The Gravity of Love

by Thomas, Anne

  Finally, a team of waiters, being led by Ephram, came out of the kitchen with trays balanced at the sides of their heads.

  Each server held one person's meal. The four waiters behind Ephram made a half circle behind him as he bent down on one knee and served Molly her food like she was royalty or something.

  He went around to the others, serving them differently, but just as equally special.

  When it got to Harrison, the plate was practically dropped in front of him like a dog.

  "Uh, excuse me waiter." Harrison said, holding up his index finger. "I don't want to be treated any less than you would to the Queen of bloody England over there. I'm a paying customer, after all. Serve me right."

  He glowed in his work as he stared at Ephram's reddening face. He wasn't sure which had done it the best that the Head Chef was just called a lowly waiter, that he had mocked and publicly embarrassed himself in front of his other customers, his own volume that made his words heard to the other tables surrounding him, or perhaps calling him on trying to show off to Molly. It didn't matter which, really just the fact that the mission was accomplished.

  Harrison looked around to see others looking at him and noticed that Ephram saw them too.

  Ephram's jaw went stiff as he clamped his teeth together with a glare in to Harrison's eyes. He picked up the plate, then set it down again a little more nicely.

  Harrison played with the idea of making him bow like he had to the girls, but decided against it, having good suspicion that Ephram would forget all about his restaurant and attack like some savage animal. No, he'd just save that for his imagination.

  He offered a sly smirk to the Head Chef, then turned to his meal. A big steak with a side of grilled mushrooms. In all truth, it looked damn good. So without surveying the girls' faces to see their disapproval of him, he dug in.

  The dinner was going nice, very casual. Harrison kept to his food and only listened, his ears tuning in like a fox's.

  But he could only go so long without making trouble. Dessert of hot fudge sundaes came and Harrison sloshed his spoon back and forth in it until clearing his throat. "So uh, I was promised a proper introduction to your boyfriend, Molly." He said.

  Molly met his gaze in surprise. "Oh, I thought that's what you were doing on your little walk."

  He winked at Ephram. "Nope, not quite."

  "Well, okay. Harrison, this is my boyfriend Ephram Vinick. Ephram, this is my best friend, Harrison Redford. He's the principal at the school Marty and I work at. Ephram is the Head Chef here, as you already know."

  "How'd you meet this winner?" Harrison asked, avoiding the gaze of the curly blond.

  "Why, he's Marty's cousin. She was good enough to introduce us."

  Harrison looked sharply at Marty, his eyes ablaze. "So, you don't know anything about Molly's new boyfriend except his name is Ephram Vinick?" He snapped.

  She shrugged. "I don't believe I actually said that. I think I said that's all I could tell you."

  "Why did you ask Marty?" Molly asked and Harrison realized his mistake.

  "There was a stranger that was holding you at the party. I wanted to make sure he wasn't a freak or something, so I asked her. Not that she was of any help at all..."

  "Well, now you can be rest assured. And thank you for caring I know it takes a lot to go do research on someone."

  It was a bit of a dig on his part, but he excused it, not caring much. At least he had gotten away with what he was protecting.

  Ephram reached over and offered his hand. "I hope we can become good friends, Harrison."

  Molly glowed in approval, so Harrison had to do it. He clasped hands with Ephram and grinned with a nod. "Me too."

  _______________________________________________________________________

  "You should have heard him! He was actually threatening me. Me! And he expected me to follow along with whatever he wanted me to, despite the fact that he was a stranger to me yet and no one threatens me to do anything."

  "Except Molly." Josiah grinned.

  It was after dinner and Josiah had been forced to tag along with Harrison. He hadn't wanted to, knowing what he was in for, but even though no one threatened Harrison, it didn't mean Harrison didn't threaten anyone else.

  "Well yeah, except her. She's allowed to. But she's also the only person I allow it from. I don't tolerate this boyfriend looking at her and thinking automatically, just because he's her date, that he can do what she does. It's only Molly's privilege because she had to put up with me for over twenty years."

  "Yeah, and after all that, Molly at least deserves that." Josiah hid a grin.

  "Yeah, exactly hey! But it doesn't matter that does not transfer to this stuck up new guy that I really don't approve of. I mean, if he was trying to win my good graces, he missed by a whole lot."

  "Are you going to tell Molly about this?"

  "Oh, hell no. I can't. She can't know that I care about this guy."

  "And yet, I still don't understand that stuff."

  "Just...trust me. When we are involved in each other's love lives, it gets very scary. And bad. Things turn very very bad. Well, let's just say...the last time it happened, Molly and I didn't talk for over a month."

  "Wow...what happened?"

  Harrison shrugged. "No idea. It just...didn't go well. Too much disapproving and furious glares...a broken date and a broken heart. It just went down very badly."

  "Huh. You two are so weird sometimes."

  Harrison wondered if he'd have to say 'us three' now that Ephram thought he was firmly on the inside.

