Molly (14 page)

Lifting her chin, she went inside to join the
party.

Glory Ethel and Jedidiah were getting ready
to leave on their honeymoon. Molly pressed forward for one last hug
and kiss.

“Have fun, Daddy... Glory Ethel. I love you.
Both of you.”

Her father hugged her close. “Take care,
sweetheart. Set Paris on its ear.”

“I will, Daddy.”

Bea came forward to hug them, then she and
Molly stood with arms linked and watched as Jedidiah Rakestraw
escorted his new wife to the front door.

The couple paused, laughing. And then Glory
Ethel threw her bridal bouquet straight into Molly’s hands. She
glanced around to see if Samuel had seen, but he was nowhere in
sight.

“Mother is not very subtle,” Bea said, and
Janet came over to join them.

“Molly, if you’re looking for Sam, he’s
already gone.”

“Good riddance.”

“Way to go, Molly! Give my brother a merry
chase. And if you don’t like him when you catch him, throw him
back. There are other fish in the pond.”

“Damned straight,” Janet said.

Molly laughed, but at the moment the only
thing she could think about was Samuel, this larger than life fish
that took up the whole ocean.

o0o

From: Molly

To: Bea, Janet, Clemmie, Catherine, Joanna,
Belinda

Re: Airport

I’m at the Atlanta airport and I miss all you
already! Still, it feels right to be going back to Paris. I’m going
to hit the ground at Orly running. First, I’m going to redecorate
my little apartment – Robin will LOVE it! And then I’m going to be
so busy I won’t spend a single minute thinking about Samuel Adams!
How’s that for a declaration of independence!

Whoops, gotta go! They’re calling my flight
number.

Much love,

Molly

o0o

Paris and Molly embraced each other like
long-lost relatives. She strolled down the Champs-Elysees, stopping
to smell the flowers and to greet old friends. She renewed her
acquaintance with her favorites at the Louvre—the
Mona
Lisa
and the
Venus de Milo.
She attended the
Comedie-Francaise and the Opera.

She went on a redecorating binge and turned
her apartment upside down. She draped the walls with peach-colored
silk and arranged silk floor cushions near the window that
overlooked the park. She repotted all her plants, including the
huge ficus tree that had stood in the same pot for the last four
years.

Robin, her roommate, watched with an
amusement that sometimes bordered on alarm.

“Molly.” Spoken with his soft French accent,
her name came out
Mollee.
“You make me dizzy with all this
activity.”

Molly looked up from the herbs she was
planting in new hand-painted pots. “Just close your eyes, Robin,
and think of all the wonderful gourmet meals you can cook using
herbs from our very own windowsill herb garden.”

“The plants look lively, the herbs sound
great and the apartment walls look
marvelous.
It’s you I’m
worried about.”

Molly put her hands to her cheeks, forgetting
the dirt and streaking her face with potting soil. “Why? Do I look
sick?”

“No. It’s not the way you look that worries
me; it’s the way you act.”

He rose gracefully from the sofa, where he
had been studying a book on cubist art, and crossed the room to
Molly. He took one of her hands out of the potting soil, carefully
wiped it off with a nearby tea towel, and brought it to his lips.
After he had kissed the hand, he stuck it back into the pot.

“You’ve been back two weeks now, and all
you’ve said about your trip home was that it was
good.
I’ve heard you say more about the ads on the backs of cereal
boxes.”

“Well, it
was
good. Do you want me
to tell you it was bad?”

“No. I want you to be your usual exuberant
self. I want you to make me envy the parties you attended and long
to meet the fascinating people you met.” He looked down at the
small herb she was potting, frowned and straightened it, then gazed
back at Molly. “Did you meet someone,
cherie?”

Molly had never lied to Robin. She saw no
reason to start now. “Yes. I met someone. He’s brash and handsome
and passionate and tender, and he almost stole my heart.” She
laughed and waved her hand in the air. “But here I am, back in
Paris with my heart intact.”

For a moment she gazed into space, seeing a
black-eyed man whose touch had turned her inside out. Out of sight,
out of mind.

Right?

Who was she kidding?

“Let’s do something grand tonight, Robin.
Let’s go to the hottest night spot in town and be frivolous and
carefree and wicked.”

