Over the next six days, Molly tried thinking of ways she could break up with Thomas. Should she do it face to face, by text message, perhaps by e-mail? Any of these ways would work. But what frightened her was what she was going to say when Thomas asked why. She was breaking up with him. If she used the, “It’s not you, it’s me” bit, Thomas would know she’s lying, and if she told him the truth, he would pulverize her as she argued that nothing was going on between her and Seth.
Thomas scared her to the point of fearing for her life, so how do you end a relationship like that?
When Molly got back into town she went over to Seth’s house, figuring maybe Seth could help her end it with Thomas.
“When you think of ending it, what’s the first thing you feel?”
“I feel fear.”
“What kind of fear?”
“I fear for my life. Not only my life, but yours.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because if Thomas ever discovered that I did indeed leave him for you, he would beat you senseless.” Seth chuckled. “You think that’s funny?”
“He’s just looking for a fight, a reason to throw a punch. He figures if he shows you how tough he is, you’d come running back to him. I say bring it on, let him throw a punch, because I’m not fighting back.”
“You see? You know exactly what qualities a woman looks for in a man. I told you, you’re unique.” Molly started to undress. “Would your parents mind if I spent the night?”
“Not at all.”
“Good, shut the light off and get into bed. I have a feeling we’ll be up all night.”
“Oh baby!”
After a couple of hours, Seth and Molly lay in bed holding each other.
“I can’t have two relationships, Seth. It’s not fair to you or me. Especially me.”
“Are you and Thomas still having sex?”
“No, I’ve cut him off completely for the past month.”
“It sounds to me you know what you want.”
Molly looked at Seth and smiled. “I certainly do.” She kissed him.
“Molly, sweetheart. Listen. You could end this thing right now with one Facebook message, text or e-mail.”
“I really wouldn’t know what to say or how to say it.”
“Give me your phone and I’ll write it for you!”
“I couldn’t do that. Then Thomas would know it wasn’t me.”
“How?”
“Because you’re a damn fine writer. You have a way with words and terms that no one else has. Thomas knows my way of composing messages. He may have Asperger’s, but he’s not stupid.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I love you very much. It hurts me to know that because of the way Thomas is, and my fear of him, we may never be together.”
Seth was upset by this. But then his sadness transformed into a kind of light anger. He felt all this time and energy put into trying to win Molly over had been nothing but a waste of time. With all this effort, he was determined not to finish his film empty-handed. Molly would be his, even if it killed him.
“Okay, Molly. I want you to close your eyes and imagine this.”
Molly got over to her side of the bed, placed her arms at her side and closed her eyes.
“I’m ready.”
“Imagine we finish the film, and because of your fear, you decide it would be best if we didn’t see each other for a while. One week turned into two, and two turned into a month—meanwhile, you’re still dating Thomas.
“About the two-month mark, out of the blue he ends the relationship, and you part on decent terms. Then you realize you’re free of Thomas and decide to rekindle things with me.
“So you shoot me a text, and after 24 hours you text me again because I never answered your first text. So periodically throughout the rest of the week you keep texting me, but I don’t respond.
“Finally, you decide to take your chances and drop by the house. You knock on the door and wait. You were just about to leave when my mom finally answers the door. You ask if I’m home, and she looks at you strangely and invites you in. She tells you to have a seat.
“She tells you I’ve passed away, I’ve been dead for a month. You begin crying and telling her, ‘It’s not true.’ So she tells you what cemetery I’m in and where my plot is. You drive to the cemetery and walk up to the headstone, and sure enough, there’s my name carved into a slab of granite.
“You drop to your knees and begin crying like you’ve never cried before.”
Molly sat up and placed her back against the wall. She began crying.
Seth reached over and turned his nightstand light on and looked at her.
Seeing her in tears made him feel like a lousy, miserable piece of shit. He gently sighed, sat up and rubbed her shoulders.
“Hey, I’m so sorry. I really didn’t mean to make you cry. I feel horrible.”
Molly slowly raised her head and looked at Seth. “I know you didn’t mean to make me cry, you were just trying to make a point. That’s not why I’m crying, though.”
“Oh?”
“Call me weird or strange, but something tells me that that’s exactly what would happen. I didn’t have to imagine it, I could feel it.”
