The Gravity of Love

by Thomas, Anne

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  Chapter 2 Sometimes the Sun goes 'Round the Moon

  "What do you call a clock that's big hand pointed at the six...and it's noon?" Harrison asked as he came in to her apartment, where she was comfortably seated on her sofa with her laptop resting on top of her lap.

  "Hmm?" She replied, barely listening.

  " A broken clock." He replied, pointing to her main clock. It was a charming little cookoo clock, one that she valued greatly and had brought from her Vermont home an heirloom of her father's. But it was true it no longer worked. Well, at least the hands didn't. On each hour the cookoo bird still popped out of its little nest inside of the clock to greet whoever was there for him to announce the hour to.

  But even though it was old and the odd piece stuck out like a sore thumb, Molly still loved it. And Harrison continued, as he always would, to tease her and make fun of it.

  "Leave Daddy's clock alone." She said with a grin.

  "You know, it wouldn't be so bad if you had a clock besides this one. The only other is in your bedroom to wake you up and the one on the microwave but even that one is the wrong time! Get a decent clock."

  "I was doing bills yesterday. I can't afford anything let alone stupid things like clocks it's what my watch is for."

  "You mean the watch you had since you were sixteen?" He asked with a smirk.

  "It's a nice watch!"

  "It's going to die at any moment."

  Molly covered her watch with her hand, as if being protective of it. "Unless you're willing to refurbish my home with the little money you have yourself, I don't think you should be insulting my stuff." She replied, her watch covered wrist laying close to her heart.

  He let out a soft chuckle. "Always the Daddy's girl and never to grow out of it."

  She frowned. "So? What's wrong with that?"

  He shook his head. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's actually kind of cute."

  She wrinkled her nose, squinting at him with that look she always gave him when he was teasing her but didn't know what to say to it.

  He started to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Molly rolled her eyes at Harrison. "Come in." She yelled.

  The door opened to reveal Marty and Josiah standing there with drinks and movies in their hands.

  Harrison cocked an eyebrow. "What, do you have movie night here every night or something?" He asked her.

  She shook her head with a light laughter. "No, just twice a week. Come on in guys and we'll get it all ready. Harrison, you staying?"

  His head was tilted, staring at her with an awkward facial expression. "Why was I not invited to this?"

  Marty and Josiah looked at them in surprise. "You didn't invite Harrison?" They echoed.

  She shook her head and grabbed the movie from Marty's hands. "There are reasons for it. Good reasons. Harry, why don't you sit and tell our lovely friends some stories while I cook up some snacks?" But he shook his head. "No, why wasn't I invited?"

  Grinning, she put the video in the kitchen, then walked back out to him, leaning on the arm of the sofa that he was sitting beside. "Tell them about the year you went to college just for Buckeye Joe. It'll lead to the reason why you weren't invited. Come on, buy me some time here."

  Harrison, still wary of her reasons, just shook his head lightly, then waited until the two eagerly took seats before telling his story.

  "Uh...okay. Well, the whole reason why I went to a year of college was all because of my horse."

  Molly, from the kitchen, intercepted here. "This boy wanted a buckskin like a little girl wants a pony." She giggled.

  Growling from the interruption, Harrison started again. "I was seventeen and I was bored. Molly had started taking dance lessons during the afternoons, and my other few friends were doing stupid things I didn't like...like bowling. I hate bowling, but it was the rage at that time."

  "Now for any normal person, the lack of friends because they're doing something productive would make something click inside their heads and say 'hey, maybe I should join something too.' Not Harrison.

  Harrison decided he wanted a horse to train no baseball for him." Molly said.

  "Who's telling the story here, Radcliffe?" He asked over his shoulder.

  She looked at Marty and Josiah, their eyes on the two of them. "Uh...well, I think we are."

  He blinked at her for a moment, shaking his head and muttering something under his breath before going on with his part of the story.

  "Okay...so anyway, I asked my mom if I could get a horse. I worked part time at the grocery store as a bagger, but my mom said that money was strictly to save up for school, so I couldn't use my own money. So she had me call my father he had a good deal of money himself. He said I could have a Buckskin, and he'd support it, if I went to college for Education for at least a year and aced all my classes.

  I didn't want Education never did want to work in a school, but if it was going to get me a horse? Well, I put in an application for the community college the next day. Acing the classes were easy as pie I managed to do that and keep up with Molls in high school as well. And still managed to beat her well over half the time." He informed, looking back at her in the kitchen, with a wink. "And as soon as those classes were over and I got my average, I faxed it to my father and he wired me a few thousand. I only needed three hundred."

  "You got a Buckskin for only three hundred dollars?" Marty asked in doubt.

  Molly laughed, wiping her wet hands on a towel before walking back to the room where they all were. "You don't understand this was no 'glistening with beauty' horse. This thing was a mangy, messed up horse that looked like it crawled out of the darkest gutters. It was in perfect condition and one hell of a fast runner, but this thing...his one eye was like bulging, which made him look worse than insane. And his coat, no matter how much you washed and brushed it, always looked mangy and dirty. Not to mention his mane only grew a few inches it was stubble that never grew in. Such a nasty looking horse at first sight. But of course, you grew to know him and love him. He was a very sweet horse...though he was wild and untrained when we got him..."

