived for.
Unfortunately, these moments were often short-lived, as always seemed to be her luck. As she watched her fiancée hang their ornament, the smoke detector blared in their ears, rudely interrupting their intimate moment. Taylor spun around and looked at Mel in horror as Mel looked to her left and was equally horrified at the smoke coming from the kitchen as it billowed from the oven. Oh. NOW they smell something burning.
"What the hell is that?" Taylor asked, dashing past Mel and into the kitchen.
Mel raced behind him and waved the smoke out of the air in her path as she watched him open the oven door. Tears sprang to her eyes, but not from the smoke. The smoke detector continued to pierce the air as Taylor scrambled for oven mitts and Mel ran around opening windows and doors.
In one swift motion, Taylor flipped on the exhaust fan, turned off the oven, and quickly deposited a pan full of black cookies onto the stove top. When Mel saw the pan, it was all over and the water works started. His back still turned, Taylor said, "What is this? I thought you were gonna wait till I got home?" Then he turned around and saw Mel's face. The pity in his eyes just made it worse for her. "Why are you crying?"
Wiping her eyes and feeling like a fool, Mel said, "I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well the tree was a surprise."
"I know. But I wanted it all to be perfect. I wanted you to come home and have a tree and cookies and we were gonna curl up by the fire and--and now it's ruined."
Taking off the oven mitt, Taylor smiled and took her in his arms. "Coming home to you every day is more than enough for me. You know that."
She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "Please kill that alarm. I can't reach it."
"Oh!" Suddenly alert and aware, Taylor sped away to finish saving the day.
Still upset about her cookie failure, Mel somberly threw away the charcoal snacks in the garbage and began to wash the pan. Once the shrieking alarm was silenced, Taylor returned to the kitchen. "Are you okay?"
Mel sighed and looked up at him. "I'm going to be a horrible wife. I can't cook. I'm not crafty. I'm just--not
domestic. I only know how to be a New York wife. I know how to brew coffee and order take-out. Don't ask me to hem your pants or fix a button. It's not gonna happen."
"Mel, you're worrying over nothing. Marrying you will be the best thing I will ever do in my entire life. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm a horrible housekeeper, so--it'll be fine, I promise. I mean, hell, we've survived living together this long, right?"
"Barely," Mel laughed, her tears subsiding.
"Look. I'll cook, you clean, and we'll make a great team. So you burned some cookies. Big deal. I could see how you could be taken in with that beautiful tree and forget about them."
Mel smiled shyly, wiping away what was left of her tears. "Now you're just trying to make me feel better."
"Is it working?"
"Maybe a little."
Taylor smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good. Now come on, let's go light up that tree."
Mel felt the blood drain from her face as she looked at him blankly. "Lights?"
Taylor's head cocked to the side. "Mel."
Dying from humiliation, Mel raced past him and locked herself in the bathroom just past the living room, underneath the balcony.
Taylor and Mel had survived incredible odds, having been in love since they were children, losing touch for ten years, and each having been previously married to different people, and finally being engaged to each other at thirty years old had been a long time coming and the timing now couldn't have been more perfect. Their relationship certainly didn't come without its own problems and quirks and they were both still learning how to live with each other.
_________________________________________________________
TAYLOR
Shaking his head, Taylor took his usual stance outside the locked bathroom door. This was Mel's routine hiding place whenever her pride got hurt.
He was smiling. He couldn't help it, it amused him more than anything. He felt bad for her hurt feelings, but he had to admit, the events in the short time he'd been home had been quite humorous. He was used to being the absent-minded one in the relationship, so he savored the occasions when the tables were turned.
He listlessly knocked on the door with his index knuckle. "Come on, Mel. Come on out."
"NO."
"Mel, you can't lock yourself in there every time something like this happens."
"Yes I can," she pouted. "It's my bathroom. And it's a nice one."