  _______________________________________________________________________

  Chapter 5 Sometimes All I Did was wish you'd tell me this was Love

  Molly rubbed her sleepy eyes as her slippered feet clappered on the floor as she made her way in to the main room. Leaning over the back of the sofa, she swung her arm over and shook Ephram's shoulder.

  "Hey you." He said sleepy with a grin. "Good morning."

  "Oh no, it's way too early to be good morning."

  "You're right, it is. This time of day is stupid. "

  Molly laughed as her senses slowly started to wake up. "Good Stupid."

  He nodded. "Good stupid!" He greeted, then rolled over and put his face in to the pillow again.

  "Oh no you don't good morning or good stupid, you're going to be awake for it." She said, walking to the other side of the sofa.

  "Oh really now?"

  "That was our deal."

  He thought back with a lazy grin as he slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her down to give her an early morning kiss. "I don't remember anything of the sort, babe."

  Her brow knitted together, looking down at him just inches away. "You don't remember how good I looked last night then?"

  "Oh hell no I remember that! Nothing could get me to forget that."

  "Oh good. Then you must remember the plan about you going to school with me, yes?" She asked before kissing him again.

  "Mmm...yep. Yes, now I'm beginning to remember..."

  She laughed, slapping his shoulder. "Get up, you silly boy. I can't be late for class."

  She got off the sofa and walked in to the kitchen, grabbing two cans of tomato juice and putting waffles in the toaster. No time for fancy meals this morning.

  _______________________________________________________________________

  Harrison whistled as he walked down the hall, ever grateful for lunch break that made the halls clear of students.

  He turned in to Molly's classroom when he stopped short in his step.

  The classroom was overly full, students standing against walls just to cram in, many not even Molly's students.

  And speaking of Molly, she was not the one teaching this overly full class. She was sitting beside her desk, looking up at the one who was.

  Ephram Vinick. Of course it would be him he was going to be haunting Harrison's every footsteps from now on, he just knew it.

  His presenc
e had disrupted the class focus, something he felt strangely satisfied with. He inwardly groaned what was wrong with him? He wondered if he was any better than the kids that were in front of him.

  "Did you want something, Red?" Molly asked.

  "Yes, as a matter of fact I do." He replied, staring at Ephram. "Would you join me in the hallway, Radcliffe?"

  Molly looked up at Ephram and nodded for him to keep going with his speech, then she walked out, following Harrison's footsteps.

  "Do I want to know why you had to pull me out of there?" She said in annoyance.

  "All I asked was for you to come out here you're already mad at me?"

  She shrugged. "Sorry, it's starting to become a habit...again."

  Harrison inwardly cringed. The last time it had become a habit was right before they stopped talking for those hellish two months.

  He stared at her for a moment, trying to remain calm. "What's he doing here?"

  "Ephram? He's teaching a class."

  "Okay, he's teaching. Uh...great. So if he's teaching in one of my classrooms with a bunch of my students...why was I not informed beforehand?"

  "I didn't think you'd care." She said with an edge.

  "Whether I care or not that he's teaching a class is something all together different. I'm the principal, Molly. I'm supposed to know what these students are learning so when an angry parent calls up for some reason, as they have before, I can be prepared in response. But it sure as hell don't look good when I have no idea what they're talking about. This is my school. I'm supposed to know of any special changes before they actually happen. I should not be walking in to your classroom to get such a surprise."

  "It's during lunch it's not interrupting any of the normal classes." She countered.

  "Yet, lunch is during school hours. This class is during school hours. Which means it's part of school, Molly. And anything apart of school is of my concern. Even after school, if there's students gathered, I'm supposed to know and have approved it. That's what all the other teachers do."

  "But you know my judgment you don't trust me now?" She asked, her temper flaring as the tips of her ears turned bright red another one of her trademarks.

  "It's not about trust, Molls! It's about you taking advantage of our relationship! If you were at any other school with a normal principal would you have pulled this?"

  She straightened her body frame, a sign that she was about to have to be embarrassed or relent. "No, I suppose I wouldn't."

  "Then don't do it here. Just because we're friends doesn't mean the rules are able to bend for you. You know this. I need to know what's going on in my school or I can't be in charge as principal."

  "And we all know how much you have to be in charge at all times." She growled under her breath.

  "Dammit Molls, it's not about that! This is about our profession! I've always treated you like the amazing teacher that you are. Now treat me like the principal I am."

  She swallowed her temper that raged with many inappropriate words and nodded instead. "Fine. I understand. Next time I'll tell you beforehand. If you want to know, Ephram is telling about the years he spent over in England and France, studying art and literature. I thought it would be nice for the students to hear about it and maybe encourage them to not only get really in to this, but to do something great with the knowledge like Ephram did. I never did that kind of stuff, so I know I was impressed. I suppose I just didn't think about telling you we only made the plans very late last night."

  Harrison masked his surprised look about her last few words with a look of acceptance. "Okay, well now I know."

