A Few Little Scars

by Casey McMillin

  "Just get the door," her mom said, laughing. Molly walked toward the door looking at it suspiciously. She opened it slowly and peered around it to see who was there.

  "Bub!" She rushed out of the door, nearly knocking her brother off of the porch with the impact. He was dressed in his fatigues, and he looked older and bigger and more handsome than ever.

  "Oh my God, I missed you so much," she said. She cracked up as Ben lifted her off her feet and swung her around. Her parents had gathered at the door, and were standing there watching them with the same huge smiles they turned on when he knocked. Tori shed a tear at the sight of her babies.

  "What are you doing?" Molly said. "I thought you didn't get to come home till Christmas!"

  "I got out early," he said, reaching out to hug his mom, who'd stepped onto the porch. "I knew there was a chance, but I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure."

  "We couldn't resist surprising you for your birthday," Tori said, hugging Ben tightly then added, "Come on, let's get out of the cold."

  They all walked into the house and instinctually went into the kitchen where everyone stood leaning against a cabinet. Tori took out a tall glass and filled it with lemonade. (This too was instinctual.) Ben took it from her with a big smile and drank half of it in one sip before sitting it on the counter behind him.

  "How long have you been back in town?" Molly asked, still stunned.

  "I got here yesterday," he said, still smiling. "I came straight to the store to surprise y'all. I found Dad first. He's the one who had the idea about waiting till your birthday."

  "You came to the store?" Molly said incredulously. She stared at him blankly. "I was there the whole day."

  "I know," Ben said laughing. "I saw you. I thought you saw me too. You looked straight at me."

  "Are you serious right now?" She couldn't help but stare at him. He really had changed since the last time she saw him. "I can't even believe you're here! Where'd you spend the night? Where've you been all day today?"

  "I spent the night at Jacob's," he said. That wasn't a surprise since Jacob had been his best friend since they were eight. "I wanted to surprise you earlier, but I was with Jacob all day. He sold that old dune buggy on Craigslist and wanted me to ride with him to deliver it to the girl who bought it. She lived way down in Murfreesboro." He sighed and smiled. "Anyway, I'm here now."

  Molly pushed at him, beaming. "I can't even believe it."

  "I can't believe I'm finally home for good," he said. "That feels really weird."

  "Are you sure?" Molly asked.

  "I'm positive this time," he said. He smiled a little shyly and glanced at Tori. "I got a tattoo." He had one when he came home from his first tour, so that wasn't a shocker. Molly wondered why he seemed to be a bit reluctant. Ben took off his hat and set it on the counter then began to unbutton his shirt. He unbuttoned the sleeves and then the shirt, starting at the collar. You could see the dang thing before he ever got his shirt off. It covered one whole side of his chest. He pulled the shirt completely off, one arm at a time. The first arm came out clear, but the second arm came out completely covered. It was that sort of soft, rounded-looking tribal. Molly thought it was maybe from Hawaii or New Zealand. The elaborate designs covered one whole side of his chest and extended down the entire arm.

  The Fletcher family made various simultaneous noises when Ben's arm was fully exposed. Greg choked on his own spit and was coughing, trying to clear his windpipe. Tori let out a long, dramatic gasp and put a hand to her mouth, and Molly shrieked with delight.

  Ben laughed at their reactions as he shifted to let them get a good look.

  Molly had always been proud of her handsome older brother, but that ink put him over the top. He was officially a hottie. "That is the coolest thing ever," she said. "Who did that?"

  "That's a gigantic tattoo, son," Gary said.

  "Is that permanent?" Tori asked. The word permanent came out really quiet because she knew the answer to the question and knew it was a stupid thing to ask. She couldn't help it, though. The tattoo was so gargantuan that the question just popped out of her mouth.

  He smiled patiently. "Yes it's permanent, Mom, and a guy in my unit named Ryan was really good at these. He pretty much did that as his Army job. He tattooed Generals and everybody."