Taylor found himself shaking his head and stifling a quiet laugh. "Come on. We'll throw some lights on the tree and call it a day. It'll be beautiful."
The bathroom door flung open and Mel's face, red and tear-streaked, looked at him in disbelief. "THROW lights on the tree? You can't THROW lights on a tree like that! Look at the work I put into it!"
Damn. Damage control. "Well, I didn't mean it like THAT--"
"It's ruined. The whole afternoon is ruined. I'm done!"
"Mel, we can work it out, I promise."
"No. It's hopeless." She went to close the door back when Taylor braced his hand firmly against it, stopping it. She started to back up when he starting letting himself in. "Tay!" she said in horror. "What are you doing?"
"Coming in," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"You can't come in here. I'M in here!"
"Well, now so am I." Tay closed the door behind him and locked it.
Mel started spouting off and talking at the speed of light. She always talked fast when she was upset and it was almost always incoherent, so he just let her go at it and he let it go in one ear and out the other.
As she rambled, Tay went about his business, turning on the shower and pulling his shirt over his head.
Mel's rambling stopped momentarily. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What you're supposed to do in a bathroom. Bathing."
"You can't--this is my--"
Tay slid his belt from around his waist. "I can, and I will."
"Well. Have it your way, then," Mel said as she reached for the doorknob.
Ever so calmly, never once changing his tone, Tay informed her simply, "You touch that door and I'll torch that tree out there the same way you torched those cookies."
Mel's hand stopped in mid-air. She turned and narrowed her eyes at him. The removal of his pants didn't seem to phase her. "You wouldn't."
He raised an eyebrow. "You said it needed lights. You made it sound like the whole thing would have to come down, like it's some huge travesty or something. Torching it would just be faster. We can afford new ornaments. AND a new tree."
With that, Mel stepped away from the door. She stared at him, speechless. That was just how he liked her. "Now take off your clothes," he commanded.
Mel scoffed at him and began straightening the already-pristine counter top. As she mumbled to herself, Tay opened the shower curtain and turned to her. "That wasn't a request," he said to her over the running water.
Mel turned to him, ignoring his nakedness. "You know, and that's another thing, too. Don't think that just because you rudely demand me to do something, regardless of the situation..." And she was off and running
again.
Letting her spout off once again, Tay calmly walked over to Mel and began to remove her clothing for her. She was so distracted by the sound of her own voice that she barely realized what was going on. It was when he had her completely in the nude when he realized she wasn't even speaking English. "Mel. What the hell are you doing?"
"What?" She glanced down at herself. "What the hell are YOU doing?"
"You still do that?"
"Do what?"
"Speak fluent Spanish when you're mad." Tay always found that amusing when they were teenagers because she wasn't even an ounce Hispanic.
"Where the hell did that come from?"
Tay laughed. "You were just doing it."
"No, I wasn't."
He shook his head. "Get in the damn shower."
Once in the shower, Tay and Mel stood facing each other. "What is this about?" Mel asked. "You're not trying to touch me, so something is going on."
"It's just this. Right here. I'm naked. You're naked. We're totally exposed. Nothing to hide. Now I want to
know what's REALLY the matter. It has nothing to do with trees or cookies. What was all that wife talk in there?"
Mel was silent. Tay wasn't having it. Not this time. "Come on. Out with it."
Finally, Mel sighed, wiping water out of her face. "Fine. It's the wedding. I am so stressed out and we've only just begun planning. I just--it's--it's flowers and food and guests and hairstyles and center pieces and party favors and dishes and--it's just all this little tiny STUFF!"
"Why don't we just hire a wedding planner?"
"No, I don't want a planner. This is OUR wedding. I want US to plan it."
"Hon, a planner won't make the wedding any less OURS. And think of the stress it'll save you."
"No. Having my wedding in someone else's hands will be even more stressful. I can't handle it."
"Well, what did you do--yanno, before?"
"I had a wedding planner."
Tay could only gape at Mel. Was she hearing herself? "Uh, okay...so how did that turn out?"
