Mollywood (Carved Hearts #2)

by L. G. Pace III

  “Hey.” Mac said, his tone neutral as he picked up on the second ring. “What’s up?”

  “Thought I might take you out for a drink and darts. You know, an ‘I fucked up and I’m buying the first three rounds’ kinda night. Unless you’re busy or have Mac Jr.”

  “No. I’m free.” He exhaled, and I could tell he was smoking again. “Malcolm’s back with his mom. She and her new boyfriend took him to LEGOLAND or some shit. Do you want to meet somewhere or should I pick you up?”

  “Let’s cab it.” I replied. “It sucks to have to sober up before you can go home. This is the kind of night that needs lots and lots of beer. I tried to call Mason.”

  “I think they had a soccer tournament tonight…or was it a dance recital? Who the fuck can keep all that shit straight? That’s why I only had one kid.” Mac declared.

  “Yeah…that’s why.” I mused sardonically.

  “Well that and his mother was a drunken whore.” He snickered in agreement. “Mason should be done by now, though. I’ll try to get ahold of him.”

  We agreed to meet at a place on Rainey Street called Banger’s. I started to object when Mac suggested it, but he assured me it wasn’t a strip club.

  As it turns out, Banger’s was a converted bungalow with a sprawling beer garden in the back. Long strands of white lights illuminated a decent sized stage and crowded community style tables outside. I paid the cabbie and stepped forward to read the sign. Bangers's Sausage and Beer Garden.

  What a relief. The last thing I needed was for Molly to hear that our first night apart I ran out to get a lap dance. I leaned against the wall outside and waited for Mac, who’d texted me that he got ahold of Mason and he was coming along. Live music from the beer garden around back reached my ears, I started to get nervous about seeing the Hildebrandt boys. Things with the families had still been very up in the air when Molly and I left Tamryn’s the morning after my freak out. Since the shop was closed until tomorrow, I hadn’t spoken to anyone since.

  Right after I issued my ultimatum to the families, the back door swung open and the kids trailed in like frozen drowned rats. Robin, Robbie, and Betty struggled to coral them so that they didn’t drip all over the kitchen. No one who’d been present during my tirade spoke, and Robin took one look at Mason’s stricken face and said “What did I miss? Damn kids! I always miss everything.”

  “Joe and I were just heading off to bed. I’m exhausted.” Molly lied, grabbing my arm in both of her hands and trying to tug me out of the room. I was too fired up to go along with her excuse. Just before Granny insulted Molly, my mom had cornered me in the study and the combination of those two events finally pushed me beyond my breaking point.

  When mom took me into Robbie’s study, I expected a sequel to the conversation I’d had with my father. Imagine my shock when she presented me with my Grandmother’s diamond ring.

  “It’s perfect, don’t you think? Your grandmother always had such peculiar tastes. It really isn’t my style, but I think Molly would really like it.” I frowned at what sounded like a back handed insult at Molly, and I opened my mouth to begin a long overdue discussion about my mother’s jarring absence in my life when Tamryn burst into the study and interrupted us.

  “Is that a ring? Let me see!” She rushed forward and gaped at it. “Ooooo…black gold. How unusual! That vintage setting is perfect for her, Joe!”

  At first I simply stared at them, wondering if they were conspiring. Tamryn frowned at my suspicious pause. “What?”

  “You aren’t in on this?” I demanded and Tamryn folded her arms defensively.

  “What the hell are you taking about?” She snapped.

  “Joe didn’t buy the ring.” My mother confessed, explaining the ring’s history to my sister.

  “I stand by what I said, Joe. If you do propose, this is the one.” Tamryn lifted her eyes from the diamond that had to be at least a carrot. The corner of my mother’s mouth inched toward the ceiling. Now they were ganging up on me, and they were about as subtle as a heart attack. I glanced down at the ring my mother still displayed for me and saw my hand reach out for it. I didn’t know shit about jewelry, but something told me Molly would love it. It was non-conventionally beautiful and eye catching.

  Simply put, it was made for Molly.

  “Molly said no, y’all.” I explained, turning the ring from side to side, imagining it on her finger. I hated saying that phrase out loud, but they needed to know the score. “She doesn’t want to marry me.”

