by Thomas, Anne
"Okay, we might as well tell you. We uh...well, we know about your secret. It's been taking some time to adjust to the idea."
Molly looked over at Marty. "Secret?"
But she looked just as confused at Molly.
"What secret? I don't have any secrets."
"We saw the test a few weeks ago." Harrison continued.
"Test?"
"Your pregnancy test."
"A cheating test as well, I guess." Ephram said angrily.
"A cheating test?" Harrison asked in confusion.
"Well, she didn't get pregnant from me!"
"You're not going to even step up to this? Damn, Ephram, I thought you were at least man enough from what I saw to take responsibility! You're going to let Molly down when she needs you so much?"
"You don't understand me it's impossible for it to be mine. I didn't do anything that could have caused it...you see?"
Harrison looked surprised. "You two never..."
Ephram shook his head. "Not once yet."
"Oh...I just assumed...you've been dating for months and the test..."
"Perhaps there's a reason for that."
Their accusing gazes turned to Molly herself, who looked absolutely clueless at them. "What the hell are you two talking about?"
Marty gasped, just realizing what they were referring to. "Oh my God...you've all been thinking...that...that...that was hers?"
"What is mine?" Molly yelled, missing too much.
"The pregnancy test. They think it's yours."
"What pregnancy te" Molly stopped in midsentence to look at everyone in amazing. "You think I'm pregnant?" She screamed.
"...Well...you are." Josiah put in to make sure everyone remembered he was still here.
"No! No I'm not! I've never taken a pregnancy test in my life! I can't believe you three would think this and not even consult me before starting to shun me away!"
"We weren't shunning you!" Harrison said quickly. "I was just...upset. I was trying to figure out how to help you but I was...I was scared."
"Well you don't need to be. I'm just fine and there's nothing in here." She said, laying her hands on her stomach.
Josiah was the first to point out the obvious question hanging in the air. "Then...who's was it?"
Molly walked over to Harrison closely, taking his big hand in to hers and walking the two of them away from the table of people.
She found a corner by a line of windows and put her hands softly on his shoulders. "Harry...the pregnancy test was Candice's." She whispered.
His eyes grew wide. "Wwhat?"
"She came to us one day. Said her period was two weeks late and she was worried. She didn't know who else to consult...I suppose she doesn't have as close of friends as we thought. But...didn't you and Josiah read the results?"
He shrugged. "We're men, Molls. We don't know how to read those things."
"It was negative. Candice got her period the next day. But even so...really Harry, it hurts me that you would think I was the one carrying a baby and then not talk to me for almost a month! Is that how it would be? If I got pregnant...would you not talk to me anymore? Would we not be friends?"
"Oh God no, Molls." He said, wrapping his arms around her tightly and bringing her close. "No, never. In fact, I had a whole plan developed! I thought that you'd probably go away to have a family, with your feeling about this place. I...I was going to sell the school and I'd move in to the city wherever you went. So I'd be close to you still. Like always.
And...and you could still teach to help bring in money and I could work a different shift so I could watch the baby for you, that way you don't have to put the baby in a daycare. I know how much you hate those. And they're so expensive anyway. Honestly, I was really hurt you didn't come and tell me, but I worked through that. I planned through that. I love you too much to let you go no matter what you do."
Molly's eyes had misted over, her chin trembling.
"You were really going to sell your school? That was in your family for four generations. Over three hundred years. Your father loves that school."
He shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered. I would have given it up in a heartbeat in it meant staying with you."
Slipping on to her toes, she leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, then laid her head on his shoulder. "My hero forever and always."
But he pulled her away so he could look straight in to her deep brown eyes. "Are we okay?"
She smiled her sweet, content smile at him. "Promise you'll stop jumping to conclusions, Harry?"
He smirked. "It seems to be second nature, so I can't promise you that. But I will ask you if that conclusion is right before I start rearranging my whole life on it. How's that?"
She kissed his shoulder and hugged him tight. "That's just fine."
"...So you do forgive me?"
"Of course, Red."
"Great, then let's go get some pie!" He said with a wink and leaving her arms to hurry in to the kitchen.
_______________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8 How could you Give your love to Someone Else?
But the next day, things weren't all happy and not all had been solved with pie. It was time to deal with those matters that hadn't been solved on the holiday, thanks to trying to keep it light.
So while Harrison went off to Candice's house to have what was destined to be quite the lengthy talk, Molly met Ephram at a coffee house.
Sitting by the window with a coffee cup in her hands, she finally worked up the nerve to look in to his eyes. "You think I cheated on you. You hear a rumor that I'm pregnant and you suddenly act upon it saying I cheated on you. You didn't even tell me. You made stupid excuses on why you couldn't meet me. What were you planning?"
"You weren't mad at Harrison he's the one who told me the stupid lie in the first place!"
"This isn't about Harrison! This is about you and I the difference is very clear. What did you think? I was sleeping around on you? Who were the candidates in your mind, huh?"
"Molly, calm down, please. It was stupid of me. I was being overworked and I hadn't been getting much sleep. The whole thing freaked me out, is all. It was a natural reaction."