"It was gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. The best of everything. But, Tay, this is different. This is me marrying
you. It's us. That's what I want, planning process and all." She was quiet for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Hey, why don't we just elope? Just the two of us? Why don't we just do it? Just get married?"
He could only stare at her. He couldn't lie, the very thought had crossed his mind on more than one occasion. All he ever wanted in this life was to be married to Mel. How they did it didn't really matter to him. Hell, they'd both been married before. They'd both had big weddings. Did they really need one now?
Yes. They did. And Tay knew they would both regret it if they didn't have one.
"Mel. For twenty-five years the one thing I fantasized about the most was how you would look in a white dress. I want to marry you. I want a wedding. I want to show my wife off proudly to the world. But right now...maybe we could rehearse our wedding night?"
And with that, Mel's bathroom meltdown was put to an end the exact same way it always was.
------------------------------------------------------------
MEL
Mel walked into the 3CG business office into a sea of magazines and giggling. As she stopped to observe the scene, Jeanette, Nikki, Carol, and Katie all looked up at her. "Uh, sorry I'm running late," Mel said. "I stopped by to check out a couple of florists on my way in."
"And?" Jeanette pressed.
Mel smiled. "And I wasn't so impressed with either one. What's all this?"
Jeanette's face lit up. "Oh! We're looking for your wedding dress!"
Mel had to laugh. It was true, she hadn't even searched for her dress yet. Mostly because she had no idea which direction she wanted to take the wedding in. She had no location, no theme, nothing. But these girls
caught wedding fever the moment they found out Tay had proposed and they'd had it ever since.
"Um, don't you guys have shipments to confirm or forums to moderate?" Mel asked, as she spied the brand new cork board on the back wall of the business office. "Is that--are you guys planning my wedding?"
Nikki smiled at her. "Well not really 'planning.' More like discussing. And exchanging opinions. And putting our favorites on the board. I hope you don't mind."
Mel bit her bottom lip in concentration as she studied the board, and then at the four girls. After a moment of contemplation, she smiled. "No, I don't mind. I appreciate the help. However, for right now I have some correspondence to work on and it might be a good idea to put the magazines away before one of the guys comes in here and sees it. I know they're cool and all, but let's keep the distractions to a minimum. We're committed to this label. Label first, wedding second. Okay?" She smiled at the girls one more time before she headed into her office.
Once Mel was settled in her office, she booted up her computer and opened the top drawer of her desk to find a pen. Inside the drawer, she spied a white envelope with her name scrawled across it. She smiled as she lifted the card from the drawer and turned it around in her hand. Inside, she found a Christmas card--nothing spectacular, just cute with a couple of penguins on the front. Inside, Tay had written her an informative essay about how penguins mate for life. The truth was, penguins didn't necessarily mate for LIFE, and Mel knew this, but she got the message. She wouldn't dare correct him and ruin the sentiment. He could be so sweet
sometimes and she loved it when she found random things hidden in her office from time to time.
Taping the card to the cabinet door above her head, she got to work on her computer. She was shocked when the first email she opened was from Drew! Andrew Brooks was Mel's life-long best friend. She had only
recently become an overnight superstar due to the success of her first film alongside Mel's other best friend, Jason Kamealoha. The whole thing was surreal to Mel on the rare occasion that she actually put herself on the
outside looking in. Her fiancée was famous, her brothers-in-law were famous, both of her best friends were wildly famous--and here Mel sat, the little man on the totem pole, hardly known for--well she was known for a scandal that didn't exist for about five minutes. And for another five minutes because of the money she had inherited from her ex mother-in-law who was prominent in New York City, but not necessarily famous. But Mel preferred it that way. Her life was busy enough without the hassle of fame, especially now. Not only did she work for 3CG, but she was slowly but surely making a name for herself around Tulsa and beyond for her ability to organize large parties and events. She had a knack for whipping up a hell of a charity ball in a moment's notice, but planning her own wedding was proving to be the most difficult task she had ever taken on. It didn't make sense and it stressed her to no end.
