by Lacey London
‘Let’s cheers to that.’ Max said softly, smiling as he clinked his mug against hers. ‘Forever friends.’
Watching Max return to reading his newspaper, Mollie felt a tingle of hope in the pit of her stomach. In the space of a few short days, Max had transitioned from refusing to acknowledge Mollie’s unhappiness, to making her promise to remain in his life forever. If therapy was about making tiny steps, Max had just taken a huge leap, and for that, Mollie would be eternally grateful.
‘Forever friends.’ Mollie repeated, smiling happily. ‘Always...’
Chapter 22
For the first time in a long time, Mollie McQueen felt happy. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she was walking on sunshine, but she felt content, and that was a massive achievement in itself. The little voice in the back of her mind that constantly reminded her it wasn’t enough was slipping away. It was still there, but now it was buried beneath a mountain of therapy sessions and a whole world of self-reflection. The feeling of contentment was still with her as Mollie wandered along the High Street and twirled her shopping bag around her wrist.
Pausing outside her favourite department store, Mollie took a moment to admire the glittering window display before pushing her way inside. As usual, the popular shop was littered with happy customers, but one face in particular caught Mollie’s eye.
Raising her hand, Mollie waved her arm around to gain Tiffany’s attention. Without looking in Mollie’s direction, Tiffany paid her bill and headed straight for the exit, resulting in an overzealous Mollie chasing after her.
‘Tiffany!’ She yelled, dodging the many busy shoppers. ‘Tiff!’
Spinning around, Tiffany smiled gingerly as Mollie came to a stop in front of her.
‘Mollie.’ She said stiffly, folding her arms and frowning. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m good.’ Moving to the left to avoid blocking the doorway, Mollie tried to look past Tiffany’s frosty exterior. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m very well.’ Tiffany responded quickly. ‘I’m just on my way to an appointment, so I should be going.’
‘I’ve been meaning to call you.’ Ignoring Tiffany’s lie, Mollie kept her smile firmly in place. ‘I wanted to thank you for arranging the therapy.’
‘It’s no problem.’ Tiffany said, glancing at her watch to demonstrate she was running late. ‘It was worth a try.’
Desperately wanting to break through the obvious tension, Mollie lowered her voice to a whisper.
‘I know this must be quite weird for you, but you don’t need to feel uncomfortable around me.’ She said gently. ‘Whatever happens between Max and I, it doesn’t need to affect our relationship.’
Tiffany nodded in response, but her heavy frown remained.
‘We can still go for pedicures and put the world to rights over a bottle of Bollinger.’ Mollie continued, hoping the mention of champers would sway her. ‘Nothing has to change.’
Sensing that Tiffany didn’t believe this one little bit, Mollie let out a sigh.
‘Between you and me, Tiff, if Evangelina continues to work her magic, we might just be able to rescue this marriage and we can put all of this behind us.’
‘Really?’ Tiffany asked, her frown finally wavering.
‘Yes, really.’ Mollie repeated, immediately regretting being so enthusiastic about the state of their relationship. ‘Max and I have made a little progress. I’m not talking leaps and bounds, but we’re moving in the right direction.’
‘I didn’t realise.’ She said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. ‘When did you decide this.’
‘Well, we haven’t actually decided anything.’ Mollie stammered. ‘But this morning, we had a moment.’
‘A moment?’ Tiffany repeated sceptically.
‘I can’t really describe it, but it gave me a ray of hope.’ Mollie explained, smiling as she recalled their chat over the breakfast table. ‘I don’t want to read too much into it, but Max made me promise that we would be in each other’s lives forever.’
‘Oh, Mollie!’ Tiffany gushed ecstatically. ‘That’s fantastic! You have no idea how happy I am to hear that!’
Allowing Tiffany to envelop her in a huge bear hug, Mollie squeezed her tightly.
‘I can’t promise anything, but you know, I’m hopeful.’ Mollie said, wriggling out of Tiffany’s grip. ‘And I think Max is too.’
Clapping her hands together, Tiffany stamped her feet excitedly.
