Molly knocked ten times on the factory doors, and rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited. She crossed her fingers behind her back hoping it wasn't Mr. Snatcher again, but she had a good feeling about this. The door unlocked and slid open to reveal Mr. Pickles. Her face glowed with a smile as he practically jumped back at the sight of her. "M-M-Ms. Molly? What are you doing here? And at this time of night? Sh-Shouldn't you be at the party?" he stuttered.
She wondered for a moment how he knew about the Portley-Rind's party, but didn't think to question it. "I just thought i'd stop by and say hello. I haven't seen you in a while. Well, I mean, besides when you all drive by in the car and we wave to each other. I mean more like actually see each other face to face and talk. May I come in?" she asked politely.
Mr. Pickles quickly opened the door fully and moved to the side so she could step in, "Oh of course! Come in, please!" Everything in the Red Hat Handbook suddenly flew out of his mind as he let this woman into the factory. No one was allowed in that Mr. Snatcher didn't know about. Red Hats only was the usual policy.
Molly walked around the open, dirty, space and caught sight of Mr. Trout and Mr. Gristle sitting at a round wooden table nearby. "Oh! Hello there men! How are you?"
Mr. Trout was flabbergasted to see her in the factory, he knew as well as any of his colleagues the strict rules that Snatcher enforced. He was mostly amazed that Mr. Pickles of all of them had forgotten; he was the most knowledgable of all the Red Hat rules. They all knew the punishment they could face if they were caught. "Um… How do you do, Ms. Monte Cristo."
Molly searched with her eyes around the rest of the room, "Is it only you three? Mr. Snatcher doesn't appear to be here." she noticed.
Mr. Pickles stood right beside her, "He's out at a par-" Mr. Gristle whacked him on the arm and gave him a scowl as not to blow their bosses cover. "I- I mean he's out." The tall man winced and rubbed his arm where the short man had hit.
The blonde couldn't help but sigh of relief at this news. Snatcher gave her the creeps, and she much preferred the company of the other Red Hats over his. "Well, no matter! Your company is enough." The compliment was directed at all of them, but she looked at Mr. Pickles in particular when she said it.
Mr. Pickles gulped and smiled nervously, showing his crooked teeth. Mr. Trout was not one to push guests out, but the boss could be home any moment, and he did not want to get anyone in trouble. "It was very nice of you to stop by, Ms. Monte Cristo, but perhaps you should be getting home. It's awful late and all-"
"Nonsense Mr. Trout!" Mr. Pickles waved it off, "We Red Hats are gentlemen and welcome everyone into our home!" He placed his arms behind his back and rocked slightly on his heels, "Especially a pretty lady such as Ms. Molly." He looked down a bit embarrassed that he could say something so flattering.
Molly's face grew pink and her eyes glistened. She quickly pulled her fan out from her breast and began waving it in front of her face in a flirtatious and shy manner. Mr. Pickles turned pink as well after seeing that.
"Hehehe, nice." Mr. Gristle chuckled from his seat at the table.
Mr. Trout didn't want to beat around the bush anymore, "Mr. Pickles, might I have a word with you please?" The tall man was in a daze still looking at the lady. Trout tapped on his shoulder, and Mr. Pickles focus was regained. "Oh… Alright then, if you'll excuse me miss." He tipped his hat to Molly and she put her fan away as he did so. He looked the other way quickly as not to see where she was putting it.
Trout and Pickles talked in the corner on the other side of the table. "Mr. Trout this better be very important. This never usually works, but for some reason now it is. Maybe she had a drink or two."
"I think you're being a little too nonchalant about this, Mr. Pickles. If the boss comes back in his current getup and Ms. Molly see's him, we could all be done for." He paused for a moment, and looked back at the woman who was now at the Leech tank with Mr. Gristle.
