by Thomas, Anne
Her voice started to follow the tune as she swallowed hard to keep down her tears, plopping her dirty dishes in to the sink.
"Jesse, I won't cut fresh flowers for you. Jesse, I won't make the wine cold for you. Jesse, I won't change the sheets for you. I won't put on cologne, I won't sit by the phone for you."
With a sigh and a sniffle of her nose, she looked out of the window above the sink with daffadills on the sill. The sun was sinking in the sky, making beautiful colors of her favorite scarlet, orange, deep reds and purples. A romancer's sky, as she normally would have put it. But now it was just depressing.
"Annie, keep reminding me that he cut out my heart like a paper doll."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Sally, tell me once again how he set me up just to watch him fall."
She grabbed tissues and put them to good use while the chorus repeated itself. Throwing the tissues away, she went back to her work of the dishes. "Jesse, come here quick. I won't tell a soul, not even myself. Jesse, that you've come back to me."
An unexpected stab shot through her heart that took her by surprise. Her tone went in to a whisper again, physical pain suddenly washing in to her chest. "Mmy fffriends will all say 'She's gone again'. But how can anyone know what you are to me? That I'm in heaven again because you..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes glazing over in paralyzing thought.
"Jesse, I'll always cut fresh flowers for you and Jesse, I'll always make the wine cold for you. Jesse, I'll easily change my mind about you and put on cologne and sit by the phone for you..."
Molly dried her hands from the wash water and took a deep breath, wondering why it felt like the walls of her chest were caving in and her mind going numb, as if the only thing she could do was to sing the song and work on her breathing, like it wouldn't happen on its own. "Jesse, lets open the wine and drink to a heart that has a will of its own. My friends, lets comfort them, they think I sunk so low..."
"Who's Jesse and should I be concerned?"
Molly gasped, spinning around quickly to see Ephram leaning in the door jam with a good natured smile on his lips.
She breathed in from her surprise, then wiped her cheeks dry with the backs of her hands. Turning her back to him, she grabbed another tissue to drain her current sorrows in to and be rid of them.
"Are you all right, Molls?" Ephram asked, his voice suddenly full of concern.
She laughed lightly. She had meant for something more convincing, but it was asking too much of her lungs. "No, I'm fine. It's just...I don't know. That song always seems to get me."
He raised an eyebrow in interest but didn't pursue the subject any further, seeing the impact it had on her.
"Are you ready to go or would you like to skip it?" He asked instead.
"Oh God, time seems to have slipped right by me. How about you sit on the sofa and I'll go get dressed?" She said, pointing to her sofa as she hurried off to her bedroom in the back, feeling guilty that she felt relief in having a distraction to get away from him for a moment.
Throwing open the doors of her closet, she gave it a quick glance before reaching for her silky black dress that fell just above the knee and the neckline just low enough to showcase a pretty necklace on a delicate but sore throat.
She grabbed some nylons from her drawer and laid it all out on the bed. "Breath. In, out. Breath." She whispered, clearing her mind from previous thoughts, then undressing and dressing back up in what she had picked out. She slipped on a pair of four inch black high heels on her way to her dresser top, taking two simple gold hoop earrings and putting them in to her ears. Searching through necklaces, her hands stopped and hovered over her heart shaped jewelry box. She stared at the circular shaped diamond that hung beautifully from a glistening silver chain. A smile came to her lips in sub consciousness as her mind traveled back to her nineteenth birthday. It was the day that Harrison left for the military. She had left her amazing party to go sit on the curb of the sidewalk, tears falling like her body thought the world was in desperate need of another river at that very moment.
Her heart had never ached so. She had only tried to imagine life without Harrison for the first time since she could recite her alphabet and it had set her whole body in flames of pain.
But Harrison had walked up behind her without a word. Stood there for a moment surveying the situation as he often did, then sat beside her. Engulfed her in the biggest bear hug he had given her since she broke her arm in three different places when they were fourteen and the doctor wasn't sure if she'd regain all her arm motion back again. It was her writing hand and she would need that to go through all the years in college it would take to be a lawyer. She had cried all in to the night in the lonely hospital and Harrison had sat on her bed with her, kept her in his embrace and soothed her worries.
