How Sweet It Is

by Brayden, Melissa

  “Excuse me. You wouldn’t happen to be Molly, would you?”

  Saved. “I am, yes. Hi.”

  “Hi, I’m Heather McLucken.”

  Molly accepted the woman’s extended hand and smiled widely. Heather was striking. A tall blonde with twinkly green eyes and a warm smile. Tonight might not be so bad after all. She felt herself perk up almost instantly. “Nice to meet you. I’m Molly O’Brien.”

  Heather squeezed her hand, her eyes lingering on Molly’s for just the right amount of time for Molly to momentarily lose herself in their impressive shade. Suddenly she was so looking forward to dinner.

  “Shall we? I think they have our table waiting. I pulled some strings and got us seated in a quieter part of the restaurant so we can get to know each other. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It sounds fantastic. Thank you.”

  As Molly moved toward the main dining area of the restaurant, Heather opened the door for her, earning a thousand points for good manners. She began brainstorming ways to thank Eden for this. A hug. A day off. An entire tray of truffles. Her firstborn.

  As dinner got underway, things only seemed to get better. The conversation flowed easily, and Molly noticed that the faux confidence she had initially put forth was starting to feel authentic. It was actually kind of fun, this dating thing. Why had she held off for so long?

  Heather took a delicate and rather sexy sip of her wine. “How’s your food? The chef here is one of the best in the state.”

  “I’d have to say that’s evidenced here. The chicken’s cooked to perfection and the marinade accentuates the flavors nicely without overpowering. I’m kind of in heaven over here.”

  Heather leaned her chin onto her palm. “I like the way you talk about food. I’m told you own a bakery.”

  “That’s right. It’s just a small little place in Applewood, but people seem to like it.”

  Heather nodded and covered Molly’s hand with her own. “I hope I’ll get to check it out sometime.”

  Molly’s heart rate noticeably sped up. Me too, Heather-the-tax-attorney. Me too. “Well, you’re welcome anytime. What about you? You must be thrilled now that tax season’s over.”

  “Well, with the exception of all of the extensions we’ve filed, sure. I’m thinking that by next week—I’m sorry.” She held up one finger. “Can we pause this for a minute? I’m getting a call that might be important. So rude, but I need to take it.”

  “Oh, of course. Go right ahead. I can wait. Don’t mind waiting.” So she was a babbling fool, but Heather was attractive and charming and well-spoken. Who wouldn’t have been?

  It was then that Heather pressed a button on her phone and switched into take-charge mode. “Hi, Sal, yeah, I need in on the Celtics/Knicks action. I’ll take the Celtics for a dime.” Pause. She looked furious. “Just extend my credit, you asshole! I’m good for it. Don’t do this to me, Sal.” Pause. “Forget it. I’ll call Jimmy. Oh, and, Sal? Fuck you .” She placed the phone back in her purse, turned back to Molly, and assumed the same serene smile from several moments prior. “Anyway. Yes, next week will be about tying up loose ends at the office.”

  Molly tried to pick up the conversation, really she did, but the person she’d just watched take that call was pretty much terrifying and not at all who she’d just had dinner with. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to get off topic”—she gestured tentatively to the phone—“but is everything all right?”

  Heather sighed. “It will be in a minute. Do you mind if I just…” She picked up her phone and pointed before proceeding to dial.

  Molly raised her eyebrows and slowly went back to her chicken, doing her damndest to ignore the incredibly loud warning sirens going off in her head.

  “Sammy, it’s Heather. I need the Celtics for a dime. You know what, on second thought, make it three.” Pause. “You’re the greatest. Just put it on my tab. I can settle with you in a week or so. I should have some cash coming in if all goes well with the playoffs on Sunday. Ciao.” She leaned into Molly and practically purred. “Now where were we?

  Molly shook her head slowly in wonder. “I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to. Are you into…gambling?”

  Heather held her thumb and forefinger close together. “A minor hobby. Excuse me, sir?” she asked a passing busboy. “Can you get me the Lakers score?”

  He leaned in discreetly. “Two minutes ago they were down by twelve.”