"This is Samantha, and Gregory, and Jamie, and Klaus…" he listed off the names of all his leeches to her. She looked at them with fascination. "Oh! I think Klaus just smiled at me!" she waved to the small creature in the tank that sucked on the glass with it's sharp, tiny, teeth.
Mr. Trout rethought his arguments, "Then again, she is rather… Ditzy. Perhaps she won't even notice. Snatcher will notice though, and I don't won't to be there when he does."
Mr. Pickles put a hand on his friend's back reassuringly, "Don't worry, Mr. Trout. I've got this all under control. She'll be out of here before the boss gets back."
Molly tapped Mr. Pickles shoulder, and both men turned to look at her. "I don't mean to interrupt, but I just had a wonderful thought! How about you show me the car!"
"The car?" both men said in unison, giving each other worried glances.
She nodded. "Oh yes, i've always wanted to see it up close. If it's no trouble?" she asked hopefully. She had a feeling that being there was against their policies, and she didn't want anyone to get in trouble. Perhaps if they went outside it would be better at least.
Mr. Pickles rubbed the back of his neck, reconsidering what he had told his large colleague before. "Um, hehe, sure! I'll show you the car! It's right this way!" he gestured out the door and she went. Before stepping out behind her, he looked back at both the other Red Hats, giving them a nod as if to say, "I totally got this!" Whether he did or not, he wasn't so certain, but any time spent with Ms. Molly was worth the punishment Mr. Snatcher put on him.
Outside on the other side of the factory was where the car was parked. Molly couldn't help but remember the first night she and Mr. Pickles met as they walked together under the night sky. She looked at him, and he smiled at her as they made their way around the building. At the sight of the car, Molly oohed and ahhed. "Oh my, I have never seen it this close before. It's so… Mechanical!" She walked around it, Mr. Pickles following her. "Yes, well it is a mechanical thing." He mentally slapped himself for saying something so stupid. Luckily she didn't really catch it.
She ran around to the other side of the car, "This is where you stand! Right?" She was practically bouncing with excitement as he made his way around. "Ah, yes. That's my spot."
She tried to find a way on, but it seemed very complicated. She had no clue where to hold on or where to place her feet. "May I?" she asked, perhaps then he could show her. Mr. Pickles looked at her then the car, then back to her. "Well, if you want. Here," he hesitantly placed his hands around her waist and helped her up. She found her grip and held on for dear life. Mr. Pickles couldn't believe he just touched the woman of his dreams, especially her waist. He let go as soon as she was up. "A-Are you ok?"
"Oh my this is quite a lot of work to hang on here!" she carefully adjusted herself while trying to keep from slipping. The gangly man kept a careful eye on her in case she fell. "It's nothing really. It's all about finding your balance and having a good grip."
She turned so she could face him, while still having the best grip she could on the car. "You must have very strong hands then." she complimented. Mr. Pickles looked down at his bandaged fingers, "Um, no not really." When he looked back up at Ms. Molly, he was closer than he realized. Her eyes had a twinkle in them as she smiled. He smiled back genuinely, although his guts were turning inside of him, he couldn't look away from her.
"How do I get down?" she asked. Mr. Pickles, with less hesitation than before, placed his hands back around her waist and helped her down onto the ground. When she landed his hands lingered, and Molly giggled upon realizing just how long they were on her.
Mr. Pickles pulled his hands away in embarrassment, and was now much further from her than he was before. "I'm terribly sorry, Miss." He kept his hands to himself in a very modest fashion.
Moly pulled out her fan and began her flirtatious act again. "Oh it's fine really!" she insisted as she took a step toward him. He immediately stepped back as if he were afraid of her advances. "No, no, I mean… As a gentlemen, and your friend, I really shouldn't." At this Molly froze. He said the 'F' word. The dreaded 'F' word. All of this happening and he still only considered them friends.
"Friend. Yes, of course. How foolish of me." she put her fan away and looked down at the dirt. A silence fell between them. Mr. Pickles was about to speak, but Molly beat him to it, "And you are my friend too. My very dear friend."
