The Broken Padlock

Chapter Five

-Aloo Gobi And Vegan Lasagne-

"Hey," Derek greeted Mark as he walked into his office, collapsing on the free chair.

"Hey."

"Where's your kid?"

"Home with Arizona. They're apparently bonding over their cooking skills. And Callie will be taking Sofia home in a while. Yours?"

Derek's lips parted in a huge smile when he was asked about his little girl. "Meredith went to the daycare to get her, we're leaving for the airport in about ten minutes."

"Why?" Mark frowned. "You're not leaving, are you? You need to tell me what to do with Mel, you can't go on vacation just like that."

Derek rolled his eyes. "Don't freak out, we just need to go pick Mom up. She misses us and Zola, so she decided to come here for a while. She'll probably stay for a week or two."

Mark adored Carolyn Shepherd, and he loved when she visited. When they still lived in New York, years back, Mark, Addison and Derek had dinner at her house at least every other weekend. Derek expected his best friend to express his delight at the news of her upcoming visit, but instead he was met by a very alarmed look.

"What's wrong?" he asked, perplexed.

"I haven't told her about Mel!" Mark chocked out.

At those words, Derek understood Mark's reaction, and felt a little worried as well. Carolyn thought of Mark as a son, and for the same reason she considered Sofia her granddaughter. She wouldn't be pleased to know she had yet another female grandchild that she hadn't been informed of immediately.

"Well, you can call her now." Derek suggested. "What can she say, after all? She'll be happy to have another addition to the family. It's like with Lexie. You were afraid to tell everyone but in the end we all loved her."

Mark glared at him. "You didn't want to know about Lexie. And it's different with Mel. She's my daughter. I haven't even told her who Mom is. She saw you only once, and Meredith twice. She doesn't know that Sofia calls your mother 'Nana'!"

"Well, you've gotta solve this problem fast, because you're supposed to come to dinner at my place, and leaving Mel home is not an option. Plus, she wants to see Callie, Arizona and Sofia as well."

Mark sighed. "Alright, I'll call her. It's better if she hears it from me, even if it's two weeks late. Can you keep her off of me until dinner time, though? I need to talk to Mel about her. I don't think she likes meeting new people much, and tonight there will be a lot of people."

Derek patted Mark on his shoulder. "She'll be happy for you, Mark. And Mel will love her, like everyone does. And she already knows us, even if not well. I talked to Callie the other day, and she said that she's starting to fit in. And Lexie won't shut up about her."

Mark smiled at that. "Lexie is amazing. She took it so well. After Sofia, I expected her to turn around, run, and never come back again, but she stayed and now I know that only death can tear us apart."

"She changed you." Derek simply said, stating something they both knew very well. "You're a better person when you're with Lexie."

"I know. Promise me something, Derek."

"What?"

"Don't let me screw up what I have with Lexie. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I wouldn't forgive myself if I let her go."

"I promise I won't let you." Derek told him. "I have to go now, I don't want Mom to wait for us. I'll see you at dinner."

"Yeah." Mark agreed as his best friend left. Carolyn was the mother he had missed growing up, and he couldn't understand how he didn't think about calling her. Sure, things had been hectic in the past weeks, but Mark knew he was supposed to tell her, to remember he had to tell her. He knew Carolyn wouldn't been that much angry or disappointed, but he felt guilty.

Dialing the number, Mark decide he would just tell her, because if he took time to think about the right words, he'd never actually say it.

"Mark!" Carolyn picked up after the first ring. Mark guessed she was waiting for Derek to call her.

"Hey, Mom."

"Mark, you haven't called in almost two months! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Mark told her. "Look, I have big news, Mom."

"Are you and Lexie getting married?" Carolyn asked, and Mark smiled hearing the sincere excitement in her voice.

"No, not yet, Mom, but I plan to propose soon. Once things settle down again."

"Why, what happened?" now Carolyn was concerned.

"I didn't do anything, don't freak out. It's a good thing. Sudden, and unexpected, but good. I have a daughter. I mean – some girl I knew back in college showed up and told me she had a daughter who's mine – and then she died of cancer, and Mel now lives with me."

Mark breathed in deeply, waiting for Carolyn to break the silence.

"You have a daughter?"

"I do." Mark nodded.

"Her name is Mel?"

"Yeah. Melanie, but she goes by Mel."

"My, Mark. Does she look like you?"

"A little, Mom. You'll see her tonight. She's beautiful. You'll love her."

"I'm sure of that." Carolyn told him, moved, and Mark pictured her there, wiping away happy tears from her smiley face.

"It's been so chaotic. I don't know what to do with this grieving girl, all I know is that she's my world now and I couldn't live without her."

"Welcome to parenthood again, son."

"I wish Christopher were here to see her and Sofia. Well – and Zola and all of the other grandchildren of yours."

