Molly

“It’s not like that Molly.”

“I used to know you pretty well, but I can’t believe that you would want to sell out with your parent’s property. They would never have wanted that.”

I was starting to think that was why they had given me half of it. They knew that it wouldn’t sell without both sides and they knew that I wouldn’t let it happen. I was one of the only ones that didn’t mind standing up to Chris. He had always been a bit scary to most people, but Chris was just Chris to me.

“They wouldn’t sell, but they didn’t live here either.”

“Your father said once that he bought up Nome so no one else could have it. He wanted it to stay how it was.”

I couldn’t believe him and I had to wonder what it was that he wanted with all of that money. Chris had always wanted more and had never been happy with the way things were. I’d felt that way for a while when I was younger, but as the years past, I realized that there was only so much that a person needed. I wish that he would stay and remember why he loved this place so much. He used to.

“I know, but they are gone and I don’t want to own part of Nome. There is nothing here for me anymore.”

“You’ve got a bunch of old friends here that I bet would like to see you. It’s been a while Chris. I think you’ve forgotten how good it can be here in Nome. Why don’t you stay a while?”

“I’m not staying any longer than I have to.”

“Well you have to stay for the lawyers at least, right?”

He nodded his head that he did and I smiled back at him. I wanted him to stay, I always had and I knew that if I could just get him back up on the mountain, doing what we used to love, I would be able to convince him that this is where he needed to be. I wasn’t going to sell him the land. He knew that before he came.

“Yeah, I guess so. I’m staying with my Aunt because the hotel here is still a dump.”

“We had some good times in that hotel.”

His eyes darkened for a moment and I didn’t regret putting the image in his head. I wanted him to get back to the old Chris, not the one in front of me now.

“Will you help me go check out the land and see what kind of work is needed? No one has been up there for a while.”

“I don’t know if I will have time. I still have to work.”

I sighed to myself and sat back in the booth, rolling the coffee cup around in my hands. I didn’t want to argue with him, so I knew that I was going to have to add some incentive. I needed a way for him to agree to help me, but it was going to be a risk because Chris could not change his mind and then I would be stuck losing out.

“What if I made it worth your while?”

“Like what?”

He was thinking about sex because his face was showing the lust that was always simmering under the surface. I knew that look all too well and I loved it if I was honest with myself. I loved it when he looked at me like that, but I was getting ahead of myself and I had to pull back a little bit.

“Like I will sell you the land if you help me and stay with me for the next week.”

“Are you in need of some good loving?”

I shook my head that I wasn’t. “I gave up on that a long time ago. I need some help fixing a few things that I know you are good at and it would be good to reminisce.”

He looked like he didn’t trust me, like I had something up my sleeve. I did of course, but he didn’t have to know that at the moment. I didn’t want him to know what my plans were. I had a week to make him fall in love with this place again. I had to assure myself that it was all about him loving Nome, not me. I was going to have to remember that, even when my heart was being a dumb ass, thinking that his being back was going to bring something home for us. It was over. I was doing this… for Ruth’s sake. Yeah, that’s why.

“So I stay the week with you and help out and you will sell me the property at market value?”

I agreed and he smiled this big way that made me wonder then if it was all going to backfire in my face. He was obviously sure that he wasn’t going to be sucked into Nome life again. He was going to stay with me, do a little labor and then he was going to go back to his new life.

I wasn’t going to let that happen, so I smiled back at him just as widely. I was going to make sure that it didn’t happen like that. I needed him to stay and see what his parents had left him. I was doing it for them, but deep down I knew that I was doing it for me too. I missed Chris something fierce. I miss what we used to have and I liked to think that I could make it happen again.

“Yes, you have a deal. Stay a week and help me out. I’m sure that you will remember what it is that you are missing here. Nome has always been your home and will always be your home.”

And I am still here waiting.