The Ghost of Him

Epilogue (Pt. 1)

16 months later

*Melanie's POV*

"What'll you be having tonight, miss?"

I glanced up at a young, and slightly attractive, waiter who was dressed in a very nice, navy tuxedo. I smiled lightly at him.

"I'll have the potato gnocchi," I said, an odd confidence in my voice when I actually had no idea if I was saying the word correctly.

The waiter nodded as he wrote down my order, and then glanced over at Frank, who was sitting across the table from me. "And you, sir?"

I took the chance to look around the big, fancy Italian restaurant. After a year of awkward flirting (mostly on his part) and being a huge supporter for me and my daughter, Evangeline, Frank had finally worked up the courage to ask me on a date. And, of course, he wanted to make a huge deal out of the whole thing and took me to the most expensive restaurant in our area.

There were a lot of people in here, which surprised me. Being from a small town and, well, New Jersey in general, I didn't think so many people around here would be able to afford a place like this. I looked at all of the people wearing elegant clothing and dresses, and then looked down at my own outfit, which was merely a little red dress that was the only piece of nice clothing I had taken from my parents' house to my new apartment. My hair, which was now almost down to my waist and a light grey color, was a mess. I hadn't had time to do anything to it, so it just rolled down my back in messy, uneven waves.

I suddenly felt very self-conscious around all of these seemingly high class people.

"You look fine."

I turned around to look at Frank again, who was giving me a small smile and pouring himself another glass of wine. I smiled back at him and then glanced nervously at my phone, checking to see if I'd gotten any texts or calls from Frank's mom, who was currently watching Eva. Since she was born, seven months ago, I pretty much refused to let her out of my sight, and this was the first time that I had ever let her stay with someone else while I went out.

"Melanie."

I looked up again.

"She's fine."

I sighed and reluctantly tossed the devise back into my purse and changed the subject to get my mind off of the baby. "How did you afford this?"

Frank shrugged. "I've been saving up for a while now. . . and I mean a while. Like, since before Evangeline was born. I've been meaning to ask you out for a while now, I just never got around to it."

I scoffed. "I can barely even afford my apartment. . ."

I felt a small twinge of guilt. Frank was already helping out with some of the costs of things, especially a lot of the stuff that I needed for Eva. He was my main source of diapers and bottles and baby soaps and shampoos, while I was working overtime at a local Starbucks to save up just enough for rent money and food. Frank came over almost everyday to help out with things around the house, and even sat in the back of that stupid Starbucks sometimes with Eva while I was at work, just so that I wouldn't get paranoid and call home every few hours.

"How's Starbucks?" Frank asked, attempting to make a conversation. I could tell he was a bit nervous, and I fought back the urge to giggle.

I just rolled my eyes. "Busier. Since it's practically fall now and it's getting chilly, more people are starting to come in. How's the skating rink?"

Frank grimaced. "The night shift fucking sucks. It's just a bunch of teens who come in and request bad music and then fuck around the whole time instead of actually skating. I miss the day shift."