Risking Heartbreak

When Melanie Watkins walked into her favorite bar on a warm night in May she was completely oblivious as to how her life was about to change. She’d never been the type to find herself in a situation that she didn’t want to be in. She’d never found herself in a truly sticky situation that she couldn’t get out of. However, as she was about to learn, there is a first for everything.

One of the reasons this specific bar was her favorite was because it was familiar and never changed. It was the same place she usually came with her friends or her brothers fairly often. Tonight she was meeting most of her immediate family instead of her friends which meant she knew exactly where to look. As soon as she walked through the door and looked to her right she spotted her family, exactly where she’d expected them to be.

When she reached the table she received a questioning look from the youngest person there. “You’re late.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know, Kevin. I had a busy day,” she responded as she walked behind him to hug the older man who had stood up. “Happy birthday, Dad.”

“I’m glad you made it, sweet pea.”

“Wouldn’t miss your party for the world.” She walked back over to the only seat left, putting her between her twin brother, James, and Richard Matthews, a friend of her parents.

It was Michael Watkins’ forty-seventh birthday and the small group had gathered to celebrate with him. Melanie had been the last to arrive and had completed the small group. James and Melanie, fraternal twins, were the oldest of the Watkins children at twenty-six. Kevin, the next oldest, was twenty-four. The youngest child, Stephen, was only nineteen and was too young to take part in the evening’s festivities.

Catherine Watkins was sitting next to her husband wearing a smile. Melanie had always admired her parent’s marriage and tonight was no exception. Her mother looked so perfectly happy to just be there to celebrate with the man she loved, their children, and their closest friend.

“So did you get a hold of the realtor?” Michael asked, looking at his only daughter.

“Yeah and I think I found a few houses to look out. I’m gonna go next Wednesday.”

“You can’t do it another day so I can go with you?”

“Not really, Dad. That’s the only day the realtor has open. Why?” She opened the bottle of beer that had been sitting on the table in front of her. She assumed that it had been James who’d had it waiting for her.

“Because I’d feel better if you had an experienced homeowner there with you to make sure you don’t get screwed. It is your first house, after all.” There was concern in Michael’s eyes.

“And you’re the best one to make sure the house is sound?” Richard asked, looking at Michael with one eyebrow raised. The tone of his voice was a mix between amusement and confusion.

“Why not?”

Catherine laughed, “Honey, you aren’t exactly the best with stuff around the house. You’ve missed some stuff at home before.”

“Geeze, Dad, no respect on your birthday,” James chuckled.

“Listen, Michael, if you want someone to go with her to make sure they’re good, solid houses then I’ll go,” Richard interrupted.

Melanie looked over at Richard. “You don’t have to. I can handle it myself.”

“I went with your brother last year. Besides, who better to have look at a house than a contractor?”

Michael snorted, “Former. You sold that business, remember?”

“And now who makes sure all the body work gets done on those pieces of shit you drag back to your shop to fix up?” Richard fired back.

Michael didn’t respond and instead took a sip of his drink. Everyone else at the table burst into laughter, knowing it was true. Michael had owned an auto shop for as long as Melanie could remember and he often ended up with cars that were just as bad outside as they were inside. But that was what he loved doing and she admired him for not listening to anyone that had told him that his business wasn’t good enough. The downside was that Michael’s shop had no one that was good at anything on the outside of the car, which was where Richard’s shop came in.

Richard had been a family friend since before Melanie and James' birth. Michael, Catherine, and Richard had been friends since late in high school and their friendship had never weakened. So it seemed natural for Michael to send cars to Richard’s shop when they needed body work done. When she’d been younger, Melanie remembered that Richard had owned a successful construction business, and she remembered it because he’d built the addition to their family home when she was five, but he sold it around seven years before to open the shop.

As the night progressed, everyone took part in sharing stories about Michael. The stories told by his children were full of admiration. The stories from Catherine were a mix of love and playful teasing. Richard’s stories were all attempts to remind Michael of things he didn’t particularly care to remember and drew the biggest laughs. It wasn’t the first time many of the stories had been told but they never seemed to get old.

While the talking was going on, the drinking continued. Melanie didn’t have a problem holding her liquor, a trait inherited from her mother, but she usually avoided over doing it. She didn’t tend to show many of the telltale signs of intoxication that her brothers did. She didn’t get any happier or meaner, she didn’t feel the need to talk more than normal, and she didn’t slur her words. However on that particular night she was drinking a little more than she normally did and it would have its effects later that night. Looking back on that night in the future she would wonder if the extra drinking helped lead to what ended up changing her life.

By the time anyone looked at their watch it was already after midnight. Michael and Catherine were the first two to leave, calling for a cab before they even left the table. Kevin was next to leave, knowing that he had to go to work the next day. James tried his best to stay as long as his sister but he just couldn’t do it. “You want to share a cab with me, Mel?” He asked after announcing that he was leaving.

“No,” Melanie looked up at her brother. “I can get myself home. See you Sunday.”

