by Davies, Cora
Jack touched her bare shoulder, and Molly's body shuddered under the touch as she remembered what those fingers could do to her. "I had something, some long speech, to tell you when I got here. But one look at you and it's all gone. My brain is mush. Just, don't go out with him tonight Molly. Just stay here, end that thing. He is toxic for you, even in small doses."
"I wish I didn't have to," she said reaching for his hand. "But I promised."
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Jack took her hand and raised it to his mouth. "I don't trust him Mols. Please, if you were serious about this, about us, you wouldn't go."
"I am serious about us, but I have to go. Jack, please understand."
"I can't understand Mols, not when it comes to him." Jack lowered her hand, but did not let go. "I want to be with you Molly, but if you leave here with him tonight, I don't know if I can be. I’ve wait too long to share your heart with someone else."
“This has nothing to do with Jeremy. This is about his family, I’ve grown close to them the past two years, and I love Lucinda,” Molly said.
“Then, if it has nothing to do with Jeremy, let me take you.” Jack said and for a moment Molly felt lost in his shining green eyes.
“I’ll be home before you know it,” Molly promised. She and Rachel had dropped her car off at the country club earlier that day so Molly could make a quick escape without anyone noticing. She planned to go long enough to be seen by everyone. Hopefully she would even get to spend a little one on one time with Lucinda, then she would sneak out.
The bell over the door chimed and Molly jerked her hand away from Jack. Jeremy and his mother walked into the store bringing in sounds from the busy street outside. Molly did her best to ignore the hurt look on Jack's face as the pair approached.
Lucinda Hudson was one of those women who aged very fast. Molly always thought that was due to the stress caused by Jeremy and his brothers. In their teens and early twenties, they raised hell all over town, breaking hearts as they did it- Jeremy's brothers were just as handsome as he was after all. During the past few years when she had fallen ill, she seemed to age faster than ever before.
"Molly, my love," the older woman approached Molly with her hands extended for a hug. "I'm so sorry we haven't been round to call Molly. Frank returned home to us at the end of summer, and we've just been so busy."
"I completely understand." Jeremy's brother Frank separated from the military last year. Rumor had it that he had been running into trouble ever since he got home.
Lucinda looked at Rachel and Jack and nodded, smiling politely. She seemed to be oblivious to the standoff that was happening between Jack and Jeremy. "I was so excited when Jeremy told me we were going to see you and your parents this evening at our family dinner."
Jeremy stood beside Molly and wrapped his arm around her bare shoulders tracing his finger down her upper arm. Jeremy’s touch made her flinch a little, hopefully unnoticed by Lucinda, but Molly’s ease about the evening from earlier was gone. She glanced at Jack from the corner of her eye, and could see his fists as they balled up at his sides.
"Molly has been busy with her little Dickens Village project and doing her little arts and crafts. I guess she has just kind of forgotten about everyone else besides herself." Jeremy said pulling Molly closer.
Molly wished she felt surprised that Jeremy would say something like that. She had a feeling he would be taking jabs at her all evening, that way when they did announce their breakup after Christmas, everyone would say how much better off he was without her.
Molly looked at Jack and saw the anger building in his eyes as he kept watch on Jeremy's hand. Jack had picked up a beautiful hand carved wooden candlestick and was rolling it between his fingers. She just hoped he did not use it to bash Jeremy over the head in front of his mother. She shrugged Jeremy's arm off her shoulder to grab her jacket.
"Oh it is darling out there," Lucinda said. "I've never seen anything like the Dickens Village this time of year."
"Molly has organized a lot of what you see throughout Main Street," Jack said surprisingly in an even tone. Molly wished he would shut up though. "Dickens Village is one of the biggest revenue makers for the Main Street owners every year."
"Oh, is that so?" Lucinda nodded enthusiastically towards Jack, then turned back to Molly. "I always said it is a blessing for Jeremy to have found someone who is not only beautiful and kind, but also business savvy. We will have to tell his father about the revenue thing, he just loves stuff like that."