‘I knew Evangelina was good, but this is amazing!’ She exclaimed. ‘When she stopped the Oakley’s divorce proceedings just minutes before the hearing, people accused her of using witchcraft, but this is proof that she does perform miracles!’
Mollie resisted the urge to tell Tiff she was getting ahead of herself and smiled back at her, relieved to have dispersed the tension between them.
‘After speaking to Max yesterday, I thought... well, never mind what I thought!’ Tiffany squealed joyfully. ‘Do you have time for lunch? We could go to that Italian place we love and exchange notes on what it’s like being married to a McQueen?’
‘Dirty laundry on the floor?’ Mollie joked.
‘Trimming nose hair into the sink?’ Tiffany fired back.
‘Cutting toenails on the bed?’
‘Oh, it’s so good to have you back, Mollie!’ Holding out her arm, Tiffany grinned manically when Mollie linked her arm through hers. ‘I’ve missed you so much.’
‘It’s only been four days!’ Mollie giggled. ‘You can’t have missed me that much!’
‘Believe me, I have. Since you told me you were separating, it’s all I have been able to think about.’ She babbled. ‘Ralph has been teasing me for days that we’re going to have Maximilian back in our spare room. He’d be there until he’s fifty, and we can’t have that. You know we plan on emigrating to the villa once Ralph retires!’
Mollie’s smile faltered as she listened to her mother-in-law ramble.
‘I just knew I had to fix this one way or another.’ She continued. ‘I can’t go back to picking dirty socks off the bathroom floor and discovering mouldy pizza boxes under the bed. The house has been pristine since you took him off our hands…’
‘You want us to stay together so that you don’t have to be burdened with him?’ Mollie said slowly. ‘Is that what you’re saying?’
‘No!’ Throwing back her head, Tiffany cackled loudly. ‘But you did marry him, Mollie. Sickness and health. Richer and poorer. Better or worse. Job or no job. Wet towels on the bed or no wet towels on the bed.’
‘Okay…’ Mollie mumbled. ‘But you are aware that he drives me crazy?’
‘Of course I am bloody aware!’ Tiffany replied. ‘Ralph and I are all too aware of Max and his many interesting personality traits, but we all have our flaws, Mollie. Even you.’
Not being able to disagree with her, Mollie nodded along as they continued to walk.
‘Marriages take work. If I announced I was leaving Ralph every time he got on my nerves, I would have been divorced a thousand times already.’ Leading Mollie along the street, Tiffany smiled at her encouragingly. ‘Take it from me - Ralph and I have been married for thirty years. In that time we have seen so many other marriages come and go. Some last only days, some last decades, but each and every one of them requires work.’
‘Has yours required work?’ Mollie asked.
‘It’s required a lot of patience, that’s for sure. It’s required a lot of give and take, and a lifetime of walking away from arguments. I quickly learned that apologising doesn’t mean you’re in the wrong. It simply means you value your sanity more than your ego.’ Tiff said, rolling her eyes. ‘We’ve certainly been on a roller coaster over the years, but you show me a marriage that hasn’t.’
‘My mum and dad’s.’ Mollie replied confidently. ‘Their marriage is as solid as they come. They fell in love at sixteen and they’ve been together ever since. They still go on date nights, they hold hands as they walk along the street, and they refer to one another as their best f
riend. Forget Kate and Will, Bey and Jay, or Chandler and Monica. My mum and dad are the real couple goals.’
‘That’s lovely, Mollie, but we aren’t all as lucky as that.’ Tiffany said quickly. ‘Are your parents aware you’re in therapy?’
Shaking her head, Mollie felt her stomach flip at the thought of telling her mum and dad about her marital problems.
‘They don’t know anything.’ She admitted. ‘I haven’t spoken to them for the past couple of weeks, so they’re none the wiser. Besides, they would be devastated. They think the world of Max.’
‘And we think the world of you.’ Tiffany added kindly.
Smiling back at her, Mollie inhaled deeply.
‘People seem to think I’m insane for even contemplating leaving Max. Both Margot and Jasper didn’t hold back in giving me their opinions.’
‘And what does that tell you?’