“I’d swim the Seine if it would bring back
your dazzling smile. I know the perfect place.”

“Is it wicked?”

“It’s so wicked we could end up in jail.”

“Good. I want to be shocking tonight. Very
shocking.” Her eyes began to gleam and she set her pots aside.
“Robin, do you want to come shopping with me?”

“It’s tempting, but you’ll have to go without
me,
cherie.
This afternoon I must work on a painting I’ve
been commissioned to do.”

She walked across the room and kissed his
cheek. “Good luck.” Then she picked up her purse and started for
the door.

“You forgot something, Molly.”

With her hand on the doorknob, she turned.
“What?”

“You forgot to wash the dirt off your
face.”

o0o

From: Molly

To: Bea, Janet, Belinda, Clemmie, Joanna,
Catherine

Re: Paris

It’s great to be back in Paris. It really is!
Robin and I have redone the
entire
apartment - well,
mostly me – and I’ve shopped till my credit card is smoking. Bea,
you’re going to love the boots I found, leopard print, all the way
up to the knee and with 5-inch heels to die for! Sam would hate
them! OMG, I didn’t mean to mention him. I’m totally putting him
out of my mind!

Molly

P. S. Bea, have you heard anything from
him?

From: Bea

To: Molly, Janet, Belinda, Clemmie, Joanna,
Catherine

Re: Sam

Not a
peep!
But then, my brother
never did let me in on his plans. To him, I’m still the
younger
sister. I wish! Yesterday, I think I saw a
gray hair
in Virginia! Is that possible? At
26?
Dang, I’m going to be an
old maid
before Mr. Right ever
comes along! I might as well get a
cat!

Bea

From: Belinda

To: Molly, Janet, Bea, Clemmie, Catherine,
Joanna

Re: Cat

DON’T
get a cat! The children
decided they needed one so Peanut wouldn’t be lonesome, and of
course, Reeve can never deny them anything, though I knew good and
well what was fixing to happen. Sure enough, that dog chased that
cat all over the kitchen and made such a mess, Quincy said the cat
had to go or she would! When Reeve told them the cat needed a new
home, Betsy and Mark cried so hard you’d think they were losing
their best friend. It wasn’t until I made up a story about the cat
being a princess in disguise who had to get back to her kingdom and
marry a cat prince, that they let Reeve find it a new home. Thank
goodness, his secretary loves cats and took it. Quincy’s still
muttering about it.

But, I got sidetracked, as usual. Molly,
ignoring Sam is exactly the right thing to do. He’ll drive himself
crazy wondering what you’re up to!

Belinda

From: Catherine

To: Molly, Belinda, Janet, Clemmie, Bea,
Joanna

Re: Cats

You’re giving cats a bum rap. They’re
perfectly wonderful creatures who happen to know their own worth.
Molly, if this man doesn’t come to his senses soon, move on. No man
is worth all that agony, even if he is Bea’s brother!

Cat

From: Janet

To: Molly, Belinda, Catherine, Clemmie, Bea,
Joanna

Re: Pregnant

You’ll never believe this! I thought I was
pregnant!
Dan was ecstatic, but I was so
relieved
when it turned out to be a
false positive!
I have too much
to do before I can even
think
about children!

Molly, you probably thought you’d never hear
this from me,
Miss Independent, Practical and Scientific,
but just follow your heart.

Janet

From: Clemmie

To: Molly, Joanna, Bea, Janet, Belinda,
Catherine

Re: Travel

Paris sounds so wonderful! If I can ever get
my brothers through school, I’m going to travel. It seems I never
go anywhere except church, the grocery store, or to Tupelo to visit
Janet and Belinda. Oh, but that sounds whiny and discontent, and
I’m neither of those things (I hope!). Anyhow, I wish you were
still here Molly, but that’s selfish of me. DO follow your
heart!