  “What do you mean she said no?” Tamryn demanded, her hand shooting to her hip. “When did you ask her?”

  I paused. “The day we found out she was pregnant.”

  They both rolled their eyes spectacularly and for a moment, they could have been sisters rather than mother and daughter.

  “Well of course she turned you down, Joe! You can’t ask a girl to marry you two seconds after she finds out she’s pregnant. How the hell do you think that made her feel? Like some consolation prize at the county fair.” Tamryn snapped.

  My mother nodded in agreement. “Tell me you gave her flowers at least? What did you say? Did you take her someplace nice…try to make it romantic?”

  I thought back to Molly, overwhelmed in the bath tub and me blurting something like ‘let’s get married’. The questions made me realize what an utter ass I had been.

  “I don’t even think I asked her. I think I might have suggested it.” I admitted, putting a palm over my eyes.

  “Dear God, Joe!” My mother finally murmured. “You need to do a whole lot better next time around.”

  Needless to say, I accepted the ring that my mother thrust at me, stuffing the small box into my front pocket. I made both of them swear not to breathe a word about it to anyone, and then proceeded to return to the kitchen where I chewed out almost everyone in our families. Good times.

  “You may as well know.” I directed my words to the three adults who’d been outside supervising the kids. “I’ve made a spectacle of myself. Molly and I are leaving now. She doesn’t need the stress and I can’t keep my mouth shut about things.”

  Robbie and Betty gaped at me, but Robin simply looked intrigued.

  “You can’t leave, Joe. You’re the guests of honor.” Tamryn shot back, and the kids stopped chattering and stared at her. When it was clear that I wasn’t about to budge an inch, she turned her eyes on Molly. “Molly…”

  “Back off Tamryn. She doesn’t need you trying to guilt her into staying.” I spat, raising my voice for the first time. Molly placed a gentle hand on my arm.

  “Okay. We all need to calm down. The kids don’t need a show. Joe, I’m grateful for the assist but I can speak for myself, baby.” She interjected quietly, pinning my gaze. Her eyes were insistent before she turned back to my sister. “We’re gonna go ahead and go to bed. It’s been a long week and I’m wiped out. There’s no need to upset the kids. Everyone’s already said their piece. I’m an early riser, so I’ll make y’all brunch in the morning.”

  “Chocolate chip pancakes?” Her little nephew cheered, his gap toothed smile nearly making me laugh in spite of everything.

  “Of course, hon. What’s brunch without chocolate chip pancakes.” Molly ruffled his hair and this time when she took my arm I let her lead me away to our room. She didn’t try to launch into conversation, she just got ready for bed. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about things. I’d already said what I had to say. Molly seemed to understand that and when she came back out of the bathroom she just crawled into bed and cuddled up to me, I thought about how she’d diffused things with Tamryn and how she’d handled her nephew. She was mom material, that’s for sure. I wondered what kind of a dad I’d make. Molly’s wandering hands soon took my mind off of things.

  “I thought you were tired?” She nipped my ear and pinned me down on the bed.

  “Do you know how hot you are when you get all protective? You inspired me to take a midnight ride, cowboy.” I glanced at the wall, wondering who ou
r neighbors were.

  “Aren’t you afraid someone will hear us?” She gave me a lecherous grin, then kissed me hard.

  “Guess you will have to be quiet then. Doesn’t that make it hotter?”

  She practically ripped my clothes off and had her way with me, our vigorous lovemaking session helped me wind down enough to fall asleep. Brunch the following morning was quiet and overly polite. Everyone gave controversial subjects a wide berth and focused on the kids and the weather, which had snapped cold. Molly and I did get a few questions, mostly initiated by the children, regarding baby names. We admitted we had a long list of ones we wouldn’t name the babies, but that was as far as we’d gotten.

  My awareness was pulled back to the present by a yellow cab slammed on its breaks right in front of Banger’s. The screech of the tires pulled me out of my review of the debacle at Tamryn’s. Mac and Mason hopped out of the back and Mason snorted.

  “You do realize you literally brought me to a sausage factory, right?” He said to Mac.