"Mmm," Jeremy said squinting towards Jack before offering his mother his elbow. "Time to go."
The trio walked toward the door, and Molly refused to look at Jack again. She was afraid if she looked at him she would back out of this and would have to confess the lie to Lucinda. She could not add any more stress on the poor woman this holiday season. Jeremy draped his arm over Molly’s shoulder again, then dropped to squeeze her ass. Molly heard the distinct sound of something breaking in half.
“You break it you buy it Jack,” Molly heard Rachel said just before the door shut behind them.
Chapter Twenty-One
The country club was beautiful as always. The Christmas decorations and beautiful classical Christmas music that pumped through the speakers relaxed Molly in a way she did not think was possible that evening. Most of the round tables were empty, people were milling about the room visiting. Molly thought it looked more like a formal Christmas themed wedding rather than a family Christmas gathering.
If only she was here with Jack and their friends instead of Jeremy, the night would be perfect. As it was, Molly's parents were ignoring her to rub elbows with some of Seaside Cove's finest, and Jeremy was flirting with a blond woman she did not recognize. A typical dinner at the club for her.
Jeremy had brought Jack up several times on the drive over, and though she was sure that Lucinda did not understand the insinuations, Molly sure understood what Jeremy was implying. He looked at her from time to time as he spoke with the blond, and Molly was sure he was attempting to make her jealous. Instead, she was just growing angrier by the moment that she had agreed to go along with this for Jeremy’s mom, but he was not trying at all.
So, she sat quietly by herself. Jeremy's family members were always kind and polite to Molly, but she had never made too much of a connection with any of them except his mother and his brother Frank. Lucinda was seated at the head table, and family members were taking turns talking to her, as if it were goodbye.
She poured a little honey in her tea cup and stirred it as she let her thoughts trail to Jack. He had been right; this whole thing was a bad idea. But the more she realized she just wanted this whole charade with Jeremy to be over, the more she thought about why she was here in the first place. The thought of losing Lucinda made Molly angry at her own selfishness.
"I have no idea what you're doing with my brother," a man said putting his hand on her back, and she turned delighted to see Frank. She stood to hug him, and he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her slightly off the floor. She laughed, relieved for a moment to stop feeling sorry for herself. "Mind if I sit here?"
"Please." Molly pulled out the chair next to her and Frank sat down. She had not seen him since he had been back to town, but the rumors of bar fights and letting himself go had reached her ears. He still looked as healthy and strong as he did all those years ago when he joined the military. The main difference were the bloodshot eyes, and the drink she noticed he had in his hand all evening. He no longer kept his short buzz cut, but his blond hair was hanging scraggly, and a beard had begun to grow on the once smooth face. Maybe some of the rumors were true.
Frank took a sip of his drink, then, as if reading her mind, he said, "You look the same Molly. I swear you don't age."
"I wish I could say the same for you Frank." Molly smiled weakly. She had never been able to lie to Frank.
He threw his head back and laughed loudly. A few people looked over in disgust including Jeremy,
and Frank glared back at them. "I always could get the truth out of you, couldn't I Mols?"
"What happened to you Frank?" She was not sure of the protocol; could she just ask brazenly like that? But it was too late to take it back now.
"Maybe I'll tell you one day.” Frank looked into his glass as if there could be answers in the bottom, then focused his gaze on Molly. “But right now I'm actually here to ask you the same question."
She raised her eyebrow. "Nothing happened to me."
"No really, what happened Molly? I've never seen you just sit over in a corner, weeping into your coffee." Frank flicked the handle of her teacup.
"It's tea. And I'm not weeping." Molly felt suddenly defensive.
"Either way, my brother’s a prick, I know he is, you know he is. But you guys used to have fun together. Jer is a bigger ass now, we all see it. Why the hell are you still with him?"
Molly looked into her cup again instead of answering Frank.
