by Mary Blayney
After a moment, Molly handed Shar the handful of tissues she had crushed into her jacket pocket. “Here. I think you should go back to the hotel with my mother and Marta. You can stay in my room. You look like you could use some rest, and a meal. Then I’ll arrange your transportation back to LA when I get back to the hotel.”
“No!” Shar took the tissues and blew her nose. “No. I’m not leaving Cruz, Molly. You go. Please. You’ve done enough, too much! Ben told me you made all the arrangements to fly Cruz back to LA. But you’ve got a wedding to get to.” Her voice shattered. “I’m so sorry we’ve ruined everything for your special day.”
“Don’t say you’re sorry about that. I mean, with all that’s happened.” Molly fought to stay focused. It was horrible, but she couldn’t go into all the complexities of having to talk to Ben. It was time for Shar to leave.
“I have always admired you so much, Molly,” Shar offered suddenly. “You’re so classy, and so successful in everything you do. And now you’ve met your soul mate, and it’s only going to get better. But please, just put us out of your mind. At least for a couple of days. You’re the one who needs some rest. I’ll call you and let you know how Cruz is doing. When you’re back in California.”
Molly felt as if the ground beneath her feet had suddenly shifted. She was confused by every word coming out of Shar’s mouth.
“Shar, what did you and Cruz argue about?” she blurted out.
Molly didn’t care anymore how badly it would hurt Shar to repeat it. She needed to hear what Shar and Cruz had argued about. It would help her when she spoke to Ben. And while she hated to admit this to herself, Molly wanted to hear Shar say the words aloud, so Shar would realize she had no future with Cruz, no matter what happened next.
Shar exhaled and put both of her hands on her abdomen. “I told Cruz two days ago that he was going to be a father. I’m ten weeks pregnant.”
She shook her head in amazement, a small smile creeping onto her mouth. “I didn’t think I could even get pregnant, so I waited to tell him until I was sure. I’ve always had issues and thought it was a false alarm. But even though I could hardly believe this miracle, I should have told Cruz immediately. So he’d be able to share the experience from the beginning.” Her pale eyes shined with happiness. “You know how loving and sentimental he is. Of course he was furious with me for keeping this news from him.”
Shar walked to the end of Cruz’s bed and leaned on the railing. “I think he was overwhelmed at how the baby is going to change our lives. We had just made all the arrangements to lease a place in Santa Monica for the next year, and he’d given up his September classes, but the last few days he seemed to be brooding about everything. For a couple of days I thought he was going to call the whole thing off. So hearing this news probably made him have to get away from me so he could take it all in. I think he probably came down here to talk to the one woman he always turned to, the woman who’d be most affected by this news.”
She smiled at Molly. “His mother is going to be so thrilled. So please don’t tell Marta about the baby, okay? We’ll wait and let Cruz do it. When he can.”
Shock waves rolled through Molly. She fell into the chair beside the bed as the last remaining energy she had dissipated into the cool, dark room around her.
Shar kept talking, and seemed less hysterical now that she’d opened up. “And please don’t tell anyone else, either. Not even your mother or Mr. Garcia. It will be our little secret for awhile. Yours, mine and Cruz’s.”
This must be what it’s like when you die and float above your body, Molly thought. You listen to those at your bedside, but can’t say what you want to, because your life with them is over. Suddenly the smell of disinfectant and a vague scent of dried blood made her want gag.
She swallowed and staggered to her feet. “I won’t tell anyone, Shar. About any of this.”
“Cruz and I know we can count on you,” Shar said. “We’re so lucky to have you for a friend.”
Molly stared at Cruz’s silent form, close enough to lean down and kiss, but a million miles away. She didn’t dare touch him.
Not now. Not ever again.
“I’m going back to the hotel. Let me know…just let us know how everything goes, Shar. Call my mother as soon as you hear from the doctors in Los Angeles, okay?”
