Something Molly Can't See

by Carol Maloney Scott

  “Well, I don’t know. I suppose it doesn’t, but I still want to talk to Albert.”

  “He’s on that crazy long bike ride. You’ll have to wait.”

  He pulls me close and I can feel him waking up again, but I kill the mood by saying, “Actually Fred gave me his cell phone number.”

  He moves back to his original back sleeping position and says, “What are you gonna do? Text the old guy while he’s on his bike and say, ‘Hello sir, you don’t know me but are you my real Peepaw?’.”

  He laughs at the end because no matter how serious the conversation, if the word Peepaw is mentioned he starts giggling like a little boy seeing his first boobies.

  “Tucker Swanson, can’t you be serious? I am going to find out when he’s coming home and set up a time to meet with him.”

  “Well, that sounds very reasonable. Now it’s time to go to sleep. You women just can’t ever close all the boxes in your heads and settle down.”

  I want to say that men only have one or two boxes and that’s why they have no trouble, but Tucker is instantly off to dream land.

  I toss and turn to try to get comfortable and ‘close the boxes’.

  But come tomorrow, I am going to open one of them very wide and dig down to the bottom.

  Somehow, I am going to get Albert to let the horse out of the barn before Meemaw stops stuffing her face long enough to graduate from the next level of Haunting School.

  I need those letters.

  ***

  “Ray’s the best! Ray’s the best!”

  I can’t help but smirk and shake my head at the fact that Ray taught his parrot to stroke his ego.

  Yes, I’m in Ray’s apartment, but I haven’t even taken him up on his offer to sit down or have a drink while I wait. He’s supposed to be ready to go and I’m anxious to get this trip over with—especially after what I saw last night.

  Tucker left our little love nest to get something from his truck in the wee hours of the morning, and I didn’t think anything of it.

  That is, until I got up to pee and saw him in the parking lot.

  The sun was just coming up and there was no mistaking Ashley, in her nightgown, loading her camera equipment into the back of Tucker’s truck.

  My heart started beating so fast I almost fainted.

  I had a million and one questions, but I jumped back in bed because I didn’t want Tucker to know I saw him.

  A fight about anything before I go off with Ray wasn’t a good idea, and I felt like there could be a very good reason my boyfriend and a woman who doesn’t much like me are secretly meeting in the parking lot in their undies to take pictures.

  Well, I don’t think they actually used the camera equipment at that time, but it seemed like they were planning on using it later.

  But then it dawned on me—maybe Tucker offered to drive her somewhere with the…no, she obviously owns a vehicle big enough to transport her own equipment.

  Tucker got back into bed and went back to sleep, pulling me in close.

  There had to be a reasonable explanation, but I’d get to the bottom of it when I got home.

  Sassy got sick, and Tucker offered to have the girls stay at his place while I was gone, and even Magnolia agreed.

  She probably thinks she can trick him easier than any of my women friends, but I told him to keep a watchful eye on my still grounded eldest.

  Plus, my Zinnia is like a world class spy, so I don’t think Tucker and Ashley will be able to do anything without that child up in their business.

  It’s not like I think they’re going to shoot porn together or something.

  Now why did I go and let my imagination run wild like that? Mama always said I spent so much time with my head in the clouds, my feet didn’t touch the floor.

  Ha, she should see Meemaw. It’s like an exact description.

  Ray and I decided to go to Philadelphia during the week, since it’s supposed to be a business trip, and this way I won’t miss out on weekend time with Tucker and the girls. I have a couple of days off in a row from the diner, and Lia assured me that I’m not needed at Molly’s Dollies.

  When I called Ray after Tucker took the girls to school this morning, he said he was running late and I should come over, since we were leaving from the parking area on his side of the complex.

  While I am somewhat suspicious of everything Ray says, I really didn’t think he was planning on trying to seduce me before we even get on the road.

  I’m so caught up in my thoughts, I’ve stopped listening to Marvin the parrot, but he’s been talking up a blue streak the whole time.