  “I figured it was long past time you came out of the closet.” Mac replied so smoothly it sounded rehearsed.

  “Hey.” I called, stepping out of the shadows. Mason eyes shot to me and I could tell that Mac had neglected to tell him I was joining them.

  “Hey…Joe…” Mason dragged out the response. Mac trotted ahead and yanked the door open, waving us both inside before we had to come up with anything else to say. It was a strange dynamic shift, Mac being the peacemaker and Mason and I being at odds.

  Since most of the action was outside, we quickly found a seat indoors and were greeted by an overly friendly waitress. Mac flirted with her a little, but it was a pretty lame attempt. When she walked away, Mason turned to him.

  “Mac, was it insensitive for me to make that sausage factory comment earlier?” Mac looked at him in confusion.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Mason had an innocent look on his face that he normally only wore when he was getting ready to fuck with someone.

  “Well…are you batting for the other team now?” Mac looked like he didn't know whether to smack Mason or laugh at him.

  “Why the hell would you say that?” Mason leaned back and gestured absently at the waitress on the other side of the room.

  “Based on your half assed flirting with our waitress I just figured you might have decided to give up on women.” I choked on a mouthful of beer at the look on Mac’s face.

  “Dude. I’m just not feeling it.” Mac grumbled, kicking back in his seat.

  “No shit, your aren’t feeling it. You’ve got no game. None. That was like whiffing when batting in tee-ball. That girls was practically in your lap.” Mason exclaimed. “No wonder they call this place Bangers.”

  “Quit trying to live vicariously through your single brother, Mason.” I interjected, suspicious that I understood why Mac wasn’t on the hunt. “His hearts not in it.”

  “Normally his heart isn’t the one in charge.” Mason sipped his beer and smacked his lips together in approval.

  I nodded my head in Mac’s direction. “He’s sweet on Kelly.”

  He nodded and took another long swig of his drink. “Yeah…I don’t see anything coming of it.”

  “What happened? She seemed pretty into you at the race. “I sipped my beer and watched him for visual clues. Mac looked pretty broken up about this turn of events, so I wondered what had changed Kelly’s mind about him. “What did you do to screw it up?”

  “Are we talking about Francis’ daughter, Kelly? Jesus, you two need to look up the definition of boundaries.” Mason shook his head and adjusted his cowboy hat. I noticed he hadn’t taken my advice on the head shave, and I wondered if he’d called The Hair Club for Men.

  “Says the guy who married his nurse.” I raised my eyebrows at him in a challenging manner.

  “Touché.” He nodded, as if we’d just finished a duel that ended in a draw. He turned back to Mac. “So how did you fuck things up with Kelly?’

  “Things were going good. I asked her out and she said yes. We went on one date that lasted all of twenty minutes.” I couldn't help it, the smart ass in me just couldn’t resist a right cross.

  “Mac, how many times have we told you to think about baseball?” He flipped me off and Mason laughed. Mac wiped his face and shrugged.

  “I figured we would go out, have a good time and within a few dates end up back at her place. I mean, that ass of hers is smoking hot in tight jeans. Or shorts. She looks pretty good in skirts too. Milk did her body good. She’s gorgeous.”

  “Yeah yeah…spare us the blow by blow, this isn’t Penthouse.” I rolled my eyes, but Mason shot me a dirty look for interrupting.

  “Anyway, I wanted to take to her somewhere we could talk, so I figured the movies was out. I wanted something fun and casual…not too serious.” Mac proceeded, looking a little embarrassed. I’d never seen him seem remotely serious about anyone, not even his ex-wife, so I leaned forward to make sure I heard the details.

  “Good idea. Casual for drinks and conversation. Seems reasonable.” I tried to think of something supportive to say.

  “Says the guy who snuck around all over town with our sister.” Mason snickered, and I actually laughed when I saw how casually he joked about what had once been a huge issue.

  “I didn’t sneak. I just didn’t come to your house and ask your permission to see your 27 year old sister.”

  Mac didn’t seem to hear the exchange, and continued to stare into space.

  “So I took her to Ginny’s.” He continued, and finished off his beer in near record time. He waved to the waitress, who came to take the glass away. “I’ll have another, thanks.”

