Melinda smiled as she, along with Delia, unpacked the crate of antiques they had just purchased from an estate sale. "Wow." She carefully unwrapped a small, bronze, statue. "Mister Higgins sure had eclectic taste." She mumbled as she sat the statue, which was in the form of a naked woman, onto the table.
"Eclectic isn't the word I would use." Delia said as she sat down the matching statue, this one was of a naked man. "No wonder we got such a good deal on this stuff. Who else would want it?"
"One mans trash is another mans treasure." Melinda said. "Besides, not everything looks like that." She paused. "I hope."
Delia picked up the statues and carefully turned each of them over in her hand. "I guess they're not that bad...if you like that kind of stuff." She grimaced. "Maybe I'll take them into the back where they can't offend anybody."
Melinda shook her head. "You just don't want Ned seeing them. He's at that age where art imitates life, right?"
"Something like that." Was Delia's muffled reply from the backroom.
The ringing of Melinda's cellphone gave her pause. Checking the caller ID, she smiled and flipped it open. "How was your day?" She asked as she cradled the phone against her ear with her shoulder so she could continue to sort through the crate.
"Awful." Came the deeply masculine voice on the other end of the line. "The guest speaker didn't show up so I'm going to be here for another day. Is everything okay there?" Jim hadn't wanted to go to the conference, not after everything that was going on but Melinda had insisted.
Melinda shifted the phone to the other ear. "Everything is fine, just like I said it would be." She paused for a moment. "So you're stuck in beautiful Florida for another whole day?"
Jim sipped his drink as he shifted around on the beach chair he was currently occupying. "Afraid so." He said, somewhat glumly. "I wish you would have come with me."
"I'm sure you'll manage without me." Melinda answered, fondly.
"Yeah." Jim sighed and gazed out across the crystal clear water. "But it would be better if you were here."
Melinda picked up another item and quickly averted her eyes when she saw it was like the first two statues but bigger. "Hold on a second." She laid down the phone and carried the statue into the back. "Here's another one." She held it out for Delia to take.
Delia took the statue and raised her eyebrows. "Whoa, I'm beginning to wonder about Mister Higgins." She took the statue, carefully, and placed it on the shelf beside the others. "Is that Jim I heard you talking to?"
"Yeah, he's stuck in Florida for another day." Melinda told her friend. "He's actually on hold at the moment." She turned and reentered the storefront.
"Lucky him!" Delia called out after Melinda as she continued to shift items around, trying to find a more suitable place for their newest collection.
Melinda picked the phone back up. "Alright, I'm back." She waited a moment for him to answer and at first she thought he had hung up but then she heard something. It sounded like a roar. "Jim? Hello?" With each passing moment the roar was growing louder and then the screams started. "JIM?!" She frantically yelled into the phone.
Delia rushed back to the storefront when she heard Melinda yell. "What? What's wrong?"
"I don't know!" Melinda closed the phone and reopened it. Quickly, she dialed Jim's cell number and waited.
"I'm sorry the number you have reached is not within the service area. Please hang up and try again." Was the automated message.
Melinda felt dread fill her stomach. "I think something happened." She whispered and began to sink to the floor.
"Melinda!" Delia rushed forward and caught her friend before she reached the floor. She helped her to a nearby chair. "Maybe it's just a bad connection?" She tried to be positive.
"Maybe." Melinda whispered but she knew that wasn't the case. And three hours later her fears had been confirmed.
It was all over the news. A Tsunami had hit southern Florida. One hundred and twenty-two people were dead. The fifth sign had come to pass.
"It was a nice service." Professor Rick Payne commented once the crowd thinned and he was able to talk to Melinda Gordon. Noticing the tears welling up in her eyes, he offered her the hankie out of his coat pocket.
"Thank you." Melinda dabbed her eyes with the preoffered hankie. "I think he would have liked it." She whispered, tearfully.
Rick shifted from foot to foot, awkwardly. "I didn't know him that well. Actually, I didn't know him at all, but I'm sure he would have liked it."
Melinda gave her friend a small smile. "You would have liked him."
"I'm sure I would have." Rick left his eyes roam around the small room until finally they stopped on the casket sitting against the back wall. "Is he here?" He asked in a whisper.
"No, Jim didn't have any unfinished business." Melinda sighed. "Would it be selfish of me to wish that he did?"
