The Cosmic Law of French Toast by Meowser Hotchner


Melinda hurried through the autumn air, her legs tickled by passing leaves.

Above her the leaves on the trees were turning red and brown and gold, and though she usually stopped to admire them, today she just couldn't.

She was worried and scared and just wanted to be with her fiance, but she was afraid that after she told him what she needed to tell him, he wouldn't be her fiance any longer.

And that was too terrible a prospect to dwell on for long.

She opened the door to the cafe Jim waited at, and winced at the bell which announced her presence.

Jim was waiting there, staring into the distance and she could almost see his brain whirring to figure out what she'd done.


And he was jumping up, standing when he saw her there, pulling her chair out and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay, Mel?" He asked, his eyes dark with worry as he moved to sit down across from her again.

"I don't know, Jim," she said.

"Would you like anything to drink?" The waitress asked, coming over. "And are you ready to order now that your party is complete, sir?"

"Tea," Melinda said. "Do you have any hot tea?"

"No, but we have iced tea," the waitress answered. "Sweetened and unsweetened."

"I'll take the unsweetened," Melinda said. "And could I start with a side salad?"

"Of course," the waitress said.

"I'll just wait to order my entree," Jim told the young girl and she smiled and ducked away.

Jim returned his attention to Melinda. "What's up, Mel?"

"I did something," she moaned, not meeting his gaze. "You're never going to forgive me."

He reached to take her hand, hating how agonized her eyes looked. "Mel, I hate that I'm making you feel this way. Just spit it out."

"Do you promise you won't storm out of here in disgust?" Melinda asked him.

Her tea was set in front of her. "Um, thank you," she told the waitress.

"I promise," Jim vowed, squeezing her hand.

"Okay, here goes," Melinda said. "I know I said I wouldn't but he kept calling and wouldn't give up."

Shit. She did cheat on me.

"It's okay," he said. "I know you didn't mean to. And it does hurt, I have to admit that but I don't care, Mel. I want you anyway."

"Hear me out," Melinda said. "Just don't speak. I...invited your uncle Darius to the wedding. Even though everyone warned me how he does the thing with the cake and he's the most inappropriate pervert you'll ever meet, he just wouldn't stop calling and I felt so bad for him and your mom is going to be so angry with you."

Jim blinked as he looked at her.

"Wait," Melinda said. "What were you even forgiving me for?"

"I thought you cheated on me or something," Jim said in a dazed voice . "You were in such a panic. My god, Melinda. Just great uncle Darius? That doesn't even matter to me."

"What do you mean?" Melinda asked. "Does our wedding mean so little..." Her voice trailed off as tears filled her eyes.

Jim realized that he'd done a horrible thing and was about to speak when Melinda started to laugh.

"I was being overdramatic, wasn't I?" She asked. "No wonder you thought it was something like that."

"I didn't mean it like that," Jim said. "I didn't mean that I don't care about our wedding, and of course I'd prefer it if he didn't come, but great uncle Darius does not have the power to ruin our wedding. Nothing does, short of you running out on me."

"Do you really mean that?" Melinda said. "If I'd cheated on you, during our engagement, you'd have forgiven me? Because I'm not sure I'd have forgiven you."

Jim was silent for a moment, considering.

Melinda's salad arrived and the waitress again asked if they were ready to order.

"I'd like the fried catfish," Jim ordered, handing her the menu. "With the sweet potato fries."

"You?"

"Um, the vegetable panini," Melinda said.

The waitress departed and Melinda stabbed a piece of lettuce. "Jim?" She ventured.

"It's tough to say," Jim said. "Especially after what you said about not forgiving me. I don't know, Mel. If it wasn't intentional, if it just happened, I'd have to forgive you. I love you. I trust you. If you felt you needed to seek comfort elsewhere, I'd have to forgive you for not being there myself. And maybe this makes me sound like a loser who couldn't get another girl, but Mel, I don't want another girl. I want you, and if you still wanted me and had made some stupid mistake, why wouldn't I still love you? Still want you?"

Melinda stared at him. "But you're so possessive, all the time."

"I don't want an open marriage by any means," Jim said. "I'm not giving you permission, mind you." He reached over to brush his hand over her bare thigh and they both shivered.

He scooted his chair closer, so that he could place his hand on her leg and keep it there without it being uncomfortable. "But I love you."

"I guess I'd have to forgive you after a speech like that," Melinda said. "But who are we kidding? I'd never cheat on you, Jim. Even if I wasn't head over heels in love with you, those marriage vows are going to mean something to me."

"They will to me, too," Jim promised. "I will never cheat on you, either. Pinky swear."

She laughed at his choice of words. "Pinky swear. But actually, I know of some more interesting body parts to swear on."

"Really?" Jim asked, his gaze going to her chest out of habit.

Melinda reached to swipe a drop of soup from the corner of his lip. "I do. And I think we should make these promises again, later tonight."

"It'll have to much later," Jim said. "I've got the late shift."

"Well, it so happens that I have the key to your apartment," Melinda answered. "And you might just have a surprise when you get home."

Jim felt his mouth moving to a smile, a huge smile that he couldn't control. He leaned over to kiss Melinda, the other patrons of the cafe slipping from his mind. "I'm holding you to that," he promised, pressing another kiss to her cheek next to her ear.

Her own smile matched his. "Again, I'm sorry," she whispered.

"And I forgive you," he countered.

She sighed into a bite of lettuce, her eyes sparkling now. "Forgiveness is...crunchy."

"It better not be," Jim warned. "If you're talking about later, it better be silky smooth and not wearing clothes."

"I'll make a note," she said.