Tiny House in the Trees

by Celia Bonaduce

  She woke to the sound of Galileo swearing and the ground vibrating under her. Army-crawling to the window, she saw the tiny houses returning to the roost. Bale was directing each driver, while Thor kept looking toward the Tower. Molly imagined a puzzled look on his blank face.

  She looked at her phone. It was six in the morning. She couldn’t believe she fell asleep. She calmed Galileo and fed him, keeping out of sight of the goings-on on the lot. She knew the tiny houses fit like pieces of a puzzle. Bale could get them moved in and out or change their positions in record time. She’d just have to wait it out.

  She went into the bathroom, putting on makeup and brushing her hair. Although she knew Bale didn’t care how she looked, she needed to bring her A game to whatever was going to happen next—and that meant makeup.

  Shoving the bed back under the kitchen, she sat cross-legged on the floor. This would be her last night here. Where would she and Galileo go? How had she not come up with a Plan B in all this time? She wondered if Professor Cambridge might have been right. Perhaps she didn’t have the brain of an engineer. Not that his opinion mattered right now. What mattered was, she had to face Bale today.

  She leaned against the wall and waited for the ruckus outside to die down.

  It was 7:30 before all the drivers left the lot.

  Maybe Bale would go home now that the inventory was safely back in place. She peeked out the door. No such luck. She saw Bale heading for the workshop, Thor at his heels.

  “I guess I have to go in there,” Molly said to Galileo. “Wish me luck.”

  “You’ve got spunk, Molly girl,” he offered in her father’s voice.

  “Thanks,” Molly said, “but I’m not sure spunk is enough to get me out of this.”

  Molly called the tree farm. Not knowing how long this confrontation with Bale might take, she thought the responsible thing would be to let someone know she might be late.

  “You’ve reached Quinn’s Tree Farm,” came the voice message in Quinn’s cheerful voice. “Leave me a message, and if you’re not a bill collector, I’ll get back to you in a day or two.”

  Molly shook her head. Quinn could be such a man-child. What serious businessperson would leave a message like that?

  And what would a bill collector think?

  “Hey, Quinn…or Manny…whoever gets this. It’s Molly. I’m still hoping to be on time, but…”

  She stopped. There was no way to explain any of this. Not that she wanted to. And she doubted if either of the guys wanted to hear.

  “Quinn, I’ll text you if I’m not going to make it in by breakfast. Bye.”

  Molly clicked off. She was stalling. She could have just texted Quinn when she knew how the morning played out. It took Molly three false starts before she could bring herself to leave the tiny house. Realizing she was going to be late for work, she stepped out of the Tower and onto the asphalt. She forced herself in the direction of the workshop. The door was slightly ajar. Molly could smell coffee brewing. Even as nervous as she was, she could feel her stomach rumble and her mouth water. Unlike Quinn, who refused to make coffee, and Manny, who made horrible coffee, Bale made a great cup of coffee.

  Molly slowly pushed the heavy workshop door, so it wouldn’t announce her. Bale was standing with his back to her at the tiny kitchen that hugged the wall next to the office. Thor was nowhere to be seen, thankfully. He would bust her for sure. Molly tried to make her feet move forward, but she couldn’t do it. She started to back out the door, but Bale’s voice stopped her.

  “I was wondering when you’d decide to stop in,” Bale said without turning around.

  “How…” Molly began.

  At the sound of her voice, Thor bounded in from the office, hurling himself into her arms. Molly busied herself with the dog. She’d have been happy to prolong the homecoming, but Thor finally demanded to be put back on the ground. When she stood up again, Bale was looking at her.

  “Thor seems glad to see me,” she said.

  “Yes, he does.”

  They both stared at Thor until the dog got bored and returned to the office.

  “How did you know I was here?” Molly asked, trying to stall her explanation.

  “I ran into Officer Melon on my way in here last night,” Bale said, sounding a bit tense. “He said that as long as I was going to have such crap locks on my gate, it was good I had a security guard—even if it was a girl.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did he tell you it was me?”

  “No, he didn’t have to! I knew it was you. Who else would feel she had the right to break into my place without asking?”

  “It’s not that I felt I had a right,” Molly said, trying to keep offense out of her voice. She really had no room for umbrage. “I just didn’t have any other choice.”

  “Here’s a crazy idea. What about asking me? Did that even cross your mind?”

  “Of course it crossed my mind!”

  “And? Exactly what made you think that was a terrible idea?”

  “I don’t know,” Molly said.

  “Do you have a guess?”

  “You stopped texting me and you left town without saying goodbye and I… I figured you must be sick of me. I was afraid you might say no.”

  “Let me get this straight. You thought I might say no, so instead you just moved in.”

  “Basically, yes.”

  “I could have you arrested.”

  Molly froze. She knew Bale might not be pleased with her, but arrested? She opened her mouth, hoping some fabulous defense would spring to her lips, but instead she burst into tears, surprising them both.

  “Please don’t have me arrested,” Molly said.

