Chapter 10
Salem
~
Ten minutes later
Molly pulled out of his driveway and onto the street. He watched her from the doorway, studying her little red car as she left. It was a Honda. He knew what she drove, but now, as he looked at that car, he wondered if it was dependable and if she was comfortable in it. Did she have enough gas to get home? He found himself suddenly having protective thoughts about Molly. But then again, maybe they weren't so sudden.
Then Isabel crossed his mind.
Guilt pierced through Salem, causing a tangible feeling that made him put his fist to his chest as he headed inside. He closed the door behind him. He didn't know what to do with these feelings.
Salem had prayed earnestly years ago, and he received multiple supernatural confirmations that Isabel Love should have his heart. He honestly believed he had confirmation from God that he should wait for her for as long as it took. He knew Isabel wasn't thinking about him, but he was patient and he was certain he had the right marching orders. The confirmation from God had been so real that Salem had settled it in his heart years ago.
All this time, he had felt at peace about waiting for Isabel.
He still did.
Or did he?
This was the first time he had ever doubted his feelings. The patience for Isabel was leaving. His heart felt tugged to Molly Kennedy. He definitely felt drawn to her physically, but now his heart was leaning in as well.
He hated to see her leave tonight. Any other night, he wouldn't have cared that she didn't want to eat at his brother's, but tonight he was sad when she left. He missed her. He wanted her to come back.
He thought of the kiss. He felt elated for a second and then he felt angry at the thought of anyone else kissing Molly. He wondered how she interacted with other guys. He thought of the chef. He cringed at the idea of her kissing anyone else.
Salem was so affected emotionally that he sat in a chair. He hunched over, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Salem prayed out loud.
"God, please help. I'm confused right now, and I ask you to bring me some clarity. I know you told me to wait for Isabel. I felt it, and I know it. I knew it. Now I'm not so… I’m getting tired of being patient for her, Father, and I'm being tempted. I'm so te mpted. You know my temptations with Molly. Help me with that, please. If I'm to wait for Isabel, you might want to help me get Molly out of my life. Obviously, I should do that if you want me to be with Isabel."
Salem stopped praying because he felt sick at the thought of Molly being out of his life.
"Do you want her out of my life? Can you please tell me what to do? Can you please make the feelings about Molly go away if I'm supposed to keep waiting for Isabel? Help me withstand this, please."
Salem had a feeling as he finished his prayer that he should go to the Bible.
He had one in the drawer and he opened it randomly to John chapter 6. He wasn't usually a big fan of opening the Bible randomly, but in this case, he was desperately seeking a sign. He read whatever his eye fell on first, which was the passage about Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes and feeding the multitudes. Salem read the whole passage, past the part where they picked up the baskets of leftovers.
He reasoned within himself that this was a sign that he should be with Molly. After all, she created food for a job, and the passage was about food. Then he thought about how Isabel was in Africa, ministering to people there, feeding the hungry.
"What does it mean?" Salem asked out loud. "Is it Molly with the chocolate?"
He stared upward, smiling at himself and knowing it was a silly question, but still hoping God would speak to him anyway. If he hadn't experienced supernatural signs and wonders about Isabel, he would never be so torn. He desperately wished God would change His mind about Isabel and show him some sort of actual sign (that wasn't just reading about food in the Bible).
He figured he was pressing the issue of Molly because he was so very physically attracted to her. He squinted and rubbed his eyebrows at the thought of her beauty. She was precious to him. Exquisite.
Salem sighed.
He knew God knew his heart.
His prayer was over without any closing statement. He simply stood and put his Bible back into the drawer. He spent five minutes cleaning his shop before grabbing the chocolates and heading to his brother's house.
***
"What's this?" Addie said when Salem came inside. She was eight months pregnant, and she was a small-framed woman, so she looked a bit like she was about to pop.
"Chocolate," he answered.
"More? Thank you. I had a bite of it already and it's amazing. You don't want it?"
"Molly said she would bring me some more tomorrow."
"Thank you. And tell her thank you. Is there enough in there for me to break it up into chips and make some cookies?"
"Yeah, there's plenty in here, and she was talking about this being made for baking, so it'll probably be good in cookies."
Addie looked inside the box and then hugged Salem with a huge smile. "I am so pumped to get this right now. You just made my night. I am hungry for some cookies, and this is going to be delish." She broke a piece of chocolate off of the top of the box and ate it with a blissful expression. "Mm, you gotta love Molly for this. I'm going to have to tell my husband to make her a piece of furniture, too, so she brings boxes like this to me. I guess I could just buy it from her. Does she deliver?"
