Unforgettable Melody – S01 E02
Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 2
The only difficulty he experienced in those six months was the inevitable return of contact from Amanda. She, of course, had realized the hastiness of her decision, and wanted him back. While Mike could easily have rubbed it in, or even refused to talk to her, he convinced himself to do the honorable, decent thing and tell her, face-to-face, how much she had hurt him, that he had no desire to get back together with her, but that he also wanted her to leam from her decision and move on with her love life. It took some doing, but he finally convinced her that pining over losing him would be extremely unhealthy not only for her, but also for the man she would eventually end up spending her life with.
Yep, he had thought many times, sure would be fun to do the petty thing once in a while and stick her nose in it. That damn code of morality and trying to live a Godly life thing.
“You’re right, I was hers. And she apparently decided all of a sudden that she wasn’t ready, and the only course of action was to end a relationship of almost four years. No biggie,” Mike responded, his words dripping with sarcasm. “In all seriousness though, it’s for the best. I know what I want from here on, and I won’t be wasting tirne with someone who isn’t on the same page as me.”
Darcy’s grin returned. “So, no more Mr. College Playboy then?”
“HA! Please. Need I remind you that I’m the one constantly getting flack from every guy I know for not ‘playing the field’ more in college?” Mike shot back.
“Fair enough, fair enough…” Darcy conceded. “Pretty sure mine was for the best, too. Steven never was physically abusive, but his temper kept getting the best of him. Oh, and just because you noticed those things while we were still together does NOT give you permission to rub it in!” she interjected before Mike could claim the ‘I told you so. He threw is hands up, trying to profess innocence, but Mike just couldn’t suppress that smug grin of having called it correctly.
By now, they had made it inside the museum and were beginning to browse the selections on sale that day. Most of the works were by local artists looking for connections and exposure, not to mention some money to alleviate the starving half of being a starving artist. While Darcy stopped at a booth full of abstract paintings, Mike strolled around the exhibit hall leisurely. His eye soon noticed a stunningly beautiful woman working a table at the very end of the room.
He tried his best not to blatantly stare as he approached her. She was tall, easily six feet, with dark curly hair extending halfway down her back. Her skin was a gorgeous shade of mocha brown, with a pair of blue skinny jeans and a snug black tank top accentuating her delightfully curvy figure. As he approached, she greeted him warmly. “Good afternoon, sir.” She spoke with a very slight accent that Mike couldn’t quite place. Possibly from somewhere in the Middle East, though he couldn’t be sure.
“Hi, how goes it today? My name’s Mike.” He extended his hand, and she shook it gently.
“A pleasure, Mike. I’m Selena. I trust you are interested in my wares that I brought today?”
“Wares, eh?” Her wording confused him a bit. “Does that mean you’re selling more than just artwork today?”
“Come and see for yourself,” she said with a wink.
Browsing her table, Selena had lots of jewelry for sale, all of it hand made. As he looked, she explained that her family was originally from Iran, but came to America when she was ten years old. Far from the typical girty-girl, she developed a particular aptitude for shop class and metalworking in high school, leading her to start her jewelry business. In addition, almost all the pieces she had for sale were clearly inspired by her Middle Eastern roots.
“See anything you like? Perhaps something for a special lady in your life?”
Mike responded, “I’m afraid you’re about six months too late for that sales pitch.”
She studied him rather intently for a few moments. “You were in love, weren’t you?”
Damn! She can see right through anything!
“Uh…” was all Mike could say in response.
She quickly backtracked, “I’m so sorry! Please forgive my bluntness. I have always been quite good at reading emotions, but I forget sometimes that there is an appropriate time and place for voicing such observations.”
“No, no, it’s just fine. Matter of fact, you hit the nail on the head.” Mike related the story of Amanda’s break up text, followed by the poor timing of the engagement ring, and the work he had to do to convince her to move on when she tried to come back to him.
Selena stood slack jawed for a few moments. “Wow… do you realize what control you had over her in that moment? She would have done anything you asked her to, all in the hopes of getting you back. Yet, you chose to act in the best interest of her long term future, rather than take advantage of her vulnerability.”
Mike hadn’t really considered it from that perspective before, but she was correct. It would have been all too easy to exact revenge on Amanda. It frightened him that he, if only for a few brief moments, had considered starting down that path.
Selena’s voice turned soft, almost contemplative. “Mike, I have an heirloom that has been in my family for generations. When my mother gave it to me, she made it clear that I was only to give it to a person of, in her words, ‘outstanding moral fiber’ Ideally, I’m sure she meant for this person to be the man who would be my husband, but for reasons I won’t bore you with, that is not really a possibility for me anymore.”
She reached under the table to her backpack, and pulled out a small brown box, appearing to be just the right size for a necklace of some kind. Opening the box, she showed Mike a beautiful gold locket, extremely old, but very well preserved. “When I think of how tempting it would have been for you to mistreat that poor girl, the fact that you still acted in the manner you did tells me everything I need to know about the who you are deep down. If anyone could ever meet my mother’s requirements, have no doubt it’s you.”
She handed the locket to Mike as he began to examine it. It was perfectly round, with raised inlays of either silver or white gold across the surface, almost resembling vines. In the very center was a pale blue stone, so smooth and polished that Mike could see his own reflection in it. Mesmerized by it’s beauty, Mike suddenly snapped back to reality. “Selena, this is obviously an extremely precious item. I’m flattered, but I couldn’t possibly accept something as valuable as this.”
Selena simply responded, “Are you quite sure that you aren’t meant to possess it? Look again.”
Mike examined the locket again, only to now see a faint glow emanating from the blue center stone. “In all my life,” Selena continued, “I have never witnessed this before. If that isn’t a sign that my suspicions about you are correct, I don’t know what is.” With a smile, she slid the box the locket was contained in across the table to him.
Once again entranced, Mike looked up and started to respond, “So you’ve seriously never seen…”
