Chapter12
Mary cooed softly in her bassinet as Molly stepped out from the bathroom. Nattie stood next to the bassinet, making more of a fuss than the baby. “It’s making noise,” she said, staring down at her. “What am I supposed to do when it’s making that noise. Is it bad or is it good? I mean, it sounds okay. It’s not at ear splitting decibels yet. I-” She looked over at the bathroom door and as soon as she saw Molly her eyes softened. “Oh, Sweetie! You look beautiful!” She squealed and ran to her. “I can’t believe this.”
It was three weeks after the birth of little Mary Richards. Since Kevin didn’t show up to the birth of Molly’s daughter, she decided to give her, her own last name. She could change it later if she wanted to, not that Kevin cared much. He wanted a boy and he made it perfectly clear that he didn’t care as much when she found out that she was going to have a girl.
Molly turned to the full length mirror across the room and got a glimpse of herself. Her ivory wedding gown had a fitted bodice with a rounded sweetheart neckline. The lace applique over the mermaid gown brought a touch of elegance to the simple but beautiful dress. She smoothed the lace with her hands and as she did she felt as though she could burst into tears. Nattie must have seen it in her eyes.
“You okay, babe?” she asked. “Those don’t seem like happy tears.”
“Oh, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m just a bit preoccupied and – Oh my gawd, what am I doing?” She took a deep breath and began to fan her face with her hands.
“Deep breaths,” Nattie ran to her. “Deep breaths. Deep breaths.” She held her in her arms. “Listen, it’s just cold feet. Everyone gets them. You just have to be calm. Come here.” She walked her over to the bed and sat her down. “I want to ask you one thing before I help you pack up and go down to the car.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you love him?”
Molly shook her head. “No.”
Nattie just stared at her and blinked for a moment. Molly watched her cock her eye brow slowly. “What?”
“Kevin and I have already talked about it. We haven’t really been in love since we took the stop of moving in together. Something happened. I don’t know what it was. We just fell out of love. But he still wants to marry me. We have a baby together. He’s so worried about appearances and whatnot. This way he can keep up appearances and I can be sure that Mary and I will be taken care of. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
“Now you know me. I’m not one to begrudge anyone from getting a sugar daddy. Especially when he’s really a daddy… to your baby. But, isn’t there something that’s missing? I mean, you’ve been really out of sorts lately and I think it’s because you finally experienced what real love was. I haven’t gotten to experience that myself but ever since you showed me what that can really do for you… I don’t know. Maybe I should go looking for that myself.” She smiled coyly. “What about Justin?”
“No, no, no. Don’t say his name. You can’t do that to me.”
“How did you leave things with him?”
“Not good. We fought. He told me to go to Kevin. Said something about how I need to be with him because he can provide for us. So it’s like we’re perfect for each other. Everyone wants me to be with Kevin. Even Justin.”
“Oh come on. He doesn’t really feel that way. You know that he was just testing you. You need to go back to him.”
“What do you mean ‘testing me’?” Anger surged within her chest. “If he loves me, he wouldn’t want to test my love. He would just want to be with me.”
“He did want to be with you. I just assumed that he gave you that choice and you chose Kevin.”
“I just told you,” Molly said, her voice getting louder as the words flew out of her mouth. “I just told you, he told me to go to Kevin.”
“Well, why did you? If you loved him so much, why did you go to Kevin? Why didn’t you just stay with him?”
“Because…” Her voice cut out. “Because this was easier…”
Nattie put her arms around Molly, who struggled to get free but soon gave in. Molly knew she had messed up but now it was too late. She had made her decision. She chose stability over the adventure. Her voice crackled as she spoke, “Tell me I made the right decision. This is what being a grown up is all about, right? When you have kids, you need to make these kinds of sacrifices. I chose to be with Kevin because he can provide for Mary and I.”
“You made the safe decision,” Nattie said.
Molly pushed her away. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I’m sorry,” Nattie said. “I don’t want to lie to you. Your mother and I have been doing that for all of your life. I kept spewing out the words that our mothers force-fed us but you know what? I hadn’t seen you more alive than when you were with Justin. Something about him just brings you back to life. Like he’s some kind of fountain of youth. Kevin might be able to provide for you now but if Justin is really the kind of man that you say he is – he has it in him to provide for you too. You just won’t get this cushy lifestyle.