He reached over and caressed her cheek. Using his thumb, he carefully removed the tears from her eyes.
“Let’s do everything in our power not to let that happen.”
Molly nodded and threw her arms around him.
*
After the new year began, Molly and Thomas drifted further apart, and Seth and Molly got noticeably closer. They held hands in public and would hug, just being open. They would just do things a typical, loving couple would do.
The only trouble was, everybody knew Molly was still dating Thomas. For the circle of friends in Seth’s film, this was confusing. As time progressed Seth started seeing a change in Molly; the loving, intelligent woman he loved seemed to be deteriorating, and this concerned Seth very much.
One evening after filming, he decided to take his concern to Molly.
They made their way up to Seth’s room and sat on his bed. The air felt thicker, and a dark cloud hovered over their heads. Seth got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was so bad he started taking deep breaths.
“Do you mind if I turn on some music?” She nodded. Seth turned on his CD player. The CD already in the player started to spin, and after a couple of seconds the music began to play. The song playing was “Groovy Kind of Love” by Phil Collins. Molly smiled. The song seemed to lift her spirits a bit.
“Are you okay? I mean, is everything all right?”
Molly lowered her head for a moment. She slowly lifted it and looked at Seth. “I’m really not sure anymore.”
“What does that mean?”
“God, I’ve been dreading this day.” Molly sighed again. “Over Christmas, Thomas … he …”
“Yes? He?”
A big tear ran down Molly’s cheek. “He gave me a ring.”
Seth’s eyes got wide, his mouth dropped open and his heart sank. His face got red, his eyes teary.
“An engagement ring?”
“No.”
Seth sighed with great relief. “Then what’s the problem?”
“It’s expensive. With taxes it was $202.27.”
“Firstly that isn’t expensive, secondly, he actually told you the price?”
“Firstly that’s the most he’s ever spent on me, secondly he didn’t tell me the price because it’s a ring I’ve had my eye on for awhile.”
Seth laughed. “Molly, Molly, Molly—honey, don’t you see what Thomas is doing here?”
Molly thought for a moment. “No, what?”
“He’s trying to buy your love.”
“What?”
“See, he knows something is going on with you. And he figures he’s going to lose you. So he figures in order to keep you at his side, he’ll buy you off with something you really want. Something that costs money, this way by giving you an expensive gift, he feels, you feel an obligation to stay with him.”
Molly thought for a moment. “Oh my God, that makes so much sense. My sister, Maude, said almost the same thing. I’m just so damned conflicted.”
“How do you feel around him? What are your true feelings?”
Molly took a moment to think. “When I’m around Thomas, I’m never happy, I feel like I’m heading for the abyss. I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience. I feel like a slave!”
“And how do you feel when you’re with me?”
Molly smiled. “When I’m with you, I feel like myself. I’m happy, more energetic and so full of love.”
“So, to me, anyway, the choice is obvious. You know what you want, but you’re procrastinating.”
“Seth, please. Try to look at it from my perspective. For the past eight years I’ve been avoiding love. I would choose men who I knew didn’t have the capability to love, men I knew I didn’t want anything serious with. But then I met you, and you shook my world at its core. You make me want to love. I love you so much. It’s just the transition isn’t that easy.”
Molly and Seth shared a smile. Seth grabbed Molly’s hand and kissed it.
“Okay, I understand completely.”
“I will get with you, Seth. It’s just going to take a little time.”
“I’ll be here.”
A week passed, the film proceeded and things were going great. On January 13, 2014, Seth decided to go to Will’s Fresh Café to do some writing. It had long been Seth’s dream to have a book published, so he decided, since things had been going very well in his life, now would be the perfect opportunity to get started. He didn’t have a laptop, so all of his writing was done by hand. And since he had nothing going on that day, he could afford to dedicate the whole day to his writing, at least until Will’s closed at ten.
Before Seth knew it, it was seven in the evening. He’d spent seven hours writing, yet it only felt like two. He received a text message from Molly.
Seth, are you busy? I sure could use a shoulder to lean on.
Uh oh, he thought. He texted, No, I’m not busy at all. I’m just at Will’s doing some writing.
Writing? Oh, I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I know how important writing is to you.
Seth knew something was seriously up, and the feeling deep in the pit of his stomach returned tenfold. Worry and concern washed over him like a tidal wave.