  "Did he only do that type of stuff?" Molly asked.

  "He did other stuff too, but tribal is his specialty. I told him to surprise me." Molly laughed, thinking that sounded like something Ben would do.

  "That's a mighty big surprise, son," Greg said.

  "It's a big surprise," Tori agreed.

  "I think it's beautiful," Molly said. She inspected it closely. "He did an amazing job with how it goes with the shapes of your body."

  Ben loved it and was glad Molly could see the beauty in it. He knew his parents would come around eventually. It was a big piece considering the one he came home with after the last tour was just a few words on his ribs that were only a few inches long.

  "How long have you had this?" Tori asked.

  "It took about three months of sessions since we only did a section at a time, but it's been complete for a few months now."

  "I can't believe it," Tori said. "Are you glad you did it?"

  "I'd do it again in a heartbeat," he said. "I love it."

  Greg just stood there, silently watching them through the whole exchange. Ben fished his undershirt from his shirt and pulled it over his head. It was a wife beater, and most of the tattoo still showed. All three of them stared, unable to look at anything but the massive piece of art on Ben's arm. "It's pretty cool, huh?" He brought his arm up to flex and they could see that the design went around the entire thing, front and back.

  It was gorgeous, and Molly couldn't help but step nearer to him so she could look at it. "He really did an awesome job, brother."

  "I know. I told you he was tattooing Generals and shit."

  "Benjamin Wade Fletcher," Tori scolded.

  "Son, you're not gonna be able to bring that language into this house," Greg said in his official dad voice. Ben just looked at Molly and laughed. He loved to push his parents' buttons.

  "Seriously, though, I love it." He looked at his parents. "You guys will like it when you get used to it."

  "I already love it," Molly said.

  They spent the rest of the evening eating, hearing stories from Ben's station and deployments, and telling him stories from the store. After a couple hours of catching up, Molly excused herself for a few minutes. Hannah had called her twice over the course of the day and so had Zeke. She went into her room to call them both back.

  When she talked to Hannah, she told her Nick sent her the birthday present. She probably shouldn't have shared that information, but she was excited about it and besides, Hannah knew about the night they slept together. Hannah seemed a little perplexed at the news of the gesture and told her Nick had been hanging out with Daisy Lee pretty regularly.

  Molly felt sick for a split second when she heard Daisy's name, but then reminded herself that she'd gotten great sex and awesome tools out of the deal, and she didn't really have any right to care who Nick was seeing.

  Hannah told her that she got her something for her birthday, but that Molly would have to wait till she saw her in a couple of days. Somewhere during the conversation, Molly decided not to tell Hannah about Ben being home. She figured that could be another surprise.

  After talking to Hannah, Molly called Zeke. He asked her if she got the flowers, and she thanked him and said how wonderful they were. (They were beautiful, even if they didn't have the word Hikari written on them and they couldn't slice hair like butter.)

  She told Zeke about her brother's homecoming and said she wanted them to meet each other some time. He asked if her brother being home meant she would be moving to Nashville, and Molly told him she hoped that was the case. Zeke had to work that weekend, but said he'd come out to Sparta soon to meet Ben.

  Molly hung up the phone. She
stared at it for a while, debating about texting Nick to thank him for the shears. Part of her thought it was too unbelievable that he would send her something like that, and hated to mention it in case it had been some sort of mistake—like he would say, "Oh, how much did those cost? Never mind." or "Oh, sorry, is this Molly? I meant to send those to Daisy." She rolled her eyes at the ridiculous thoughts. He obviously got them for her because she was going to beauty school, and she obviously had to thank him.

  She thought long and hard about what she could say. She decided to keep it simple. She was a nervous rambler, even via texting, and she knew this about herself, so she always tried to filter about half of what she was tempted to say.

  What she wanted to text: "Thank you for sending the set of shears. It was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I know how much those cost! You're seriously hot and rich and I love getting expensive gifts from you. Please can we have sex again?"