“You had love. You chose the money. I want you to know that before you go walking down the aisle because that’s what best friends do. They tell you what you don’t want to hear because it is the truth.”
“It is the truth,” Molly said. “And it’s too late to go back now.” She motioned toward the baby. “We have to pack her up to go to the chapel. I just heard the car pull up.”
“I’m driving,” Nattie said. “I’m driving my car so…um, I’ll take Mary and her things. You go ahead and go to the car. Don’t forget your suitcase.” She pointed to the suitcase that Mary had packed for her honeymoon.
“We’re coming back for it,” Molly said. “I’ll get it later.”
“Why come back for it?” Nattie asked, buckling the tiny baby into a car seat. She flung the diaper bag over her shoulder and grabbed the car seat in one hand. Then grabbed a smaller suitcase in the other. “This is her change of clothes, right?”
“Yeah, but I told you.”
“Stop. I don’t want to fight anymore,” Nattie said. “Just grab your stuff and go. We’re right behind you.”
Nattie was right. Molly didn’t want to fight anymore. She just wanted to get this over with so she could forget all about Justin and get on with her life. She grabbed the suitcase and brought it down the stairs. Pulling out the extendable arm, she rolled it beside her as she walked out the front door and closed it behind her.
A black town car was parked in front of the door. As soon as she noticed it, the trunk lid of the town car popped open and Molly walked the suitcase over and dropped it in. It wasn’t until she shut the lid and walked around the car that she realized the driver must not have been Miguel. Miguel had been doting over her since she had the baby. He would have gotten out and grabbed her suitcase for her. The window of the passenger’s seat rolled down, letting Molly see the familiar face in the driver’s seat.
“What are you doing here?” she said. “Where’s Miguel?”
“He’s at home with his kids,” Justin said. She hadn’t heard his voice in months. She was happy to note that his deep voice still made her weak in the knees. “I asked him if I could drive you today and he said yes.”
“Did he know who you were?” Molly asked, skipping over the more obvious questions.
“No, but when I told him that I knew I was supposed to stop the wedding today, he just grinned.”
“Is that what you’re doing?” she asked. “You’re stopping the wedding? What if I don’t get in the car? Nattie’s in the house, she can just take me to the chapel.”
“Get in,” Justin said. “Come on. Just get in.” He reached across and unlatched the door for her, using his fingertips to push the door ajar.
Molly hesitated for only a split second before sliding into the seat. “Don’t kidnap me,” she said. “Nattie will know where to find me and she won’t let you off easy.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t cross her.” He shook his head and turned the car engine off. Molly assumed that it was to ease her mind. “Listen,” he started. “You know how I feel about you, right?”
“No, actually. I don’t. You’ve never told me. You’ve never said anything to me. You haven’t even given me one of those stupid notes from class. ‘Do you like me? Check box yes or no.’”
“Before you, I had my dad’s garage and an apartment full of books. That is how I lived my life. Day by day. But when I met you, it was like I knew that you were supposed to be with me for the rest of my life. You brought back my sense of adventure. I had to go looking for my bucket list notebook cause I hadn’t seen it in years. You reminded me how important it is to live my life again. I’m so in love with you for that. What you do to me. How you make me feel. The stupid things that I do to impress you. It’s all cause I love you. I know you know that. You’re not an idiot.”
“Gee thanks,” she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. “No one’s ever confessed to me and said the word idiot all in the same breath before.” She snickered and looked out the window, wondering what was taking Nattie so long. The longer she stayed in the car with him, the more she wanted to be with him and she wasn’t sure if she could bear it any longer.
“I understand that you’re mad at me because I told you to be with Kevin.” He took her hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. She melted at the sight. “I was wrong. I can’t live without you. I can’t live without my little girl. That’s…” His voice faded and a smile crept across his face as his eyes softened. “That’s my girl in there. I made her. With you. I want to be in her life. I want to see her grow up.” He swallowed. “I know I don’t have as much money as your douchebag fiancé-”
“Hey.”
“But I’ll figure out a way to bring in more money so she couldn’t possibly need anything else. You want private school, I’ll put her through private school. What will it take for you to realize that I’ll do anything for you. I don’t want you to marry Kevin.”
“Who says that decision is up to you anyway?” Molly asked, thanking the heavens that her mascara was waterproof. “You had your chance months ago.”
