Molly's Meeting
For the hundredth time that day, Molly looked herself up and down in the glassy reflection of the store window. Her black lacquered shoes looked scruffy, her pencil skirt didn't seem to fit properly and her top looked like it belonged on a five year old. She sighed, knowing it was no use rushing back to London to change, the journey was too long and Charles would be so disappointed if she bailed, especially after it took him three long months to convince Molly to do this. Although far from convinced, she just couldn't bear the thought of letting him down. Adjusting her vision she peered through the store window, tweed jackets hung in rows next to dark oak shelves which held an array of crisp white shirts, this was so bloody posh! Catching the steely eye of the shop assistant Molly hurried down the high street, wondering why all the people here were so unwelcoming.
Laughter came from inside the house, it looked exactly the same, but she felt so much more anxious than she ever had. Flashbacks of her last visit filled her mind: he'd surprised her with a boat ride down the river and pub lunch and 'The Bathampton Mill'… it was perfect. She walked up the narrow path and lifted her quivering hand and knocked, regret instantly filled her, maybe she knocked too hard and sounded unladylike, god was she overthinking this. The door swung open and all her fears were wiped away, there he was, her bossman. She collapsed into his arms and breathed in his cologne as he wrapped his arms around her, this was where she wanted to be… no scary meetings, no pressure, just the two of them, enjoying each other.
'You came then?' He broke the silence between them, she pulled away and stared at his smirk, she couldn't help but beam back at him.
'I'll go just as quickly and I arrived if you're not careful' She raised an eyebrow and he grabbed her arm defensively and proceeded to pull her along the corridor to the living room.
'No wait wait, I'm not ready yet!' She protested, but he ignored her pleas and continued to walk. 'Charles please' He stopped, the vulnerability was suddenly very apparent in her voice. He instantly dropped her arm and allowed her to run to the mirror by the door. She stopped, smoothing out her skirt and adjusting her hair, it tumbled perfectly around her shoulders. This was his cue to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her petite form from behind, he breathed her in and took a second to appreciate how lucky he was. He'd missed her, she spun round so that they were facing each other, barely an inch between them she planted a soft kiss on her forehead. She relaxed and whispered 'I promise we'll make up for lost time later, I think I'm ready' He smiled and raised an eyebrow only to meet her petrified look, taking her arm in his, he led her towards the soft music and gentle chatter.
As they entered the room, the chatter ceased and all eyes were on Molly. She could not feel more out of place. Charles quickly recognised the tension edged towards a couple stood in the middle of the group. A tall man dressed in a shirt and dark trousers stretched out his hand and firmly grasped Molly's.
'You must be Molly, glad to finally meet you' he was the spitting image of Charles, curled brown hair amongst which some grey hairs started to peep through and strong dark eyes full of wisdom and understanding.
'Yes Sir, sorry it's taken me so long to get up 'ere, it ain't been half manic at home'
'Please, call me William. I see the army's got you very formal Molly!' he said as he chuckled. 'This is my wife Celia'
A small delicate woman not much taller than Molly appeared from behind William. She wore a simple white blouse paired with cream trousers. A line of pearls hid behind her beautifully curled blonde hair. She smiled at Molly and took her in for a hug, taking her by surprise. She wasn't expecting Charles' mum to be this nice!
'Oh Sweetheart I'm so glad to finally meet you, Charles has been talking about you so much, I wanted to put a face to the name!' Molly was instantly put at ease, this was just like being at home in London, but maybe with posher accents.
Charles looked at her from a distance, she hadn't noticed him slip away into the kitchen, he watched her laughing and working her usual charm on his family. She laughed, presumably at one of William's unfunny jokes, and tipped her head back slightly, her long curls fell behind her back, the last time he'd managed to look at her like this was in the park about a month ago, she was just as mesmerising now. Noticing the champagne was now dribbling over the edge of the glass, he replaced the bottle and cork and went to re-join the company.
Lunch went smoothly, after Celia and Charles let to plate up lunch, Molly continued to work her charm on William and their friends from the country house who kindly introduced themselves as Camilla and Michael. They talked about taking a long weekend break as a family in Surrey and how well Sam and Molly got along, and the conversation briefly switched to Rebecca, who was referred to as a 'Ghastly Woman' by Celia from the kitchen, Molly was glad they at least they were on the same page. She won the family over with ease and continued to do so as they sat at the dinner table. They loved listening to what it was like growing up in the busy streets of London, she decided leaving the details out of her depressed mother and alcoholic father was best. Charles squeezed her knee under the table when William asked about her parents, he knew it was a difficult subject for Molly. She lied her way through it and hastily changed the subject, not that anybody noticed, the mounds of carved chicken and golden potatoes had managed to take their minds off the conversation. Eventually hunger got the better of them and silence fell upon the table and the problems facing Molly at home were long forgotten.
The time came for everyone to leave, and after exchanging their goodbyes, Celia promised Molly to remind William about the long weekend away. She smiled and squeezed molly's hands tightly before hugging Charles and tottering off to the Land Rover, where the rest of the party were waiting.
Charles closed the door behind her and turned to Molly and smiled.
'I told you' he said, edging closer to her.
'What'
'That you'd be brilliant'
She smiled, 'I think you're getting soppy'
'Only for you though' He stared at her. 'It's just physical with all of my other girlfriends' he joked
She turned on her heel and began to walk back towards to kitchen, only to feel him intertwine his arms around her. Elbowing his stomach and hearing him exhale, she knew she'd won. 'And I suppose you won't be needing anything physical here then' and raised her eyebrow questioningly.
'But I thought somebody had promised me to make up for lost time earlier' he replied smirking.
'Ooh I can't not keep a promise now can I' she said, and before he could come up with anything else to say, her lips were on his, and it didn't matter who had the last word, it was no longer important.