“That’s because you aren’t done drinking. Be careful getting home. See ya, Richard.”

After James was out of earshot, Melanie tossed her head back. “I’m the last one out of the family left standing. What does that say about me?”

Richard laughed, “That you are your mother’s daughter. I think it also calls for a shot of tequila.”

After laughing for a moment, Melanie went serious again. “Sounds good to me. You don’t have to come with me to look at houses. I know you’re busy.”

He shrugged the comment off. “Its really no problem. Your dad is right to worry about you getting screwed. They probably won’t tell you if there is anything wrong with the house. So I’ll just take a look at them and let you make your decision after I make sure it’s a good house. I won’t be giving you any home buying advice.”

She grinned. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Not a problem.” He watched as she downed one of the shots of tequila that was left on the table.

“Does this bother my parents?” Melanie was starting to feel the nights effects. She was sure that the fact that she’d already been up for close to twenty hours was contributing to the problem. By that point, for the first time in a long time, she’d lost the filter between her mind and mouth and couldn’t stop herself from asking the question.

“Your drinking?” Richard asked, waiting for a nod from Melanie to continue. “No. They know you don’t go out and get drunk every night or even every week. They just don’t see the difference between you drinking with your friends and celebrating with them. It comes from the fact that their parents would have went insane if they knew half the shit they pulled in their day. They don’t want you to feel like you’ve got to hide stuff from them.”

Melanie reached for the beer bottle. “Well that’s good to know. I just remembered that I have to be up early for breakfast with my friends in the morning. Shit.”

Richard laughed then said, “You’re going to have fun getting up tomorrow morning.”

She nodded. “That’s the damn truth. Should we finish the last two shots on this table since everyone else already gave up?”

“I like your attitude.”

“So do I,” she said with a grin.

Richard looked at his watch as soon as the final shots were downed and noticed it was already after one in the morning. “We better head out. This place is closing in less than an hour.”

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the cab company. “ They’re going to send two cabs in about fifteen minutes. I feel bad for you,” she said as she hung up.

“Why?”

“Because you’ve got to ride in a cab all the way across town. Your ride home is twice as long as mine.”

He grinned. “I think I need some air.”

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea.”

After paying their tabs, they both headed outside. There was a row of trees in front of the bar and that was exactly where Melanie headed. She leaned against one the giant trees and took a deep breath. She was ready to get home and get some sleep as soon as possible.

“You alright?” Richard asked, leaning against the tree beside her.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to regret staying so late tomorrow morning.”

“You are not alone in that.”

Melanie shifted her weight and felt her ankle start to give way. She somehow managed to steady herself before she hit the ground. After a moment to process what had happened, she looked over to see Richard’s hand holding onto her arm in an attempt to steady her.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just lost my ankle for a minute. I’m fine though.”

He grinned. “You sure it doesn’t have to do with the booze?”

“No,” she said, laughing. She looked him in the eyes to say thank you and for the first time felt speechless.

Melanie had never seen Richard as anything other than her parents’ friend. She’d never taken the time to really look at him in a way that measured how attractive she found him. The thought that she might actually find him attractive had never crossed her mind until that very moment. Now that she was looking him directly in the eyes and his hand was still on her arm something had just changed. It was almost as if something inside her had snapped or an internal switch had been flipped.

She felt something. At first she wasn’t sure what it was but then it hit her. She was feeling an attraction to him. Her heart lurched into her throat. She was feeling an attraction to a man that was not only the best friend of both her parents but also the same man that had been friends with her parents for all her life. She gulped and gently pulled her arm away without breaking eye contact. She desperately wanted to look away and stop whatever was happening but she just couldn’t do it.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice a whisper.

Richard cleared his throat. “No problem.” He still hadn't looked away yet. He was just as confused as she was and even he wasn’t able to figure out what to do.

Neither one of them moved and instead just stayed frozen in that position for a moment. Richard was the first person to move, returning his own arm to his side. He watched as she gulped and seemed to unwillingly look at his lips. He wanted to sigh in relief that he wasn’t the only one.

He was going to back away but then he made the mistake of looking at her again. “Screw it,” he mumbled, ninety percent sure that she wasn’t going to have a problem with his lapse in judgment. He pressed his lips against hers and was hit with a tidal wave of thoughts running through his mind.

Melanie had the opposite problem. As soon as he kissed her every thought in her mind just disappeared. While he couldn’t stop thinking she couldn’t form a thought. Instead she just let herself get carried away in the moment.

Richard jerked away and immediately ran a hand down his face. “I should not have done that. I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She asked, still trying to get her thoughts back in order.

“I’m supposed to be the mature responsible one and I just screwed up big time.”

“Don’t sweat it. That was the best kiss I’ve had in over a year.”

He couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. “I hope that we’re both drunk enough that we don’t remember that in the morning.”

“I guess we’ll find out,” she said as they noticed two cabs pulling into the parking lot.