Mollywood (12 page)

Joe braked a bit too enthusiastically as he parked. I shot him a look, but again he wore an unreadable expression. My phone began a steady stream of chiming that I assumed were responses from my Facebook announcement, but I ignored them and hurried toward my mother’s van. Both she and Granny were climbing out of it.

“Molly! Get over here!” Granny H. had been on my case since I’d become a teenager and sprouted boobs. She always dropped snide comments about my life choices and on more than one occasion said I reminded her of her when she was my age. Mixed messages were her specialty. I stopped, and then after a brief hesitation, I approached her with apprehension. She reached out for me and yanked me into a sweaty, wrinkly embrace.

“I’m so happy for you, child!” She stunned me with her genuine laugh, which admittedly sounded like mine if my voice had been run through a cheese-grater. “Joe’s a hell of a catch!”

“Yes, he is.” I mumbled, eyeing Joe from underneath her jiggly arms. His amused eyes shifted from her to me.

“Two babies! Maybe you’ll get one of each and knock it out in one shot. Then you’ll have a hope of keeping your figure.” She added, evidently elated at my prospect of twins. “Mine wasn’t wrecked until I had your daddy, bless his heart.”

I looked over her shoulder at my mother, who seemed a whole lot less exuberant.

“Oh, honey.” She muttered sympathetically, her sheepish expression squelching the sliver of joy I had at Granny’s greeting. “I hope you had fun having a social life because that’s done for.”

Considering she was my subject matter expert on twins, I was immediately conflicted.

“We brought you presents! It’s a new mommy goody basket!” Granny overrode my mother, reaching into the back door of her minivan. She pulled out some ridiculously long cylinder that just kept coming and coming like handkerchiefs at a magic show. I blinked at her blankly, as Joe stepped forward and grabbed the end of it from me. “It’s a Comfort-U. A special mom-to-be-pillow for when you aren’t snuggled up to that sexy man of yours. Trust me, it’s hard to get comfortable when your legs start to swell and your belly is the size of a watermelon.”

“And here’s your gift basket. The salesladies at Motherhood gave us some ideas. They’re up on all the newest stuff.” Mom chimed in, handing me an oversized basket that Joe ripped out of my grasp. It had books, something called a ‘Bellyband’, coconut oil lotions, and even Ginger flavored Altoids in it.

“Oh, my goodness. You didn’t have to go all out.” I replied, unsure of what to make of the incredibly generous nature of their present.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re only a first time mama once.” My mother scoffed and came over to hug me. Joe vanished into the building with the basket and three mile long pillow. She whispered in my ear. “How’s Joe dealin’?”

“It’s hard to say.” I whispered in return, hoping Granny couldn’t hear me.

“If you ever need me, you know where I am.” She kissed my cheek and I felt tears sting my eyes for the seven billionth time.

Joe came out of the building with a couple of bottles of water for them. “Are you sure y’all don’t want to come inside?”

“Unless you’ve put an elevator in that building, darlin’, there’s no way in hell.” Granny laughed.

“I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you.” Joe offered dryly, and Granny flushed deep purple. Granny was a bit of a flirt and Joe’s appeal transcended generations. I bit the inside of my lip to keep from laughing out loud.

“Mama Hildebrandt, we need to go. Molly’s tired.” Mom interjected with a conspiratorial wink at me and I wanted to give her another hug.

Minutes later, Joe jumped in the shower and I collapsed into bed. He’d unwrapped the giant body pillow when he brought it inside, and I snuggled into it, instantly seeing the appeal. It coiled around me, supporting my back and cushioning my knees. I’d nearly drifted off when I felt the motion of Joe climbing into bed. There was a shift in the weight of the pillow behind me and I felt his warm, rock solid body spoon against me. His arm came around me, and his fingers splayed over my womb. This simple action slayed my defenses and I relaxed back against him with a huge sense of unexpected relief.

“Baby girl.” He murmured into my hair.

“Hmmm?” I shifted slightly, and he rolled me over onto my back so that we could lock eyes.

“I can’t wait to see them.” His earnestness was undeniable as he took in my face. He ran his thumb across my cheek, and traced his index finger down my nose, “Little pumpkins that are part me and part you…I can’t imagine anything more perfect.”

His words touched me so deeply that I found I couldn’t reply. Instead, I simply tilted my lips up to meet his.

“UNFORTUNATELY THAT’S ALL we have time for today.” Dr. Greene gestured his head toward the clock and removed his wire-rimmed glasses. His longish greying hair flopped in his eyes and he flipped it away as he looked up from one last scribble in his beloved notebook. “Come back on Monday. That’s not a request, Joe. When I asked you to stop skipping appointments, I meant it.”