"I know. But I am here, Mark, and I'm not going anywhere. Now tell me, how did Lexie take it? Is she upset?"

"She was a little, at first, but she fell in love with Mel, like we all did. She's amazing. I can't wait for you to see her. I know I haven't called in a while – I was going to, I promise. A few minutes ago Der told me you were coming and it got to me – time went by so quickly lately, I barely realized it."

"Don't worry about it, Mark. Just make sure Mel is ready to meet me. Have you told her about me?"

"Not yet," Mark admitted. "I've been so focused on everything else. But I'm on my way home now, and I'll tell her everything she needs to know, so that when we meet up later she'll feel like she already knows you."

"Good. Good. I have to hang up now, Mark. I'm so proud of you, son."

"Thank you, Mom. It means so much to me." Mark told her before he hung up.

And it did mean the world to him. Carolyn had always been amazing towards him, ever since the day when, back in first grade, Derek asked her if she could give him an extra sandwich for lunch to bring to his new friend Mark. From that moment on, Carolyn made sure Mark had something to eat and drink, that he was dressed properly, and that he walked home safely. Slowly, she started to bring him to her house more and more, until Mark called Derek's sisters his sisters, and Carolyn became his mom. Not legally, of course, and Mark never spent more than two nights in a row at the Shepherds', but he felt a part of the family, like he belonged there with them. That feeling never stopped.

"Okay, I mixed it all. Now?"

Arizona glanced at the book, then turned her eyes back to Mel. "Now, the oil is ready. We need to add the hing and cumin seeds, and then the bay leaves and green chilies."

"Done." Mel said, and they watched the pan for a moment, contemplating their work.

"Good. Now hand me the spice paste... we need to wait a minute now. Are the potatoes and cauliflower ready?"

"For the hundredth time, yes! Seriously, stop asking."

"Sorry; well, we have to add them in a minute, and then let it cook for twenty minutes. Wow, it's not that hard. I thought aloo gobi would be harder to cook."

"Why?" Mel asked, sitting on the table.

Arizona shrugged. "It's Indian. Can you sit on a chair, please?"

Mel rolled her eyes, but hopped down of the wooden table. "It smells nice."

"It does." Arizona agreed.

"Can we do lasagne next?"

"If you want to, yes. We should have all the ingredients. But wait – I thought you were vegan."

"Vegan lasagne."

"Oh. Right. Does it taste good?"

"Arizona!" Mel protested.

"I'm joking, I'm joking. Why are you vegan, though? What made you stop eating some food?"

"They hurt them. The animals. They bring them up, away from where they should be, then kill off their cubs and kill them off as well, and they take away their milk, or eggs, or...stuff."

"That sounds awful." Arizona agreed.

"It's not like that in some farms. But there are too few exceptions to how bad they treat them. So I stopped eating animal-related food and I'm happier now. Oh, and vegan diets are also healthier."

Arizona let out a chuckle. "You do seem super healthy. You'll get along with Derek. Have you already met him?"

"Mark's friend? Yep. I met him once, he stopped by to give Mark something... I can't remember what it was. A few days ago, anyway. But why?"

"He's a health freak. He only eats healthy food and once he saw Meredith eat McDonald's food... he freaked out."

"He's right." Mel told her, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Everyone should be vegan."

"Derek's not vegan, though. Although he doesn't eat much meat..."

"Good for him." Mel nodded. "He'll live longer and suffer from less heart problems and things like that. You're a doctor. Aren't you supposed to know these things?"

"I'm a pediatric surgeon, Mel, not a nutritionist."

"Still."

"Anyway, hand me the mango powder and the cilantro. It's time to add them as well. We're basically done, then we can cook your lasagne."

"Oh, you'll love it. You'll all love it." Mel promised with a giggle.

Arizona smiled to herself. She had suggested to cook in order to distract Mel, and it was working better than she expected. The girl was having fun, she seemed completely relaxed and at ease, and her smile hadn't faded once, plastered on her rosy face.

"Alright, what do we need?" Arizona asked once the aloo gobi was ready.

"Onions, spinach, garlic, tofu, vegan cream cheese -"

"Wait, we don't have those, Mel. The tofu and the cream cheese."

"Oh. I can go buy them, if you want."

"It's up to you. We can either go buy them or cook something else."

"The grocery store is at the corner of the road, isn't it? It'll take me a minute." Mel said, taking her jeans jacket. It was quite cold outside lately.

Arizona watcher her with a soft smile, but she was slightly worried. The store was at the end of the road, only two minutes away by feet, but she had promised Mark she wouldn't let Mel out of her sight. On the other hand, though, she refused to be oppressive. Mel was going through a lot, and she needed her own space to heal.

"Take your phone with you. And here," she took her wallet and gave Mel some money. "Could you also get some guacamole? Callie loves that sauce."