“I know but I was wrong. I made a mistake. I don’t want to stress you out even more. If you want me to drive you to the chapel, I’ll do it. I’ll drive you there, I’ll drop you off, and I won’t look back. But if you want, I can take you and the baby and we can leave. We can go off and live in a little cabin by the lake. We can spend the rest of our lives looking for adventure together.”
Molly’s heart skipped a beat. Her chest panged. Her eyes scanned his face and body, looking for any sign of insincerity. She couldn’t go through it again. Fall in love with him, only to be turned away. His eyes were soft. She reached for his cheek, letting her fingers graze against his stubble. She was so trapped in the moment that she hadn’t realized that someone was outside until the back passenger door flung open. Her head whipped back, looking to see if it was Kevin but it was just Nattie, poking her head in through the door.
“You guys are taking forever to kiss and make up. It’s making me nervous. You seriously have to get out of here. Just in case.” She deposited the car seat in the backseat, locking it on the base. It snapped into place. She slid the small suitcase in front of the seat and shut the door. Then she opened Molly’s door and dropped the diaper bag in her lap. “You promise to call me as soon as you two get everything settled?” she said.
“What about the wedding?” Molly said, her voice softer than she had imagined it to be when the words ran through her mind.
“You leave all of that to me. I’ll explain to Kevin that you had second thoughts and that you need some time to yourself to think about things. I’ll tell him that you and the baby are safe.” She poked her head in the car so that she could give Justin an icy glare. “They’ll be safe right? I know where you live. Don’t you think about doing anything stupid.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of them. You already told me that you trusted me, remember?”
“Yeah, well. I just wanted to make sure,” she slowly backed away, briefly stopping to hug Molly before shutting the door. “You get out of here, you crazy kids. Go find an adventure.” She tapped the door and waved goodbye as she scampered toward her car.
Molly faced Justin. “Are we really doing this?” she asked. “Are we really going to run away?”
“If you want to,” he said. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Right now all I want you to do is drive. I don’t care where we go. I just want you to drive and I want to not think for a while.”
A few miles down the road, in the opposite direction of the church, was a gas station with a familiar looking car in it. It was Justin’s Jeep – which doors and the hardtop on. Miguel hopped out of the driver’s seat as soon as he saw the town car pull up. He waved at them and smiled. Molly had never seen him smile like that. His regular smile was nice. It was friendly and warm. This one was sincere. He smiled from his heart. He smiled so hard he was squinting his eyes and showing off his pearly whites. “Miss Molly,” he called. “I’m glad you’re finally here. I was afraid that you headed off to the church after all.” He tossed Justin the keys and Justin tossed the town car keys to him in response.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, giving him a hug.
“I wanted to see you off. I was going to drive you and Justin away in this romantic gesture but I figured that you two would want to be alone with the baby.” He motioned toward Justin, who was taking the car seat out of the back. He leaned against the car and looked into the seat with a distant smile. Holding the handle with one hand, he gently reached in with the other and let her grasp his finger with her tiny hand. He choked back a tear. Miguel elbowed Molly. “This one is a keeper,” he said. “I can tell. You three are going to make a great family. You have something that Mr. Kevin can’t buy.”
“Love?” Molly asked.
Miguel nodded. “Yeah, and chemistry. I never saw that with you and Kevin. You two always just existed in the same space. There was never really any love there.”
“There used to be. I don’t know what happened,” Molly admitted. “He used to be so sweet.” She watched Justin as he smiled at their baby. “I can’t picture Kevin being a good father.” Tears began to well in her eyes. “And he was so upset with me when he found out we were going to have a girl.”
“Luckily, this guy doesn’t seem to care if she’s a girl or a boy.” He nudged her again. “What would you say if he asked you to marry him?”
“Justin?” she said, surprised. She shrugged. “If he asked me right now, I would tell him no. Because I literally just walked away from one wedding. But if he gave me some time, I know that I’d say yes.”
“Let me help you with your bags one last time,” Miguel said, giving her a quick side hug. He walked over to the car and popped the trunk.
“Oh, I can get that,” Justin said. He stood up but Miguel held his hand out.
“No, no, you’re okay. Enjoy your baby. They don’t stay this small so you need to enjoy it while you can,” he said, pulling Molly’s suitcase out of the trunk.