They walked quietly in the darkness at first, a casual distance apart. They weren’t out of reach of each other, but they weren’t close enough to bump by accident either.
Beth had abandoned Molly, claiming she was too tired and wanted to go to bed. Coward, Molly thought, but then wondered who she was directing it at.
Seth took a deep breath and let it out again as sort of an aaaahhh sound. “It’s a nice night.”
“Yes. It’s that time of year.”
“It’s about time. I was sick of sweating my tail off at night.”
“Mmm,” was all Molly could think to say to that. She wasn’t sure she could handle visualizing Seth’s sweaty ‘tail’ at that moment.
He jammed his hands in his pockets and walked, kicking small rocks in front of him. “I know you’re friends with Beth and everything, but if you ever need someone to talk to or whatever, you can always…I almost said call me, but you can’t really do that, can ya?”
“Nope. Not really.” She realized too late that he’d gone out on a limb there and she left him hanging a little bit. “But thanks for the offer, I’ll keep it in mind.” Idiot, she thought.
They rounded Molly’s street and her little house was barely visible in the moonlight, tucked between her neighbors. “You know, I’ve always loved your house, even when we were kids. I thought it was the coolest one,” Seth said.
“What? That’s not true. Why on Earth would a small boy pay any attention to one house over another?”
A mischievous smile crept across his face. “Probably because yours was the one we always said was haunted.”
Molly raised her right eyebrow. “Huh.”
“Yup. Old Man Kratchet lived there, and used to collect kids. They say his soul remains to torture the kids that are foolish enough to come too close to the house.”
“Old Man Kratchet? Like, Bob Kratchet, from The Christmas Carol? Couldn’t you be a little more original than that?”
“Hey, the Kratchet name is not exclusive to that story! It’s true. I’m surprised you haven’t seen him in all the years you’ve been living there.”
They walked up her porch steps and she turned to him. “Somehow, I don’t think I’ll lose sleep tonight.”
He put his hand on the door jam and leaned over her. “Well, if you do, you know who to call, so to speak.” He brought his face mere inches from hers. She could smell his breath; remnants of pie filled her senses. He leaned in even closer, and Molly started to panic.
He’s going to kiss me! The emotions battling in her mind left her frozen, reacting neither proactively or reactively. Her desire for the kiss shocked and horrified her. Her insides were in turmoil as he inched closer and closer.
“WATCH OUT!” he shouted.
Molly wasn’t as much of a screamer as she was a gasper. She sucked in a huge amount of air and leapt into his arms faster than he could blink. He had quick reflexes and caught her easily, however his laughter disabled the use of his legs and he fell flat on his butt. They sat in a heap on the floor, tears streaming down his face, anger written across Molly’s.
She sprang up, leaving him clutching his middle and trying to get his breath. “You should’ve seen your face.” At which point, he made a terrible attempt at recreating her expression mere moments before.
She brushed the front of her shirt and pants off for no other reason than to have something to do. “Yes, well, we’ll see who Bob Kratchet haunts tonight.”
Seth’s eyes sparkled. “I never said his first name was Bob.”
Molly opened the front door and stepped inside. “Well, maybe I know him better than you think.” She closed the door on him, leaving him standing on her front porch.
25.
She came to Gary in a dream. He stood in a garden, surrounded by hundreds of flowers. They were white, strung together and draped from the trees all around them, creating a magical atmosphere.
She walked towards him in a white dress, with something sparkling in her dark hair. The dress hugged her delicate curves, but was also modest and classy. It was perfect.
As she came towards him, he had a feeling they weren’t alone, but he could only see her.
She was small but beautiful, with olive-toned skin and dark eyes. In that moment, she was everything he needed.
He woke up confused and excited all at once. Was she real, or just someone I created?
He lay awake the rest of the night thinking about her. Picturing her eyes, so dark you couldn’t see where the color stopped and the iris began. Dreaming about touching her silky hair. Imagining what her kiss would be like. Wondering who she was.
In the morning, he mentioned the dream to Julia. He was out of his mind about it, but he tried to act casual. “So, I had a dream last night about a woman, what do you make of that?”
She smacked the flour from her apron and said sternly, “I don’t need no details ‘bout some dream ‘tween you and a woman.”
Gary turned six shades of red and cleared his throat. “Not that kind of dream, Julia. I think it was a wedding.” He paused. “My wedding.”
She sat in the chair across from Gary and snatched a biscuit out from the bread basket. “Well, let’s hear ‘bout it then.”
She sipped her tea and he tried to sort it out. “Well, there wasn’t much to it. Just her. I could see her clear as day. And she was so… beautiful. Mesmerizing, really.” He hesitated. “In fact, I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Isn’t that something? It’s funny how yo’ mind works yo’ problems in the night.” She chuckled to herself as she got up from the table, sipping her tea.
“Well, what do you make of it?”
“I think the better question is, what do you make of it?”
“Do you think she’s real?”
“I ‘reckon she might be. Or, she could just be somethin’ yo’ mind made up when you’s thinkin’ ‘bout how lovely I am.” She laughed at herself and swatted Gary with a towel. “Now, quit hangin’ around my kitchen and get to work.”
