Against All Odds. Gwynne Forster

Melissa suppressed a laugh. She was glad he didn’t click his heels, though he did bow and kiss the hand that she’d been tempted to hide behind her. After a half hour of such dullness that not even Ilona’s considerable assets as a hostess could enliven, Tibor bowed, kissed Melissa’s hand once more, and left. Ilona turned to Melissa.

      “He is crushed, darling. He has been begging me to invite you down when he is here, so last night I promised him that if he came over this evening, I would ask you, too. I couldn’t warn you to wear something feminine, because then you’d give me an excuse not to come down. But Melissa, darling, you could have showed him a little interest.” At the quirk of Melissa’s eyebrow, Ilona added, “Just for fun, darling. A real woman is never above a little harmless flirtation.” The more Ilona talked, the stronger her accent became.

      “Ilona, you spend too much time thinking about men. I’ve—”

      Ilona interrupted her, clearly aghast at such blasphemy. “Melissa, darling, that’s not possible. Ah...wait a minute. What happened with that man?”

      “Nothing happened. He built a fire, and he’s going away for a couple of months. Before you ask, the fire is still raging.”

      Melissa looked with amusement at Ilona’s open-mouthed astonishment. “You mean he didn’t take you to bed? What kind of man is this?” Both shoulders tightened in a shrug, and her palms spread outward as if acknowledging the incredulous.

      “He’s your kind of man, Ilona, believe me.” She grinned as Ilona shrugged again, this time in disbelief. “Anyway, that’s irrelevant now. I’m moving back to Frederick.”

      “You couldn’t be serious, darling. The town doesn’t even have a ballet company—you told me so yourself. Who could live in such a place?” Ilona would have been a wonderful actress, Melissa decided, grinning broadly, as she took in her friend’s mercurial facial expressions and impassioned gesticulations. And all because a town of forty thousand inhabitants didn’t have a resident ballet company.

      “I’ve decided to try it for two years.” She had to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. Ilona would pick it up in seconds and start punching holes in the idea. “My mother isn’t well,” she went on, “and... Look, I’ve made the arrangements, and if you hadn’t called, I’d be packing right now.” Melissa watched Ilona’s eyes widen.

      “Really? Well, darling, you know I don’t do anything laborious, but I’ll help you pack. This is terrible. I hate to see you go but...” She paused, and a brilliant smile lit her face. “Maybe you will find there the man for you.”

      Melissa couldn’t restrain the laughter. Was there a scenario into which Ilona couldn’t inject romance? “Thanks for the offer, but my biggest problem is finding a tenant. I’ll pack my personal things, but the movers will pack everything else.”

      “You’re not selling your apartment?”

      Melissa wondered at her keen interest. “No. I’m going to rent it unfurnished for two years. If I find life in Frederick intolerable, I’ll move back here.”

      Ilona beamed. “I have a friend who would take your apartment for two years. That would suit us both, darling. Your place would be in good hands, and I’d be assured of seeing him every night, even if New York got two feet of snow. Shall I tell him?”

      Melissa couldn’t contain the peals of laughter that erupted from her throat at the gleam in Ilona’s green eyes. “Sure thing,” she told Ilona when she recovered. “Tell him to call my office tomorrow morning.”

      * * *

      Two weeks later Melissa sat on a bench facing Courthouse Square in Frederick, exhausted. It hadn’t occurred to her that finding an office in her hometown would be so difficult. In the short time since she’d made her decision, she’d arranged to share her secretary with the lawyers who had offices down the hall from her own in New York, made similar arrangements in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, and shifted her business headquarters to Frederick. With fax, email, telephones, and the use of electronic bulletin boards, she had expanded her business while cutting her expenses in half. But coming back home also had its darker side. She hated that the bed she slept in was the one she’d used as a child, and her father, satisfied that he had her once more under control, ignored her most of the time.

      Melissa’s mother had remembered her daughter’s love of pink roses and had placed a vase of them in her room. A bowl of lavender potpourri perfumed Melissa’s bathroom, and the scent teased her nostrils when she opened the doors of her closet. Emily Grant had greeted her daughter with a warm embrace.

      “Welcome home, dear. I knew he’d keep after you till you gave in.” Melissa returned the fierce hug, though she thought it out of character for her usually undemonstrative mother.

      “I’m not sure you’ve done the right thing, coming back,” Emily continued, “but I’m glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”

      “I missed you, too, Mother, and I hope we’ll get to know each other again. It’s been a long time since I lived at home.”

      “Over ten years. I know you’ll be busy, but you come see me whenever you have time.” Thereafter Melissa saw little of her mother, who, she recalled, preferred the solitude of her room and who, she’d decided, looked the picture of health.

      She unfolded The Maryland Journal, checked the real estate ads, and walked four blocks to investigate the one office that might suit her needs. With its attractive lobby and wide hallway, the redbrick, five-story building enticed her as she entered it. The office suite that she liked had high ceilings, large windows, parquet floors, and a comfortable adjoining office for her secretary. Her excitement at finding exactly what she needed ebbed when she learned that the building was owned by the Hayes-Roundtree family. Unfortunately, if she wanted prime space, she’d have to take it.

      She didn’t mind renting from Adam’s family, although she knew her father would explode. How could he harbor such intense hatred? It wasn’t even his war. He hadn’t known about the feud until he met her mother, but he’d since used it to justify every disappointment, every failure he’d had. She had to shake her guilt for having thought it, but she rented the office nevertheless. For the sake of peace, she had sacrificed her feeling for Adam and come home, but there were limits.

      Raised eyebrows greeted her when she introduced herself to her office neighbors: a Grant renting from the Roundtrees. She’d almost forgotten about small town gossip. One friendly woman who introduced herself as Banks told her, “I see you’ve emancipated yourself. Good thing, too—when hell breaks loose, everybody will sympathize with the good guys.” Melissa grimaced. She didn’t need an explanation as to who the good guys were.

      * * *

      Melissa didn’t have long to wait for an indication of the problems that her move into that building would cause. Her cousin Timothy stood at the corner light as she left the building, and she smiled as she walked toward him.

      “Hi,” he greeted her. “I heard you’d come back home, but what the hell were you doing in there? That’s the Hayes Building.” Cold tension gripped her as she noted his angry frown.

      “Where else can you find decent office space in this town?” Her attempt to dismiss it as irrelevant didn’t please him.

      “You’ve been gone a while, but the rest of us have been right here watching them flaunt their money. Find some other place. Why do you need an office anyway? Uncle Rafer said you were coming home to be with Aunt Emily.”

      “Long story,” she said, unwilling to explain what she considered wasn’t his business and waved him goodbye.

      He yelled back at her. “Get out of that place. You’re just going to start trouble.” I seem already to have done that, she thought, her steps slow and heavy.

      * * *

      Melissa worked late the next evening, arranging the furniture, books, and fixtures that had arrived that morning from New York. That done, she decided to acquaint herself with