‘It tells me that I have a bone to pick with you.’ Mollie replied, stopping in the middle of the street as a thought suddenly hit her. ‘Anatidaephobia? Really?’
Tiffany stared back at her expressionlessly, seemingly completely unaware of what Mollie was talking about.
‘Quack quack?’ Mollie offered. ‘Quack quack quack?’
‘Alright!’ Tiffany hissed, motioning for her to stop. ‘I’m sorry. Okay?’
Mollie placed her hands on her hips and waited for an explanation.
‘I didn’t want to tell anyone you were having marriage counselling in case you managed to turn it around.’ Tiffany protested innocently. ‘You can never remove the stigma of marriage therapy, Mollie. Once you’ve been stickered with that label, you will forever be the couple who had to seek help after you peed in your husband’s golf bag at the Superior Golf Club.’
Laughing out loud, Mollie allowed Tiffany to drag her along the pavement.
‘Wait a minute.’ She giggled, tugging on Tiffany’s sleeve. ‘Isn’t Ralph a member of the Superior Golf Club?’
‘He might be.’ Tiffany replied, trying to suppress a smile. ‘Now, come on. Let’s eat lunch…’
Chapter 23
‘Anatidaephobia?’ Max said in disbelief, desperately trying to control his hysterics. ‘You have to be kidding me!’
‘I’m being serious!’ Wiping away her laughter tears, Mollie signalled for him to keep his voice down. ‘She was cleaning the toilet with Duck when Jasper asked about a message from Evangelina on her answering machine.’
Max covered his face with his jacket and continued his laughing fit in private. Ironically, his efforts to conceal his laughter resulted in him drawing yet more attention to himself. Noticing the woman sitting opposite shoot them daggers, Mollie tried and failed to compose herself. Her stomach was throbbing and her cheeks were aching, but she just couldn’t stop.
As Max’s laughter echoed around the crowded waiting room, Mollie attempted to pull herself together once more.
‘Shhh!’ She hissed. ‘You’re going to get us thrown out!’
Clearing his throat, Max sat up straight and avoided eye contact with Mollie as another couple approached the receptionist’s desk.
‘We’re here to pay our invoice.’ The man said quietly, reaching into his pocket and producing a wallet.
‘No problem.’ The receptionist replied easily. ‘If you could just go to our payment desk down the hall. Someone there will process your payment. Mind your head. The ceiling is quite low, so you might have to duck…’
Before she could stop it, Mollie let out a snort and Max immediately followed suit. Ignoring the disapproving glances, the pair of them threw caution to the wind and laughed loudly, no longer caring about anyone else around them.
‘Maximilian and Mollie McQueen?’ The receptionist said sternly. ‘Evangelina is ready for you.’
Quickly gathering her belongings, Mollie pulled Max to his feet and raised her hand to the receptionist, who looked just as annoyed as the rest of the waiting room. Not daring to look back, Mollie dragged Max down the hall to Evangelina’s office and quickly knocked on the door.
‘Come in…’ Evangelina’s hypnotic voice instructed.
Releasing the handle, Mollie pushed her way inside and smiled at Evangelina as they took their seats.
‘So, how are we today?’ Evangelina asked. ‘I believe the laughter drifting in from the waiting room belongs to you two?’
‘I’m so sorry about that.’ Trying to keep her face straight, Mollie bit her lip and clasped her hands together. ‘We had a case of the giggles out there.’
‘Laughter is good!’ Evangelina said encouragingly. ‘It’s great, in fact. The feel-good endorphins we release when we laugh are the same as when we exercise, eat spicy food and have sex. So, keep it up.’
Mollie looked over at Max and automatically broke into a smile upon seeing him grin back at her.
‘It’s good to see two smiling faces.’ Evangelina continued. ‘And a very positive indicator to how this course is working for you.’
‘I think so too.’ Mollie replied, not daring to look at Max as he nodded in agreement.
‘As usual, we’re going to start this session with your scorecards.’ Flipping open a file on the desk in front of her, Evangelina picked up her signature gold pen. ‘Mollie, on a scale of one to ten, where would you rate your desire to end your relationship?’
