Chapter Seven
By the time Meredith returned the next evening for dinner, she found out Derek had finally told Richard that he had returned to Seattle after breaking off his engagement to Addison. Richard pressed for more and the only explanation Derek would give Richard was he had to come a place where he could clear his head and reflect on what he wanted in life. Richard still didn't like that answer and he insisted on Derek coming over to dinner so they could talk more about it.
Meredith read between the lines. In other words, Richard wanted to fix Derek's engagement when he was happily in love with someone else. Her.
Yet, she couldn't say that to him. She didn't feel comfortable to even hint that Derek might be in love with someone else. Because Richard wouldn't be able to accept it. Actually, he probably would more than her mother. Her mother loved Addison, and she wouldn't understand why Derek left her.
Richard also warned Meredith that her mother still didn't know about the engagement being called off. She was still so focused on her case that he didn't want her to have any distractions.
Amelia was very happy to have free reign of the house without Ellis keeping an eye on her. Even though she felt like she had changed from the person she was when she left, Ellis was still disapproving of her. However, Amelia didn't let it get her down.
Her enthusiasm tried to rub off on her best friend, but she was disappointed to see it wasn't working. Amelia became concerned. "Meredith, you look nervous. What's wrong?"
Meredith shrugged. She didn't know how to answer without revealing the truth. "I'm fine. I just don't want Richard to try and push Derek into trying to get back together with Addison."
It wasn't a lie. She knew Richard wanted Derek to be happy. How could he not? But it was still a mystery to Richard why the engagement was now broken off, and he seemed determined to find out the truth.
"No offense, but I have been hearing Richard talk about my brother all day. So can we talk about something else? I'm dying to show you photos of my travels," Amelia said. She didn't even let Meredith respond as she pulled out her phone and handed it over to Meredith.
The two friends settled down on the living room sofa as Amelia explained the backstory behind each photo. Meredith was amazed of how many places her friend had visited over the last three years.
"Wow, you certainly were the traveler," Meredith said impressed.
"I wish you could have come with me. It would have been so much fun," Amelia said. "We could have gone backpacking across Europe. Or we could have stayed inside the U.S. and we could have gone to visit Derek in New York. Maybe we could have caught a glimpse of his fiancée before he broke up with her. You're lucky you had a chance to meet her. I would have loved to see who my brother fell in love with."
Meredith never felt so awkward with her best friend before. She was relieved when they heard a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it," she said, jumping up from the sofa. She hurried to the front door and she flew it open.
"You have no idea how happy I am to see you," Meredith whispered before she realized Derek wasn't alone. She gasped in surprise as she saw their dog. He was happily wagging his tail as Meredith bent down to his level to pet him. "What are you doing here?" she asked him, ignoring Derek.
"Now you know why I had trouble leaving the trailer," Derek whispered as Meredith stood up again. "I didn't feel comfortable leaving him alone by himself. I don't know what I'm going to do with him when I have to go back at the end of the week."
Meredith heard footsteps behind her. "You will never guess who's here," she said, suddenly remembering Amelia.
Derek had a confused look on his face until he heard his sister's voice. "Hey, there's my big brother," she said as Meredith moved out of the way. She embraced her big brother in a tight hug. "Here I thought I was the only one who could create a disappearing act. Are you okay?"
Derek nodded. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."
Amelia was just as enchanted as Meredith was with the dog. "Who is this?" she asked Derek, petting the dog.
"For now, it's my dog," Derek said, not wanting to say the dog was Meredith's too. "I was at the trailer and one of the neighbors found him. I told him I would look after him until I find his owner."
"There hasn't been any luck so far?" Meredith asked, hoping the answer would be a 'no'. She really wanted to keep the dog.
Derek shook his head. "No, but I'm going to keep looking until I have to go back to New York. If I can't find the owner before then, I'm not sure what I'm going to do."
Before Meredith could respond, Amelia spoke up. "You can leave him here with me. I can take care of him. And he will certainly keep me company while I find a place of my own, isn't that right?" she asked the dog, still petting him. "Yeah, you can keep me company, Max."
"Max?" Derek asked as he shot a glance at Meredith. "You've already named him?"
"What? You have a better name for him?" Amelia asked as she took the leash from Derek. "Come on, Max." She led everyone into the foyer and she encouraged the newly named dog to sit on the couch next to her. Max obeyed her command. "Good boy. You are such a good boy."
"She is as bad as you are," Derek hissed to Meredith before he joined his sister in the living room. "Look, that's very nice of you. But I don't think Richard and Ellis want to take care of another stray."
"They won't have to because I will do it," Amelia said as she turned to her brother. "I'll take care of him."
Derek crossed his arms. "Really? Then who is going to take care of him when you leave?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm staying," Amelia said. "I am here to stay for good. As I told Meredith yesterday, I want to settle down and start a family. Like Lizzie did. Like you were going to do with Addison. Do you care to explain what happened there?" she asked.
"All you need to know is the wedding is off," Derek said before they heard ascending footsteps.
Richard made an appearance. Before he greeted Derek, he spotted Max right away. He looked disapprovingly at his guests. "Don't tell me you guys brought home another stray. Get that dog out of here."
Amelia frowned as she kept petting Max who was laying comfortably next to her on the couch. "That doesn't sound like the Richard I know. The Richard I know was a huge animal lover, and he allowed every stray Meredith brought home, human or animal."
"Well, Meredith isn't living here anymore," Richard reminded her. "And I promise Ellis that we wouldn't take in any more strays."
"It's my fault, Richard," Derek said, speaking up. "I found this dog yesterday and I haven't been able to find his owners yet. I didn't feel comfortable leaving the dog by himself."