“I will, Molly. Don’t worry. And be sure and take lots of pictures of your wedding so you can show Cruz the next time you’re in town. I know he’ll be relieved he didn’t ruin everything for you.”
Molly nodded and put her head down and hurried from the room. She let her tears fall without brushing them away.
Chapter Eight
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California
August 14, 2010 2 p.m.
Molly stared at the wedding dress hanging on the door opposite from where she sat. Her hair hung dripping wet on her shoulders. Without makeup she looked both thirteen and sixty. The grief and sleeplessness of the last day marked the skin bluish black under her eyes, robbing her green eyes of their luster.
Honey and Lisa and Juju had all come by to see her and offer their support. No one pressed her about the wedding; everyone was waiting, ‘standing by,’ as Jason said. Her mother was resting in her own room, while Marta, Mr. Garcia and Shar had flown back to LA with Cruz.
She was alone, and everyone was waiting for her to tell them how the day would end; twenty or so people scattered up and down the floors around her, unsure what she would decide, though none were as unsure as she was.
Molly walked restlessly to the terrace and pulled her robe closer. Storm clouds were gathered thick and black on the horizon. The bay was choppy and agate grey as the wind whipped the sea birds and the treetops, warning everyone to take cover.
Thank god Cruz’s plane got off before this started, she thought. He was safely in the hospital in Los Angeles. In surgery. Shar had promised to call Jason when it was over.
She sat on the chaise. The roses, her favorite roses, had opened fully in the last few hours and their sweet scent circled around her. She leaned back and closed her eyes, letting her mind tumble back to 4 a.m. so she could once again re–live how she’d found Ben waiting for her when she returned from seeing Cruz at the hospital.
“Molly, darling, I’m so, so sorry,” he’d said.
Carefully she’d put her things down and walked to him.
Ben had folded her into his arms. “If you want to postpone the wedding, I totally understand. I know how much a part of your family Cruz and Marta are. We’ll do whatever you want. No one outside of the hotel knows about any of this yet. Artie’s keeping a tight lid on everything. The press think I’m still in London and that you’re in Santa Barbara, so we have some breathing room.”
Molly had sobbed, but standing in Ben’s embrace all she could think of was Cruz. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
“He might not make it,” she’d told Ben. Tears leaked out of her eyes and her whole body trembled.
“I know, babe, I know. Jason told me. We’re just going to have to wait it out.”
His kindness was sincere and unexpected. And unsettling.
The last few minutes in the car on the drive to the hotel, Molly had steeled herself for a confrontation with her fiancé. For accusations. Instead she’d been met only with compassion.
She picked her head up from his shoulder. “You called Shar. You arranged for her to come here.”
Ben nodded. “It was the least I could do. It’s what I would have wanted someone to do for you, if what happened to Cruz had happened to me.”
Her mind seized on that scenario. Of Ben being almost dead. Of Cruz being hale and hearty, and here with her. She flushed scarlet and walked into the center of the room, putting space between them.
“I don’t know what to do, Ben.”
“It’s okay. You’re in shock. We don’t have to do anything.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you sleep for a couple of hours? Have a shower. We’ll leave all the
plans as they are for now. But we’ll wait and see how you feel after you get a chance to rest.”
“I should go check on mother.”
“I did an hour ago. She’s asleep. She’s fine.” Ben walked up to her. “I’m here for you, Molly. And we’re going to have an incredible future together, no matter when we get married. We’ve got an important film to make together, and friends and family that love us. We’ve got the rest of our lives together. This moment in time is scarred by tragedy, but we will move past it. I’ll help you, with everything. Just don’t panic and do something you’ll regret, okay?”
His words seemed to lay on her skin, not penetrating her skull. She pushed her hair off her head. “You went to my mother’s suite?”
“Yes, and she even let me in.” He chuckled and drew her close. “I might act like an asshole sometimes, but I know when to behave. And I love you, and understand you, and the kind of life you want. I told your Mother that, Molly. She understands that I want the same things you do. And that I’ll be there with you, making sure you get them.”
More tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. She wanted to believe everything Ben said, but her heart was aching, distracting her with a million questions.
Did Shar tell Ben about the baby? she wondered. Had Ben guessed what she’d assumed, that Cruz was coming to Mexico to stop their wedding and take her away?
Would he be behaving this way if he knew what she’d thought? Or what she’d said to Cruz last week?
“I don’t know why Cruz was coming here on that god damned motorcycle,” she finally said.
Ben sighed. “No one does. But I did find out he called the hotel an hour before the accident to speak to Marta.”
“What? Marta spoke to him before the accident? What did he say to her?”
“No. No, she didn’t get the call. The hotel manager told Jason this morning that Cruz had called.” Ben chewed his lip. “Evidently it was a bad connection. He said Cruz wanted to speak to someone, the manager couldn’t make out what he was saying, But he knows Cruz asked for what sounded like “Mah.” Ben sighed. “Marta, I guess. Cruz’s cell must have died because the line went dead. Marta can ask him when he wakes up. Not that it matters now.”
Molly turned her face away from Ben.
He could have been asking to speak to me, Molly thought. ‘Mah…Molly’. Was Cruz calling to tell me about Shar and the baby? Would he do that? Or was he calling to tell me not to marry Ben, to wait for him to get there?
Had Shar been mistaken about everything?
Molly pulled at her hair, strands of it breaking off in her shaking hands. She knew Ben was watching her. She dropped her hands and turned to face him.
There was something in his expression, something inconsistent with his calm and loving words, but just as quickly as she thought she saw it, it disappeared.
And it was just Ben. With a kind smile and clear eyes. More than the movie star she’d met in the ethos when she was a teenager, golden and untouchable. He was the real thing, a man unafraid to open his heart to her while he patiently gave her time for her to decide their future.
Molly inhaled. She felt as if she were standing under a cliff, and if she moved a fraction of an inch the wrong way, an avalanche would fall and she’d be obliterated.
“I need to tell you something, Ben.” She touched his arm. “Cruz and I, we had a discussion last week, after the engagement party. And I told him I, I still…” Molly’s voice broke and she looked down.
“Don’t Molly. Don’t say any more.” Ben embraced her, stroking her hair. “I don’t have the history with you that Cruz did, but I’m a man and I know any man would be crazy to give you up without a fight. And I know you care deeply about him, and always will. But it doesn’t matter to me what you said or what he said. You’re with me now. And when Cruz recovers, he’ll be happy if you’re happy. Don’t get stuck in the past, Molly, because you feel guilty or because you’re worried he might die. Time and tide wait for no one, isn’t that a quote?”
“Time and tide wait for no man,” she whispered.
“Or no woman,” Ben replied. “It’s time to move on.”
Twin emotions, fear for Cruz and relief that Ben was being so empathetic, flooded through her. She took a shaky breath and stepped out of Ben’s arm. “I need a couple of hours to think. And rest. I’ll call you when I get up, okay?”
He looked at her closely, then nodded. “Take your time, babe. That’s the best plan. Call me when you wake up.”
“I will. But Ben, you need to know…”
“Shhh.” Ben pressed his finger to her mouth. “I don’t need to know anything else. Don’t push yourself. I love you, Molly.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll bring breakfast when you get up.”
Ben turned and walked away, the door clicking softly behind him.
That was six hours ago.
Molly pulled her robe closer and stared at the clock. She’d been given six hours to decide the fate of her and Ben as a couple. She thought she knew the answer, though she was still full of turmoil and doubt.
Molly turned and stared out again at the sea.
It was darker now, ominous. As she watched, lightning lit the beach below and a palm tree cracked open and fell in flames on the sand, at the same moment that thunder rumbled overhead. She jumped as the lights dimmed and went out, and then the heavens unleashed a pounding rain. She scrambled to shut the French doors, and stood drenched as the full force of the storm whirled around the hotel. She wanted to run and hide and scream for help, but instead she stood and held the doors closed.