  "My horse!" Harrison growled. "I'm telling the story about my horse. Now, yes, that's all true. But I bought that one for a very good, smart reason."

  "And what was that?" Josiah asked.

  "Because I quit school the next day, never to go back. I knew my father would get furious and sell my horse."

  "But that thing was unsellable." Molly put in with a bright grin.

  "He was for sale for months but one look at him and it sent people running. Not to mention, Molly and I had trained him to act naughty when strangers came about. So not only did he look bad, but he also was 'untrainable, sorry sir. Can't help an untrainable horse'." Harrison mimicked.

  "We did spend a long time on that thing." Molly remembered.

  "What happened to it?" Marty asked.

  Molly and Harrison's gaze met for a moment before he answered. "When my brother got sick, my mother couldn't afford to keep him anymore. As it turned out, someone wanted him."

  Molly swallowed, knowing the unfair fate that had become of ol' Buckeye Joe.

  "Really, I don't know why you wouldn't just get a simple animal like I did. Buckeye Joe was such a hassle." She said, knowing what his response would be and that it would get his mind off of things quickly.

  "And Sam Swayze was anything better?" Harrison exclaimed.

  "Sam Swayze?" Josiah and Marty asked in unison.

  "My beautiful, great black cat." Molly said proudly. "I was seventeen too and wanted a pet. So I asked Momma if I could get a cat. She asked my mother and she said"

  "Wait, your mother asked your mother?" Josiah asked, squinting in misunderstanding.

  "No, no no. Momma is what I always called Harrison's mom. My mother is what I call my mother. But since I spent more time with Momma, I asked her because it only seemed natural, you know? My moth
er gave Momma money to watch me and allowance to me so I wanted to spend my allowance on a cat, if Momma would only let me keep in at her house, because my mother was allergic to cats. I didn't have to go to school to get my pet."

  "But that thing was the worst!" Harrison groaned just from the memory.

  "He was a great cat!" Molly countered. "But Harrison hated him because he said my black cat was completely unlucky this, coming from a no superstitious man."

  "Superstition had nothing to do with it it was fact. Even Buckeye Joe hated that cat."

  "He brought nothing but luck to me. Whenever I had him around, I was having a great day."

  "It tripped me! That damn cat would run out from nowhere and run under me so I went sprawling on my face! That...that...thing tripped me down the stairs and put my wrist in a brace for two months!" Molly rolled her eyes. "It was two stairs and you were wearing those stupid new riding boots that were as messed up as your horse. My cat was just busy chasing mice out of the house that came from the horse barn!"

  "I don't care what you say it hated me."

  "Where did the name come from?" Marty asked.

  "Sam Swayze? Oh, well I got him when the movie Ghost first came out, staring Patrick Swayze."

  "She became obsessed with that movie! And that actor!"

  "It's true." Molly blushed. "I wanted my own Sam Wheat to follow me around and protect me. So I would pretend that it was in the form of a black cat. But instead of Sam Wheat, I thought Sam Swayze went together better. And it was cute. But it scarred Harrison forever."

  "It really did." Harrison said with a far off look.

  "He hates Patrick Swayze and refuses to watch any of his movies. And if Harrison does watch them, he growls every time Patrick Swayze comes on. Really, it's hell to watch Dirty Dancing with that man. But oh...watching Ghost with him is the worse. He has this weird twitch that he develops when it comes on tv. I mean really, when you know him this well, you realize that Buckeye Joe and him actually went together very well. I suppose his current pet fits him well too. That old Australian blue fur, one blue eye one green eyed Cattle dog named Jake is pretty fitting too. " Harrison threw a pillow at her, but she managed to catch it and throw it back, hitting him on his unexpecting head.

  "And this, my dearest of dear friend, is why I didn't invite you to this movie meeting." Molly said, taking a movie case that had been hidden behind her back and putting it just inches away from his face, showing him the tape for Ghost. "Not just that." She said after his face registered in horror. She held up the rest of the stack. Dirty Dancing, Roadhouse, Red Dawn, and for the grand finale, seasons one and two of North and South.

  Harrison shuffled away from the movies in her arms, walking backwards towards the door, his eyes locked on the movies with a frightened face, until he disappeared out the door.

  "And that, lady and gentleman, is how we get Harrison to leave it's fool proof. I've been doing it my whole life whenever I wanted privacy. Still is a charm. That cat was the best thing I ever invested in." Molly laughed, then popped one of the movies in the DVD player and grabbed the food for a relaxing night of Patrick Swayze.

  "Ya know, no one told me this was going to be a chick flick night." Josiah said with his arms crossed, feeling like a pansy.

  Rolling her eyes, Molly took away the Dirty Dancing movie.

  "There the rest of them are more for guys than women anyway. Now sit and eat."

  Satisfied with that, Josiah shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth and crossed his ankles.