Mel was excited to get an email from Drew. She knew that once Drew became famous, seeing each other would be far and few between and she'd been right. Even more so now that she had married big name director Gerard Cline. Mel and Drew had seen each other once since Drew's wedding and she feared that the next time she saw her would be when Drew was standing beside her at her own wedding. Mel could hop a plane any time she wanted to visit, but Drew was constantly working and when she wasn't working, she was off with
Gerard on location wherever HE was working, so--getting an email from Drew was becoming a rare treat.
Mel smiled as she read it. She had just recently been cast as the lead in a sci-fi movie being directed by a name bigger than Gerard's. This was huge for her career and she was ecstatic. At this time she didn't know
what her filming schedule would be since things were just getting off the ground, but she would let Mel know as soon as she knew. Mel wasn't sure why all of a sudden, but a knot formed at the pit of her stomach at reading this email. She didn't like the way it felt.
Pushing the feeling away, she responded to Drew's email and then went about her business, reading emails from potential vendors who proposed different products that Hanson's name could be on, and for the next couple of hours she made notes of everything that had come through her inbox and decided that a business meeting with the band and their manager was necessary in the next couple of days.
At one point, Tay came to her office to ask her about going to lunch. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her, asking, "What's wrong?"
It was then that she realized that the troubled expression she must have been wearing since reading her first email had apparently never left her face.
MEL
"It's beautiful," Taylor Hanson said in awe.
Melody Banks smiled, proud of herself. "It's one of the very few things I'm actually good at without the help of a professional decorator." She carefully removed the new ornament from its box and held it out to Taylor. "I wanted to decorate the tree together, but since you weren't here and I couldn't wait, you wanna hang the last one?"
Taylor smiled and looked at the small ornament more closely as he took it from her hand. "Our First Christmas, huh?" The ornament was a clear, glass circle with the simple phrase written across it along with the year. "Isn't that more of a married thing?"
Melody, better known as Mel, frowned at her fiancée. "Well. It's Christmas. And we're together, so I just thought..."
Taylor smiled and kissed her lips, silencing her. "I love it. And I love you. And I'm going to hang this right now."
Mel grinned happily. It was moments like these that she lived for.
Unfortunately, these moments were often short-lived, as always seemed to be her luck. As she watched her fiancée hang their ornament, the smoke detector blared in their ears, rudely interrupting their intimate moment. Taylor spun around and looked at Mel in horror as Mel looked to her left and was equally horrified at the smoke coming from the kitchen as it billowed from the oven. Oh. NOW they smell something burning.
"What the hell is that?" Taylor asked, dashing past Mel and into the kitchen.
Mel raced behind him and waved the smoke out of the air in her path as she watched him open the oven door. Tears sprang to her eyes, but not from the smoke. The smoke detector continued to pierce the air as Taylor scrambled for oven mitts and Mel ran around opening windows and doors.
In one swift motion, Taylor flipped on the exhaust fan, turned off the oven, and quickly deposited a pan full of black cookies onto the stove top. When Mel saw the pan, it was all over and the water works started. His back still turned, Taylor said, "What is this? I thought you were gonna wait till I got home?" Then he turned around and saw Mel's face. The pity in his eyes just made it worse for her. "Why are you crying?"
Wiping her eyes and feeling like a fool, Mel said, "I wanted it to be a surprise."
"Well the tree was a surprise."
"I know. But I wanted it all to be perfect. I wanted you to come home and have a tree and cookies and we were gonna curl up by the fire and--and now it's ruined."
Taking off the oven mitt, Taylor smiled and took her in his arms. "Coming home to you every day is more than enough for me. You know that."
She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "Please kill that alarm. I can't reach it."
"Oh!" Suddenly alert and aware, Taylor sped away to finish saving the day.
