I was a bit nervous about posting this, but I finally decided to let 'er rip. I plan on posting about once a week, maybe more if life allows for some extra writing. :) I'd love to get feedback, whether it be questions, comments, complaints, plot ideas, or anything else you can think of. I hope you enjoy!
Mollie stumbled, her heels sliding on the wet floor.
"Damn heels." She murmured as she regained her balance, shifting the suitcases in her arms. She stopped at yet another intersection in the hallways of Cold Mountain Prison, looking left and right. She had walked these halls as a child when she visited her father at work, but that had been years ago. There was a trick to remembering where everything was, but what was it?
A voice caught her attention, causing her to turn. It was Hal Moores, the warden of the prison. Smiling she walked towards him. Catching sight of her, he grinned as he greeted her.
"Mollie? Haven't seen you in ages!" Exchanging a lopsided hug, she laughed.
"I've been away from home for a while Mr. Moores." She trailed off, her smile faltering slightly as her thoughts drifted.
"Can I help you with something Mollie?" Hal asked, looking at her with a concerned look on his face.
"Actually, that's why I'm here. I'm planning on being in town for… a while. And I was wondering if there was any work available?" Before he spoke, she quickly added. "Any kind of work, I don't mind." Hal let out a long sigh. There weren't any female positions available at the moment, but he didn't want to say no. She was a family friend and he knew she was a good worker.
"I'm sure we can find something for you to do." He said thoughtfully.
Paul Edgecomb pulled into the driveway beside his house, still silently cursing Dean. The boy had asked about dinner in front of Percy. Paul had invited the boys over for a good meal, seeing how Dean and Brutal were bachelors and didn't get much good cooking. He had invited Harry as well, but avoided inviting Percy. He didn't want that little jerk at his house; dealing with him on The Mile was enough.
Now, due to Dean, Percy was coming over for dinner that evening as well. Letting out a loud sigh, he got out of his car as his coworkers pulled up the drive. Leaving the door open, Paul went into the house, greeting his wife with a kiss as he hung his coat and hat up.
"Hey boys." She called over his shoulder as the other men appeared in the hallway, stripping off their jackets and hats as well. "Food's almost ready. Paul, you guys may want to go check out the shed, something came for you today." She said, turning back to the stove before they could see her grin.
Looking at each other questionably, they followed Paul out through the back door towards the open shed. A beat-up pickup truck was pulled into the building, the hood open and a figure leaning over the engine. At first, Paul assumed a man was working on a truck in his shed, but the jeans looked familiar. Two oily handprints adorned the back pockets, obnoxiously drawing attention to the wearer's backside. Paul chuckled as he approached.
"Say it ain't so, Mollie." He said loudly as they came beside the truck. "She finally died?" The figure leaned back from the truck, smiling up at Paul.
"Hey Dad." A shocked sound came from behind Paul, while a slight whistle sounded from his other side. Mollie Edgecomb smiled at her father as she wiped her oily hands on the tail of the old shirt she was wearing.
"This old beast? She'll outlive us all, you'll see. Just a hiccup is all. Broke down about half a mile from here." He laughed as he pulled her into a hug. He hadn't seen his daughter since she got married and moved to the coast nearly four years ago. As she let go, she caught sight of the other men.
"Harry? Brutal?" she asked excitedly, flinging herself at them. Mollie remembered playing cards with them during lunch hour countless times when she was younger. Another time, her mother was out of town visiting her sister, so her father had to take her to the prison. She was never allowed on The Mile, but she had stood at the office door, chattering to whoever was working the desk. Catching them each in a hug, they laughed.
"Haven't changed a bit, have you Mollie?" Brutal asked. Holding her hands out and looking at herself innocently, she smiled.
"What's there to change Brute?" They continued to laugh, Percy and Dean standing off to the side. "And you two are?" she finally asked, turning to them and flashing a dazzling smile. Dean was about to speak when Percy cut him off.
"Percy Wetmore." He said, a cocky tone slightly touching his voice. He reached out a hand, shaking hers with a smug grin on his face. She looked at him for a moment, a small "I see" slipping from her lips before turning to Dean.