"Yes. I think two days a week. And the other days, you can schedule a pickup at her house. It's not far from here—in Grant's Hollow."
"Oh, I know that neighborhood… that's nice. My grease is getting hot, hang on…" Addie trailed off, setting down the box and getting over to the food. She began breading chicken, and within a few seconds, she was going to town and she had flour and egg all over her fingertips .
"Phillip's in the shower, he's been in there for a minute so he should be out soon. Help yourself to something to drink."
"Thank you," Salem said, looking in their cabinet for a glass.
"I didn't know if you heard about Isabel."
Addie's statement was so out-of-the-blue that Salem's head whipped around. She looked up, and he gave her a curious stare.
"What do you mean?"
She shrugged. "I hated to be the one to tell you. I didn't know if you still had a thing for her."
"Is she okay?" Salem asked.
"Oh, yeah, she's getting married. I hesitated to ask you about it since I didn't know if you might be sad."
"No, not at all," he said, surprised that it was the truth.
"Good, I felt bad for mentioning it for a second. My sister does her mom's hair, and she was in there today getting it done so she could fly to Maine for Isabel's wedding."
"Maine?" Salem said, if that were the surprising part of the statement. "I don't think many people know about it, even though he's famous. Do you know Bryson Campbell? He is a huge praise and worship guy. I've actually seen him live. He wrote that song… everlasting God, you arrrrre most highhhh… " She sang out, but Salem didn't know the song. He shrugged, and she continued. "Anyway, his name is Bryson Campbell. He's written a lot of big church songs. He's British, but his parents live in Maine, so they're getting married over there. Mrs. Love was telling my sister about it today. I looked it up on social media when my sister told me, but I didn't see anything. I think she's pretty private, and his account looks like a business account. A lot of pictures of him on stage and in the recording studio."
And that moment, as he spoke with Addie, Salem could honestly appreciate how complex the human body was.
He was listening to her words and responding to her, and at the same time he was experiencing and processing his own feelings.
He had to process the amazing, wonderful, outstanding, miraculous news that Isabel was with someone else! She was engaged, and Salem could officially move on. It was the obvious greenlight from God, and Salem was nothing short of elated.
"What are you smiling about?" Phillip asked, coming into the room still damp after his shower.
"I’m glad Isabel's happy. And it's cool that he's famous." That wasn't what was making Salem smile, but he wasn't ready to let them in on all of his thoughts.
"What are you talking about?" Phillip asked in a confused tone.
"I haven't even told you yet. Gretchen did Kathy Love's hair today. Isabel's getting married this weekend to that guy who sings… you and you alone can saaaaatisfy! " She busted out, singing the song as if it was on the tip of her tongue, like she had just been belting it before they came in.
Phillip looked at Salem with a concerned expression, and Salem smiled.
"You good?" Phillip asked his brother. It was a quick question, but it was accompanied with a sincere stare. Phillip knew how long Salem had loved Isabel, and he gave his brother a second to respond. Even if Salem had been hurting, he would have smiled at his brother in the moment. But Salem's smile was genuine.
He didn't want to overdo it and make it obvious that he was thinking about Molly, so he gave his brother an explanation. "It's been over a year since I've talked to Isabel," he said. "I didn't know she had met anyone, but I'm happy for her. I think I know that song Addie's talking about. That's a good match for her. I know her parents are probably pumped."
"Oh, Gretchen said Kathy was so excited."
"That's good. I'm happy for them." Salem meant it, and Phillip stared at him like he couldn't understand.
Addie was preoccupied, cooking chicken. She was turned around and had no idea that Phillip was looking at his brother with a confused expression. Salem shook him off, smirking and shaking his head to tell his brother that he was fine. Phillip looked slightly confused, but dropped it easily enough. "Can I eat a bite of that right now?" Phillip said, gesturing to the chicken that his wife had just taken out of the frying pan. She still had it in a pair of tongs at the moment, and she made a silly face at him like he needed to wait.
"I'm going to use the restroom, I'll be right back," Salem said.
He didn't really have to use the restroom.
He went in there to be alone.
Salem's thoughts went to the conversation he had with God only moments ago, and he laughed. He focused on his reflection in the mirror. He was grinning constantly, and he realized that he felt a physical change, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Salem had thought about Isabel meeting someone before, and he thought he would be devastated by the news, but it was the opposite. He felt peace like he had never felt before. He was truly happy for Isabel and thankful that she had found someone. Selfishly, he was excited beyond belief. The freedom to pursue Molly Kennedy made him giddy. He wondered if she would respond to him. He wondered so many things about her.
He had to school his expression and his emotions before he went back out there to interact with his brother and Addie.