Still upset about her cookie failure, Mel somberly threw away the charcoal snacks in the garbage and began to wash the pan. Once the shrieking alarm was silenced, Taylor returned to the kitchen. "Are you okay?"
Mel sighed and looked up at him. "I'm going to be a horrible wife. I can't cook. I'm not crafty. I'm just--not
domestic. I only know how to be a New York wife. I know how to brew coffee and order take-out. Don't ask me to hem your pants or fix a button. It's not gonna happen."
"Mel, you're worrying over nothing. Marrying you will be the best thing I will ever do in my entire life. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm a horrible housekeeper, so--it'll be fine, I promise. I mean, hell, we've survived living together this long, right?"
"Barely," Mel laughed, her tears subsiding.
"Look. I'll cook, you clean, and we'll make a great team. So you burned some cookies. Big deal. I could see how you could be taken in with that beautiful tree and forget about them."
Mel smiled shyly, wiping away what was left of her tears. "Now you're just trying to make me feel better."
"Is it working?"
"Maybe a little."
Taylor smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good. Now come on, let's go light up that tree."
Mel felt the blood drain from her face as she looked at him blankly. "Lights?"
Taylor's head cocked to the side. "Mel."
Dying from humiliation, Mel raced past him and locked herself in the bathroom just past the living room, underneath the balcony.
Taylor and Mel had survived incredible odds, having been in love since they were children, losing touch for ten years, and each having been previously married to different people, and finally being engaged to each other at thirty years old had been a long time coming and the timing now couldn't have been more perfect. Their relationship certainly didn't come without its own problems and quirks and they were both still learning how to live with each other.
_________________________________________________________
TAYLOR
Shaking his head, Taylor took his usual stance outside the locked bathroom door. This was Mel's routine hiding place whenever her pride got hurt.
He was smiling. He couldn't help it, it amused him more than anything. He felt bad for her hurt feelings, but he had to admit, the events in the short time he'd been home had been quite humorous. He was used to being the absent-minded one in the relationship, so he savored the occasions when the tables were turned.
He listlessly knocked on the door with his index knuckle. "Come on, Mel. Come on out."
"NO."
"Mel, you can't lock yourself in there every time something like this happens."
"Yes I can," she pouted. "It's my bathroom. And it's a nice one."
Taylor found himself shaking his head and stifling a quiet laugh. "Come on. We'll throw some lights on the tree and call it a day. It'll be beautiful."
The bathroom door flung open and Mel's face, red and tear-streaked, looked at him in disbelief. "THROW lights on the tree? You can't THROW lights on a tree like that! Look at the work I put into it!"
Damn. Damage control. "Well, I didn't mean it like THAT--"
"It's ruined. The whole afternoon is ruined. I'm done!"
"Mel, we can work it out, I promise."
"No. It's hopeless." She went to close the door back when Taylor braced his hand firmly against it, stopping it. She started to back up when he starting letting himself in. "Tay!" she said in horror. "What are you doing?"
"Coming in," he replied, matter-of-factly.
"You can't come in here. I'M in here!"
"Well, now so am I." Tay closed the door behind him and locked it.
Mel started spouting off and talking at the speed of light. She always talked fast when she was upset and it was almost always incoherent, so he just let her go at it and he let it go in one ear and out the other.
As she rambled, Tay went about his business, turning on the shower and pulling his shirt over his head.
Mel's rambling stopped momentarily. "What do you think you're doing?"
"What you're supposed to do in a bathroom. Bathing."
"You can't--this is my--"
Tay slid his belt from around his waist. "I can, and I will."
"Well. Have it your way, then," Mel said as she reached for the doorknob.
Ever so calmly, never once changing his tone, Tay informed her simply, "You touch that door and I'll torch that tree out there the same way you torched those cookies."
Mel's hand stopped in mid-air. She turned and narrowed her eyes at him. The removal of his pants didn't seem to phase her. "You wouldn't."
