Chapter 6
Molly Kennedy
~
Nearly two weeks later
It was a beautiful Saturday, and I couldn't help but feel like life was good. It was 11am, and I was situated in a gorgeous swimming pool with my friend, Kat, from school. We were both graduating college in a couple of weeks, and at that moment, it felt like life couldn't get better.
I was waiting on a call from Salem, who said he would try to be in touch before noon to deliver my new counter. I had talked to him that morning, and he said he was just putting a few finishing touches on it before coming over.
There was a shade sail above part of the pool, but Kat and I were in the sun. We floated in the shallow water, getting sun as we held onto the edge. Michelle was out of town, and Darren had been fishing with friends all morning.
"What are you wearing to graduation?" Kat asked as we floated.
"You mean to the ceremony?"
"Yeah, under your cap and gown."
"I was thinking about a skirt with Chucks. "
"I knew you would do something like that," she said. "That or Docs. Weirdo."
"What are you wearing?" I asked.
"Heels. They're silver. They go with my dress. What dress are you wearing?"
"Just something I already have. I'm not buying anything."
"Did you take senior pictures?" she asked. "To send to your family?"
"No. I mean, my sister took some pictures of me in my cap and gown as a joke when they first came in. But no. I didn't."
"At least you have those."
"I won't do anything with those because the gown was all wrinkled. I'll probably take some pictures on graduation day, though. I saw yours, too. They came out amazing."
"I had Rebecca Carpenter take them."
I had no idea who she was talking about, but I knew Kat, and I knew she must've hired a good photographer.
The graduation ceremony was happening in just a couple of weeks and it had snuck up on me. I had completed my degree in four years, but I changed my major halfway through, and I had to take a ton of classes during my junior and senior years in order to catch up and graduate on time.
Kat and I were different about stuff like senior pictures. I was happy about graduating, but new outfits and senior pictures hadn't even crossed my mind. I was just trying to keep my head above water with my finals. I had learned a few valuable marketing techniques in college, but ironically getting a degree had been in the way while I was starting my small business. It had been great to get tips and tricks that I could apply, but some of my classes were just a lot of studying for things I wouldn't need to retain.
Anyway, it was basically over now. I had one more final to take, and I would be finished. I was getting more and more followers with my chocolate business, and I felt genuinely happy, like I was on the right track.
"Molly! Are you even listening to me?"
"What? I'm sorry. What did you say?"
"I was asking about Rebecca, that photographer, asking if you knew her."
"Oh, no."
"And your phone was ringing."
"Oh, my goodness, hang on."
I hopped out of the pool and carefully jogged to the table where I had set my phone. It had already gone to voicemail, but I returned the call as soon as I dried my hands.
"It's Salem," I said to her. "Hey," I said to Salem on the phone. "Sorry I missed your call. We're in the pool."
"It's fine. I wanted to let you know I'll be on my way, if you're ready."
"Yes. Yes. Definitely. I'm so excited."
"It's heavy, so I'll have one of my guys with me."
"I was going to say… my landlord and his friends are here. He's got a couple of his buddies with him… I know they won't mind helping if you need it."
"No, I'm good. We'll be there in thirty minutes."
"Thank you, Salem. This is amazing. I'm so excited. I'll see you in a few minutes."
"Yep."
I got off the phone with him and I was smiling as I jogged back toward the pool. I jumped in, and by the time I came up, I heard a male voice calling my name.
"Molly!"
I dried my face with my hand and looked toward the house.
"We've got a ton of food in here. If you and your friend are hungry, you're welcome to eat lunch with us… anything you want."
"Thank you!" I called, waving to Darren.
He waved back at me as he closed the sliding glass door.
I swam a few feet into the shallows to meet my friend.
"Are we eating lunch with those dudes?" she asked cutting her eyes inside the house.
"If you want. It's probably good food. We can just go in and make something to-go, take it to my apartment."
"Was that your friend on the phone? "
"Yeah, he's on his way."
She nodded. "Salem. Is this the guy from… "
"The one who took me golfing last week," I said, since she knew I had done that.
"I was going to say wrestling."
"Oh yeah, same guy. Wrestling and golf."
"Are you dating him?"
"No. We're just friends. He's helping me out, I'm helping him out."
"He's not cute," she said, staring straight ahead and shaking her head at me like she had me all figured out.
"No, he is. He's a stud, actually."
She made a face. "Married?"
"No."
"Too old?"
"No. He's a few years older than me, but no."
"What, then?" she asked, squinting.
"I don't know. Maybe he thinks he's too old. Plus, he's in love with a missionary."
"Oh, he's in love? Then he's married, basically. You should've just said he was married."
"He's not, though. I don't even know if they're going to end up together. He likes the idea of being this groom. I was talking to him about it the other day. It's about Christianity. He wants to be a good husband for someone who does all this work for God, gives her life to God and the church."
