by Thomas, Anne
"What do you want to know? You already know about me being a Head Chef and owning my own restaurant as my profession. You know I'm dating your best friend and that I drive a Chevy Truck last year's model, by the way."
"How old are you?" Harrison asked for starters.
"Same as you. A few days younger, but that's all."
"Where do you come from?"
"Here. Well, I mean not right here no one in my family was ever landed in jail before me...should be a great story at the next reunion...but here, in town. At the hospital where we'll go to pay our bills for the stitches when we get out of here."
"Favorite sport?"
"Football."
"How many beers do you have when you go to a bar?"
"Nothing over one, usually not that. I'm not very fond of bars."
"Yet you have one in your restaurant." Harrison pointed out.
"For the customers not for me."
Harrison paused, trying to think of more questions to rail him with, but coming up blank, thanks to his great lack of sleep over the past few days. "Okay, just start talking about yourself."
"Fine...I uh...I went to Brown's University. Majored in a bunch of nothing for about six years. I have a degree in teaching too, you know. I tried to join the army but they wouldn't let me for health reasons "
"What's wrong with your health?" Harrison jumped on.
"A few things. I have asthma. I broke some bones in my foot when I was twelve from a car accident it crushed my foot. I can walk fine now, but it never really healed properly.
So I can't go hiking in the mountains or running for long distances or anything like that. And well, army wouldn't have that. So I ended up not getting in."
"I'm surprise Molly didn't try to make you change that story to tell me you did get in to try and impress me."
"I think she knows that you would have found a way of looking it up. And the fact that you would have called me a pansy anyway for only going in the army. That's how marines look at the army, isn't it? Low?"
Harrison shrugged a shoulder. "Not quite. Just that military could trample army."
"Yeah well, I didn't get in either."
"What about your family? Where are they?"
"Well...my parents retired about two years ago and moved to Florida. My siblings are few and scattered everywhere. My brother is still in the military yeah, he's why I knew how you thought about army. And then there's Marty my last relative that lives around here. It gets pretty lonely without family Marty knows that too. She isn't too close with her parents, and seeing about her brothers..."
"She basically relies on you for her family needs." Harrison finished, his eyes going soft.
"Yeah. Kind of like you and Molls, huh?"
Harrison looked over at him in surprise. "What do you know about that?"
Ephram gave a little shrug. "She mentions things here and there. About how she always thought of your mom more like her mom. And the same with you and her dad. That you both have weird family problems and through them all, no matter what, you both have been able to go to each other to rely on I know you've always come through for her and she prays she has for you. I remember this stuff because she was rattling it off one late night...I remember I was actually feeling jealous of that. In truth, I still am. Jealous about your relationship, that is. I never had such a thing I've never been that close to anyone, that I could actually truly trust them to be there for me. To trust them with all my problems and my secrets. I envy you, in all honesty."
Harrison sat in silence for a moment, hating himself. "You might want to put that on past tense. I don't think I've been coming through for Molly lately. Or even for a while. I've been making a mess of things and screwing up her trust."
"Is this where you admit to me that you've been doing all that stuff because you were jealous of how she was giving so much attention to me? That I was the new guy?"
Harrison looked at him like he was insane. "Oh, hell no, Eph. I wouldn't do that if I was on my death bed."
"But it's true." Ephram said in a soft tone.
Harrison looked straight ahead, staring hard as if towards his worst enemy. It was true. Both of them knew it, even if he'd never admit it. He was jealous and hated Ephram because of it.
"What if we worked together?" Ephram said next to break the silence. "To fiz all this that we screwed up with Molly. What if we worked together?"
"I think you're having fantasies that we could be a team, Vinick. I don't share these fantasies."
"So you rather your pride over Molly's happiness?"
Damn, that hit a sore spot for Harrison. He laid the back of his head against the cool wall as his thoughts churned. A few minutes passed until Harrison could get himself to look over at his opponent.
"Where the hell did you get the name Ephram?"
"Our team..."
"I want to know where the hell my team member got the weird name like Ephram."
Ephram grinned, knowing he had gotten Harrison on his side. "My mom loved it. It's from the bible. It means..."
Harrison looked doubly interested now. "What? What does it mean?"
"Fruitful." He said with distaste.
"In which way?"
Ephram shook his head. "I don't really want to know."
Harrison chuckled in understanding. "As long as you're not too fruitful with Molly, I don't really want to know either."
"Oh, well...good then."
Harrison stood up and stretched out his back muscles. "So? What does this 'team' thing mean for us now?"
"I think it means that we be nice to each other. Be...friend like. Make Molly happy. Uh...no more bar fights and winding up in jail. Maybe even helping each other out once in a while?"
Harrison nodded slowly. "It may be doable. I suppose we can try it out. But I'm not really committing to anything before we try it. It may not work."
Ephram agreed. "No, it may not. But it might be nice if it would."
A low groan came from the top bunk. Josiah seemed to be waking from his drunken splendor. Or, at least, shifting in it.