Clemmie

From: Joanna

To: Molly, Bea, Clemmie, Janet, Belinda,
Catherine

Re: Travel

Clemmie, come to MADRID! It would be such a
wonderful break from the nuns! I’ll have Kirk get you a ticket!!!
OH, DO SAY YOU’LL COME! If I have to spend one more day looking at
nobody but Sister Mary Margaret and Sister Elizabeth Joseph, I’m
going to THROW UP!!! Oh, I have a BRILLIANT IDEA!!! Molly, YOU come
to Madrid, too! I’ve moved on from bullfighters to artists. Of
course, only when the nuns are not looking! There are some really
cute ones who hang out at the Prado Museum. (OMG, the ARTISTS, not
the nuns!) Anyhow, I’ll fix you up, and you can forget all about
that BANKER. (Sorry, Bea. Nothing personal.)

Joanna

From: Bea

To: Joanna, Molly, Clemmie, Janet, Belinda,
Catherine

Re: Banker

Banker
says it all, Joanna! If I had
a Texas six-shooter, I might just
shoot
my stubborn-ass
brother!

Bea

o0o

Molly hadn’t really wanted to go the
nightclub on the Left Bank. It was crowded and noisy and poorly
lit, with only a few feeble wall sconces to see by. It would serve
Sam right if she fell and broke her neck.

Still, Robin had suffered through her
decorating and shopping rampages, and eaten his way through a ton
popcorn while he listened to her rant and rave and moan over Samuel
Adams.

She let out a big sigh. It had been two weeks
since she’d streaked off to Paris, and not a word from that
maddening man! Well, he could just kiss her fancy butt!

As much as Molly wanted to just slip quietly
inside, there was no such thing. The club’s clientele were
primarily artists who either knew her or had heard of her. Many of
them had painted or sculpted her.

The minute she walked in, they crowded
around. Some of them even followed her to her table, then jostled
for a place at her side.

Robin paid scant attention to the chatter. He
brushed his sparse brown hair back from his thin face and gazed
around the room. Nervous perspiration popped out on his brow. He
hoped he was doing the right thing. He scanned the club again,
searching.

There were two or three men who seemed to fit
the description he’d been given over the phone, but suddenly he saw
the right man. That had to be him, standing just inside the front
door. He was tall and dark and he had the much-at-ease look of an
American.

Everything was going to be all right, Robin
thought. Relaxed now and feeling less like a traitor, he turned his
attention back to Molly.

Across the room Samuel Adams stood just
inside the club, waiting to let his eyes adjust to the dim light.
His black eyes took in everything—the upright piano in the corner,
the wizened guitarist seated on a stool beside the piano, the
eighteenth-century walnut bar along the west side of the room, the
nightclub patrons wearing such bizarre dress they might have been
on their way to a costume ball.

Suddenly he saw her.
Molly.
She was
wearing a turquoise dress that would sober skid-row bums. It was a
tightly-fitted strapless gown, slit high enough to reveal one
shapely leg all the way up to her thigh.

A man who had to be Robin was sitting beside
her, watching every move she made with a mixture of fierce, almost
paternal pride, and friendly concern. The other people were merely
obstacles blocking Sam’s path to Molly.

He strode across the room toward his target.
The crowd at Molly’s table took one look at his face and made way
for him until he was standing behind her chair. She hadn’t noticed
him. Judging from the laughter of her audience, she was telling a
very funny story—in French.

Leaning down, he placed his hands on Molly’s
shoulders. “Did you miss me, my sweet?”

She didn’t miss a beat.

“Have you been absent, Samuel? I hardly
noticed.”

“Then we should remedy that.”

He lifted her from her chair and kissed her,
not caring that they had a huge audience. It was a bold lover’s
kiss, and he didn’t let her go until she’d dropped that
tight-mouthed, ram-rod straight posture and went limp.

Still, she sat back down with the unruffled
elegance of woman accustomed to being pawed over by men.

“I see you’ve learned to enjoy an audience,
Samuel.”

“Yes. They are perfect for my
announcement.”

“What announcement would that be? That you’re
opening a new bank?”

“No.” He smiled at the crowd around the
table, then pulled out a chair beside Molly and draped his arm over
her shoulder. “Gentlemen, she belongs to me.”

A few understood and offered hearty
congratulations before they left the table. Robin translated for
those who didn’t speak English, and they left, smiling.

When the table was empty except for the three
of them, Molly turned to Samuel.

“How dare you!”

“Molly, I’m a busy man. I don’t have time to
stand in line behind all your local suitors. I thought I’d stake my
claim early.”