"Max," Amelia corrected him. "His name is Max."
"Fine. I didn't want to leave Max by himself," Derek said. "So I thought I could bring him with me. I'm still trying to find his owner, but you can now see why I haven't been able to contact you. I was trying to take care of the dog."
"Yesterday? You have been here since yesterday?" Richard asked.
Derek knew there were fireworks coming, but he was prepared. "Actually, I have been here all week."
Before Richard could demand an explanation, Amelia spoke up. "I'm sure everyone is starving. I'm going to go check on dinner. And I'm going to get some water for Max. Meredith, do you want to help me?"
Meredith read between the lines. Amelia wanted them to leave so Richard and Derek could talk alone. "I'd be happy to."
Amelia got up from the sofa and gestured Max to follow her. Meredith was right behind them as they heard Richard calling after them that they weren't keeping the dog.
"Yes, I am," Amelia called back before she disappeared into the kitchen. She went through the cupboards, searching for the perfect water bowl for Max.
"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for me to come," Meredith said as she tried not to listen to the arguing in the other room. Richard was clearly upset at Derek for disappearing, and Meredith felt bad for him. "It doesn't sound like it is going to be a quiet dinner."
Amelia immediately stopped her. "Absolutely not," she said. "You don't know how long I have been wanting to see you. And you promised we could catch up tonight. Don't worry about Richard and Derek. I'm sure they will be perfect gentleman during dinner. After all, Derek's not the only guest. So are you."
Meredith wasn't convinced, but she wasn't going to push it either. She watched as Amelia found a bowl and started filling it up with water.
"It's hard not to get attached to the dog, isn't it?" Meredith asked before she corrected herself. She almost wished she could have named the dog first, but she also understood Derek's point by not getting too attached to the dog. "I'm sorry. Max."
Amelia put the bowl down in a corner of the kitchen and Max didn't waste any time and started lapping up the water.
Amelia stood back up again and looked curiously at her friend. "So you really didn't know Derek was back in town or he found a stray dog?"
Meredith tried not to show her nervousness. "No, why would you say that?"
Amelia shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it was the way you asked the question about whether Derek found the owner or not. You made it sound like you already knew Derek had the dog." She looked at her friend hard. She narrowed her eyebrows. "Did you know Derek already had the dog?" She asked the real question she wanted answered. "Did you know Derek was already in town?"
Meredith tried to keep a straight face, but she never could hide a secret from her best friend. She slowly nodded her head and Amelia's eyes went wide. "I knew it," she exclaimed before Meredith shushed her. Amelia lowered her voice. "Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.
"Because Derek asked me to keep it a secret and I wanted to respect his wishes," Meredith said, which was true.
"So what did you think about him breaking off his engagement?" Amelia asked. "Were you surprised?"
Meredith sighed. She really didn't want to answer that question. What could she say without giving too much away? "Like I said, I only met her once. So I can't say whether the marriage would work or not. Besides, I think you should be asking Derek about it, not me. He knows more about Addison than I do."
Amelia didn't answer as Derek came into the kitchen. He had a frustrated look on his face. Meredith knew better than to ask how the conversation went. Instead, she let the brother and sister reunite as she joined Richard back into the living room.
Richard looked just as frustrated as Derek did. However, he let out a heavy sigh. "I don't know why I bother giving my opinion when he will do whatever he wants." There was a short pause. "But he has to follow his heart, just like I did."
Meredith knew he was referring to his first wife Adele. The one he left to marry Meredith's mother.
Was he showing approval of Derek's decision? Was this her chance to tell him?
"I just wish I understood why he broke up with Addison," Richard said thoughtfully. "I thought they were perfect together. Everything was going so well. I don't know what went wrong."
Meredith's heart sank. It wasn't just her mother who thought Addison and Derek belonged together. It was Richard too. There was only one thing left to say. "I'm sure he will tell you when he's ready."
During dinner, Meredith was quiet. She just couldn't get over the fact that Richard also believed Addison was right for Derek. It forced her to think back during her childhood when she first told Richard she had a crush on his godson. She was only four or five while Derek was eight or nine. Richard thought it was cute. He didn't take it seriously.
Even when she became a teenager, he never thought to take her crush on Derek seriously. Maybe it was because they did have a big age difference, and Derek was more mature than her. Maybe her mother's influence rubbed off on Richard and he now didn't believe they were a good match. It wouldn't be the first time he sided with her mother over her wants and needs. Whatever the reason, she realized she couldn't rely on Richard for support over her new relationship with Derek.
It was only when Derek called out to her when she finally snapped out of her thoughts. "Hey, are you okay?"
Meredith realized everyone was looking at her with concern. She realized she couldn't stay any longer. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm not feeling very well. Thank you for dinner, but I think I'm going to go home." She turned to Amelia. "We'll catch up another night. I promise."
Amelia nodded understandingly. "Okay."
"Do you want me to drive you?" Derek asked.
Meredith shook her head. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him either. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you though." She quickly said goodbye before she walked through the foyer and out the front door.
It wasn't long before she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't have to turn around to know it was. She kept walking towards her car, even after she heard Derek's voice. "Mere, are you sure you're okay?"
Meredith reached her vehicle. "Richard doesn't even believe we're right for each other," she said in a whisper. "Richard wants you with Addison."
Derek sighed. He should have known that was what was bothering her. His voice was low as well. "It doesn't matter what Richard wants because he's not the one who broke off the engagement," he said, embracing her in a tight hug. Meredith felt comforted with his arms around her. "I am and I know my heart wants you. It has always wanted you, and nothing is going to change that." He released her as he realized they had to be careful out in public. "Now are you sure you don't want a ride home?"