I nodded slowly. I deserved his ass-chewing. It had been a little over a month since I’d told him Molly was pregnant, and it was my first time back. I wasn’t ditching on purpose; there was just too damn much to do. Even with two price hikes, we were busier than a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest, and we’d finally been forced to hire another guy.

Graham recommended Nick Marshall, the son of a guy I’d once worked for back before ‘the dark era’. Only twenty years old, Nick was a bit of a punk with his giant ear gauges, Fu Manchu facial hair, and permanent smirk. He’d made quite an impression when he came for his interview. First there was the “Legalize it” t-shirt he opted to show up in. While I was working, I’d observed him take a selfie on his phone with the Good Wood sign out front. Then there was the annoying sound effects of the video game he was playing on his phone while he waited for me. The icing on the cake was the way he reacted when Molly turned up just as we were about to begin the interview.

“Hi, y’all!” She called, sweeping in with a box full of wraps for us. She’d called an hour before and asked what each of us wanted for lunch.

“Hi.” Nick blurted, his eyes wide and ecstatic as he took her in.

Molly did a double take at his exuberant response. She walked around to the employee side of the counter and perched the box on its surface. Nick bounded up to the customer side of the counter like an enthusiastic puppy.

“You must be the new guy.” Even though I couldn’t see her face, Molly’s grin came through in her voice.

“I hope to be.” His dimples appeared as he went for the modest approach. “I’m Nick.”

“Well, hello, Nick.” A hint of Texas found its way into her Yankee-fied voice. “I’m Molly.”

“Do you work here?” He boldly slogged on, and I had to give the kid an A for effort.

“Nope. Just bringing the boys a lunch delivery. Joe wasn’t sure what kind you’d like, so I brought you one of my favorites. It’s a California BLT Wrap. I hope you aren’t a vegetarian.”

He looked taken aback for a moment that she’d brought him lunch, but recovered immediately, giving her a shark-like grin. “Oh no, I’m
definitely
a carnivore.”

I hung back for a couple of minutes, cleaning my tools and watching the show. Nick proceeded to hit on Molly as she passed out the wraps to Francis and Mac. She smiled patiently at him as if he were a toddler climbing a bookshelf and she was going to have to yank him down and scold him.

She handed Nick his wrap and he took a quick bite.

“You made this?” He sounded like the man on the verge of an orgasm.

“Yep.” She handed him a wad of napkins. “You like?”

He told her that it was perfection and asked her if she was going to Austin City Limits. He was launching into how he had VIP passes to the main stage when I joined them at the counter.

Molly handed me my wrap. We exchanged a brief glance and my cocked eyebrow elicited a knowing smile from her.

“Well, you’ll have a great time, Nick. Eminem puts on a hell of a show. And good luck on your interview. Don’t let Joe intimidate you too much. He looks grouchy, but he’s a big teddy bear.” At that, she slinked into my arms and kissed me goodbye, lingering a little longer than usual for her audience of one. A few feet away, I heard Mac snort. Molly made a show of putting a hand on her already visible baby bump, which she’d finally exposed when she’d discarded the empty cardboard box. “Gotta run, darlin’. The babies are craving Verde Chili Fries from Casino El Camino.”

With an innocent little wave to Nick, she breezed out the door. His youthful eyes were the size of saucers as he watched her go and when he turned back to me, he smartly fell all over himself to apologize. I held up a hand and shook my head, wearing a smirk of my own. Between Molly’s sassy bounce in her walk and Nick’s abject horror at his faux pas, I was genuinely entertained. I’d already decided to let it the entire thing slide.

“Save your breath, kid. You obviously have an eye for perfection. It’s a major job requirement for what we do, and if you’re going to apprentice with me, you’d damn well better have excellent taste.

Nick and I headed back to my tiny office. We chatted for a while between bites of wraps and it didn’t take long for me to get the vibe that he enjoyed building and knew what he was talking about. He’d brought some photos of some carving he’d done, and I was pleasantly surprised at his raw skill. I decided the shop could use an infusion of young blood, and told him I’d give him a shot.

Nick had to give two weeks’ notice and was supposed to start late next week. In the meantime, Mac and I had been working a lot of twelve hour days. Mac wasn’t complaining; he’d finally broken down and bought the Harley Davidson he’d always wanted. A SuperLow 1200T. It was a pretty sweet ride, I had to admit. As stressed as I was, Mac seemed to thrive in the midst of our slammed workload. He’d always been an adrenaline junkie (both the twins were) and he was getting to spend more time with his son, Malcom Jr. There seemed to be a temporary truce between him and his loony ex-wife. Probably because he was able to pass her a little extra cash beyond the court ordered child support.