  "Can I go back to my class room now?" She asked, her arms crossing.

  He nodded. "Yeah, go on."

  She curtsied in mockery. "Gee, thanks so much, Principal Redford."

  "It's not like I'm asking you to treat me like a damn king, Molly"

  "No, you just want Ephram to treat you like that." She retorted as she started losing grip on her temper. Before she could lose any more, she hurried back in to her room and sat in the chair she had been before she left.

  _______________________________________________________________________

  There was a knock on the door. Harrison looked up from his misery and anger to see Candice standing there. "Howdy, stranger." She greeted, walking over and sitting on the edge of her dress, the slit in her mid thigh length gray skirt sliding up.

  She leaned in and kissed him softly, but Harrison couldn't gather himself enough to kiss her back.

  Unsettled suddenly, Candice surveyed him. "What's wrong, hunny?" She asked.

  He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "It's...nothing."

  She hopped of his desk and walked behind him, placing soft, warm hands on his shoulders and started to massage his muscles. "It must be something, you're very stressed out.

  And you look quite upset. Come, let me help." She said, then placed a small kiss at the base of his ear while her hands still worked.

  "I just...Molly and I are fighting again and I don't know how to make it stop. Or maybe I do know how, but I just can't get myself to subject to that kind of torture. I want this thing between her and I to stop but I just can't..." He shrugged against her healing hands. "I don't know. I don't want to burden you with my stupid problems."

  "I don't think they're stupid. I think they're hurting you and therefore, I'm concerned. Is there anything I could do to help?"

  "Not that I can think of."

  "Well, if you do happen to think of anything, I'm always right here." She laughed. "Well, maybe not right here, but I'm always just a call away.

  Keep me in mind, Harrison."

  He nodded. "I surely will."

  _______________________________________________________________________

  Molly's temper festered. She had promised Ephram that they could go out to eat together after school for his hard work, but instead she ended up calling it off, her heart not in to it anymore. Really, her heart ached as if it was on the verge of breaking. Or perhaps it had already started to crack.

  Instead of going out to eat, she headed home. Dropping the sack full of tests on the sofa that were in need of grading, she ignored her duties once again to go fall on to her bed. She had kept her hurt all bottled up inside, but now, as she laid staring at the ceiling, she allowed her tears to slowly start pouring out, on to her cheeks and in through her hair. It was too much. Too much stress and too much hurt. It wasn't the same as it used to and that was dangerous. She was scared. Scared that this time, she'd lose her very best friend for good.

  Last time, she had tried to help him with his girlfriend and ended up becoming close friends with her the best. Marty had gone away for the summer to spend time in France with her brother, so having a new best friend was a godsend or at least she thought.

  Nearing the end of August, Harrison broke up with Katherine and shattered her heart. In retaliation, she had broken off all contacts with Harrison including his best friend Molly.

  She rid of it all, leaving Harrison to go find a new date that was he perfectly happy with, and Molly with a broken heart as well. They had a big fall out and didn't talk to each other for two months. But at least there had been only one fight never had they had such a series of arguments, disputes and constant hurt and anger. Especially when she didn't know what was causing it. Harrison seemed like he was slipping away and that made her lose her breath just at the thought; made her heart feel like it was being slowly pried out of her chest. And oh God, it hurt. It hurt so badly yet there was nothing she could do if she didn't understand why he was doing this. He was closed up emotionally to her now another thing he had never done to her before. Even if she begged him to talk to her like they used to, she doubted he's allow her access to his thoughts.

  She wondered what she had done to hurt him so and to make him distrust her. He had said he thought she was living two lives and one was completely secret to him. Dinner was supposed to help ease him on that, but it hadn't, she
knew. His thoroughly disapproved of her choice of a date and found it hard to hide it.

  Her stomach flipped, feeling nauseous from her deep wounds.

  She wanted her old Harrison back. They had sworn they'd be the best of friends for life, but everyone knew that promises of the such were easily broken all the time. Yet she thought, from the great bond that they shared, they would be able to make it. Had she been so wrong? Perhaps these types of misconceptions were why she stayed away from dating. But what was she to do when her misconceptions were about the most important person she had in her life? The one person she couldn't imagine living without?

  She bit her lip, forcing herself to think with her mind and not her heart. Maybe she could live without Harrison. Really, why not? Wasn't he the one who inspired her to change her life? To turn it around and make it something? Instead, she was laying in bed sobbing over some one that acted like lately, he hardly cared.

  Maybe they just needed a break from each other. Everyone, at some point, needs a break from their loved ones. Maybe this was just what they were going through something as simple as that.

  So she'd go away. Maybe she'd take Ephram with her and that way, Harrison wouldn't have to think about either of them.

  She nodded, her tears slowing down. Maybe this could be the answer. Maybe when she came back, they'd be all back together and everything would be set right. That maybe Harrison would miss her too much to keep her away.