Gary thought about the woman in white all day while he was helping Judd tend the animals in the barn. Judd had to get his attention more than once to keep him from getting kicked.
“What’s with you today?” he asked when they were finishing up.
After the less than helpful chat with his mother, Gary wasn’t quite ready to discuss the mystery woman again. “Nothing. Just distracted I guess. Sorry. I’ll try to be more focused tomorrow.”
“Well, you just better. We’re working with the big machines tomorrow, and you’ve got to be on your game with that stuff or someone can get hurt.”
“I know.”
He smiled and clapped his hand on Gary’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s go see what Momma’s got cookin’.”
After a hearty meal, Gary lay awake thinking about her. She haunted him. It was ridiculous. Almost like he was in love with her – with a woman he dreamed up.
A thought occurred to him, and he sat up in bed.
“She’s my wife,” he whispered to the darkness.
26.
Molly lay awake that night thinking about the men in her life. It was ridiculous. Seth wasn’t really in her life. He was barely a friend. He was her co-worker’s sibling. He’d been a nice guy and walked her home last night. They had an easy conversation, he played a typical boy’s practical joke, and that was it. The infatuation she’d recently developed for him was nothing more than the void left by Gary’s complete and total absence needing to be filled.
If Gary had developed a similar infatuation – because of course, that’s all it was – Molly would have to learn to be understanding. She realized she was clenching her teeth, and it was starting to give her a headache. She took a deep breath and was trying to relax when a terrifying thought hit.
What if he’s decided to stay with her? What if he’s made a life with her, and isn’t trying to come back here? What if he is alive, but has chosen not to come home? The thought was worse than thinking he’d died,
and she allowed herself to wallow in it for only a moment. Something like that was completely out of character for Gary. He was devoted to her, to them, to the life they’d built. If he was alive, he was working to come home. Molly knew it.
Yet, Molly was totally devoted to Gary, too, but she had allowed this seed into her life - a seed that had planted itself in her mind and grown into nearly an obsession. Thinking about him made her heart race, and her breath come faster. This flourishing fantasy had to be killed before it drove itself between Gary and her.
Problem was, Molly didn’t know how to kill it.
She was sleeping hard when she heard the screaming. Dug was at the back door barking before she could get dressed and oriented. An odd smell filled the air, like…burning.
Smoke.
She grabbed Dug’s leash and lashed him to it quicker than she ever had and darted out the back. An eerie orange glow pierced the darkness to the west.
Holy shit. Molly’s neighbors weren’t up, and she didn’t know what to do, so she and Dug ran for Burt’s house. The street seemed to run parallel to the glow, and she kept her eyes on it the whole time.
Molly pounded his door, but no one answered. Maybe he already knows?
Then, she thought of Beth and her family, followed closely by Jimmy. Their homes were in opposite directions. Deciding Jimmy could probably fend for himself, she ran west towards the glow. It got brighter and smokier as she ran with the wind in her face. She choked on ash and panic when she realized the wind was blowing the fire towards the beach, and most of the town stood in its way.
The McMiller household was close enough to the blaze to hear the dull roar of flames. Molly pounded on their door relentlessly. Dug barked, adding to the noise. After her hands were raw, she finally heard movement inside.
Seth answered the door bare-chested and bleary-eyed. The sight of him took her breath away and she forgot why she was there.
“Molly?” He mashed his palm into his left eye.
“Seth. There’s a fire.” There. Message delivered.
“What?”
“FIRE!” She yelled and pulled him out onto the porch. She pointed towards the light in the uncomfortably close distance.
“Holy shit!” He yelled, voicing Molly’s sentiments. He turned back into the house, “Beth, Mom! Get up! FIRE!” Then he ran straight for the blaze.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
“We have to do something!” he shouted back, not taking the time to look back at Molly as he ran.
She decided against arriving empty-handed and went into the house. She found Beth and her mother coming downstairs. “What’s going on?” Beth asked.
“Beth! There’s a huge fire! We have to get it out before it takes out the whole town.”
“Oh my God. What can we do?”
Molly ran to the kitchen and collected as many deep pots as she could find. “Do you have any buckets or anything?”
“Yeah, I think so, in the garage.”
“Grab them, and meet me at the well!”
By the time they arrived, a group was gathered at the well, including Burt.
“Hey.” Molly said as they approached. Dug wagged his tail and Burt patted him on the head absently. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, I think we’re trying to come up with one.”
“What about forming a chain and passing water down and trying to douse it that way?”
“I don’t have any better ideas. I don’t think it’ll be effective enough, but we have to try something. Jimmy’s down there with a bunch of guys throwing sand on it to try and keep it from spreading.”
“Great! Keep them there, don’t you think? Enough water might just tip the scale.”
So that’s what they did. People lined up in the darkness and passed buckets of water one way, empty buckets the other.
Despite the cooler temperatures of the night air, they were all sweating from the work. Molly tied Dug to her ankle to free her hands and he sat patiently at her feet while they worked.
