Molly
EARLY ON THE Sunday before the party, Molly got a call from Stars and Icing Forever.
“Hello??’
“Hey. It’s Naomi. I’ve got some new things I’d like you to try, I kinda want to test them at the party but I won’t do that until you taste them first. Can you come down?”
“I . . .”
“It’s okay. I promise. For what it’s worth, I’m on your side.”
It took a bit for her to realize what Naomi was talking about, then she decided that she didn’t want to discuss it further.
“I have chocolate,” Naomi said.
“I’ll be right down!”
She pulled herself together, threw on a sweater, sweats, her lovely, fuzzy winter boots, then a scarf and her heavy winter parka. Finally, she shook her head and went to the elevator. It was quiet. She couldn’t deal with any people this early on a Sunday. Heading out, she waved to Rocky and jumped into a waiting cab.
When she got to Stars and Icing she felt overwhelmed, as before. This time, Naomi herself came out from behind the counter and gave her a hug. “Oooh,” she said. “My brother is an asshole, and I’m going to feed you sugar. Come on.”
She wasn’t sure how to answer that, but she figured she’d be all right.
IN FACT, SHE was more than all right. Pastries and coffee and what seemed like the beginning of a friendship awaited. And yet once they moved on to the spiked hot chocolate portion of the brunch, Naomi turned to her with a clear and frank expression on her face.
“My brother’s an idiot,” she said without preamble, in a way that made Molly want to sob again. “And I think it’s because we babied him after Dad died. My sister, Mom, and I. It’s like we all felt we had to keep him in some kind of cocoon, you know, which helped and hurt. We let him have more space than he deserved, let him be . . . more focused on things than he should have been. Not material things, mind, but . . . the genuine sentimental stuff.”
“Huh?”
Naomi shook her head. “You must have noticed his insistence on keeping that horrible car? And how that godawful card table looks like it should be burned, and all?”
Molly nodded. “Yeah?”
“To him, they’re not just things, they’re memories. Which you get, of course. But they’re . . . when my mother got rid of the disgusting, old couch we’d had—after one of the springs got loose? He went out and took a picture when we’d finally taken it outside.”
Naomi’s words made Molly want to cry all over again. “Oh my God, I—”
“Oh for God sakes. The idiot told me what happened. All you have to do is hold on and wait until next week to call in your people to fix the apartment. You didn’t randomly walk in there and put your style in there, I’m assuming. If you’re anywhere near as good as your reputation says you are, then that apartment is now your version of my brother. If that idiot has half the wit he’s supposed to, then he’ll be crawling back to you.”
“So,” she sniffed as she grabbed a napkin from the table. “What does this mean?”
“You two were adorable together, and I’m not going to let him mess things up because he’s being an idiot. Only, that is, if you think you can possibly be in a relationship with my brother. Because maybe you don’t want to, in which case that’s fine. “
She met Naomi’s gaze and sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Right. You’re as horrible as he is. Okay. So hold out. Because if you want this, if you want to be with him, there’s a chance. I promise.”