But this time, he hadn't had all night to sooth any worries. He had to leave, with no guarantee he'd be coming home with his life. Instead, he took a black box out of his pocket and placed it in her tender, trembling hands. But she had been shaking so badly, she couldn't get the snap lid open. He helped her, let her see it, then attached it around her neck and kissed her cheek for a moment. After that, she hadn't taken the necklace off for anything not for shower or sleep. Because of this, she had sobbed for hours when her chain snapped one day after three weeks of turning her skin a strange color. It had been during the whole five days where they had lost track of Harrison's team and counted them missing in action. Hell on earth, surely.
But when Harrison did come back, he must have known that she would take the necklace with her everywhere until it broke because in his military uniform pocket, was a new silver chain, even better than the first.
She hadn't seen it in so long, but now it was right underneath her hands.
"You okay, Molly?" She heard Ephram yell in from his sofa spot.
It was no time for more memories, but she couldn't seem to get her eyes off of it. Instead, she took it out of its box and clasped it around her neck. With a swipe of pale red lipstick on her lips, she was ready and walking out the door. Picking up her black leather jacket from by the door, she stood in front of Ephram. "Ready." She announced proudly.
He nodded in approval. "So I see! You look very beautiful, Molly Radcliffe." He stood and offered his arm. After wrapping her arm around his securely, they headed down to his car and drove to the restaurant.
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Molly and Ephram walked in to the restaurant, just to see Marty, Joe and Harrison already sitting there with drinks and patiently waiting.
"Oh, here they are!" Marty said happily, waving them over. Harrison looked over his shoulder, just to be met with an unpleasant surprise Molly hanging off the arm of that damn boyfriend of hers with the stupid, girlie name. Ephram Vinick...what kind of name was that anyway? It was a stupid one. Yeah, maybe that was it. The first time Molly goes to date and she picks a guy with a name that sounded idiotic. That's why he was mad, of course!
Yet something inside still bothered him, sending off signals that in all realization, that was far from being 'it'.
Molly sat straight across from him, Ephram sitting diagonally to his left. Marty's eyes lit at the beauty beside her, wearing the black dress that always flattered her body. Harrison tried to look away, but when he went to, something caught his eye. She was wearing his necklace. The important necklace that she had so loved. Had she even worn it since the he had come back over four years ago? Why would she be wearing it now on a date with another man? It hardly made sense, but lately, most things dealing with that complicated woman didn't make much sense in his mind. Not that anyone could help out with that Josiah usually remained pretty damn clueless on anything that went on with the girls, and
Marty was a closed book when it came to Molly's secrets.
But as much as his best friend was a mystery to him at the moment, the man in front of him resembled more of a giant question mark instead of a human man or even as Molly's date. A
question mark. It didn't exactly put a man like Harrison at ease with the situation.
And it certainly didn't put the situation at easy when, instead of receiving menus after another round of drinks, Ephram Vinick got up from his chair, bending down to kiss Molly's cheek. "Come back in five minutes I got to get things heated up first." He mumbled to her in a soothing, smooth voice, then walked away.
"What the hell was that?" Harrison had to say.
When Molly's eyes met his, he saw she was still burning in her fury for him. He also saw her eyes were a bit puffy and blood shot. Had she been crying? His heart cracked a little just at the idea.
"I'm sorry, did you want a proper introduction? I'm sure it can be arranged as soon as he gets back."
Harrison looked around at his surroundings. "What the hell is this place? I mean...where the hell did you bring me, Marty?"
Molly rolled her eyes in impatience. "Would you stop with all your swearing? It gets a little old when you say the same thing over and over again, Harrison. You're at the Roll and
Barrel Restaurant. No, you've never been here before. Only Marty has. But it's a great restaurant and your food will be amazing, I know that for a fact."
"How do you know if you've never been here before?" He questioned.