"Harrison was trying to sell his school so he could follow me to wherever I decided to move and raise the baby. It wasn't a natural reaction for him."
"Why do you compare him with me, Molls? I'm not Redford. I don't think like him. I don't do everything like him. So okay, he's great. He's perfect. I'm an ass. What more is there to say?"
She shook her head. "Harrison is far from perfect. That wasn't what I was trying to say. I'm just trying to get you to help me understand what the hell is running through your head?"
"I'm not trying to be mean, but come on here. I screwed up, I know that. But I also know this has little to do with just my reaction to what happened."
"What do you think I'm doing then?"
"Comparing me to Harrison. Wondering why I can't do what he does or say what he says. Trying to figure out why you're miserable at what you're looking at. Well from what I see, it's pretty easy to understand."
"Yeah? Then tell me."
"I think you're trying to find someone just like Harrison...because that's who you're really in love with. Not me. Him. But you won't admit it because you're scared. Just like I was scared when I thought you were pregnant."
She shook her head with an angry laughter. "I am not in love with Harrison Redford. You're just trying to find an out for my anger. You're trying to make me let you go."
"No. No I'm not. What I just said is what I believe, Molly."
"And so what is the end result?" She asked, her lips trembling around the side of her coffee cup.
"I..." he stopped, his whole face registering in shock as he looked behind her.
At first, she looked confused at him before looking over her shoulder to see a woman with long blonde hair and a face more beautiful than an angel's. She looked back at Ephram
in disgust. "What, you're checking out women in my presence now?"
"No..." He whispered in amazement as the woman walked towards them.
"Ephram Vinick! Oh my God, I can't believe you're here!" She exclaimed, giving him a quite hug and a kiss on the check.
Molly sat back, interested and watching over the edge of her mug.
"Amy...it's great to see you! But I thought...aren't you supposed to be living in Rome?"
The woman called Amy smiled brilliantly. Molly couldn't help but compare Candice's smile with this one. Amy's won out easily. "As it so happens, Rome is quite overrated."
"Now that's surprising." Ephram remarked, sitting further in the booth as she lowered herself in to side sitting, facing him full on.
"Not really. You weren't there. I found myself looking for you but...you were here. I kept hearing you calling me back so I decided..."
Molly cleared her throat, making it look like she had gulped down too much coffee.
The two looked at her as if she was the stranger who just sat down before Ephram came to his senses. "God Molly, I'm sorry. Amy, this is Molly Radcliffe. Molls, this is Amy Goodwin."
Molly nodded, still looking confused. "And you are?" She asked, trying to sound polite.
"Ephram's exfiancé."
Molly couldn't hide her surprise this time. "Uh...oh." Was all she could get out.
"And you?"
"I'm...his girlfriend."
"Oh God, I'm sorry." She immediately apologized. "I must look dreadful. I didn't mean to intrude."
She stood up but Ephram caught her wrist, not willing to let her down. "How about you leave me your phone number? I'll catch up with you later."
Amy Goodwin smiled again, taking a business card out of her wallet and placing it in his hand. "I'll talk to you later. Hopefully soon." She said, then walked away with a hurry.
Ephram watched her walk away and Molly watched him. He had love in his eyes, not able to mask it.
It wasn't just his eyes that spoke the truth. It was little things. He slouched, as if the farther Amy walked away, the more life was sucked out of him. The way his thumb gently brushed the card, as if it was made of glass.
She shifted in her side of the red booth. It was an uncomfortable situation to say the least. "How long have you been trying to get over her?" Molly finally found her voice.
Ephram cleared his throat, looking back at her. "Oh...I uh..."
Molly shook her head. "The truth."
He relented, knowing that lying to someone such as she was not an option. She could see through lies too easily. "A month before I met you."
"And the story?"
"We were in love. But we had very different dreams. I settled down here with my restaurant. I felt complete. But Amy...well she was kind of like you. Not happy here. Wanting more for herself. Anything. Her dream was to be an artist and travel around. She promised once all that was out of her system, she'd come home within a few months and she'd settle down with me. So I called up my cousin Matteo and he helped her out in France. She started there, then moved to England. But her real passion was Rome. She called me from her London hotel when she got a job in Italy and told me she couldn't bring herself to give up her dreams. That she was wrong. That she was breaking up with me. I loved her like crazy, but when I offered to go to Rome with her, she refused, knowing that I'd be giving up my dream and she'd never be able to forgive herself for that. So she just left. I loved her so much, but all she would say is that if it was meant to be..."
"God would find a way to reunite the two of you and you'd be together. And then you'd know it was the real thing?" Molly guessed.
Ephram admitted it with a nod. "She called me up two weeks before Marty approached me about you. Said that it wasn't meant to be and to find someone else. That Rome was her true love. So when Marty suggested her best friend to try and date, I thought it was ideal. I'd try it out, see if Amy was right about us not being meant to be together."
Molly's hands trembled, trying to steady her voice. "...And?"
"...And I love you Molly. I love you a lot. But..."
Molly sat back, willing her emotions down. Nodding, she looked out the window. "But I'm not Amy Goodwin."