Don’t be silly Molly, you didn’t disturb me. Are you okay? Please, by all means come by and see me.
I might do that. I don’t know. I’m depressed at the moment, so I think I might just take a nap.
Okay, you do that. But if you want to see me, I’ll be here until they close at ten. Or you can stop by the house after that.
Thanks. I’ll take that into consideration.
The rest of the evening Seth spent wondering about Molly. His writing dwindled. He was lucky if he wrote five words a minute.
Around nine fifteen, Molly texted him again. Are you still at Will’s?
Yes I am. Are you stopping by?
I think I might—I just really feel like shit.
Seth didn’t understand why Molly was acting like this. Was she on her period? Was she pregnant with his love child? After all, they didn’t use condoms. Perhaps it was Thomas? Maybe he found out what was going on and actually beat Molly senseless. Who knew? It could be a hundred things.
You know what? I might just stay at home. The way I feel now, I’m not in the mood to do anything.
Oh God, Seth thought. This must be more serious than he originally thought. Seth tried to think of a way of getting Molly out of the house without forcing her or nagging.
I don’t think being alone right now is the best idea if you’re feeling as bad as you say. The best thing is to be around other people, a friend, someone who makes you feel good.
Seth waited, but no reply came. He thought of texting her again, but if she didn’t respond to the last text, there was a good chance she might not respond to the next one either. He was about to call her when he received her text message.
You’re absolutely right Seth. I’ll be right over.
Great, see you soon.
After a couple of minutes Seth looked up from the table and saw Molly walking over to him. She sat down.
She looked rough. Puffy eyes from crying, makeup running down her face, her hair a mess. Whatever Molly was going through must’ve been tragic.
“Are you okay? What the hell happened?”
Molly sniffed. “I just feel as though I walked away from a horrific traffic accident.”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She took a few seconds to blow her nose. “I received a text message from Thomas earlier, and he …”
“Asked you to marry him?”
“Christ, no.”
“Threatened you?”
“No, Seth.”
“Please, Molly, jump in; I’m drowning.”
“Thomas broke up with me.”
Seth suddenly became happy, almost to the point of tears. The prized fish was on the line. All Seth had to do now was slowly reel it in. “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“No you’re not. You’re ecstatic.”
“If I’m so happy, how come you’re not? We both wanted this. Didn’t we?”
Molly took a moment. “Oh, I’m happy, believe me. I just have to get over the shock. I can’t believe it’s really over, that’s all. I need time to decompress. I have to get used to the idea of being happy again.”
She collected Seth’s things and placed them into his travel bag.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m packing your things up. We’re going back to your place.”
When Seth and Molly got back home, they immediately went up to Seth’s room and hit the sheets, where they spent the next 40 minutes making the most passionate love imaginable.
After it was over, they held each other lovingly.
“So?” Seth said to Molly.
“What?”
“How does it feel making love to me now as a free woman?”
Molly stretched. “Mmm. It feels amazing, Seth. But I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a free woman.”
Seth smiled from ear to ear. “No?”
“No.” They shared a look.
“What do you think?” Molly asked.
“Really? You mean it?”
“I say we make it official.”
Seth’s face lit up; he could cry he was so happy. All those months of hard work and planning had finally paid off. On January 14, 2014, Seth Zimmer and Molly Featherlite were officially a couple.
“Oh God. I could cry, Molly. You just make me so happy!” Molly and Seth hugged.
A couple of days later, Molly posted the news on Facebook. Shortly after that, her sister, Maude, phoned her.
“Are you out of your goddamned mind? Are you really that stupid?”
“What?”
“Have you ever heard of being single? I think immediately jumping into a relationship after one ends is a God-awful idea!”
“Well, Maude, that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it! Just because your relationship with Fernando is far from perfect doesn’t mean you have to shit all over my happiness.”
“I just can’t understand how you can swing from relationship to relationship. Let’s see. First there was Andrew, then Jordan. Then there was Francis the ballet dancer, quickly followed by Stephen and James, Thomas, and now Seth.
“Christ, Molly, when is the whoring going to end?”
“I am not a whore!”
“Oh really? I bet you’ve had sex with all of your boyfriends, all seven of them!”