  Okay, so maybe she had to filter more than fifty percent on that one.

  What she actually text: Molly: "Thank you for sending the set of shears. That was amazingly thoughtful, and I love them a lot. Made my day."

  She included an emoji of a smiley face. After she pressed send, she briefly worried that he might be with Daisy, and what if she read it? She would probably wonder who he was sending gifts to. Molly told herself that the whole chain of thoughts was hypothetical, and there was nothing she could do to take back the text anyway.

  She heard back from him instantly. Nick: "I'm glad you like them."

  Molly: "Like is an understatement. Thanks again."

  Nick: "Happy birthday. I think we should sleep together again."

  Molly laughed out loud as she read the message again.

  Molly: "Wow, that's hilarious."

  Nick: "Well, it's true. I think about that booty of yours all the time. If you lived in Nashville, I'd never leave you alone."

  Molly: "I'll be there soon. My brother just got discharged. But I'm not sure your girlfriend or my boyfriend would tolerate those shenanigans."

  Nick: "I think you're too concerned with what other people think."

  Molly: "You're hilarious. Seriously, though thanks for the tools. It was an extremely nice gift, and you didn't have to."

  Nick: "You're very welcome, and I can't wait for you to move."

  Part of her was a little let down that he didn't deny having a girlfriend. She assumed it was Daisy, and felt that nauseating jealousy again. Even though in her mind Zeke wasn't officially her boyfriend again, she had been leading him to believe that whatever they had together was headed in that direction.

  In spite of all that, she wanted so badly to flirt with Nick. She wanted to say he could pick a time and place and she'd be there in a flash. She knew there was something wrong with her relationship with Zeke if she still wanted Nick like that, but she chose not to deal with any of those feelings since neither of the guys were even in the same city as her. She made a conscious choice not to worry about it—instead she went back into the living room to hang out with her bubs.

  Chapter 16

  Molly was walking down the hall headed back toward the main part of the house when she overheard her brother say her name. She wouldn't consider herself the type to snoop, but when someone says your name, curiosity can get the best of you. She stopped walking when she got to the end of the hall and stood there to listen instead of rounding the corner.

  "I'm sure you can find someone to replace her, Dad."

  "Well, I know I could—and a lot cheaper too." She heard her dad sigh, or maybe it was her brother, but she was almost sure it was her dad.

  "You need to let her go. She's gonna go eventually. She's got plans, Dad. You're just dragging it out."

  "She could do a lot worse for herself than taking over the family business. A lot of people would consider themselves privileged to be handed a thriving business."

  They were both silent for a few seconds. Molly wondered if her mom was in there listening to all this. She assumed she was. They were quiet for enough that Molly almost went out there. But then, Ben spoke again.

  "She doesn't want to work at the store, Dad. I mean, maybe eventually, but she has plans. Haven't you seen all that hair stuff she does?"

  "Can't she do hair in Sparta? We need haircuts here too."

  Ben sighed. She could tell it was him for sure because his voice came through in it. "She doesn't want to stay in Sparta." A pause. "She loves you and Mom and everything, but she's got plans, Dad—plans that don't include Sparta or the hardware store."

  There was another pause, and again, Molly almost turned the corner, but then she heard her brother speak again.

  "And I'm going with her," Ben said.

  "What?" Greg asked.

  "I said I'm going to Nashville with Molly. I figured that would make you happy. The Army's paying for my college. I just thought I'd apply to Vanderbilt for next fall. Even if we don't get a place together, at least I can be in Nashville. That way I can look after her."

  Everyone was silent and Molly could take it no longer. She didn't even pretend she hadn't heard.

  "Ben, I would totally love a roommate!" she said, coming around the corner. "Please tell me you were serious."

  "Wait just a minute," Tori said, "That'll mean I'm losing both my babies at once."

