Page 55 of Molly
I turned to set them on the coffee table when my gaze snagged on a piece of paper lying there. A few phrases popped out at me even though I wasn’t trying to read it. Atsugi, Japan. Department of Defense Education Activity. Permanent job.
My head swiveled back toward Molly. She snuffled in her sleep then settled quietly. Was she thinking of moving and taking a teaching position in Japan? I felt a gut punch in my solar plexus, stealing my breath from my lungs.
What about Chloe? What about me? What aboutus?
What about Molly?My conscience seemed to whisper.
Be hanged that! There were plenty of schools and teaching jobs right here in California. I would never stand in the way of her dream to become a teacher or douse her passion for the classroom, but I sure as shooting wouldn’t just stand aside and let her leave without first telling her how much she meant to me. How much I wanted to be with her.
I may have been out of the game for a long time, but now I was ready to fight.
19
Molly
My throat no longer felt like I’d moonlighted as an inept sword swallower. I could finally eat and drink without wincing in pain. The seven dwarves had gone on vacation, and the mining operation they’d ventured upon in my brain had been shut down—no more throbbing headaches. My lungs didn’t revolt to take deep breaths, and I finally had more energy than a sloth on Prozac.
The letter of a job offer from the DoDEA had spurred me to call my academic counselor at the college. The semester was coming to a close, and I needed to get confirmation on the school, grade, and classroom they’d placed me in for student teaching. That way I could get in contact with the cooperating teacher and work out a plan that would satisfy both their expectations and the course’s requirements.
I’d been pleasantly surprised to find the placement within my current school district. I wouldn’t have to hassle with the traffic of a long commute.
So, all in all, everything was looking up.
Then why did I feel so down? I slumped over the kitchen table. The answer to my current mood was not a hard one to decipher. Despite the crackling tension between Ben and me, he had yet to broach any subject that included either of us in the same space. If we were a Venn Diagram, our parallel circles would only ever overlap around the topic of Chloe. His daughter he had no difficulty discussing, and because I had promised myself that I would be patient and let him make a move only if and when he was ready, I forced myself to stay in my own little non-intersecting bubble.
“Chloe! Are you ready?” I called toward her bedroom. She’d gone to put shoes on minutes before, refusing my offer to help. All of her shoes were Velcro instead of tie so she could independently dress herself, but over five minutes to do so was a bit excessive even for a preschooler.
She emerged from the hall looking down at her feet. Bedazzled rainbow high tops with glitter and rhinestones encased her toes. She looked up at me and grinned. “Ready.”
Except she’d put her shoes on the wrong feet. I told her so, but she shrugged and said she liked them that way.
Really? Didn’t they feel funny and uncomfortable? Natural consequences, I supposed, so I let it go and helped her into the car. She’d been looking forward to the hospital’s fundraising picnic ever since Ben had told her about it. At first, I’d wondered why he hadn’t said anything sooner, since he obviously had some sort of role planning the thing. At least, I assumed so. He’d been spending a lot of time on his phone, and I’d overheard him telling the person on the other end the date of the event. But he hadn’t shared the news of the fun affair with Chloe until yesterday.
I almost wished he’d left the whole thing a surprise. Would have saved me hours upon hours of nonstop talk and questions about what kind of food would be there, what kind of rides. Would there be games? What about animals? Would there be other kids or just sick people from Daddy’s work? Would she get to see fun Drew? How amazing it would be if a princess were there and she got to ride in a carriage, or if she won a goldfish like she had last year at the fair.
Through it all I’d smiled and shrugged and simply reminded her that we’d have to wait and see. The waiting didn’t last much longer, as I found a parking spot across the street from the hospital right in front of their expansive side lawn. A bouncy house stood tall in the center as a beacon for the children racing around. Pop-up canopies dotted the grass, offering food and games and other things I couldn’t make out from the distance.
Chloe squirmed out of her seat as soon as I got her unbuckled, but I snatched up her hand before she could let her excitement overcome her training to look both ways before crossing a street. Two cars zoomed by, then we crossed, stopping just past the entrance to take everything in. Besides the food and the bouncy house, there was also a dunk tank, a small petting zoo, face painting, and an old-fashioned potato sack race happening off at the other end of the promenade.
Chloe tugged on my hand, her eyes wide as she stared at a booth to our right with dozens of balloons tied to posts.
“Can I have one? Pleeeeaaase.”
My feet moved in that direction. “I don’t see why not.”
She picked a red balloon shaped like a heart, and I tied a slip knot into the string and secured it to her wrist. There may end up being a number of inflated sacrifices to the troposphere, but Chloe’s balloon wouldn’t be one of them.
The smell of Tajin spice blend, limes, and charcoal from a grill tickled my nose and caused my stomach to rumble. I sniffed the air, following the scent to a stand sellingelote, Mexican street corn. Mayonnaise slathered on grilled corn sprinkled with Tajin and cotija cheese and topped with cilantro and lime juice.
“You’re a woman with taste, I can see.”
I’d been in a hypnotic foodie state, so the masculine voice behind me laughed when I gave a startled cry. I turned, hand to my chest, to find Ben’s friend Drew bouncing on the balls of his feet with an unrepentant smirk gracing his face.
He pointed to the corn. “I’ve already had two.”
I turned back around, the vendor’s eyes laughing at me as he silently held up two ears of corn on sticks. “Just one, thank you.” Who’s to say I couldn’t come back for a second one later? My teeth sank into the charred kernels and I held in a groan. Sweet, salt, and spice were worth every cent of the four dollars I’d spent.
I wiped my mouth with a napkin as I faced Drew. “Have you seen Ben?” The picnic had been our rendezvous point today to exchange care of Chloe. With the multitude of people who had turned out to show support for the hospital and help raise money, we should’ve been more specific with the location. Like, theelotevender, for instance.