“Just because a woman decides to have sex with her boyfriend doesn’t make her a whore. A whore has sex because she needs it. It’s called nymphomania, bitch, and I am far from being a nympho.”
“I’m your older sister, Molly. It’s my job to look out for you, and that’s what I’m doing! And the only advice I can give you is to dump him and be single for a while. Take a break, have a holiday and get away from it all, even if it’s a trip to Mom and Dad’s farm.”
“I appreciate it. But Seth is different, special and unique, really one of a kind, and I love him. Nothing you say or do will stop me from being with him.”
“Does Seth work? Or at least going through school?”
Molly swallowed hard. “He owns his own business.”
Maude chuckled. “Poor, sweet, naïve baby sister. Wake up, honey.”
“What now?”
“That’s just a clever way of saying he’s a freeloader.”
“He is not! I’ve seen the business license and I’ve seen firsthand how hard he works!”
“Okay, fine. What’s he bringing home every week? What’s his yearly salary?”
“I don’t know.”
“That’s because he’s too embarrassed to tell you he has nothing!”
“Shut up!”
“Does he own his own home? Does he drive and have his own car?”
“No, no and no.”
“Ah-ha! I rest my case!”
“Maude, I love you, but you just have to wake up to the fact you can be a really annoying bitch some times.”
“Whatever, nympho. Listen, I’m going to be in town this weekend. Invite Seth to Oma and Opa’s. I want to meet him.”
Seth accepted Molly’s invitation, and that Saturday he went over to Molly’s house. They walked down to the living room.
“Oma, Opa, you remember Seth Zimmer.”
Seth cleared his throat and politely said, “Hello.”
Molly’s grandparents stared at him without a word.
In the basement living room there were two couches. The one on the left was Molly’s grandfather’s. This was the couch he lay on, on a daily basis, from morning until night. The couch on the right was the couch Molly herself purchased, and this was the couch she and her guests sat on. The little comfy armchair in the back of the room by the fireplace was Molly’s grandmother’s chair.
Molly’s grandparents followed Seth with their eyes as he walked further into the room and took a seat next to their granddaughter.
“Hey, Opa. Would you mind turning to channel two? There’s a special on Laura Secord.” Molly’s opa changed the channel.
“Commercial, damn! Do you want anything to drink, Seth? I could use something.”
“No, I’m okay, thank you.”
Molly went up to the kitchen.
Oma looked over at the clock. “Oh, it’s eight o’clock, way past my bedtime.” She got up, walked across the room and stopped at her husband. “I’ll see you upstairs, Markel.” She turned and continued walking.
“I’ll be up shortly, Mady.” When Markel’s wife was out of sight, he turned to Seth. “So, you’re the director?”
Seth took a moment to realize Molly’s grandfather was talking to him. “That’s me, sir.”
“What do you do for work that you can afford to dedicate that much time to your projects?”
Seth swallowed hard. “That’s my job.”
“What, filmmaking? That is work?”
“Yes, I own my own business. I have a business license and everything.”
Markel finally sat up. “Oh, so you make money then?”
“Yes. I wouldn’t do it for free.”
“That’s good to hear. So there’s money in it?”
“There can be.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m a relatively small company. I’m working out of my parents’ home, so I have to watch my income.”
“I don’t like this. What does that mean? You have to ‘watch’ your income! Why?”
“Because the more money I make, the more I’m going to get taxed. Also more money would mean I’d need to get a bigger location and that means I’d need to hire staff.”
Markel shook his head disappointedly at Seth. “That’s not a career, that’s just a stupid young punk in play time! What the hell did my stupid granddaughter get herself involved with now?”
Seth sighed. “I’m sorry. I can’t please everybody.”
“Filmmaking isn’t a career! It’s a hobby. Take me for example. I was a plasterer for almost 40 years. If I would’ve told my father I wanted to be a filmmaker, he would’ve slapped me upside the head!”
Markel got off his couch and stood over Seth. “Listen, Seth. I don’t like you, and I sure as hell don’t respect you. However, you make my granddaughter happy, and for that reason, and that reason alone, I am willing to put up with you.”
Molly started down the stairs, and Markel turned away from Seth and headed up.
“Goodnight, Opa!”
Molly snuggled beside Seth and handed him a can of 7-Up. “I know you didn’t want anything, but I brought this in case you changed your mind.”