  “Give Ray all your money!”

  What the hell?

  Ray pops back in the room with his overnight bag and his coat.

  He points to Marvin and says, “Isn’t he a crack up? Say something for Molly, Marvin?”

  “We love Molly!”

  I feel my cheeks flush, but before I can stammer out a response, Ray says, “The girls taught him that last weekend. Isn’t that cute?”

  “Aw, yes they can be little darlings when they want to be.”

  As we share a brief moment of shared parental pride, Marvin yells, “Give Ray all your money!”

  Ray winces and says, “Isn’t that funny? I guess the girls taught him a whole bunch of new things.”

  I eye Ray suspiciously and say, “Raymond Anthony Rizzo, are you plannin’ on gettin’ this bird to help you rob a bank?”

  He laughs and says, “Good one, Moll. Isn’t it nice to laugh together again?”

  When I look away with a weak smile, he says even more enthusiastically, “Okay, let’s get this show on the road. That DC traffic is a bitch and I want to get past the NJ Turnpike before rush hour.”

  Ray grabs our bags and says goodbye to Marvin. The girls are responsible for coming over to take care of him, and Ray left them a key.

  As we walk to load the car, it feels strangely déjà vu. I guess that’s because I lived here with Ray for a long time, and we took many car rides to New Jersey together, especially before he had a falling out with his brothers and cousins.

  They are such a bunch of hot heads. I see why Angie left and Ray followed her down here. Life in Applebarrow can be so peaceful.

  Well, usually it is.

  I push thoughts of Ashley and Tucker out of my mind. I am sure he just dropped her off for a photo shoot and that’s that. Maybe her car isn’t big enough for all of her equipment and this was a big job.

  Tucker knows I don’t like Ashley, and he was probably also trying to avoid an argument before my trip with Ray.

  I’m only doing this for my daughters. Ray said that if they like the spring break camp, they have a longer session in the summer. Apparently, this school has a great reputation for young creative kids, and I would so love to see both of my girls go to college and pursue their passions.

  If it wasn’t for Lia moving to Applebarrow and wanting to invest some of her inheritance in my dreams, I’d still be slinging hash with no chance of quitting in sight. If Ray had come back under those circumstances, maybe I wouldn’t have been strong enough to resist him.

  I buckle my seat belt, and let Ray turn on his favorite classic rock music. He always hated country, but it doesn’t matter. After this short trip, we’ll hopefully have good news for the girls and I will go see Ed Franklin to get my divorce, and who cares what Ray likes.

  I have my own hotel reservation that I made in my own name, and I’ll make sure they give me a room on a different floor from Ray’s.

  I may not even let him know my room number. There is no reason for it—we can meet in the lobby, just like it was a business trip.

  It actually is—Ray and I are in the business of co-parenting now.

  What could possibly go wrong?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Ray, I swear on Meemaw’s grave if you don’t stop this car and let me out, I am gonna tuck and roll, and you’ll have to explain to our daughters how you killed me in the Poconos.”r />
  That’s right. We didn’t have reservations in Philadelphia. Well, I did but apparently Ray called and cancelled mine. His never existed.

  No, instead of touring camps for our daughters, I am on my way to the Romance Mountain Lodge, site of our first anniversary celebration.

  If I had only known how this was marriage was going to play out, I would have pushed him off a rocky ledge that week.

  “Molly, be reasonable. I told you the camp for the girls really does exist, and we’re going to stop there on the way home. I knew if I asked you to take this detour you would have refused to come.”

  He says this as if that’s perfectly reasonable logic.

  “Most kidnappers don’t give their victims a heads up. Now I want to go home. Right fucking now!!”

  I hardly ever swear, so I know Ray must be getting nervous. He has to let me out when we get to the hotel and then I am calling the police…or at least a rental car place…or the airline…never mind, I’m in the middle of damn nowhere, and I’m not driving home by myself and getting home at all hours.