  “I’m not going to have you arrested,” Bale said, handing her a handkerchief. “And I’d bail you out if I did.”

  “You would?”

  “Which would be wrong on so many levels,” he said. “Not the least of which, my name is Bale.”

  Molly gave him a watery smile. She snuffled into the handkerchief. Staring at it, she wondered if she should hand it back, tear stained and snot filled. Could that possibly help her cause? She tentatively held it out to him, but he waved it away.

  “Do you forgive me?” she asked.

  “It’s not a question of forgiveness. It’s just…that took a lot of…”

  “Balls?”

  “Or whatever.”

  Now that the heated discussion seemed to have cooled, Thor poked his head out of the office.

  “Come on out, mighty warrior,” Bale said, frowning, as Thor trotted out. “It’s all over.”

  Molly’s stomach flipped.

  What was over?

  The fight?

  Or their friendship?

  Chapter 25

  “I’m really sorry about everything,” Molly said. “I’m sure you want me to go.”

  “That’s very astute of you,” Bale replied.

  “But if I can impose just a little bit longer…”

  “Longer?”

  Molly could hear how incredulous he sounded, but she kept going.

  “If I could just leave Galileo here until I get back from work…”

  “Galileo’s here?” Bale asked in surprise, looking around as if the African Grey was suddenly going to come flying through the air.

  “Not here, here.” Molly almost laughed but figured that would not help her case. “He’s in the Tower.”

  “He’s in the Tower?”

  “Yes,” Molly said.

  She opened her mouth to say more but found she couldn’t come up with any words. Bale didn’t know to what extent Molly had made herself at home. Did she want to let him know?

  “Really?’ Bale asked. “Why the Tower?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Why the Tower? Why
not the Log Cabin or the Victorian or any one of the other models?”

  “Is that…seriously your question? I mean, I break into your place and take over one of your most expensive models and you want to know why I chose that particular one?”

  “Yes. I mean, you’re almost a civil engineer. There must have been something that drew you to the Tower. I’d like to know what it was.”

  The old excitement of sharing ideas with Bale came rushing back. She could see it in his eyes that he felt the same way. If she kept talking, maybe the awkwardness would just blow over.

  “I’ll show you why,” she said, turning on her heels and heading toward the Tower. “It’s actually pretty awesome.”

  Thor trotted alongside, his blank expression signaling he was taking no sides.

  “I see you found the keys,” Bale said as Molly took the key out of her pocket.

  “They were very well organized,” Molly said.

  “I’m glad that worked out for you.”

  Molly decided she didn’t want to look too closely at that remark. Best to keep moving forward. She stepped up on the first stair, which put her at eye level with Bale.

  “Maybe Thor should stay outside,” Molly said. “I’m not sure what Galileo will think of him. He’s been pretty freaked out lately.”

  “He’s been freaked out?” Bale said, but he put his hand up to signal Thor to stay.

  Molly went inside, followed by Bale.

  “I’ll be damned,” Bale said, spotting the chicken wire-enclosed loft immediately.

  Molly held her breath as Bale walked to the enclosure.

  “Hello, sailor,” Galileo said in a flirtatious voice.

  Where had he learned that?

  After the fiasco in the tree fort, Molly refused to play the Animal Galaxy network and chose random TV shows to keep Galileo company when she was out of the tiny house.

  Bale was running his hands over the seams of the enclosure.

  “I know it’s rough,” Molly said, “but I…”

  She let the sentence trail off. What could she say? I was limited in my materials—which were his materials.

  She decided to just watch and wait for Bale’s next move.

  “This is great,” Bale said. “It’s a really good idea. Maybe we can offer an aviary as an option for people thinking about the Tower.”

  Molly’s hopes perked up at the word “we.”

  Bale spotted the tree house model. He frowned.

  “You’ve made some changes,” he said, walking over to study it.

  “Yes. Don’t you like them?”

  Bale looked at the model from all angles.

  “I do,” he said. “I like the changes a lot. Especially the larger windows.”

  “But…” Molly said.

  “But,” Bale said, “it’s different, but it’s not even close to being done. This is still as unfinished as it was when I left. Even though I can see you’ve been working on it.”

  “I know, I know. But when I was living in the tree, I just couldn’t leave it the way it was.”

  “Wait a second! Did you say living in a tree?”

  Molly stared at Bale. She might as well confess to everything.

  “Want some coffee?” Molly asked. “This is a pretty long story.”

  * * * *

  Molly filled Bale in on all the details of the past few weeks—the eviction, hiding her stuff at Crabby’s and Quinn changing the locks, and deciding that living in the tree fort was a great plan, until a raccoon proved her wrong.

  “That’s when I came here,” she said.

  “I still don’t understand why you didn’t call.”

  Molly wasn’t quite sure why she didn’t call either, except that she was too embarrassed, so she lobbed the question back at him.

  “You didn’t call me either,” Molly said. “I guess that had something to do with Violet?”

  “In a very roundabout way, yes,” Bale said.

  Although he said no more about it.