"Dean Stanton, ma'am." He said quietly, nodding as he shook her hand.
"Dinner's ready!" Jan called through the kitchen window, the smell of fried chicken filling the air.
"Let's talk inside, I'm starved." Brutal said, edging towards the house. Laughing, Mollie looped her arm around his and Paul's, dragging them toward the house.
Things were fairly quiet in the dining room until everybody settled down at the table.
"So where's that husband of yours?" Paul asked, spooning green beans onto his plate before passing the dish around to Harry. Mollie's cheeks were tinted with pink and she mumbled something about him being back home. He looked at Jan, his brows pulled together in confusion. She shrugged slightly, her eyes telling him not to push the question any further with company around.
"So how long are you in town sweetheart?" Brutal asked through a mouthful of chicken.
"Oh, you know, a little while." She answered vaguely, her eyes never leaving her plate. Now Paul knew something wasn't right. He had raised his daughter up right and respectful, but she was known to be chatty, especially with the men he worked with on E Block.
"How are those daughters of yours Harry?" she asked, possibly sensing the change in atmosphere around the table. And so the conversation flowed. With a little help from Mollie, the dinner time talk was focused on the men and their families instead of her.
After Brutal, Harry, Dean, and Percy left, Mollie jumped up to help her mother with the dishes. She knew the questions would start soon. "3…2…1…" she counted down in her head as she filled the sink with water.
"So what's goin' on Mollie?" her father asked, still sitting at the table.
"Hmmm?" she mumbled, pulling a dishtowel out of the cabinet beneath the sink.
"Why ain't that husband here with you?" She turned the water off, biting her lip. She had to tell them sometime. Now was as good a time as any.
"Vince and I aren't married anymore." Mollie never turned to see their reactions. Before they could ask, she spoke again. "I found him in bed with another woman. He had me sign divorce papers the next day." She decided to leave out that the woman she caught him with was there, sitting in his lap as she signed them. She focused on the dishes. It had happened nearly three years ago and it still stung when she said it.
"Oh honey…" her mother came over, wrapping her arms around her and running her hand over her hair.
"You were married for almost four years and that…" Paul seemed unable to think of a word horrible enough to call her ex-husband.
"We had only been married eight months when he did it."
"Eight months?" he sputtered. "Then where have you been?" Where had she been? All over it seemed. She had been from coast to coast, from San Francisco to a little town in Maine and nearly everywhere in between. A 'classy drifter' was what her friends had called her. She had enjoyed being out west, even lucking into a job working with some friendly cattle ranchers.
The only reason she had left was sudden feeling of homesickness. Her plan was a quick visit, then back to drifting. Hopefully, she could make it back to the ranch and get her job back. When she saw the sign greeting her across her hometown's city line, that plan had changed. Something felt right. After the dishes were done, Mollie excused herself, heading upstairs to her old room to go to sleep.
"Paul, I've got some good news." Warden Moores said, strolling through the Green Mile's door. Paul pulled his thoughts away from his daughter as Hal came and sat on the edge of the desk.
"Finally got you a secretary to organize all those files in your office." This caught not only Paul's attention, but Brutal, Percy, and another guard's attention. He was a floater, as they called them on the Mile; a temporary, just being assigned for a shift or two at a time.
"Really? That sounds right fine to me." Paul said, happy to pass on the long overdue job to somebody else.
"After they finish, I figure they could do some more work on the Mile as well." Hal added, tapping his knuckles against the desk. "Nothing serious, mind you. Mainly paperwork and desk duty. It'd give you guys a little more time between late shifts though." Paul looked at Brutal, who seemed to like the idea.
"So where's the boy who'll be workin'?" Percy asked, tapping his billie club against his hand.
"Warden Moores?" A feminine voice called through the office. All but the Warden jumped, the sound startling them. Mollie appeared in the doorway wearing the Green Mile navy uniform. The only difference was that instead of slacks and work shoes, she wore a skirt and short pumps. Percy was the only one to let his jaw drop, but the other guards were darn close.
"Meet your newest coworker, Mollie Edgecomb."