Ch. 9
Author's Note: Ugh, I made SO many typos in the last chapter! I forgot to proofread and things turned out horrible. Nobody would believe that English is my first language. Bah.
Sunlight shone through Toby's bedroom window to wake him up, revealing a sleeping Molly. She was sitting in the chair she was on last night with her head on the food of his bed. A lukewarm bag of what used to be ice slid off of his face as he sat up and plopped onto the floor. Unfortunately, the impact made it burst and spill water all over. He stroked her hair lightly, happy that she was finally his. It turned out Molly was a very light sleeper, and the slight contact woke her up with a jolt. Toby winced at the sudden movement.
"Wha… How did I get here?" She crinkled her nose in pain because of the soreness in her neck. Sleeping like that would give anyone a neck cramp. "..Oh. Your nose! It looks a whole lot better. But your eye… it's seen much better days." She pulled a hand mirror from her bag. "Here, take a look. Awful, isn't it?" Toby leaned in closer to the mirror and recoiled from his reflection. That couldn't possibly be him. He looked like a zombie!
"That can't be me, Molly. It didn't hurt that much yesterday. But now I feel like I have a boulder or something on my eye." The black and blue faced boy grimaced. Molly shook her head and sighed. The memories of the fireworks festival quickly came back to him, from Molly's dress (which she was still wearing) to Luke's punch. He blushed as he remembered what happened when she was cleaning his face, and as if she had read his mind, Molly kissed him on the forehead lightly.
Molly was so happy to have the privilege to hold his hand and be as affectionate as she wanted with him. Her farm work had become much easier because she could stop worrying if he liked her or not. From that night, she and Toby were attached at the hip. They ate lunch together, dinner together, fished together, and napped together. Toby refused to work on the farm; he said his body was "too weak" for hard labor. At this, Molly would smile widely and punch him affectionately in the arm. The villagers giggled at how he blushed when Molly kissed him on the cheek, but the couple didn't seem to care. Instead, they would laugh. As months dragged on, they never grew apart. Toby and Molly were stuck together wherever they went.
Of course, they had little arguments about which quickly blew over when Molly made him a cake and gave him a big bear hug. What they fought about was always petty, and lasted about a day. Both of them would sulk and ignore each other, but they knew one was waiting for the other to apologize. Due to Toby's shyness, Molly did most of the fight resolving with her silliness and cooking finesse. One day, Toby was awoken by three knocks on the door. To his surprise, it was someone he hardly saw- Mira. (A/N: You can probably see where this is going)
"Er-hem. Toby? I've noticed that you and Molly have spent a lot of time together lately, and I've got something to tell you." Toby drowsily nodded. "Well, there's this tradition we have here on Castanet Island. People are proposed to with blue feathers instead of rings. Yesterday, I saw a blue bird fly overhead and it dropped this." Mira said with an almost melancholy smile. She produced a pristine blue feather from her skirt pocket. "I know that Molly wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger by going to the top of the mine to get it. So, plan out your proposal if you must. Goodbye and good luck!"
Toby stared blankly at the feather in his hands, heart pounding. This was his chance to finally propose. Problem was; he had no idea how to do so. His first thought was to consult Colleen, who had helped jump start his relationship with Molly. He ran inside to hide it in a drawer where it would stay safe. Keeping it in his pocket would be too risky; Toby had to keep it absolutely perfect. He bolted out of the door, to Ozzie's befuddlement, and arrived panting at the inn door. Toby still wasn't accustomed to running- not in the slightest. Colleen jumped a little at the boy suddenly bursting through the door, an urgent look on his face.
"I found… the blue feather, and…, and I have no idea how to… give it to Molly." Toby told Colleen between his panting. Colleen put her hand over her mouth and smiled.
"Oh my! You're planning to propose? Darling, that's something you have to figure out yourself. Proposing to the one you love is something that you should do without advice. It'll come naturally dear, don't worry."
Toby sat on his bed for hours wondering how he would 'pop the question'. He wracked his mind for ways to get her attention. Something that would bring back memories to her, something that would make her smile… He sat up quickly as he remembered what had gotten her to stay with him for a long time. Toby ran outside at full speed and jumped into the frigid ocean with a smile on his face.