"Sure. I'll be right back."

After Mel closed the door, Arizona cleaned the table and tidied up the kitchen, making space for the new ingredients Mel was buying. She hadn't told her that Carolyn Shepherd would be in town, and that they were all invited over for dinner. Derek told Callie in the early morning when he saw her at daycare, and Callie told her, but they wanted to leave it to Mark. After all, neither of them knew the woman too well. She always sent cards and gifts for them and for Sofia, and she visited twice every year, but they couldn't really say they knew her, even if their daughter called her Nana. Arizona wondered how Mel was going to feel, knowing she had to spend a whole night with people she barely knew. Mel was actually more extroverted than she initially seemed, but she liked calm and quiet, and Arizona was sure she wouldn't be comfortable – at first. After a while, she'd feel part of that big family and she'd take down her walls.

Mel walked back in fifteen minutes later, with a bag full of food that she placed on the table. "I also bought red pepperoni, celery and some fruit." she told Arizona, taking a grape and eating it. "I love grapes."

"Me too." Arizona took one as well and smiled. "Do you want to drink something? I made some orange juice while you were at the grocery store."

"Sure, thanks."

They quietly sat at the table for a few minutes, then Mel brought their empty glasses to the sink and looked at Arizona with a wide smile, ready to cook. Together they took all the ingredients and started to prepare the lasagne. Mel apparently thought Arizona was worried about the unknown plate and she kept reassuring her happily. Looking at her, no one would have guessed she had lost her mother two weeks earlier. It was the first time that Mel hid her most miserable feelings, and that state of joy suited her. He blonde hair, usually up in a lazy tail, was now loose on her shoulders, framing her face with gold and light. Her smile was soft, genuine and fresh, like her rare laughter.

They had just put the lasagne in the oven and started to prepare some vegetables skewers when the door opened and Mark appeared in the kitchen.

"Hey, girls! Are you having fun? How are you, Mel?"

"We are, Mark. We cooked aloo gobi, vegan lasagne and now we're making skewers, with vegetables though. Oh, and I'm fine, thank you."

"Good." Mark walked to the table, observing them work. "What's aloo gobi?"

"An Indian plate." Arizona told him. "You'll like it."

Mark warily nodded, not being a big fan of foreign food. "If you say so. Well, Callie and Sofia will be here in less than thirty minutes, and I'd like to talk to you before they arrive, Mel."

The girl looked up surprised. "Okay."

"Do you remember when I told you that my mother died when I was young?"

Mel sucked in some air. "Yeah."

"Well, my dad fell into depression after that, and he wasn't there for me most of the time. So when I met Derek at school he introduced me to his family and I started to consider his mom mine."

Mel winced. She knew Mark was younger than her when he lost his mother, but she couldn't imagine how someone else could take her place. In her mind, it wasn't an option.

"I know what you're thinking. I didn't let myself get attached for a long time, before I realized that I already was, and that Derek's family was already mine. One day I decided to talk about how I felt to Carolyn, and she asked if I wanted to call her mom. I was shocked at first, I thought it was wrong, that I couldn't do it, that I already had a mom and it wasn't her. But the thing is that she was, in some way. And I wanted her to be."

"What's your point?" Mel asked harshly. Was Mark trying to say that she had to call his girlfriend 'mom'?

"Well – since she's like a mother to me and you're my daughter, I guess she's kind of your grandmother now. I wanted to let you know about her, because Derek's just told me that she's in Seattle. She'll be staying at his place, but she'd like us to go over for dinner tonight."

Mel turned to Arizona. "Is that why we're cooking?"

Arizona shrugged, pouring another glass of juice and offering it to Mel. "In part, yes. I wanted you to have a nice day, and I was thinking about ways to make you have fun when Callie told me we would be going to the Shepherds' for dinner, so I thought we could cook, hoping you would like it. We had fun, didn't we? You just said so."

"Yes. We did." Mel looked at Mark again. "Who's going to be there?"

"Derek, Meredith and Zola, obviously; then the two of us, Callie, Arizona and Sofia, and maybe Lexie, if she can make it."

Mel nodded. She knew the majority of those people. She could do it. "Okay," she said.

Mark sighed with relief. He honestly didn't know how he expected Mel to react, but he had probably worried too much.

"So," he said, changing the subject. "Tell me about this aloo gobi thing I'm going to eat later."

Mel's big eyes widened when she got out of the car in front of Derek and Meredith's house. In Michigan she lived in a small apartment, and her mother's friends did as well. One of her classmates, Jenna, had a house, but it was pretty small, especially compared to the one Mel was looking at in that moment.

"It's -"

"I know." Mark agreed with a smile. "Derek bought this land when he first came to Seattle eight years ago. He and Meredith lived in her old house, and eventually built one here. They weren't supposed to move in for another few months, but they anticipated."