But he accidently went to turn and his body started tipping off. Harrison saw this and ran over just as Josiah's body was falling through the air. Shoving Ephram out of the way,
Harrison caught his old buddy, then dropped him in the bottom bunk.
Josiah groaned again, but didn't bother to open his eyes, just curling up and getting comfortable again like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Ephram shuffled out of that bunk.
"See? That's what we need to do."
"What? Me shove you down and do things myself? Huh...good idea." Harrison said, slapping him on the back.
"No." Ephram answered, wincing from Harrison's playful but hard blow. "You're close with Joe. You look out for him and save him when he needs it. I think we should get like that.
Except, you know, I don't want to be the guy at the bottom just waiting to be shoved out of the way."
"Then jump in and help next time I won't stop you. Just don't tread on me."
Ephram knew that was a warning to take any kind of friendship development slow and not to push anything on him or interrupt something he was doing. Well, he knew it wouldn't be easy to be friends with this man, but he'd do it. It was for Molly, after all. And after he cracked that shell of his, perhaps they could get somewhere.
_______________________________________________________________________
Okay, so now she was just feeling ridiculous. Two pages filled with pros and cons about Harrison and the length was more from boredom than just because she wanted to figure things out.
She stared at the strange list. A list she'd never let anyone see because she was embarrassed just from herself writing all of it, let alone how red she'd get if anyone actually read it.
The pros outweighed the cons by a million. She had written every good thing she could think of him from his beautiful shaggy brown hair that she had loved ever since the first time she saw him, to how stable he was when she was in shambles. Everyth
ing was all written out, and the pros went on for pages. The cons, however, did not. True, there was more than a few frustrating, bad temper, stubborn, likes to make fights, only listens well if it's something not about him he's hearing...it had about half a page, but they were minor things compared to its opponent's.
But now the question was...would she go along with her original plan of seeing which list outweighed the other and act accordingly to that.
Or would she abandon the list and go back to debating on her emotions that was a never ending battle? Her emotions were split right down the middle she loved Harrison with everything in her and he was so much of her life, someone she could never live without. But she was hurt and angry by him. Frustrated by his confusing actions.
If she thought about it long enough, she knew what was their problem. It had nothing to do with their relationship except the fact that when things went wrong, they took it out on each other because no one else would listen. She was going through hard times as she worked two jobs, kept hold a boyfriend and upheld her life, trying to save as much money as possible to try and upgrade her life to something that resembled what she always wanted.
And she knew, secretly, Harrison was going through his own hell. He was going to be turning thirty in half a year's time and he was seeing his life fade away. His fun twenty years that were full of anything but fun.
He never returned to the adventurer that he was in his heart. He never got up the nerve to sell his family's work and move away to do what he wanted. He was thirty and too busy feeling unsettled to settle anything in life. It was frustrating she knew the feeling well. They were going through the same thing, reacting similar, but not willing to admit what they were feeling to share with each other. Instead, they spirted out their frustrations and poisoned their friendship.
But that could be changed. It could stop. She knew the reasons she knew their lives were crashing down and their relationship was hurting because of it. She knew it was fixable they'd find other outlets they could help each other. They could stop being so stubborn and start sharing their thoughts like they always used to.
But nothing was being done while she sat up here. All she would do is fester on her anger and rethink about getting back with Harrison and make her stubborn walls to reach sky high.
So she had to leave.
But just as she started to pack up, she remembered what was missing here where was Ephram? In all of her lists and day dreamings, she had forgotten about him meeting up with her.
Worried, she tried to call him, but it went right to his voice mail. So she went to Marty. "Do you know where Ephram is? He never showed."
Marty cleared her throat, hesitating. "Yeah, uh he had some kind of problem and wasn't able to make it today. Partly my fault I didn't know he was supposed to meet you today until it was too late. I'm sure he'd like to explain his...his...difficulties himself. You want me to drive up and get you?"
"No, I'll just take a bus there's a station about a mile away and my suitcases are light. I'll be home by nightfall make sure Harrison is still awake when I get there."
"Will do. Have a safe trip, Molls."
Molly looked around the cabin, then started to hurry and pack, wanting to make home before midnight.
_______________________________________________________________________
Josiah looked over the two men, shaking his head in distaste. "That's all you could do for yourselves? You still look horrid. Well Harrison, you always do, but"
Harrison's hand gathered in to a fist in teasing warning, then looked at his face in the mirror. His cheekbone was painted a variety of colors in bruised flesh. His lip was split, his earlobe sporting three stitches. An array of little cuts and bruises took care of the rest. And Ephram had a look very similar. Molly would have to be worse than blind to not notice. Even Josiah had a black eye and a bruised cheek opposite of his darkened eye.
"You could say you were in a car accident. Then she's sympathize instead of giving you another pounding."
Harrison shook his head, looking skyward. "No genius, then we'd need a wrecked car."
"A friend's car then?"
"We're the only real friends that we got. Sad, but it's quite the truth."
"Not to mention," Ephram chimed in, "that we were all together we'd need a story of why Harrison and I would ever hang out."