  “Damn it!” she screamed at the room in general, inciting several glares from nearby tables. She grabbed for her phone and dialed angrily. “Bobby, can you get me the halftime betting lines? Now, asshole!” Molly wanted to die. To crawl under the table and die. Instead, she signaled the waiter for the check.

  As she signed the credit card slip for both of their meals, Heather leaned in flirtatiously. “So explain to me how a woman as attractive and seemingly intelligent as you is still single?”

  Molly sighed and set down the pen. “You know what? Single’s not so bad.”

  Later that night, as Molly replayed the details of the date that had gone so terribly wrong, she wondered if it was some sort of sign that it was a bad idea. And for whatever reason, there was comfort in that. Her life wasn’t so bad, she reminded herself. She had her routine, her small group of friends and her family. That should be enough.

  She checked the time. It was late and she was opening the next morning, but she knew what she wanted to do before bed. She snuggled under a blanket on the couch and reached for the remote. Images of their trip to Jamaica, hers and Cassie’s, flickered across her television, and she sighed into the comfort the home video provided. It was her go-to and she stole moments with it whenever she could.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Molly asked from behind the camera. Cassie sat on a beach towel in the sand.

  “Because you’re adorable when you’re concentrating on working that thing.” The breeze caught her blond hair and lifted it. “Put that thing down and come in the water with me. We can stay where it’s shallow if you want.”

  “Wait. Say where we are and what we’re doing first.”

  Cassie smiled and looked straight into the camera. Because she couldn’t help herself, Molly paused the video and stared at the frozen image. The room was silent as Cassie smiled back at her from the screen. The features were so familiar, so beautiful, and full of life. It was when she watched this particular video that she felt closest to Cassie. They’d been so happy on that trip. She hugged the blanket to her and unpaused the DVD. Cassie’s voice filled the room. “It’s June. We’re in Jamaica. And we’re in love. Can we go in the water now?”

  “We can. Blow me a kiss.”

  And she did. Molly rewound it and watched the kiss again. And then the video went dark and she sat in the blackness, already feeling better as she drifted slowly to sleep.

  Chapter Five

  The next day didn’t turn out as planned for Jordan. She woke up early, but the pitter-patter of raindrops on the window was only a sneak preview of the great big storms that would roll in and stay for most of the morning. She knew early on that she wouldn’t be able to finish the shutter job over at Molly’s so instead she headed for the clinic to make herself useful. They were down a receptionist and she’d volunteered to help out whenever she could. That seemed to make her parents happy, which was kind of her goal as of late.

  She spent the morning organizing patient charts and scheduling, skills she’d picked up in high school and slid easily back into.

  Her dad joined her midday in the break room for lunch, cutting his sub sandwich in half for them to split. He still wore his very official white coat she’d admired as a child, the pocket outfitted with a few token lollipops for the younger patients and a few demanding older ones. His hair was entirely gray now, and he’d shaved off the moustache he’d had for much of her childhood. “It’s nice having you around again, Jordana. I could get used to this.”

  She smiled. She and her father didn’t always see eye to eye, but she enj
oyed spending time with him one-on-one. He was a good guy. “You say that to all your kids.” But then that sounded strange because really there was just her and Mikey now.

  He must have seen the realization flicker in her eyes. “Don’t look that way. I still have three kids, you know. Five, counting Teresa and Molly.”

  Jordan nodded solemnly, knowing it was true. She played absently with the corner of her sandwich.

  Her father slid her an inquisitive look. “So how are things with Molly these days? You two do much talking since you’ve been back?”

  “A little. She seems okay. Why do you ask?

  He grabbed for a chip. “Your mother and I worry for her sometimes. She has a lot on her plate with her father’s declining health and managing the bakery all by herself. She’s there at five a.m. each morning and doesn’t leave sometimes until well past dinnertime. She doesn’t let us help enough, and for Cassie’s sake, we should. We should all be watching out for Molly.”