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  Molly sank in to her wooden chair as much as possible, trying to relax for a moment before taking the drive home. But once again, her little rest was interrupted by a knock. "Go away." She groaned, hoping it was Harrison or Marty because those two would actually listen and she wouldn't get in trouble saying that to.

  "Oh, I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't intrude. You must be resting before you go and do...whatever your kind of people do."

  Candice. Everything inside Molly groaned with annoyance.

  "Are you here for something?" She asked instead of making her annoyance public.

  "Yes, actually. Advice."

  "On art class? Sorry, I have little experience with that. That would be, well, I believe that would be your field."

  "Oh, no silly. Not art class. On Harrison."

  Her stomach flip flopped against her sinking heart. "What would you need my advice for? That's not my field either you're the one dating him."

  "Yes, that is very true. But you are his best friend. So I thought you could answer me a few things."

  "You can't ask your boyfriend these few things?"

  "No! I can't ask him or he'll know I'm wondering. I don't want him to know, so you can't tell him."

  "What Candice? What do you want? I really am tired and I'd like a few minutes before driving home."

  Candice licked her lips slowly, debating upon her next words.

  "Harrison took me to a fancy restaurant yesterday. For the second time, and we've only been dating for two and a half weeks. I know from talk that when he dates, he dates certain women a certain way depending on how he really feels about them. And I was wondering if you could tell me what that means. What he feels about me."

  Flip flop, flip flop. Molly put her hand over the top of her stomach to try and settle it. Her head seemed dizzy enough while she tried to think of what to tell him big pain of annoyance that looked like a million bucks, even still dressed in her art smock, her blond hair done up in a haphazard bun, a white dot on the tip on her nose and a blue and red smudge on her cheekbone. Two fancy dinners after only two weeks of dating? She did know Harrison's moves. And she did know that what he was doing with Candice was a great sign that he really liked her and was taking her seriously. He didn't have much money and hated spending it on someone he was wasting time on. Was he not wasting time on Candice Greybill? Was he serious about this woman?

  Molly swallowed hard and nodded. "It means...it means you're doing good together. He's not just fooling around." She whispered, her eyes downcast.

  Candice smiled brilliantly, showing off teeth that were whiter than the white paint on her face. "Oh...oh good, I'm so glad! I really like this guy after all. He's great, isn't he? Now I know why you were friends with him so long. How many years were you two friends? Seven, eight years?"

  Molly laughed. "No. Twenty-four years."

  "Wow! And you're what...thirty five?"

  It was a low blow, purposely aimed at her that took the breath from her lungs momentarily. "I'm the same age as Harrison. We've known each other since we were four."

  "Wow. So you're only twenty-eight? I never would have guessed. Huh...well okay, you get back to your nap. I have to go out to the field I'm coaching cheerleading now. Harrison's going to pick me up after and we're going on a great date he says it's a surprise. Oh, do I have any paint on my face?" Candice asked, taking off her smock and rubbing her face. A mistake, seeing that undried paint from her smock had transferred to her fingers and then to her face, making her cheeks color with green and yellow, a strange combination that even clowns shouldn't try.

  But Molly just smiled sweetly, Candice's words still floating around harshly in her head. "Nope, not at all." She lied with a shake of her head, then closed her eyes and listened until Candice finally retreated out of the classroom and to where ever the next place she had to go was.

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  She had promised herself that she wouldn't let Candice's relationship with Harrison get to her again. It was part of her new life changing situation to let Harrison be Harrison and not get frustrated or jealous. Yet there was a pain deep in her chest that drove her wild. An ache, dull and deep, yet sharp and right on the surface. Her belly felt constricted, clenched as if it was on strike and giving a warning. Her head felt dizzy, like her brain was shrinking, yet as if her skull was overfilled with
cotton. And it all hurt. All of it. Enough that she had made Marty drive, only to get out five miles before they reached home so she could walk the rest of the way car sickness hadn't helped her condition and she was hoping the fresh Nevada air would. After all, her body was making such a fuss over nothing. Really, what did it matter if Harrison was getting serious? If he was falling for exmodelart teacher cheerleading coach beauty queen Miss California

  2000 Candy Grey? Why would she care? Even if he was married, they'd remain close friends. They had promised blood oaths. Swore on their lives they'd stick together or they'd burn in hell. So why was her mind making her doubt Harrison's loyalty even still? Why was there that nagging voice that kept telling her Harrison would rather leave her and pay the consequences of burning in hell before sticking around just for her?

  With a sigh from a heavy heart, she entered the old rickety elevator of their apartment. Usually she hated and refused to get on for multiple reasons instead, she usually opted for the stairs. But this wasn't usually. Harrison was getting serious over a woman a woman she hated. This was definitely not unusually, for Harrison getting serious over anyone had never happened before. And her body had never took such a beating for him.

  "Not Usually." She whispered, pressing the third button and watching the shaky doors slowly close with a hollow thud, closing out the world beyond. That part felt good for thirty seconds, she'd have a space losed off from everyone else.