Several moments past until the wind let up and she felt the pressure against the door decrease. Her heart beat so fast she thought she might pass out. Molly moped rain off her face and leaned against the desk and stared out at the still stormy sea. The phone rang.
She answered and listened to her brother’s news. “Thank you,” she said to Jason. “No, you go tell Mom. I’ll come to her room in a few minutes.”
She set the receiver down and turned back to the window as tears welled up and spilled down her face.
Cruz wasn’t going to die. The doctors saved him and said he’s out of danger. He’ll live to be a father. He might not be the same, but who would be, after this past twenty–four hours?
Molly wrapped her arms around herself and sobbed with relief, imagining how joyful Marta must be, and how happy she would be when she got the news of a grandchild. She thought of Cruz, who had always said how much he wanted to be a father one day.
She thought of Shar, the woman who would love Cruz and give him a child and a home. Three things he’d always wanted. Three things that were his priorities.
Molly’s hands trembled, but she breathed deep and exhaled. She had been full of panic for an entire day but now she was calm. She looked across the room at the dress hanging on the closet door. An image of herself as the bride was bright and clear in her mind, as was the life she would begin with Ben. A creative life full of good work and challenges and partnership.
Suddenly Norma’s words from two weeks ago echoed in her head, “He’s not what you think.”
You’re right, Mother. Ben’s not what either of us thought he was. He’s so much more.
The lights flickered back on and her room phone rang again. It was Juju.
“Hey, girl,” Molly said. “I want you to come up in a few minutes, but prepare yourself because you’ve got your work cut out. Give me a half hour, though. I need to call Ben and tell him he’s going to a wedding in a couple of hours.”
Molly smiled at Juju’s shout of happiness. She hung up and quickly dialed Ben’s room. He answered on the first ring.
“You waiting by the phone?”
Ben laughed. “Yeah. Don’t tell anyone, they’ll say I’m losing my edge, waiting on a woman’s phone call. How you doing, babe?”
She heard a hundred different questions in that sentence, but knew she only had to answer one.
“I’m doing fine.” She g
lanced out at the storm. “Especially because the weather is so horrible. I hear that’s a good sign. Isn’t rain on your wedding day supposed to be lucky?”
There was a pause and Ben finally said, “You’re sure? You sure you’re up to this now?”
“I’m sure.”
“Well then, this is the best phone call I’ve ever had. Better than when Artie called and said I’d been nominated for an Oscar.”
That’s probably a lie, but who I am to call out anyone about lying?
“I’ll see you downstairs at three, Ben. And thank you again for being so great about…everything.”
“Hey, we’re a team now, Molly. You and me. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it? Someone to stand by and understand and support you while you follow your dream?”
“That is what I’ve always wanted,” she said. “Now I’m going to hang up and turn myself into a bride! I’ll see you soon.”
“Not soon enough. I love you, Molly Harper.”
“I love you, too, Ben Delmonico.” The words were a relief to say out loud, and to hear them out loud sound clear and true, and believable. Like a well–rehearsed script, a voice in her head sniped.
Like the truth, she told herself with a smile.
Molly crossed the room and opened the door. She was going to go get her mother and they’d both get beautiful and tipsy and celebrate the day and all the good things about it. Hopefully Norma had the same reaction to Ben’s words as she did. She was touched he’d taken the time to go see her mother.
It was time to start a new life and leave the past behind. Cruz once told her no one could predict the future, but all it took to find out what it held was to live in it.
I’m there, she thought, and ran down the hall to her mother’s room.
Chapter Nine
North Potomac, Maryland
August 14th, 10 p.m.
Oh, no, don’t play that one,” Anne said, groaning.
“We have to watch this one, Mom, it’s your anniversary. We always watch videos of you and Daddy making fools of yourselves on your anniversary.” Harry Jr. grinned.