  "You're as bad as Dad," Ben said, looking at his mom. "You're not losing us. We're just going to Nashville." He threw his hand up pointing roughly to the west. "It's an hour up the street."

  Greg and Tori were both staring straight ahead like they were in shock, and Ben laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "Maybe someday one or both of us will be back to run the store, but it's not that big of a deal for us to go off to college. I thought you guys would take the news easier after I've been across the world for the past four years."

  "I know," Tori said. "I thought we were getting you back."

  Ben smiled at his mom. "You are. I'm back. I'm just going right up the street to hang with Molly and go to college."

  Molly started dancing. "I'm going up the street, uh, uh, I'm going up the street."

  Tori cracked a smile at the sight of Molly's excitement.

  She went over to her dad and hugged him. "Thanks Dad," she said. Her dad made an expression like he hadn't given any permission and didn't know why he was being thanked. "Ben's gonna be with me. That should make you feel good."

  Greg sighed.

  "There's still a lot to work out," Tori said.

  "There's really not," Ben said. "You just decide to do it and start making plans. I might be wrong, but I think Molly wants to start school as soon as she can, so we should probably figure something out sooner than later."

  The Fletcher parents just stared at each other wide eyed and stunned for a second until Greg shrugged and said, "I guess we can either choose to help them or not help them, but I think they've made up their minds."

  "Yep," Molly said. "My mind's made up."

  Ben just smiled at them.

  ****

  Molly's twenty-first birthday party was being held at one of her friend's houses that Saturday night. It was a couple she and Hannah went to high school with. They were a year older than Molly, making them three years older than Hannah, but Sparta was small and they'd all grown up together.

  Both of them worked full time, so they had a nice place for such a young couple. It was supposed to be a small get together for Molly's 21st, but once word spread that Ben was back in town, more and more people got invited. Half the town showed up at Eli and Lauren's. None of them really even knew it was supposed to be for Molly's birthday, which she was glad about.

  Hannah had plans to spend the night in Sparta. The girls had a ride, and nowhere else to be for the night, so they made a conscious decision to drink as much as they wanted.

  They were about four drinks into the evening when they caught up to each other in Eli and Lauren's kitchen. They had been talking to other people, and were just seeing one another for the
first time in a while.

  "Heyyy," Hannah said.

  "Heyyy," Molly said.

  "Are you having fun at this place?" Hannah asked.

  "Yeah, I just saw Big Craig," Molly said.

  "Big Craig's here?" Big Craig was one of the gang in high school, but moved off to Michigan or somewhere to go to college. He rarely got in touch with any of them when he came back to town, so no one had really seen him in the last few years.

  "He's in the game room," Molly said. She was feeling buzzed, and because of that, her next random thought didn't stay in her head like it should have. It came out of her mouth.

  "I want to like Zeke because he's cool and awesome and everything, but I can't stop thinking about Nick. Nick Logan, Hannah. He's in my head. Is he gonna marry Daisy?"

  Hannah was buzzed too, and the question struck her as funny. She doubled over laughing at the thought of Nick marrying Daisy.

  "What?" Molly continued. "It's a reasonable question since they're obviously in love or whatever. I just talked to Nick a few days ago and he didn't argue when I called Daisy his girlfriend."

  The whole stream of words had fallen out of Molly's mouth before she could stop them, and until she said it all out loud she didn't even realize how much it sounded like she had it bad for Nick.

  "Why are you so torn up about Nick," Hannah asked, reading Molly's thoughts.

  "I'm not," Molly said. "I'm with Zeke anyway. I just thought it was weird that he sent me a really expensive birthday present.

  "That is weird," Hannah said. Neither of them were in full control of their faculties, and they both just stared at random things as they thought for a few seconds.

  "Do you have a crush on him?" Hannah asked.

  Molly looked at her. "I'm with Zeke," she said, not even bothering to deny it.

  "Do you have a crush on Nick Logan, Molly?" Hannah stared deep into Molly's eyes as if she was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth, which made Molly giggle.