"I wish I could live in a house like this, some day."

"I'm sure you will."

"Mm-mm." Mel mumbled, apparently closing herself up in her personal world.

"Well, are you ready to go in? The others should already be in there. You can play with Sof and Zola."

Mel nodded, hinting a smile despite her nervousness. She had never had many friends growing up, she preferred her mother's solid company. Being with a lot of people agitated her. She watched as Mark knocked on the door. Meredith opened a few seconds later, holding Zola in her arms.

"Hey, guys. It's good to see you, Mel! Come on in." Meredith gently pushed Mel towards the dining room, that was already full of food and people.

"Mark!"

Mel stared at the white-haired woman as she hugged Mark tightly. She wasn't how she imagined her. For some reason, she always imagined old people as if they were about to die – probably as a consequence of seeing her mom's best friend's mother in her last days of life – but Carolyn Shepherd was anything but fragile. Looking at her, Mel knew she had been through a lot, but that she was strong, very strong, and resolute about everything.

After squeezing Mark in her arms, Carolyn turned her full attention to the fifteen-year-old that she now considered her granddaughter. Mel shyly offered her her right hand, but Carolyn, to her surprise, pulled her forward, and Mel found herself in the woman's arms. Mel realized that, though she didn't know Carolyn at all, she instantly felt comfortable near her. Maybe it was because she was a mother of five (six if Mark was included) and she had many grandchildren, so she knew how to act around young people; maybe it was because all Mel needed was to feel loved, and Carolyn loved her without a doubt, as the long hug told her. Suddenly, she felt tears in her eyes. It was overwhelming. In that moment more than ever in those two endless weeks, she missed her mom. Elizabeth always hugged her, for no reason sometimes, simply because she needed to feel her close, because she wanted to tell her something without using words. Mark was always clumsy around her, and despite everything Callie, Arizona and Lexie's efforts to act normal weren't enough. Their kind gestures weren't enough, not yet. They treated her more like a friend than like a child, and lately Mel didn't feel grown up at all, she felt little and unprotected and vulnerable. That hug, Carolyn's long and tight hug filled her with warmth and security again, and Mel didn't care how long it would last, she only knew that for a while she would be feeling better, because there's nothing better than a hug when you're feeling down, and Elizabeth knew it, but she wasn't there, so she'd have to settle for Carolyn's, and for the moment it could be enough. It had to be. She didn't have any other choice.

"Are you okay?" Arizona asked her.

"Sure." Mel shook her head to get over the wave of pain and sadness that was taking control of her mind and body.

Arizona smiled at her, and Mel thought that maybe she understood more than she initially thought.

"Well, why don't we start eating now? I'm so curious about those vegan lasagne we cooked. I couldn't wait to get here to taste it."

Mel forced out a smile, thankful for the distraction. "Okay. I'm actually a little hungry."

"This way, Mel." Derek told her. "You can sit between Arizona and Sofia."

"Thanks."

They all sat down. Mel noticed they all glanced at her from time to time, as if they thought she'd break down at any moment. But she didn't mind that much. She listened to them talking, she helped her half-sister eat, she smiled when they complimented her for her cooking skills. She didn't feel like talking, but little by little she realized her nervousness had gone, not completely, but almost. The dinner went smoothly. No one forced her to do anything, and the situation gave her the chance to get used to Mark's friends. After all, she'd probably have to stay with him, although she still felt reluctant to live with a man she didn't know anything about. Callie, who was sitting in front of her, constantly filled her plate with food. Derek let her have a sip of the white wine they were drinking. Meredith said that she could go play with the two little girls, after dinner, if she was getting bored with them. But Mel wasn't getting bored. Not as much as expected to, anyway. They were all nice and funny, and interesting. At some point, they started to talk about medical procedures, and Mel was surprised when Carolyn joined the conversation.

"Were you a doctor?" she heard herself ask, finally raising her eyes from her plate.

"I was a nurse," Carolyn answered her warmly. "I've always been obsessed with helping people, and that was the best way I could find. Female doctors weren't much appreciated when I was young."

Mel nodded, feeling shy again. Was she supposed to say something now?

"What do you want to do when you grow up, Mel?" Arizona rescued her. Yes, it was a direct question, but at least she knew what to say.

"I've always want to study marketing."

"Marketing?!" Mark looked at her with wide eyes.

Mel shrugged.

"Leave her be, Mark. Just because you're a doctor, it doesn't mean your daughters have to be."

Mark looked at Sofia, who was playing with her pasta, and opened his mouth to say something, but he changed his mind and turned to Mel again. "You can do whatever you want."

"I know, I wasn't doubting it."

"Good. Er, well..."

"Although I could be a doctor. I could be a doctor and save people who have my mom's disease."

Mark felt a knot in his throat. It took him a while to talk. "Yes. You can. You can."