"Oh wow, he's a really hyper-Bible dude, huh? I see why you don't like him. "
"No, he's not. And I’m not saying I don't like him. That's why he doesn't like me. First of all, he thinks I'm too young for him and second, he just wants that other girl. I asked him about her the last time we hung out, and he was talking about how much he respected her and how he wanted someone like that to raise his children. He was sweet about it. He wasn't trying to diss me. He thought we were just having an objective conversation. He doesn't see me that way."
"You're, like, the most Christian person I know. You're the only one who didn't get wasted that night when we all went out."
"I just didn't want to get—that definitely doesn't make me a—I am a Christian, but this girl is different than me. She's next level. I think she like, works directly for God. Salem likes that about her. I think it's the main thing he likes about her. I just make chocolates. That's my passion. It's not the same as someone like her. I don't think he respects chocolate the same way."
"W-what does he do? Carpentry?" She knew what he did, and she was asking to prove a point. "Are you interested in him?"
"No. I mean, we kissed so it's hard not to think of him that way, a little—"
"You kissed him?" she asked cutting me off and looking shocked.
"Yes. You would've too, if you had the opportunity. He's… really… hot? I never even use that word, but I couldn't think of anything else to describe… he is really good looking. He's a handsome guy. You're going to see that in a second. I'm sorry to put it bluntly. His face is good."
She laughed. "Me and you might have different taste. You kissed this guy, Molly? You skipped over that like it was nothing. I thought you said you were just friends."
"We are. But we also kiss sometimes. Not every time we hang out, but sometimes we do."
"That's so weird. Do you do that with other guys?"
"No, I've never randomly kissed a guy I wasn't dating, except for Salem. It's different with us, it's like this different dynamic where… I don't know what it is. It's innocent. He's innocent. It feels like we're fourteen, sneaking around at middle school."
"Does he kiss like a fourteen-year-old?" she asked, tilting her head at me, on the verge of being horrified.
"No, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying… it's innocent."
"Maybe, but I still can't get over that he talks about another girl and then he kisses you."
"He doesn't. Definitely not when we're about to do that. We didn't kiss each other the last two times we hung out, and it was probably because I asked about her. "
"It's probably better that way," she said, holding onto the side of the pool with her legs extending out. "He can't be that fine, anyway."
"Oh, he is. You'll see."
"Like Logan Atwood?" she said, asking about a guy we shared classes with.
"Nothing like Logan. Equally handsome, or better than Logan, but different. Totally different. This guy is wholesome looking, not edgy."
"Uhh," she said, making a sound of disapproval.
"No, it's good. He's… you'll see."
"When's he coming?" she asked, looking at the house.
"In a minute."
"That food smells good," Kat said.
"It does," I agreed. "Do you want to go get some? We could take it into my apartment and wait for Salem in there."
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'm ready to get out, anyway."
Kat and I dried off and put coverups on top of our swimsuits before heading inside.
"It smells so good in here," was the first thing I said when we walked inside. Darren had two friends over. They were all three standing around the kitchen and they looked at us, so I felt like I had to say something.
"It tastes good," Darren said. "I had nothing to do with it. Mike caught the fish, and Brian cooked it."
"He's a chef," one of the guys said.
"I'm not on the line cooking anymore, but I do own the restaurant," he said.
"Whoa, no wonder it smells good," I said. "Are you sure you have enough?"
"We have too much. That's why I told you to come eat with us. Come here. Come look at this. We've got so much food." Darren walked to the stove and reached out to open the cover of a roasting pan for us to look inside.
"Oh, wow," I said, seeing a whole roasted fish surrounded by different colorful vegetables.
"Yeah, and there's some amazing rice over here."
"And brownies," the one named Mike said.
"Don't eat the brownies," Brian warned, looking up at us. "I mean you're welcome to eat them but be careful… you might lose your ability to operate heavy machinery for a few hours."
"Just wait till you taste this fish," Darren said, in an effort to stop him from saying any more about dessert.
"This is amazing, are you sure you have enough for us?" I asked.
He nodded and I took the nearby spoon to scoop from the dish.
"Help yourself," Darren urged .
"It doesn't get any fresher than that," Mike said. "I pulled that monster out of the lake this morning."
"Like I said, I didn't do a thing," Darren added, laughing and causing them to laugh.
"Yes, you did, it was your boat and you had all these ingredients at your house," Brian said.
"Plus, the view," Mike said.
Everyone, including me, was smiling. I didn't ask him what he meant. I didn't care what he was talking about.
"The lake's nice," I said scooping a plate for Kat. "Michelle always makes the fish when Darren catches it. I've tried hers, but I've never had it like this."
"You're going to love it," Darren said, coming to stand next to me.
I looked at him. "I'm waiting on a delivery, so we're going to eat in my apartment."
"A delivery? I-I was about to ask what you're getting on a Saturday, but I'm sure the delivery guy will come here first. They usually do. Are you ladies done in the pool then?"
"Probably so," I said. "Thank you for the pool and the food. This looks and smells amazing." I lifted the plate in my hand. "I'll bring these plates back later."