Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Melody (08/24/06)
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TITLE: Melody was Her Name | Previous Challenge Entry
By Rose Spagnola
08/24/06 -
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Within three months, Melody and Steven got an apartment together nearby. When I visited their place, they looked like young lovers, living sparsely but happy. We helped them with a frig and some household items. And then came the announcement; they were expecting a baby. Sudden babies were no surprises to my son. He had two children by two other women back East. At least this grandchild I would get to see and play with.
As her tummy grew, Melody looked more and more like a pear with legs. She kept smiling and working full-time. Then things turned sour. The arguments increased and got more threatening. Was she emotional because she was pregnant? Then I heard their utilities were not being paid and they were hiding from their landlord when they weren’t fighting. Steven stayed out all night. She hunted him down and screamed at him when she found him.
I couldn’t stand the emotional roller coaster so I stayed away. Then it happened, she moved out, back to her folks’ place…and the baby was due in four weeks. Well, like all things God-made, in His timing, a gorgeous baby boy was born. I got to be there within an hour of his birth. Steven was there too. So were Melody’s parents with paternity papers. Steven wouldn’t sign anything so they didn’t put his name on the baby’s birth certificate. I didn’t agree with how it was handled but I still got to see my grandson.
This was the first grand child I had ever been around let alone so soon. In the hospital, I took pictures, lots of them, some with Mom and some with Dad. Boy, did this child look like his father! Mother was fair-haired and fair-skinned too but the baby’s complexion already matched Dad’s perfectly and the photos proved it.
After she left the hospital, Melody and Steven started seeing each other almost daily. They were excited to show off their new son. When they went out, they would spontaneously call and ask me to watch the baby for a while. Of course, I would immediately say “yes.” So, the instant infant sitter I became. I took pictures of my grandson when I had him. He was so cute and little.
Then, just as suddenly, Melody and Steven started arguing again. It got ugly and violent pretty quickly. My grandchild was only four months old then. Melody stopped asking me to baby-sit. Then the letter came. She mailed me a letter saying she never wanted her son around me again. She was determined her son would not to turn out like his father. I got the message. I didn’t call her or her parents after that.
After the split up, both Melody and Steven acted crazy towards each other each time they accidentally met in town. Wild stories circulated about each. She was drunk and driving wildly with the baby in the backseat. He threatened her new boyfriend. She broke the windows at his work and got him fired. She was getting married.
As time progressed, the stories lessened but I still didn’t get to see my grand child. Last month, I thought to myself, he must be two this year. I looked at the calendar. I was wrong; Melody’s child turned three a month ago.
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