“Thank you.” Seth leaned over and kissed her.
“Maude texted me while I was upstairs, and she’ll be here soon. She really wants to meet you.”
“Sure.”
They watched the documentary on Laura Secord, a Canadian heroine during the War of 1812, and as the credits rolled, Maude made her way down the stairs and over to Seth.
Maude’s first impression of Seth was disgust. What could her younger sister possibly find attractive about an overweight, glasses wearing slob like Seth.
She reached out and shook his hand. “I’m Maude.”
“Seth.”
Maude walked over and sat in Oma’s chair at the back of the room. “Yes, well. You may not know it, Seth, but you’re famous.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. For the past week all my sister has done was talk about you.”
Molly got up. “Be right back, guys. Nature calls.”
“So, Seth, please, tell me about yourself.”
“Well, what do you want to know?”
“What you do for work, hobbies, whatever you want, really.”
Seth cleared his throat. “Well, I own my own business.”
“That much I knew. So did you go to school for business?”
“No.”
“So you own a filmmaking business?”
“Kind of. I make movies, but I also do digital scrapbooking.”
Maude didn’t look too impressed. “Oh, that’s interesting. So there’s good money in that?”
Molly entered the room again and things simmered down.
Over the next month, Maude would try everything in her power to try to convince Molly to dump Seth, but Molly would have nothing to do with it. The film was another three months from being completed. Everything in Seth’s life was really amazing. Before Seth knew it, it was already coming up on his and Molly’s one-month anniversary.
They decided to meet at Seth’s house. Seth planned to cook Molly the best meal she’d ever tasted. He served fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp and white wine sauce, and for dessert, homemade red velvet muffins with vanilla icing.
He put an awful lot of planning into their one-month anniversary. Not only were they celebrating one month together, but it was also Valentine’s Day. Seth bought a bunch of candles and placed them everywhere in his room. He bought pipe cleaners and handcrafted 50 individual flowers for Molly.
Molly arrived at seven o’clock, after her shift at the mall. She was feeling a little down, as she often did after work. But after seeing the fantastic meal Seth concocted, she was happier than a pig in mud.
Molly took a big forkful of the fettuccine and shovelled it into her mouth. Her face lit up, and she was very obviously, overwhelmingly impressed. “Oh my God, Seth!”
“What is it?”
“This is the best thing I have ever tasted!” Molly kept shovelling the food into her mouth. “I’m not just saying that because I’m your girlfriend.”
Molly took her bowl and walked out into the living room, where Mr. and Mrs. Zimmer were watching TV. “Your son is the best cook!”
Mrs. Zimmer pointed at the kitchen. “I keep telling Seth he should take up cooking.”
“Seth, your food is like restaurant-quality, babe. You should really consider doing this for a living.” Molly walked back into the kitchen.
“I have considered it.”
“But?”
“But I think I would get bored with it really fast.”
“Well maybe, but you have to look at the bright side. There are thousands of people out there, and they all have to eat. So you’ll never be out of work and will always have a steady income.”
Seth looked at Molly and smiled. He got himself a bowl of food, and they disappeared up to Seth’s room.
They sat on the bed, and Seth reached over to his dresser and gave Molly a folded handwritten card that opened up into the shape of a heart. The front of the card read: “For every happy memory that’s part of my heart today,” and the inside of the card read: “And for all the beautiful things about you I will always love.”
“Aww, Seth. That’s beautiful, thank you!” Molly reached into her purse and pulled out her handmade card for Seth. Hers was on folded light-blue construction paper, with three green cut-out hearts with glitter. The inside read:
Seth,
You once asked me why I love you. Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to show you the writings of my heart.
I love that we help look after each other.
I love that you and your family are overwhelmingly warm and welcoming.
I appreciate that you encourage me to contribute my creativity and input into every aspect of the film.
I love that you encourage me to do what I love.
I love that you love genuine conversation and spending quality time with each other, without cell phones interrupting us.
I love how interesting you are.
I love your handsome eyes.
I really appreciate that you take time to talk to and understand me.
I hope you can appreciate the fact that my writing is crooked!
I love that you have BIG dreams and ambitions like me.
I love that we are in love.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love, Molly
Reading Molly’s card brought tears to Seth’s eyes. He put the card down, wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big, passionate kiss.