She sighed, running her fingers through her mane of auburn, shiny curls. "Because Harry, Ephram is the Head Chef here. This is his place. And I know how good the food is because he cooked me food in his house already. And he's personally making all of our food. I gave him tips on what we all like, so you'll get something in your taste range don't be scared, no fish eggs for you. We all know caviar and nice things aren't your style."
He looked at her with a bizarre face. "What is wrong with you? What do you mean caviar and nice things aren't my style?"
"They aren't. You only like what you have had for all your life no change. You live like you are still eighteen, with a little hole in a building for a home and hardly anything in it, driving in a truck that's been eaten alive by rust. You can afford things and yet you don't because that just wouldn't be your style. You'll remain a bachelor forever and you just don't damn care."
With the end of that outburst and without giving him time to remark upon that, she threw down her cloth napkin that had been resting on her lap and stood up, shoving in her seat and stomping away, the heels of her shoes clicking on the tile floor.
Harrison looked dumbstruck for a moment, his eyes locked on her retreating form until in disappeared through the doors of the kitchen. Then he stared at Marty and Joe.
"You two, start helping me out here. What the hell was that about?"
But Josiah had a similar look on his face as Harrison had. He didn't understand a word and he wasn't sure if he dared to even try. So Harrison skipped him and looked onwards to Marty.
"You?"
She shook her head with blank eyes. "Molly's just going through a lot right now. Things are really messed up for her and it's all a big rough patch. Give her time to cool down and she will. And dammit, Harrison give her a little space. You're smothering her and her temper is like a firecracker on ADHD it spirts like hell for a bit, then forgets what it's doing and fizzes out. That doesn't mean that the fire didn't just get closer to the explosion and that you won't have to deal with the real temper later."
Harrison blinked. "I just wanted to know the root of what she was talking about. Because there's something going on with her that I have no clue about and that never happened before. I don't need a speech on firecrackers on any kind of ADD."
He said, then leaned back in his chair with his head tipped back, resting his eyes until this Ephram got back for Molly to give them a 'proper introduction'. With her mood, he just couldn't jolly wait.
A smirk had to appear on his lips at that, though. Even in his thoughts he was getting overly sarcastic.
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When Harrison opened his eyes, he saw a mop of curly blonde hair belonging to a familiar looking man, looking directly down to him. "What the...?"
"You fell asleep in my restaurant. That doesn't make a good impression for me." Ephram said.
Harrison blinked a few times, groggy from the wonderful sleep he wanted to go back to. "Like I give a damn? I'm tired."
Instead of answering, Molly claimed her boyfriend's lips, then slanted a look over to Harrison. The look was sharp and direct, letting him know that she wanted no trouble from him.
He gritted his teeth and fire sputtered out of his struggling to be calm eyes, but he said nothing, just went along with it.
"The food will be out momentarily, everyone. The other cooks are just putting on the finishing touches." Ephram announced to the table as he took his seat, then locked eyes with Harrison. "Hello Harrison. I don't think we've had the pleasure to have you here before. Come, I'll show you around."
"Yeah thanks, but no thanks. I'm good sitting right here." But just one angry glance from Molly sent him standing from his chair. "On the other hand..." Ephram grinned. "Good, good. Come along, then."
Harrison kept in step with this new guy, figuring he might as well survey and check out who his best friend was dating while he had the close opportunity.
"So, Molls has quite the way of getting you to do something, doesn't she?" Ephram asked with a proud smile. It infuriated Harrison more. He really did not like this guy.
"Yeah, I guess. It's either do it or hear about it for the rest of your life. I usually opt for whatever is the most quiet." He replied.
Ephram looked back at the table to see it over half a room away. They had walked in to a corner, near a big screen tv by a bar. "Look, I know what's going on with you." He started. "I know you hate me. I know you don't like Molly dating and you think I'm little more than scum. Maybe less. I know you're really judgmental about anyone when it comes to Molly and you know, I understand that. I get it. I actually respect it, in fact. But you can stop it now, because it gets old and it gets offensive. So stop. Leave her alone. I'm a good guy. I won't hurt her. Molly and I can take it from here."