"Are you trying to cheer her up?" Lucinda asked sitting down next to Molly. Oh good Lord. She looked up to see if Jeremy had noticed she was being questioned by his mother and brother. Would Jeremy see they were fooling no one? Jeremy was of course still busy with the blond. She was flirting back shamelessly, cocking her head to the side and tucking her short hair behind her ear.
Molly felt her irritation dangerously close to bubbling over. Jeremy had insisted on this ridiculous act. There he was picking up another girl right in front of her, while she could not even be with the man she loved.
She felt the urge to leap from the table and ran towards the exit, but Lucinda was looking at her. Molly forced herself to focus back on the reason she was here. Even if the woman’s own son could not. "Are you having a good time Lucinda?"
"I am, but I wish you were, too," the older woman said.
"Oh, I am. I'm just tired."
"I'm old, not blind as you all seem to forget." Lucinda chuckled softly.
Molly looked at the woman in surprise. Her words were pointed, but she did not sound angry. "I don't know..."
"She means you and Jeremy," Frank said. "I'm pretty sure everyone who isn't focused only on themselves has picked up on it." Frank looked around the room. "So I guess that would be me and Mom."
"Frank," Lucinda touched her oldest son tenderly on the cheek. "Why don't you go busy yourself elsewhere for a little while? There is a pretty girl over there who keeps looking at you. Maybe you should ask her to dance?"
"That’s the last thing I should do," Frank grumbled, but stood and touched Molly's arm. "Whatever you do, I'm your friend. Don't forget that."
Molly and Lucinda watched as Frank walked over to the bar for another drink. "Is he going to be okay?" Molly asked.
"I don't know. The last deployment was hard on him," Lucinda said looking sadly at her oldest son. "He saw things that no man should ever see. Did things I never wanted a child of mine to have to do. And then he had to come home to find his mother is dying." Lucinda turned to face Molly. "Life is so short, we all have the power to control our own happiness if we just take that control in our hands. Do you understand?"
Molly did not answer, but felt herself squirm under the woman's stare. "Molly, I'm going to tell you something that only a few people on this planet know, and I need you to promise to keep this secret to yourself. Can you do that for me?"
Molly already felt as though the weight of the world was on her shoulders, but she agreed. "Yes Lucinda, I won't tell anyone."
"I want to make sure you understand about happiness. A long time ago, I was a young woman, just like you if you can imagine it. I fell in love with Frank's father. We had a beautiful affair, a whole summer together, and then the fall came and he left for work. A fisherman.” Lucinda paused and smiled with a faraway look in her eyes. Molly looked at Alexander. He had never been a fisherman had he? Molly always thought he came from money. Oh, unless…
Lucinda continued. “Shortly after he left I discovered I was pregnant with Frank. I told my mother, and immediately my mother and father went to work to find a suitable husband for me. You see, Frank's father was from a working class family. That was the life he grew up in, and I could not be married to a man like that. It would bring shame to the family. Imagine that! Even in the 1970s. I hope if I had been a young woman today I would have run off with him, but I could have done it then too. It was not common, but it was not unheard of.
"My father offered Alexander's father a tremendous amount of new business for his company if he could convince Alexander to marry me. It was almost enough, but until my father gave Alexander a large amount of stock in our family business, he would not agree. Alexander was born with dollar signs in his eyes." Lucinda blinked a few tears back, and Molly took the woman’s hand in her own, surprised by how cold it was. How frail it felt. "The only people left alive who know Alexander is not Frank's father are myself and Alexander. I've never even told Frank."
"Who, Lucinda who was it?" Molly asked feeling as though the wonderful difference between Frank and the rest of his family made sense now.
"That is one I will take to my grave. Alexander has never asked me, he doesn't care. He really imagined he bought Frank when he bought me." She sounded distant. "I never stopped loving Frank's father though, he was the love of my life. But now it's too late to go back in time, and I would do anything to go back. I should have told him and said goodbye to this life. But instead I accepted what I was told to do."