Mollie gave herself a moment to think back over the last twenty-four hours before answering.
‘Five.’ She said decidedly. ‘Unbelievably, I think I am at the halfway mark.’
‘Why is that so unbelievable to you?’ Tapping her pen against the folder, Evangelina tossed her glossy hair over her shoulder.
‘Because just a few days ago, I was at a firm eight. I thought my mind was made up. Now, I can see this going either way.’
Nodding back at her, Evangelina switched her focus to Max.
‘Max?’
‘I must confess to confiding in my mum that I couldn’t see this working out, but I am feeling positive again.’ He said slowly. ‘So, I think I’ll say the same as Mollie and stay at five. I’d love to say less, but there’s no point in doing this unless we’re going to be honest, is there?’
Mollie’s spirits dropped slightly upon hearing Max’s score had not changed, but she hid her disappointment behind a well-rehearsed smile. His revelation about his mother explained Tiffany’s strange reaction in the department store the day prior, but it still hurt Mollie to hear him admit his doubts out loud.
‘How are we getting on with the core rules?’ Evangelina asked, ignoring Max’s question. ‘Which rules have you adhered to and which have you find difficult to master?’
‘I think we’ve done pretty well with all the core rules.’ Max replied. ‘We’re eating together and chatting about our days. I even got a well done from Mollie this morning for hanging my towel on the radiator. If I do that for two more days, I’ll get a gold star.’
Mollie nudged his arm playfully and laughed.
‘Joking aside, the core rules have really helped.’ She added. ‘They’re already becoming second nature.’
‘Well, it seems like we’re certainly making progress here.’ Evangelina said cheerily. ‘I think we’re ready to move up to the next level.’
Pushing out her chair, Evangelina walked over to a set of concealed drawers on the other side of the room. Max and Mollie watched curiously as she pulled out two black tablets and sashayed back to her chair.
‘These tablets have been pre-loaded with a selection of dating profiles.’ She explained, pressing a button and watching the screens spring to life. ‘I would like you to go away and study these this evening.’
Mollie looked at the tablets and frowned, wondering why Evangelina would be showing them dating profiles when they were getting along so well.
‘The dating profiles have been specially selected with both of you in mind. You should know that they will vary wildly in compatibility, but this is not a test. There is no right or wrong answer here. The objective of this activity is
for me to discover which dating profile you choose.’
‘Are we actually going to date the people we choose?’ Max asked in surprise, pulling his tablet towards him. ‘As in, a proper date?’
‘A proper date.’ Evangelina repeated seriously. ‘A proper date that will take place tomorrow evening.’
Mollie opened her mouth to voice her concerns over going on a date with another man, but stopped herself when she saw Max was beaming brightly.
‘You’re the boss, Evangelina.’ Max said merrily, already scrolling through the images. ‘But I think I have Mollie’s tablet. This only has male profiles.’
Reaching for the other tablet, Max paused when Evangelina shook her head.
‘That’s because you shall be choosing dates for one another.’ She explained proudly. ‘You will select a date for Mollie and vice versa.’
‘So, it’s like a blind date?’ Max asked, sounding a little too excited for Mollie’s liking.
‘That’s exactly right.’ Pausing to give Mollie a fleeting glance, Evangelina made a scribble on her notepad. ‘There shall be no conferring and no seeking advice from others. This has to be your own decision. It’s important for you to note that this is the first and last time I shall ask you to do this. There will be no further dates, so choose wisely.’
‘Do we choose right now?’ Max asked.
‘No. You will take these away with you this evening and choose a profile at your leisure. Upon selecting a profile, your choices will be electronically sent back to me. I will make the arrangements and send you details of your dates individually. Do you have any questions, or is all that clear?’
‘Crystal.’ Max said without hesitation.
‘Mollie?’ Evangelina pressed, peering at her over the top of her glasses. ‘How do you feel about the blind date?’
Despite the idea of dating other people making her feel physically sick, Mollie shrugged her shoulders. She was there for marriage therapy. She was there because she wanted to walk away from her relationship. Who was she to question the famous Evangelina Hamilton’s techniques?