  “So here we are,” Molly said.

  “So here we are.” Bale agreed.

  “I hope you’re not disappointed in me.”

  “Disappointed? No. I’m actually pretty impressed that you have such an array of criminal skills. I’m just glad you use them for good, not evil.”

  Molly could feel the tension draining from the room. Maybe everything was going to work out—somehow.

  “I know I can’t stay here,” Molly said. “But maybe I could leave Galileo here…maybe not in the Tower, but in your office? He just can’t go back to the tree fort. It isn’t safe.”

  “It’s not really safe for you either,” Bale said. “And how long do you plan on staying up there? Till November when your thesis is due? It starts getting cold before Halloween.”

  “I can figure something out. I just need to make sure Galileo is safe.”

  Molly’s stomach flipped as she watched Bale shake his head.

  “Thor will not be happy sharing the office with Galileo,” he said.

  “Oh. I understand.” Molly tried to keep the quaver out of her voice.

  Why she expected Bale to help her out when she’d been trespassing on his property for weeks, she couldn’t say.

  Except, she had expected him to help.

  “I think Galileo should stay right here,” Bale said. “I wouldn’t feel right taking him away from his palace.”

  “Really? That would be such a weight off my shoulders knowing he’s safe.”

  “And it would be a weight off mine knowing you were safe. You both should stay.”

  Molly jumped up and threw her arms wide. Bale managed to get onto his feet before she squeezed him in a bear hug.

  “Easy, there,” Bale said, laughing and coughing. “You’ve gotten really strong working at that farm, I see.”

  “I’ve gotten really strong pushing and pulling the bed out from under the kitchen,” Molly said, releasing him. “I have a few ideas how to counterbalance it, so it glides out and back.”

  “Sounds good,” Bale said.

  “Maybe I could help you around here,” Molly said shyly. “Earn my keep?”

  “I was just going to propose—” Bale seemed to strangle on his words but continued. “I was just going to propose something along those lines. But as usual, you beat me to it.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You definitely have a faster hard drive. It’s always impressed me.”

  Molly thought if she were talking to Quinn, he’d say, “That’s why I love you.”

  But she didn’t need Bale to love her. It was enough that he was her safe place.

  “What did you have in mind?” Molly asked, settling down on her chair again.

  “I’m sort of making this up as I go along,” Bale said. “But I’ve been thinking about doing more work over at my place.”

  “Isn’t this your place?”

  “I meant my home,” Bale said. “I’ve got four acres on the river. Plenty of room to expand Bale’s Tiny Dreams without investing more capital. I’ve got too many orders to just work here at the lot. You could keep an eye on this place when I’m not around. Meet customers, show them around. Give me great ideas when they occur to you.”

  “That sounds perfect,” Molly said. “But I have to be fair to you. I do work over at the tree farm. And we’re just going to get busier. I don’t want to take advantage.”

  “You broke into my place,” Bale said. “You’ve already taken advantage.”

  Molly looked stricken, but Bale was smiling.

  “Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” Bale said. “I’m sure we can work things out.”

  Molly tried to say thank you, but she was afraid she’d burst into tears. Instead, she turned to Galileo.

  “We’re home,” Molly said to
the African Grey. “Say hello to our new landlord.”

  “Hello, sailor,” Galileo crooned.

  Molly definitely had to curb his TV time.

  Chapter 26

  As summer turned to fall, Molly’s life settled into a comfortable pattern. She would wake up early, feed Galileo, work on her thesis, go to breakfast with Quinn, work on the tree farm, then return to the tiny house lot where she might—or might not—see Bale.

  She loved working mornings at the tree farm. They were getting busier as the holiday season inched closer. Late summer saw some labor-intensive days for Manny and Molly, as they helped trim and shear the evergreens, preparing them for market. Quinn kept a casual eye on things, although he made it very clear his only interest in the job would come in November, when he’d haul up to fifteen trees at a time through the air, much to the amazement of the town. He’d effortlessly lower the load into a flatbed truck, then take to the air for more.

  Quinn’s humor rose when Lady Luck stood beside him at the gambling table and fell when she deserted him. Breakfast conversation could be warm and flirtatious or completely one-sided as Molly tried to distract him from his gloom. She would exchange looks with Marni, the waitress, every time Molly and Quinn entered Beamer’s, in the way women had to signal “He’s in a mood.”

  “Have you heard from Crabby?” Molly asked one morning when Quinn was unusually pensive.

  “Hmm?” Quinn asked, distracted.

  “Have you heard from Crabby? You haven’t mentioned him in a while.”

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did. Conversation didn’t go very well.”

  Molly waited. Was she supposed to ask why? She could never tell with Quinn. He wasn’t like Bale, who was so easygoing. She decided to go for it.

  “What happened?”

  “I asked to borrow some money. He wasn’t too happy about it.”

  Molly felt her throat tighten.

  Did Quinn need money? Was the farm in danger? Would she lose her job? Would she lose Quinn?

  “Bad night at the tables?”