"...Yeah, something like that."
Exactly like that. How strange things could twist. They'd met to discuss the aftermath of a pregnancy test scare and ended up discussing about Ephram's true love that wasn't her.
"Molly...I really do I like you. You've been great and I loved dating you for so long. I value your friendship so much. I really don't want to lose it. Please, let us still be friends at
least."
And there was the final words the killer to the relationship. Lets still be friends so it was official they were through.
Molly's throat restricted to the point where she couldn't swallow the coffee she was trying to put down. Instead of speaking, she nodded once more, then stood up from her seat.
"I'm sorry, but I really got to go, Eph. I...I guess I'll see you around."
He looked worried and regretful. "Molly, please don't go. Please, let us talk about this. We came to talk."
"No Ephram. We talked enough. We're done. I got to go."
Grabbing her leather jacket and shrugging it on her shoulders, she buttoned it up as she hurriedly walked towards the door.
_______________________________________________________________________
"So it's over between you two? Just like that?"
Molly snuggled closer to Harrison as he held her in comfort. Her favorite blanket was draped over them as they reclined on the sofa, the tv on low as a back round.
"Yeah, just like that."
"Molls...was it over the pregnancy test? Did I do this? Honestly now."
Molly shook her head. "No Harrison, you weren't the cause. He loves another woman."
"And you're okay with that? Because if you want to blubber all over the place, my shirt is easily transformed in to a handkerchief. Not to mention what my fists could do to his face..."
Molly giggled. "No, I'm fine. Because...I am almost okay with it. Ephram and I...we weren't going to last forever. It was a lot of fun while it lasted, but I think deep down we had always both known it wouldn't last."
"How did you know that?"
"Our relationship was missing something. It was missing...connection. That everlasting love. That...I don't know. That connection that keeps you together. Keeps you missing that person when they're away and keeps you in love with them over the years. We didn't have that. But he did with Amy. Ephram is the first person I dated since..." Molly blushed.
"Well, in a long time. But I couldn't expect to be that lucky my first boyfriend of my adulthood to be the One."
"Maybe so. But I've been dating lots and I still haven't found the One either. So don't feel bad about that I guess it takes time no matter what your method is. But you will find him one day, that's for sure."
Sleep started to overcome her eyes. Grabbing the remote, she made the tv louder. "I love this show." She muttered, watching through half closed eyelids.
_______________________________________________________________________
"I am so sorry, Molls. If I had known...I really didn't know about that stuff. I mean, I knew he was engaged and then he broke up a little over a month before I hooked you two up, but I didn't know any of the details. He assured me it was completely over." Marty said, pacing back and forth.
"It's not your fault." Molly assured. "It's no one's fault. It just happened and now it's over and I'm okay with that. Really."
"Oh...okay. You just seemed...a little off. Distracted, you know? I thought it was secretly affecting you even though Harrison said..."
"Yeah I know. I have been distracted by something, but it's not that. It's just...Ephram said something to me and it kind of bugged me...a lot. I didn't let him know at the time. I don't even know if we finished that discussion or not."
"What did he say?" Marty inquired with interest.
"He said...he said that I was really in love with Harrison. But because I refused to admit that and I was scared of that fact, I was trying to find someone that was just like him. So I compared Ephram to Harrison and I got frustrated every time Ephram did something not Harry like. Or something along those lines. I don't know...it was a ridiculous theory that
I rejected right off the bat."
Marty didn't reply and after a moment, Molly realized this. Looking over, she saw Marty's head bowed, her hands clasped together. "The only time I ever see you so quiet is when you are sleeping. What's wrong, Marts?"
Marty looked up, hesitation flashing in her face. "I...don't know if you want to really hear what I think on this subject, Molly. I think it would be best to skip over this one."
"No...what do you mean? Tell me."
Marty sighed. "I think...on this subject...that Ephram was right."
"What?" Molly shouted in her surprise. "Please, do explain this to me, seeing that it seems I'm the only one that doesn't understand this concept!"
"It has always seemed to me that you've always been in love with Harrison. Ever since I met you. I mean...you've always had very deep feeling for him. But there is a line between friendship and love and I think you crossed it long before I met you. I think you'd know it too, if you'd allow yourself to actually think about it. I've always read it as that you've always figured you could never have Harrison perhaps because you were scared to ruin your friendship if something went wrong so you buried your feelings deep inside where they still burn, only so that you don't see them as clearly as the rest of us do."
Molly looked frightened out of her mind. "Does Harrison know this?"
Marty laughed. "No. Or at least, I seriously doubt it. Haven't you read any romance novels in the last decade? It's the people in love who are the last people to know of each other's feelings. But I think...I think you should give it a try, Molls."
Molly's jaw dropped. "You must be crazy!"
"I don't believe I am. Though it is possible you are. But in a different way."
Crazy in love, was what she meant.
Molly sighed, running her hand through her curly hair. "You don't understand, Marty."
"You're right, I don't. You got the love of your life right in front of you and you refuse to admit it to yourself or him...or anyone!" Her best friend said from her spot on the sofa.