  “I am not a kidnapper. I thought you agreed with me that we’re getting along better, and we had such a nice chat on the drive up. I totally respect your relationship with Tucker. I just thought it would be a hoot, as you would say, to check out the old stomping grounds.”

  “Ray, I am going to get my own room when we get to this place, and in the morning, I am going to drive myself to this camp and I don’t give a rat’s ass what you do. How can you say you respect anything?”

  He pulls up to the sprawling property and I am struck with a pang of sadness. This was a fun time in our lives. We couldn’t go on a real honeymoon because we got married right after Magnolia was born, but on our first anniversary Mama kept the baby so we could go away and have some time to ourselves.

  It’s too bad Ray is hell bent on destroying all my good memories, while making new bad ones in the process.

  “Molly, please calm down. Of course, I got you your own room. But I booked the suite with the big heart shaped bathtub and the champagne glass whirlpool. I know what you’re going to say…I am not planning on us recreating our last trip. If you want to go in, as friends, I brought a bathing suit for you. And for me, of course. If not, the suite is all yours and I’ll take the other room. I just wanted to give you a little gift. You will never understand how sorry I am.”

  I inhale all the air left in the car and say, “Okay. Fine. But if you try anything, I will call the cops, the fire department, my daddy, the local newspaper and…”

  I was going to say Tucker, but he is the last person I want to know about this adventure.

  I am bone tired, though, and a nice soak in a luxury tub would feel good.

  Since Ray is feeling so contrite, I can probably order lobster off the room service menu, too. He owes me, and I’m starting to think I should let up on my pride and start cashing in.

  Speaking of which, he also brought up child support in the car and said he fully expects to pay whatever I think is fair and the court approves.

  He also offered to give me a lump sum of his horse race winnings so I can quit my waitressing job until my doll business starts turning a profit.

  I didn’t accept the latter, although I was tempted. It frustrates me that Tucker is a big part of the reason I don’t want to take anything from Ray. If he wasn’t in the picture, I would be more likely to let Ray make up for his transgressions, at least financially.

  But I will talk to Ed Franklin—he’ll advise me to recover the money Ray ran off with and figure out what he owes for back child support.

  All these thoughts of legal mumbo jumbo are hurting my head, so I avoid Ray’s eyes and say, “Let’s just go inside.”

  ***

  The lobby is just as pretty as I remembered, and it’s too bad I can’t enjoy this overnight treat without a guilty conscience. I just have to keep telling myself that nothing is going to happen.

  Of course, I would be very upset with Tucker if he spent the night in a hotel with another woman, but how is this different than the original plan? We’re still staying in the same hotel in separate rooms. Just not the one I expected.

  Maybe I am overreacting, even though I know if I invited Ray into the tub with me, he’d forget Tucker’s name and all of his ‘respect’ for our relationship.

  But I guess I can’t blame Ray. At least not for everything. Marriage breakdowns are rarely only one person’s fault. I know I wasn’t there for him when he needed me, and even though I can’t take him back after what he did, I understand that he ruined his life and he only wants to replace what he’s lost.

  It’s human nature.

  Hopefully Meemaw is super busy in the afterlife this week. If she shows up, I won’t get to enjoy my lobster in the champagne glass.

  I join Ray at the front desk, and he excuses himself to the men’s room. “Too much coffee for me!”

  I’m assuming Ray already got his key while I was admiring the artwork and walking down memory lane, so I lean on the counter and say to the smiling clerk, “Room for Molly Jenkins, please?”

  The woman taps away on her computer and says, “Do you have a reservation, Miss Jenkins?”

  “Yes, I think so.” I better, or there might be a drowning in the romance suite tonight.

  “Hmm…I’m sorry, I don’t have anything under your name.”

  I’m fuming as Ray gets back from the bathroom and I say, “Ray, they don’t have a reservation for me.”

  “Huh.” He scratches his chin and addresses the clerk, “Molly Rizzo. You must have it.”