Rick brought his eyes away from the prone figure of Melinda's husband and back to her. "No, it would be human of you." He assured her.
Melinda looked around the room then looped her arm with Rick's and lead him to a line of chairs off to the side. Sitting down, she dabbed her eyes once more then clutched the hankie in her lap. "I should have taken Gabriel more seriously. I should have taken everything more seriously."
"How could you have known that a Tsunami was going to hit Florida the exact day Jim was attending a conference? I mean, we knew there was a water theme going on but...a Tsunami? No one could have guessed that, least of all you. And how could you know that your friend was just a decoy?" He paused. "At least you stopped Gabriel in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't it?" Rick shifted in his own chair and laid his hand on her knee and leaned towards her, slightly. "Did Gabriel cause it...somehow? Is that even possible?"
"I..." Melinda glanced around the room then looked back to the quirky Professor. "I'm not sure." She breathed out then looked down at her hands. "Everyone I talked to said that it was a beautiful day. There was no warning. None of those people stood a chance."
Rick raised a pale eyebrow in question. "How can a Tsunami just appear? It takes time for the wave to build, I think." It didn't make any sense to him.
Before Melinda could answer, the two were joined by her friend Delia Banks and her son, Ned.
"How you holding up?" Delia asked, as she sat down on the other side of Melinda, then shot a questioning look at the man that had visited her in the hospital just a few days prior.
"I'm okay, Delia." Melinda sniffled. "Oh...um...You remember Rick eh, Professor Payne, right?" She corrected with a shaky smile. "Rick this is my friend, Delia and her son Ned. She helps me out at the store but I'm sure I told you that before."
"I wish I could say it was a pleasure but considering the situation..." Rick joked, nervously. He always joked when he felt uncomfortable or nervous. "Any friend of Melinda's is a friend of mine." He said, soberly, and nodded his head towards the boy as a greeting. "We meet at the hospital." He reminded, gently.
Delia nodded then focused on her friend. "Are you sure you're okay? I wish you'd come home with us for at least tonight." She pleaded, not wanting her friend to be alone.
Melinda gave her friend a small smile. "Actually, Rick is staying with me tonight." She turned her head slightly and gave the Professor a pleading look.
Rick blinked then nodded. "Oh, yeah, I mean I offered to stay with her for the night and Melinda accepted. I figured she wouldn't want to leave the house and...yeah." Even to him that sounded lame.
"Okay." Delia looked between the two then stood. "I'll call you later then." She started for the door of the funeral home then noticed the absence of her son. She turned around just in time to see Ned hug Melinda. Smiling, she motioned to him that they had to go.
"I'm sorry about Jim, Melinda. I really liked him. He kinda reminded me of dad, you know?" Ned hugged Melinda again then followed his mother out of the building.
"Sorry about that. Delia lost her husband not too long ago and she's been great, don't get me wrong, but it's a little overwhelming." Melinda apologized for putting him on the spot.
"No need to explain." Rick dismissed with a wave of his hand. He glanced around and noticed the diminished crowd. "You ready to get out of here?"
Melinda took a deep breath then nodded. "Yeah, burial isn't until tomorrow. Just give me a minute and I'll walk out with you." She stood and walked over to the coffin. Tears welled up in her eyes once again. "I am so sorry, Jim." She whispered as she touched his cold cheek. "I hope you're at peace." She gazed down at his peaceful form and felt her heart break all over again. "I love you." She turned and walked back to the waiting Rick. "Alright, I'm ready."
Rick offered her his arm. "You sure? I'm not in any hurry." At her nod, he lead her out of the building. "Did you drive?"
"No, Delia brought me." Melinda shook her head. "Can you drop me off at home?"
"Sure, I am staying with you tonight, remember?" Rick opened the door to his car for her and closed it once she was in. He jogged around to the drivers side and slid in, started it, and pulled out of the parking lot. "Before your friend interrupted...you were going to tell me about the Tsunami." He, gently, prodded.
Melinda nodded and shifted in her seat to stare out the window. "The wave just appeared on the horizon. At first people didn't understand what was going on. I was on the phone with Jim when it hit. I heard the roar of the water..." She felt sick and rested her forehead against the window. "I heard the screams." She whispered.