  I figured he meant Ginny’s Little Longhorn Saloon, which was a tiny little honkey tonk with live music.

  “Was there a band playing?” I asked. “If so, it’s not really the best for getting to know each other…having to shouting over tunes.”

  Mac shook his head, his cheeks flushed with alcohol and embarrassment. “It was Sunday. We went for Chicken Shit Bingo.”

  My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Mason and I burst into laughter, exchanged disbelieving looks, and shook our heads. All of us had spent time at Ginny’s, especially since Austin legend Dale Watson played there. Hell, the place was a local institution. Beyond the music there was another big draw to Ginny’s and that was on Sunday when a chicken named Sissy was set loose in a cage atop a grid lined board below. You bought a card and took your chances. When the bird shits, you could be a winner. The place could be a lot of fun, but it was pretty far down on my list of first date locations.

  One look across the table at Mason and I knew he was thinking the same thing. Mac looked more miserable than I had seen him in a long time.

  Damn, he must really have it bad for that girl.

  “Mac. What the fuck is wrong with you? Did you fall off that new hog of yours and land on your head?” Mason asked, and I raised my pilsners to his. We clinked glasses in a show of solidarity.

  “You don’t take a date to Chicken Shit Bingo, bro.” I agreed, polishing off my beer and nodding at the waitress when she appeared out of thin air, asking if I wanted another. “Not if you want another date.”

  “And not if you want to get laid. Unless you plan on climbing up the chicken’s ass…” Mason was interrupted by the waitress arriving with a huge plate of sausages.

  “We weren’t there for a half hour and the last ten minutes of that she spent in the bathroom. She came out and said she had a headache and took off out the door. I went out after her and saw her hop into a cab waiting outside.” Mac said, not even touching his food.

  “She must have called them from the bathroom.” Mason laughed, but it sounded more astonished than amused.

  “No. There’s an app.” I replied, talking with a mouthful of fantastic food. I made a mental note to bring Molly here as soon as she could drink again. Otherwise, the sight of 150 beers on tap would just piss her off. “You don’t eve
n have to call them anymore. Just select your location and someone shows up. It even shows you when they arrive.”

  “Shit. I didn’t even think of that.” Mac muttered, looking depressed.

  “Ask her for a do-over. One that doesn’t involve animal excrement.” Mason suggested as he dabbed his face with a napkin.

  “This time take her someplace a little more upscale to show you have it in you.” As the words came out of my mouth, I thought about my mother and sister’s reaction to my would-be proposal to Molly. They’d been far kinder to me than I’d been to Mac, considering what a blunder it had been.

  “So…” Mason began, seemingly eager to change the subject. “How are things with you, Joe? Reamed anyone’s ass lately?”

  I sighed, took another bite, and chewed.

  “Not that Granny didn’t have it coming…” He added quickly as if concerned he was about to get a repeat performance out of me.

  “Molly wants me to be more open about my feelings.” I said, without a hint of sarcasm or apology. “My shrink agrees. Sorry about the cheap shots…but I have to admit, it felt pretty good.”

  Mac and Mason looked at each other and did that annoying ‘twin thing’ where they have an entire silent conversation in seconds.

  Mason looked back at me and grinned. “You’re just jealous that I look good in a hat.”

  Mac laughed, and the tension I felt building inside me dissipated. I’d begun to fear that I had irreparably broken something between us. But it seemed like despite my reading the riot act to Granny, we were all still friends.

  “I don’t think I have ever seen the old bird at a loss for words,” Mac said with a snort.

  Mason shot beer out his nose and started coughing as he tried to laugh and swallow at the same time. Once he got his wind back he waved the waitress over and ordered a few pitchers. Over the next few hours we ate meat, drank beer and talked sports. In short, we forgot that any women existed in the world with the exception of our waitress. And her sole purpose was to bring us more beer. Things were going my way, which only means I should have been on my guard.

  Through beer addled eyes I saw someone swaggering toward the table. The swagger should have been my first warning and had I not been so hammered I might have been able to avoid the trouble headed my way. Or not. Karma can be a real bitch and sometimes she comes in the form of an actual bitch.