After what seemed like hours, word from what had been deemed the front line wasn’t good. The fire wasn’t spreading per se, but it wasn’t going out, either. The woods where it was burning were dry from lack of rain, and the arid grass added fuel. It was burning dangerously close to a few homes, and no one was sure how long they could keep at it.
Beth stood next to Molly passing buckets. “Where do you think Seth went?”
“He’s probably one of the ones throwing sand on the fire, don’t you think? He ran straight for it.”
She frowned. “I hope he’s being careful.”
Molly’s arms burned with fatigue. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep passing water. As the sun crested the horizon, a grey sky was revealed. “Maybe it’ll rain and put the fire out,” she hoped out loud.
“I think it’s been cloudy for quite some time, Molly. I couldn’t see the moon when we came down here.”
Molly hadn’t noticed. If that was true, these clouds weren’t their savior.
Finally, Molly had to sit down. The sun had been up for a while, and if it could be seen, she estimated it would be clearing nearby roofs. Beth kept passing, and when Molly stood back up, she took a break. They traded back and forth like that until Mrs. McMiller came by with a loaf of bread and some water.
“Get some nourishment, girls,” she insisted. Beth took hers first, then Molly. They couldn’t totally stop the flow of water, or the fire would win.
“Have you seen Seth?” Molly asked.
“No.” Gone were Mrs. McMiller’s words of faith, assurance and hope.
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
She only nodded and kept walking with her “nourishment.”
Molly turned to Beth as she passed the bucket of water. “He’s fine.” He has to be. He’s just busy fighting the fire, like we are. Jimmy is there. He’ll keep those guys safe, she thought.
Then it happened. Molly felt a rain drop. She looked around, searching for others, but didn’t see any. She thought she’d imagined it, but her shoulder was wet. “Beth,” she started, and then a fat drop hit Beth square on the top of the head.
“Oh,” she said.
Their saving grace rained down harder than they’d seen in weeks, and they all stood in it, laughing. Molly looked at Beth and they put their buckets down and started running. Molly forgot about Dug, though, and tripped over the leash tied to her ankle. She tumbled spectacularly to the ground.
Beth turned to see if she was OK. “No, no, I’m fine, go on! I’ll be right behind you.” Dug was confused, but excited to be running after sitting for so long, and they were up and on Beth’s heels quickly.
When she arrived at the edge of the smoldering fire, Beth was looking north and south, rapidly scanning for her brother. The steam and smoke made it difficult to see clearly. Molly jogged along the burnt remains of the field, searching for Seth. People, mostly men, were lying on the wet grass, faces towards the heavens, utterly spent. None of them were Seth.
She did spot Jimmy sitting in the charred remains of a grassy area. He was filthy, soot on his face and covered in the dirt he’d been flinging on the fire. She smiled at him, relieved to see he was OK. He took a drink from a metal can and nodded her way.
She still hadn’t seen Seth, so she doubled back and spotted him. He was hugging Beth, his back to Molly. Their mom had caught up with them as well and was resting her hand on his shoulder, misty-eyed. Molly skidded to a halt at the scene. A complete family. She smiled. No one was hurt. They were all there, and she wasn’t one of them.
She looked down at Dug. “Well, I guess we should go home.”
She turned to walk away and heard her name.
“Molly!” Beth called out. She turned to see her break her embrace with Seth and run towards Molly. Seth quickly overtook her and gathered her in his arms, jerking Dug’s leash.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” he breathed into her hair.
“What else would I be?”
<
br /> He put Molly down and she glanced uncomfortably at Beth. She cleared her throat. “You wanna come back to our place for a bit? Grab some lunch or dinner, or whatever it’s time for?”
Molly looked to Mrs. McMiller for approval and she smiled. “I don’t know. Maybe you guys should be alone, get some rest.”
“Nonsense, dear. Come get a bite with us.”
After they ate whatever meal it was supposed to be, their mom announced she was going to take a nap. Molly settled heavily into their couch and Seth sat down next to her, as close as he could get without touching her.
They were all exhausted, and their chatter petered out before long. Molly snuggled down into the couch a little further and was asleep before she knew it.
When she woke up, Dug’s head was in her lap. She was confused for a moment, not remembering where she was. She blinked a few times, and then realized an unfamiliar weight was draped on her shoulders and her head was resting against something warm. She glanced down and saw Seth’s bare stomach. She was leaning on him, practically cuddling with him.
Molly jerked away from him, roughly moving his arm in the process, and he woke up. “What time is it?” He didn’t even acknowledge their positioning.
She looked out the nearest window. “It’s dark again.”
He stretched. “Mmm.”
Beth was asleep in a nearby chair. “Want me to walk you home?” Seth asked.
She hesitated. No, I don’t. She wanted to end this behavior that so frequently danced on the line between appropriate and not. But she also didn’t want to walk home alone in the dark. Dug yawned lazily. “I have Dug with me. We should be fine.”
“Wrong answer. Let’s go.”
She kept Dug between the two of them as they walked back to her house. They were both tired, so the walk was quiet at least. When they got to her doorstep, she turned to him. “Well, thanks for walking me home, Seth.”
He looked deep into her eyes, admiring their beauty. Molly wondered if he enjoyed turning her insides to jelly that way. “Anytime.”
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