Mr. Pickles heart was no longer beating fast, and the feelings in his gut were replaced with sour ones instead. He sighed, "Right. Friend."
"I best be on my way home now. Thank you for showing me the car. I enjoyed our time together." she didn't look up at him. She bid her farewell, and started up the hill.
"I enjoyed our time as well." He said before losing sight of her. He wasn't surprised she couldn't hear him though. After a moment of waiting in the dark in regret, he went back inside to see his fellow Red Hats.
As Molly trudged up the hill, she felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wiped it quickly so no one could see. Not that anyone was around, it was past curfew and everyone was either asleep or at Portley-Rind's party.
Just a bit farther up the hill and Molly could hear footsteps coming down. As they came closer she heard some angry low grumbling with them. It sounded a lot like Mr. Snatcher. Molly was in no mood to see him, but as she approached the noise, it turned out to be Madame Frou-Frou. Molly was delighted and bewildered to see her. "Ah! Ms. Frou-Frou! What are you doing this far downtown?"
Frou-Frou froze in disbelief as she regained her composure. "I could ask you ze same thing, my darling."
Molly's smile fell as she began to explain, "Well I took your advice and went to go see Mr. Pickles." Frou-Frou's eye twitched. "You mean you were at the factory?" The blonde nodded and continued to explain. "But it didn't work out. He called me… His…. HIS… FRIEND!"
The tall woman's face did not change. She didn't quite understand the situation. "Friend? Well zat means you are halfway sere, right?" She continued to walk down the hill as they talked, hoping she could lose the ditz along the way.
Molly went on with her drama though, "NO! That's the opposite of what i'm going for!" The redhead rolled her eyes, she did not have any time for this nonsense. She needed to lose her. "Well i'm terribly sorry to hear that, but I must be off! I have business to attend to." She picked up speed as she went down the hill. Molly stopped in her tracks, feeling like a rude tagalong. "Oh, alright. Sorry to bother you. Goodnight, Madame!"
Frou-Frou did not reply back to the lady. Under all that getup, Snatcher was starting to boil over in anger. As soon as he reached the factory, he threw the door open. His men were sitting at the table, Mr. Pickles looking rather down. They all sat up as soon as they caught sight of their boss.
"Good evening sir! How was the party?" Trout greeted, as if nothing had happened while he was away. Snatcher rolled his eyes for the billionth time that night as he approached the table. "Oh you don't want to hear about my night do you?" he played, "I'd much rather heat what you men did while I was away. That is, if anything happened?"
Mr. Gristle looked up at Trout and Pickles with an evil smile, as if he was in on Snatcher's game. The other two Red Hats nervously began to cover up their evening. "Why no! Nothing ever happens here, right Mr. Pickles?" The large man looked to his friend, who was shaking like a leaf. Trout could see Snatcher's patience weathering, as well as his eyeshadow. He gave Mr. Pickles a soft nudge and repeated himself, "Right?"
Pickles broke immediately, "Molly was here." he spouted quickly. Mr. Trout threw his hands in the air and then covered his face. Mr. Gristle chuckled, "Busted." Mr. Trout uncovered his face and called the short man out, "Oh come on, you were there too!"
"Enough!" Archibald slammed his manicured fists on the table. He directed the rest of his yelling at Mr. Pickles in particular, because clearly this was all on him. "How many times I gotta tell you that women are nothing but trouble?! Especially that one?" He pointed out the door to where Molly once was.
Pickles looked down in humiliation, "I- I just thought…"
"Thought what?" Snatcher interrupted, "That maybe she'd see you as something more? A lady like that will only ever look at you as a commoner. Maybe a friend if you're lucky." He then began to make his way to the stairs.
Mr. Pickles watched as his boss walked away, and piped up. "Well, friend means i'm halfway there, right?"
As Snatcher swung around the railing he gave his stooge an evil glare. "NO!"