Michael entered Melissa's hospital room, hoping she was in a good mood. She still had two days of bed rest left, which were going to drag, even with the distraction of being involved in his case. He could see files spread across the bed. Melissa was sorting through papers, absently eating an apple. Michael was pleased to see that her appetite had returned.
She smiled at him as he entered the room. "Did Becky give you the invite list?"
"Yes." Michael held up the sheaf of papers. "But first, what have you told the Halloways about me?"
"Um . . .what?" Whatever she had been expecting from him, that wasn't it.
"The Halloways know your family, including Garthe. I'm curious what you've told them about me and who I am."
"Let's see. I told them you're my legal guardian, of course. Dad asked you to work for FLAG, to help people who are up against those with money, power, or position that makes them act above the law. You're really good at what you do. And that they have to ask Uncle Devon or you for more details, because I'm not sure what else I'm allowed to say about you and what you do."
"And that's all?"
"Well . . ." For the first time since he'd met her, Melissa seemed embarrassed. "Mrs. H asked me if I liked you, and I told her I did. Because of the umbrella stand."
Michael remembered buying that for her, the first day they met. "Because I gave you a present and Garthe never did."
"No. It's more than that, Michael. The first gift you bought me was to hold my leg brace and crutch. No one ever thought to buy me something like that. And you didn't even know my name, much less who I was." She paused, then added, "Um, I didn't tell Mrs. H that last part."
"Okay, next question –"
"Yes, Greg and I are dating," Melissa said wearily
She leaned back in the bed and crossed her arms. But she hadn't thrown the apple core at him. Yet. Michael figured he was entering dangerous territory.
"I don't recall you mentioning you had a boyfriend."
"And I don't recall you asking."
Michael did have to grant her the point. "Would you have told me about Greg, if I had asked?"
"Of course. Just like I Dad what was going on in my life. When he asked."
"Well, then, I'll ask: How serious are you two?"
Melissa rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. We covered all that in health class. You're off the hook for that conversation."
Michael was amused by her transparent attempt to shut him down. He was impressed by selection of topic to accomplish it. And he was relieved that he didn't need to cover . . . basic biology with a girl half his age. But he also wasn't going to back off.
"Too bad. I was all set to have Kitt handle the topic," he said mildly.
She looked at him in surprise, unsure from his tone if he was joking. "Um . . ."
Now that she was the one off-balance, he continued, "However, that's not what I meant. Look, Melissa, I'm your legal guardian. Which means I am going to be the one who deal with the fall-out from any bad relationships you have. From a broken heart to broken arm to, well, whatever."
"I know, I know. But nothing like that will happen. Not with Greg." Melissa sounded confident.
"Oh?"
"Greg is the only person who knew me before Garthe threw me out of that window who didn't treat me differently after. Even Dad and Uncle Devon couldn't manage that. I mean, obviously I couldn't do certain things, like running or playing tag. So Greg just found other things we could do, like playing on the monkey bars."
"Well, having met Greg today, he certainly seems like a decent kid. In fact, he can definitely do better than you. But if he's willing to lower his standards –"
"Michael!" She was torn between yelling at him and laughing.
"And what have you told Greg about me? Since you two are serious about each other."
"Um, well, that's a bit trickier."
"Why?"
Melissa finally uncrossed her arms. "Greg and I don't keep secrets from each other. But who you are isn't my secret to tell."
"What did you tell him, then?"
"That you aren't comfortable with the last name Knight, so you use your first name. You go by Michael, not Mike." And then Melissa blushed and looked down at the bed. Very softly, she said, "And that it was nice having an older brother I wasn't afraid of."
Michael leaned over and squeezed her hand. Wilton and Devon had done their best to shield Melissa from Garthe. But Elizabeth had turned a blind eye to her golden boy tormenting his little sister. When he threw Melissa out of a window, leaving her half-crippled, her mother had claimed it was an accident. Melissa squeezed his hand back.
"Okay, now that's all settled, on to the case. Here's the invitation list from Becky." And he finally handed the papers over to her.