  Jordan nodded and contemplated telling her father about the financial trouble at Flour Child, but decided that Molly had confided in her alone. She should respect that. “I guess I didn’t realize she pulled so many hours. But I think she’s managing.” However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she knew she wasn’t at all convinced.

  “And what about you? When does the studio need you back in the saddle? Or have you decided to listen to reason and leave that world behind?”

  It was no secret that her father found the entertainment industry frivolous in comparison to the rest of the family’s noble work. She was the family black sheep, and she was used to her part. But for whatever reason, she needed to be honest with him in this moment. And she needed for him to understand.

  She bit the bullet and recounted the details of her less than dignified dismissal from the set the week prior. When she finished, she met her father’s eyes, and any hope of understanding or compassion on his part left her immediately. Instead, she only saw disappointment.

  And, as always, it was crushing.

  “That’s no way to conduct yourself, Jordana.” He shook his head in disapproval. “That’s not how you were brought up.”

  “Yes, sir. I know. I lost my temper and had a momentary lapse.”

  “And look what it’s cost you. If I have a momentary lapse when working on an important case, someone could lose his or her life. There’s no room for that kind of behavior if you want to succeed in life. Time for you to grow up, Jordan. I don’t want to have to worry about you so much.”

  She nodded. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.”

  They finished eating in silence before he went back to work. But the air was thick with tension. She put in two more hours in the reception area before packing it in. Her morale was a little low, but she ordered herself to snap out of it as she headed out into the drizzly afternoon. So she was still disappointing her father, she just suffered through it a little quieter these days. Maybe she had grown up.

  *

  Jordan watched Molly anxiously from the corner booth as she pulled down the shades and flipped the Open sign to Closed. “Are you going to tell me how it went last night or make me sit here and wonder? The suspense is too much. I may die.” It was close to five and that meant closing time at Flour Child.

  Molly shot her a look. “Trust me. You won’t die.”

  Jordan sighed dramatically, but truth be told, she felt better hanging out at the bakeshop. It had been a good move to swing by after work. Something about the place was cheerful and light and pulled her out of the mood she’d been in since lunch with her father. Or maybe it was just spending time with Molly, who was strangely very tight-lipped about the whole evening prior. Try as she might, Jordan hadn’t been able to gain much ground in the way of sordid details regarding her blind date. She did, however, manage to score a fluffy blueberry muffin, which she’d polished off quicker than was probably polite. Lucky for her she had a great metabolism or she’d be in real trouble.

  “Good night, all.” Louise puttered by on her way home for the day. “I’d stay and chat, but I gotta make it to my place before Jeopardy starts. Alex Trebek is my sweet boyfriend.”

  Jordan shook her head. “You’re out of his league, Louise.”

  Touched, Louise grinned and moved to Jordan, squeezed both of her cheeks, and then pulled her into a great big hug. “I knew I missed you. You’re too adorable for words and you know how to make an old lady feel good. Come by tomorrow and I’ll set you up with my special cinnamon coffee. I don’t make that for many people.” She squeezed Jordan’s cheek again and headed for the door.

  “You’re on.”

  Molly rolled her eyes but was smiling as she went back to work, refilling the sugar dispensers one at a time.

  Once they were alone, Jordan turned back to Molly. “Please tell me.” She then offered her most hope-filled expression complete with wide eyes and a pouty mouth, which earned her a laugh from Molly. Jackpot.

  “You know what? It was bad. Let’s just leave it there.”

  Oh, that was entirely too little information. Jordan pressed on. “Okay, I can work with bad. Let’s dissect a bit, shall we? Are we talking we-just-didn’t-click-at-all bad? Or I-might-need-to-take-out-a-restraining-order bad?”

  Molly sighed and sank into the booth across from Jordan. “It was more like you-have-a-gambling-problem-and-you’re-not-taking-me-down-with-you horrible.”

  Jordan’s mouth fell open. “Whoa. You got that from a first date?”

  “You have no idea.”