Rick shook his head. "I gotta say that that's on the top of my list of ways of not dying." He pulled into her driveway. "I can stay the night, if you want. I'm betting you have a sofa or something."
"Yeah." Melinda turned to look at the blonde Professor. "Or something." She whispered as she got out of the car and started towards the house. "Have you eaten?" She asked, knowing he was following her up the steps and onto the porch.
"Can't say that I have. I came straight to the funeral home after work." Rick answered, having decided to stay and help Melinda meant that his sabbatical was on hold, as he followed her into the house. It felt strange being in her house since he had only been there a couple of times over the course of their budding friendship.
Melinda took her coat off and hung it in the closet. She motioned for him to have a seat in the living room. "I'll make us something. It helps to take my mind off...everything. Toasted Cheese alright?"
Rick sat down on the couch and unbuttoned his suit jacket. "Toasted cheese is fine." He leaned back and looked around the room. He felt bad for Melinda. She was one of the few that actually found the right person and married him. He had no doubt that they had been happy. "You sure Gabriel is gone this time? Or is there something else we need to do?" He asked after several minutes of silence and observation.
"We?" Melinda questioned as she got everything out that she needed to make toasted cheese sandwiches.
"Yeah, I figure the least I can do is see this thing through with you." Rick said.
Melinda quickly made two sandwiches and carried them into the living room. "I don't know if Gabriel is gone for good, I hope he is." She sighed, sat down beside him on the sofa, and took a bite of her sandwich.
Rick took his plate and hungerly began to devour the sandwich. "We'll think of something if the time comes." He said between bites. Once the sandwich was gone, he turned to Melinda, who had taken only a single bite from her own sandwich. "I want to help you, Melinda. In any way I can. That's what friends do, right?"
"Yeah, that's what friends do." Melinda turned her head and locked eyes with him. Something akin to a static shock raced up and down her spine. "That's exactly what friends do." She whispered and took another bite of her sandwich. Maybe things would turn out alright after all.
Five Years Later
"Dinners ready!" Melinda called out towards the living room. She smiled when she heard a childish giggle followed by a manly laugh. "It's toasted cheese!" She called out again then focused on plating the sandwiches. Her smile grew when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her from behind.
"My favorite!" Rick kissed the back of his wife's neck then unwrapped his arms and headed towards the table. He paused and looked around. "Am I forgetting something?" He tapped his chin, playfully.
"Up! Up Daddy!" Three year old James 'Jim' Payne demanded as he tugged on his fathers pants.
Rick grinned and reached down, scooping up his son. "Ah ha, that's what I forgot!" He spun the boy around twice then sat him down at the table, on his booster seat. He then sat down at the head of the table.
Melinda's eyes softened as she watched her husband of three years interact with their son. "Are you sure you're not forgetting someone else?" She asked, innocently, as she sat the plate full of sandwiches onto the table.
"Am I forgetting someone else? Who could it be?" Rick looked to his son for help.
Little Jim clapped his hands together and giggled. "Silly daddy. Andrea! Daddy forgot Andrea!" He giggled again.
Carefully, Melinda passed out the gooey sandwiches and smiled. "Very good, Jim." She kissed the boy on his head then moved to sit down beside the highchair holding their two year old daughter, Andrea.
Rick smiled and ruffled the boys hair. "Silly me. How could I forget my precious little Adry?" He made a face which made the little girl squeal in delight and clap her hands.
Unknown to the happy family, they were being watched. But this spirit had no malicious intent nor was it haunting anyone. No, this spirit was watching over the small family, making sure no harm came to them. For several seconds he watch the family and he even smiled at something the little boy, his namesake, did. "I love you Melinda Gordon and I always will." With that, he faded away.
Melinda blinked and tilted her head to the side. On days like this, she could swear that she could hear Jim, her beloved husband that was murdered by Gabriel five years prior, almost like he was right beside her. "I love you too." She whispered then smiled softly. "So, how are the sandwiches?"
"Good, huh Jim?" Rick asked and reached over, squeezing his wife's hand. Some men would be jealous that their wives loved someone else but not him. No, he understood that Melinda still loved Jim, her first husband, deeply. But he also knew that she loved him and their kids just as much. "I, for one, could eat another." He announced, loudly. Being a father agreed with him, everyone said so. Just like everyone agreed that Melinda made a great mother. And everyday he thanks the stars that life goes on.