Whatever Harrison had been expecting this new guy to say, it surely wasn't any of that. "Hmm...I see. Well uh..." He dug in to his pockets and pulled something out. "I'll give you this nice, shiny new quarter to make you go away."
Ephram just shook his head like he was dealing with a little child. That ticked off Harrison even more.
"Look, I doubt we'll ever come to stop not hating each other. Personally, it's in my nature. I've been with Molly forever. I won't drop her now. And the other part of my nature? I pretty much hate everybody. You seem to be the next on my list."
Ephram nodded. "Fine. See, I don't care for myself. You could let me know all night that you hate my guts, but it won't be you that's keeping me up at night. Because when it's all over, I'll sleep good and well tonight, whether you hate me or not. I just couldn't get myself to care if I wanted to. Not about someone like you. But I do care a lot about Molly.
And I don't want to see her upset over some idiot like you. And I won't let her see us clashing, whether we hate each other or get along. So you keep that in mind."
Harrison yawned, blinking a few times and looking over at Ephram. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you think I looked interested? Because I'm really not." He said carelessly, then tried to walk away, but Ephram grabbed his upper arm.
Harrison's eyes widened. No one grabbed his arm when he was making an exit. Well, maybe Molly, but she was the exception for near every rule he had. "What the hell, man?" He said angrily. It seemed he was spending a lot of time dwelling with that emotion lately.
"I know you, you know. I know your damn sarcastic attitude. I know your bad ass thing you got going your cold exterior you show off and your walls that you keep up. Yeah, it's easy to see you've had some pretty bad problems in your past, whatever they might be. But man, those problems won't be anything compared to what you'll be dealing with if you don't listen up to my rules. I'm the one with Molly now.
I'm the one she wants. So stop your whining about it and let us be for a while until she feels like coming around to you. And you better not keep this up with me. And no, none of this is a plea. It's a demand."
Harrison ripped his arm away from the grip of the little spit ball named Ephram. Harrison was never one to let someone try to humiliate and lower him and actually let them get away with it. So instead, he looked right in to those green eyes under blond curls and laughed at him. Laughed straight out. "Ha, that's great. Really rich. You actually think you can threaten me." Harrison shook his head. "How wrong you are. Now, if you would be so kind as to excuse me." He said with a mocking bow. "Oh, and that great sarcasm you hear? It's only one of the many services I offer. I got lots more like acting like the best Hollywood body guard to the most richest actress if I need to be. Oh yeah, I'm damn good at that. I can dress up as a body guard each Halloween and people think it's the real thing after seeing a single punch to a guy that just really ticked me off. So hey, stay the hell away from me. And no, that was not a plea. I don't do pleas. That was a demand. Got it?" He said in all his sarcasm glory, trying to walk away but wincing when his mind shot another good comeback that just had to slip out of his mouth or he would have to wait for another opportunity to speak it and he was never a patient man. Looking over his shoulder, he grinned. "By the way you mentioned the whole mistrust thing with me? Good job there bro proving that I shouldn't. Because you just completely validated my inherited mistrust of strangers, stranger." There, it was out. He then took a breath and walked calmly back to the table, each step painful from his insides all twisted up tightly.
This was going to be one hell of a long night for everyone.
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Harrison reclined in his hard chair with a hard drink in his hand. He was trying to think of why he was so tired today. It only took him about fifteen minutes to remember it was because he only had two hours of shut eye last night just more proof that Molly's little secret life was affecting him in too many bad ways. Already he had managed to tick her off, fall asleep in a restaurant, make enemies with her boyfriend, get Marty very suspicious of him and Josiah to flash him weird and strange looks whenever he could. That list seemed way too long for tired ol' Harrison, who cared little about the food they had come here to eat. But at least now, he'd remember to say no instead of yes when Molly went around asking him with the sweetest of smiles on if he'd kindly like to join her for dinner. She was a deceiver, alright. And had learned every one of her tricks from him. At the moment, he wasn't sure if he should be proud of her or curse himself, so he did both at the same time.