He raised an eyebrow. "You said it needed lights. You made it sound like the whole thing would have to come down, like it's some huge travesty or something. Torching it would just be faster. We can afford new ornaments. AND a new tree."
With that, Mel stepped away from the door. She stared at him, speechless. That was just how he liked her. "Now take off your clothes," he commanded.
Mel scoffed at him and began straightening the already-pristine counter top. As she mumbled to herself, Tay opened the shower curtain and turned to her. "That wasn't a request," he said to her over the running water.
Mel turned to him, ignoring his nakedness. "You know, and that's another thing, too. Don't think that just because you rudely demand me to do something, regardless of the situation..." And she was off and running
again.
Letting her spout off once again, Tay calmly walked over to Mel and began to remove her clothing for her. She was so distracted by the sound of her own voice that she barely realized what was going on. It was when he had her completely in the nude when he realized she wasn't even speaking English. "Mel. What the hell are you doing?"
"What?" She glanced down at herself. "What the hell are YOU doing?"
"You still do that?"
"Do what?"
"Speak fluent Spanish when you're mad." Tay always found that amusing when they were teenagers because she wasn't even an ounce Hispanic.
"Where the hell did that come from?"
Tay laughed. "You were just doing it."
"No, I wasn't."
He shook his head. "Get in the damn shower."
Once in the shower, Tay and Mel stood facing each other. "What is this about?" Mel asked. "You're not trying to touch me, so something is going on."
"It's just this. Right here. I'm naked. You're naked. We're totally exposed. Nothing to hide. Now I want to
know what's REALLY the matter. It has nothing to do with trees or cookies. What was all that wife talk in there?"
Mel was silent. Tay wasn't having it. Not this time. "Come on. Out with it."
Finally, Mel sighed, wiping water out of her face. "Fine. It's the wedding. I am so stressed out and we've only just begun planning. I just--it's--it's flowers and food and guests and hairstyles and center pieces and party favors and dishes and--it's just all this little tiny STUFF!"
"Why don't we just hire a wedding planner?"
"No, I don't want a planner. This is OUR wedding. I want US to plan it."
"Hon, a planner won't make the wedding any less OURS. And think of the stress it'll save you."
"No. Having my wedding in someone else's hands will be even more stressful. I can't handle it."
"Well, what did you do--yanno, before?"
"I had a wedding planner."
Tay could only gape at Mel. Was she hearing herself? "Uh, okay...so how did that turn out?"
"It was gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful. The best of everything. But, Tay, this is different. This is me marrying
you. It's us. That's what I want, planning process and all." She was quiet for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Hey, why don't we just elope? Just the two of us? Why don't we just do it? Just get married?"
He could only stare at her. He couldn't lie, the very thought had crossed his mind on more than one occasion. All he ever wanted in this life was to be married to Mel. How they did it didn't really matter to him. Hell, they'd both been married before. They'd both had big weddings. Did they really need one now?
Yes. They did. And Tay knew they would both regret it if they didn't have one.
"Mel. For twenty-five years the one thing I fantasized about the most was how you would look in a white dress. I want to marry you. I want a wedding. I want to show my wife off proudly to the world. But right now...maybe we could rehearse our wedding night?"
And with that, Mel's bathroom meltdown was put to an end the exact same way it always was.
------------------------------------------------------------
MEL
Mel walked into the 3CG business office into a sea of magazines and giggling. As she stopped to observe the scene, Jeanette, Nikki, Carol, and Katie all looked up at her. "Uh, sorry I'm running late," Mel said. "I stopped by to check out a couple of florists on my way in."
"And?" Jeanette pressed.
Mel smiled. "And I wasn't so impressed with either one. What's all this?"
Jeanette's face lit up. "Oh! We're looking for your wedding dress!"
Mel had to laugh. It was true, she hadn't even searched for her dress yet. Mostly because she had no idea which direction she wanted to take the wedding in. She had no location, no theme, nothing. But these girls
caught wedding fever the moment they found out Tay had proposed and they'd had it ever since.