  Jordan reached across the table and covered Molly’s hand, joking now aside. “I know you were hoping it would be painless. I’m sorry it wasn’t.” Molly nodded, and when she looked back at her with those caramel brown eyes, Jordan felt herself melt a little, an uncomfortable pulling now present in her stomach. And here we go…

  “It’s not that. It’s just…I’m starting to think I’m not cut out for this. The whole dating thing. I don’t have the thick skin it seems to require, and let’s be honest; I’m too old to try desperately to impress someone I’ve never met.”

  “Agreed. You’re well into elderly. I know that when I hit my early thirties, I plan to just pack it in immediately. In bed by eight each night. No exceptions.”

  Molly shook her head, glaring. “It’s different for you and you know it. You’ve got this presence, this effortless charisma. And then there’s the fact that you’re just, well, gorgeous, which is just not fair. The rest of us have to try, Jordan. Cut me some slack when I say that I don’t know if I’m up for it.”

  Jordan let her mouth fall open. “You think I’m gorgeous?”

  “Focus, please; we’re talking about me.”

  “Selfish, but okay.” Jordan sat up a little straighter, on a mission now. “I’m afraid it’s time to get serious. Truth or dare.”

  Molly shook her head. “Uh-uh. We’re not doing this.”

  “We are.” Jordan knew when to use the big guns, and this was one of those times. Truth or Dare was the game Molly had used to get Jordan to open up to her when she was young, knowing full well that at the time Jordan thought of it as a sophisticated, older kids game and would therefore honor the rules reverently. Over the years, it developed into a thing they did, which had led to some very valuable conversations. The dare option was rarely utilized, however. It was just an unspoken understanding between them. Truth or Dare was about being honest with each other at all costs.

  Molly’s voice was quiet when she answered obligatorily. “Truth.”

  “Do you believe your life is over at thirty-three?”

  She was silent and seemed to contemplate the question. “No.”

  “Do you deserve to be happy?”

  The words must have affected Molly as her eyes filled slightly. She nodded. “I think so.” And then more firmly, “Yes. I do”

  “And doesn’t it help to say it out loud?”

  Molly relaxed back into the booth, the tiniest of smiles hinted at on her lips. �
��Surprisingly, it does.”

  Jordan brushed her hands together quickly. “Then my work here is done. I’ll send you my bill.”

  Molly shook her head slightly. “Why does everything seem easier when you’re around?”

  It was a compliment and a commentary on the ease of their relationship. In this moment, she felt very connected to Molly, and the smile faded gradually from her face as she answered. “I don’t know.”

  Molly held her gaze and the mood shifted. “Me neither.”

  There was a silence that hung in the air between them. Enough of one to make Jordan feel the need to step in and save them from the somehow weighted moment. “You know, rather than dissect the wonder that is me, can we talk about the rumor I heard at the clinic this morning?”

  Her cavalier tone broke the spell, and Molly was again all smiles as she leaned in, resting her adorable chin on her fist. “If we must. What have you heard?”

  “Jackson, the dueling doctors’ seventeen-year-old errand boy, said that next Saturday happens to be Applewood’s annual April Showers Festival. What say you?”

  “I can confirm said rumor.”

  Jordan felt herself light up from the inside out as she scooted to the edge of her seat in excitement. “Listen, I love this festival. This festival is the stuff small towns are made of. It takes me straight back to when I was a kid. We have to go. Say we can. I want to ride the Ferris wheel.”

  Molly laughed. “I like it when you get all smiley like this. We can definitely go. But a) I hate the Ferris wheel and you know it, and b) you’ll have to entertain yourself, I’m afraid. Or find some unassuming girl to fawn all over you per usual, as I will be working at the Flour Child booth like a good businesswoman should.”

  “Lame. But if you insist, I guess I can be big about this. What will you be selling this year?”

  “That’s just it. This is our chance to debut something noteworthy to a large crowd. People from all over come to this festival. It needs to be something good. Something new that could garner us some attention, and by attention, I mean cash.” An idea sparked behind Molly’s eyes. “You know what? Can I get your opinion on something?” But she didn’t wait for an answer and was already up and dashing behind the counter. Jordan watched after her curiously when she returned just a moment later carrying a small plate with a solitary chocolate truffle in the middle.