"Well, that's an impossible. You two hate each other." Joe said.
Harrison shook his head. "You know, if everyone would just learn to simply worship me, we wouldn't have these types of problems."
"God, you're full of yourself." Ephram rolled his eyes.
"And you're point is?"
Marty walked out in to the apartment building hallway, looking ashamed of them all. "Moll's on her way home and you three are what...arguing instead of cleaning up?"
"We did clean up." Ephram groaned.
"That's what you look like afterwards? Good thing I didn't see you at the bar."
Josiah cringed at the memory of flying blood. "Yeah, that was just nasty."
"Pansy." Harrison whispered under his breath.
"Ass." Ephram whispered back.
"Best friend stealer."
"Jerk."
Harrison was working up another name when Marty stopped them. "I suggest you get your act together and pretend that the two of you are the best of friends and you'd never do anything like this to each other ever again. Because Molly is in a good mood, and obviously, she's ready to hand out forgiveness. But if you keep adding to her bad list, that forgiveness will get backed up and move somewhere else."
A shudder ran through Harrison's body. What she had just said was his greatest fear. Turning to Molly's boyfriend, he grasped his hand and slapped Ephram's back. "We're good, bestest buddy."
"Yep, real good." Ephram agreed.
Marty rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I thought so." She said, then walked back in to her apartment.
_______________________________________________________________________
Molly paid the taxi, then lugged her suitcases loudly up the stairs. She was completely wiped out, tired to the bone and dreaming only of her bed.
But when she saw Harrison at the end of her hallway, she dropped her bags and ran to him, throwing her arms around him neck and kissing his cheek. "I'm so sorry for being so difficult! I was being stupid and I don't want to lose you."
Harrison pulled her away to look in her eyes. "I'm sorry too. Does this mean you're going to stop screaming at me?"
"Only if you promise to stop being a jerk. If you're having problems, you talk to me. If you're going to yell, you're going to get a slapping." She said, placing her palm lightly on his cheek with a wink.
He rolled his eyes and hugged her. "Whatever."
Molly looked confused suddenly, stepping back and surveying her boyfriend at her left and Josiah at her right. "What the...I leave for two days! What the hell happened to all of you?"
Ephram cleared his throat, looking at the other two. "Uh...it's a long story."
"Does it have something to do with why you didn't meet me at the cabin today..." She checked her watch and saw that her hope to return before midnight had failed miserably. "I mean, yesterday?"
Ephram grinned, wrapping his arm around her. "As a matter of fact, it does."
_______________________________________________________________________
"Will you tell me what happened with Harrison?"
It was just before the start of class, and instead of hearing the chattering of children, Molly heard Candice Greybill's voice fill her classroom.
Never one to come at a good time, Candice was currently interfering in Molly's joyous relief on still having a job. "Excuse me?"
"His face is all messed up, but every time I ask him about it, he just gives me that charming smile with his eyes glittering and he says nothing at all. So I come to you out of concern what happened?"
Molly turned towards the backboard to hide her smile and the roll of her eyes. Last night
had been quite a night after Joe had reencountered the past thirty or so hours. A little red mark right above Harrison's mark hadn't come from Ephram, but after she had heard how the two made up, a smear of lipstick had been left behind on his forehead as well. He hadn't noticed it last night, just hoped he had before coming to school today. If not, well...that might lead to an interesting story.
"He just got in to a little scuffle again. It happens."
"With who?" Candice cried.
"Uh..." Molly hadn't quite thought that far and therefore, she had no excuse to offer. She was forced to choke up the truth. "My boyfriend while I was away. They just had a bit of a disagreement and Harrison let out a swung...you know men."
She shook her head. "I don't know men like that. Why did they fight? What made Harrison upset?"
"Oh God, Candice...everything makes Harrison upset if it doesn't have to do with bowing down to him."
"But...but why did he lose it on this occasion?"
Molly bit her lip it was getting harder and harder to protect Harrison's reputation when she was suffering from severe lack of sleep. "Candice, I really don't know. You'll have to ask Harrison."
"You don't know? You didn't even ask him?"
"You didn't."
"Because he won't tell me! But he'd tell you. You're his closest friend he said so."
Molly grinned. "I was tired last night. I made sure all three men were okay, then I went to bed. I'll find out later if I'm still interested." She lied, then started writing the class assignment on the board.
Candice sighed. "Thanks anyway." She said softly, then walked out. Molly listened to the clicking of heels going down the hallway before looking over at her adjoining door to see Marty's face in the small window, smiling with pleasure of Candice's curiosity.
_______________________________________________________________________
"Ah, what I wouldn't give to have heaven like this." Molly said with a smile, looking at Harrison, who was relaxing with his feet propped up on his desk.
"Oh, but don't be fooled, my dear. This isn't really an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting." He replied with a smirk.
She laughed, sitting on the corner of his desk and looking him over. "Well, you've had those nasty wounds for five days...most seem to be healing well. When do you go back to the hospital for them to check your stitches?"