"Um, don't you guys have shipments to confirm or forums to moderate?" Mel asked, as she spied the brand new cork board on the back wall of the business office. "Is that--are you guys planning my wedding?"
Nikki smiled at her. "Well not really 'planning.' More like discussing. And exchanging opinions. And putting our favorites on the board. I hope you don't mind."
Mel bit her bottom lip in concentration as she studied the board, and then at the four girls. After a moment of contemplation, she smiled. "No, I don't mind. I appreciate the help. However, for right now I have some correspondence to work on and it might be a good idea to put the magazines away before one of the guys comes in here and sees it. I know they're cool and all, but let's keep the distractions to a minimum. We're committed to this label. Label first, wedding second. Okay?" She smiled at the girls one more time before she headed into her office.
Once Mel was settled in her office, she booted up her computer and opened the top drawer of her desk to find a pen. Inside the drawer, she spied a white envelope with her name scrawled across it. She smiled as she lifted the card from the drawer and turned it around in her hand. Inside, she found a Christmas card--nothing spectacular, just cute with a couple of penguins on the front. Inside, Tay had written her an informative essay about how penguins mate for life. The truth was, penguins didn't necessarily mate for LIFE, and Mel knew this, but she got the message. She wouldn't dare correct him and ruin the sentiment. He could be so sweet
sometimes and she loved it when she found random things hidden in her office from time to time.
Taping the card to the cabinet door above her head, she got to work on her computer. She was shocked when the first email she opened was from Drew! Andrew Brooks was Mel's life-long best friend. She had only
recently become an overnight superstar due to the success of her first film alongside Mel's other best friend, Jason Kamealoha. The whole thing was surreal to Mel on the rare occasion that she actually put herself on the
outside looking in. Her fiancée was famous, her brothers-in-law were famous, both of her best friends were wildly famous--and here Mel sat, the little man on the totem pole, hardly known for--well she was known for a scandal that didn't exist for about five minutes. And for another five minutes because of the money she had inherited from her ex mother-in-law who was prominent in New York City, but not necessarily famous. But Mel preferred it that way. Her life was busy enough without the hassle of fame, especially now. Not only did she work for 3CG, but she was slowly but surely making a name for herself around Tulsa and beyond for her ability to organize large parties and events. She had a knack for whipping up a hell of a charity ball in a moment's notice, but planning her own wedding was proving to be the most difficult task she had ever taken on. It didn't make sense and it stressed her to no end.
Mel was excited to get an email from Drew. She knew that once Drew became famous, seeing each other would be far and few between and she'd been right. Even more so now that she had married big name director Gerard Cline. Mel and Drew had seen each other once since Drew's wedding and she feared that the next time she saw her would be when Drew was standing beside her at her own wedding. Mel could hop a plane any time she wanted to visit, but Drew was constantly working and when she wasn't working, she was off with
Gerard on location wherever HE was working, so--getting an email from Drew was becoming a rare treat.
Mel smiled as she read it. She had just recently been cast as the lead in a sci-fi movie being directed by a name bigger than Gerard's. This was huge for her career and she was ecstatic. At this time she didn't know
what her filming schedule would be since things were just getting off the ground, but she would let Mel know as soon as she knew. Mel wasn't sure why all of a sudden, but a knot formed at the pit of her stomach at reading this email. She didn't like the way it felt.
Pushing the feeling away, she responded to Drew's email and then went about her business, reading emails from potential vendors who proposed different products that Hanson's name could be on, and for the next couple of hours she made notes of everything that had come through her inbox and decided that a business meeting with the band and their manager was necessary in the next couple of days.
At one point, Tay came to her office to ask her about going to lunch. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her, asking, "What's wrong?"
It was then that she realized that the troubled expression she must have been wearing since reading her first email had apparently never left her face.