  “Ray, my name is Molly Jenkins.” I grit my teeth, and he looks confused.

  “You took back your maiden name? But we’re not divorced.”

  The clerk is looking increasingly anxious, but I can’t believe that a hotel that caters to couples never gets one who starts a brawl at the check-in counter.

  I compose myself and say, “I’m sorry for…this man’s rudeness, Annabel.” I read the woman’s nametag in the hopes that a personal touch will secure a place to sleep tonight that is not occupied by Ray.

  I don’t even mind the boiler room or the janitor’s closet.

  We go back and forth several times, but the bottom line is the hotel is fully booked, and it’s likely all the others in the area are as well. It’s still February and a lot of people visit the Romance Mountain Lodge, and the Poconos, in the month of love.

  We walk away from the counter and I feel tears forming. I am so tired and angry.

  Ray presses the elevator button and quietly says, “I did not do that on purpose. I don’t know why they messed up the reservation. I will sleep in the truck if I have to. I just want you to enjoy your night.”

  We ride in the elevator silently and I follow Ray to the suite.

  It’s just as beautiful as it was fourteen years ago—maybe even more so. It looks like they’ve updated the rooms and I can’t help but wonder why Ray went to all this trouble, if he really intends to be a gentleman and stay out of my way.

  He opens up his suitcase, and I’m about to protest his unpacking, when he hands me a bathing suit. It is one of mine.

  “I grabbed it when I was at your place with the girls. When you and Tucker were out. But since I am definitely leaving the room, you don’t need it. I may go in the community hot tub downstairs before I head out to the parking lot to get some sleep.”

  “Ray, you know this is your own fault.”

  He hangs his head and says, “I know.”

  I’m not sure if we’re talking about tonight’s sleeping arrangements or the disaster of our marriage.

  We also can add kidnapping, and false representation of a trip destination, to things that are his fault.

  “Good night, Molly. Please order anything you’d like from room service and enjoy all of this. I hope you’ll join me in the morning so we can go see the camp, but if you need to make other travel arrangements, let me know if I can help.”

  He closes
the door quietly and I fling myself on the ginormous bed. I almost slide off the satin bedspread but manage to hold on long enough to enjoy the cool fabric on my hot, angry face.

  There’s no use feeling guilty—not because of Tucker or Ray.

  Ray got himself into this mess, so he can suffer the consequences, and Tucker has no right to be mad. I am not doing anything wrong and he knew he was getting involved with a woman with a past.

  And a complicated present.

  Hmm…I bet Ashley travels light…

  Ugh…that’s the last thing I should be thinking about.

  I haven’t heard from Tucker all day and I am assuming it’s because he is either protesting my trip or he doesn’t want to appear jealous.

  Or he’s otherwise occupied.

  Wait a second, in all my self-centered musings I forgot that Tucker is with my daughters. It’s odd that I haven’t heard from them, either.

  Now where did I put my phone?

  ***

  I don’t have the keys to the truck, but I’m hoping Ray is in there, true to his word.

  Ha, fat chance of that.

  I’m in luck—the truck is running so I guess he’s trying to keep warm. It is cold up here this time of year, and I thought we were freezing at home.

  I march up to the truck and peer into the dark window, and Ray screams.

  He rolls down the window and says, “Jeez Molly, I know you’re pissed at me, but you don’t have to give me heart failure. I’m already freezing to death out here. Is everything okay?”

  I fight the urge to laugh and/or cry, because no, nothing is okay!

  “I can’t find my phone. Can I check to see if it fell under the seat?”

  He unlocks the doors and points to the passenger’s side. “Be my guest.”

  I open the door and lean into the toasty vehicle and start rooting around under the seat, behind the seat, and in the seat.

  I glance up at Ray and he’s holding my phone.

  “Give me that. Why didn’t you tell me you had it?”

  “It’s fun watching you look for it.” He hands it over and says, “I’m just kidding. When did you lose your sense of humor?”