"It's not too late Lucinda," Molly insisted feeling her heart break for the old woman.
Lucinda patted Molly's hand. "But it is. I'm dying sweetheart. No now, put those tears away. I have accepted it. My only wish left is for my children to be happy. That is what will bring me happiness now. But, my dear, it is not too late for you. What is holding you to this relationship with Jeremy?"
Molly stared at her hands. She could not tell her, she was the reason, the only reason she was pretending to still be with Jeremy.
"Your parents? Is it money? Business connections?" Molly looked at Lucinda in shock as she said these words. "I'm sorry my girl, these are the words that rule my household. I shouldn't assume that about you, but please, tell me so I can understand."
Molly drummed her fingers against the table top. "Just through the holidays," she whispered. Lucinda said nothing, so Molly raised her voice slightly. "Just through the holidays. Jeremy loves you so much, he didn't want to upset you about our breakup. He wants you to be happy."
Lucinda nodded and chuckled a little sadly. "I suspected as much. Everyone and these eggshells they are making themselves walk upon just for me. I never asked anyone to live their life for me. Is there somewhere else you want to be right now Molly? Somewhere that would make you happy?"
Jack's face flashed through Molly's vision and her heart leapt with joy. "There is."
"Then please, don't sit around here another minute being sad to make me happy. Go where you need to go, I guarantee he won't notice." Lucinda looked at Jeremy and Molly saw sadness pass through the woman’s expression. "I love all my sons, but some are more like their father than the others."
"Are you sure I should go?" Molly asked, and when Lucinda nodded she reached over and hugged the woman. "I love you Lucinda. I will come see you soon."
"I love you, too. Now go." Lucinda shooed Molly away.
Molly stumbled towards the door, her feet aching with each step. She wished she had worn her flats. As she was waiting for the coat closet attendant to return with her jacket, she bent down and pulled the stilettos off her aching feet. When she stood back up, Jeremy was there.
"Where the hell are you going?" he asked just loud enough for her to hear as he grabbed her arm.
"Oh please Jeremy, you've had your nose so far up that blond's skirt since we got here, you haven't even noticed I'm here!"
"What did you tell my mother?" he asked pulling her in closer. “If you screw this up for me, I swear Molly, God help you.”
“Screw what up?” Molly asked. “
Jeremy, she doesn’t care if we’re together, she just wants you to be happy.”
“You are so fucking naive sometimes, I swear. I have no idea what I ever saw in you in the first place.” Jeremy loosened his grip, but he did not let go.
“What are you talking about?”
“This wasn’t about making my mother happy, this was about my inheritance. I heard her talking to the lawyer, the only way she was going to leave me stock in my grandfather’s business was if I was engaged to you.” Jeremy looked angrier than Molly had ever seen him.
“We’re not engaged,” Molly said trying to pull her arm away. She looked around for help, but the coat attendant was still gone, and the door to the dining room was shut.
“Not yet, I was going to ask you here, in front of everyone so you’d feel obligated to say yes.”
“What? I wouldn’t have gone along with that!” Molly said. Jeremy had lost his mind. “And besides, you weren’t helping anything by flirting with that woman all night.”
“I had to ensure I had something to do tonight after I dropped you back off for the barkeep. Yeah, I know. He didn’t punch me for the hell of it.” Jeremy pulled her in close. “You are not going to screw me out of my company.”
"Let go of me before I scream," Molly ordered, but instead of letting go, Jeremy gripped her other arm.
"You aren't leaving," Jeremy said pulling her closer to him. She could smell the hot whiskey on his breath and knew there was only one way to get out of here.
"Yes I am." Molly let out her breath and kneed Jeremy in the groin as hard as she could. He cried out in a voice that was too high for his large frame, and fell over onto the ground. She heard laughter and turned back towards the dining room door.
"I was just going to see if he was bothering you, but I guess you got it under control," Frank said as he grabbed Molly's coat from the attendant who had just appeared. Frank helped her slide her arms in. "Get out of here killer."
