Molly let out a content groan as she relaxed in the plush leather massage chair her feet resting in a soapy bath. Lyla had taken her out for lunch and a day of pampering in an attempt to cheer Molly up. It was working.
It had been a long while since Molly had a day of pampering on her own terms. She had gone to the spa often in New Orleans, but her beauty regimes had always followed Brian's ideas of how she should look; clear polish or a French manicure on her fingernails, white polish on her toes, Brazilian and leg waxes, and eyebrow threading.
Brian's expectations for Molly's appearance were of course another way of controlling her. He chose how she did her makeup and how she dressed.
When she didn't adhere to his expectations he criticized her appearance. He could make her feel so hideous.
She felt a sense of excitement realizing that she could finally decide how she wanted to present herself.
She felt a tiny bit silly being so excited about a thing that most people took for granted.
Molly knew thought that the little freedom of being able to chose ones own sense of style was something one didn't miss until they'd had it taken away from them.
She was amazed at just how easily Brian had manipulated her. He'd brainwashed her into believing that she wasn't smart enough nor pretty enough to make it without him.
No man would ever put up with you the way I do, He'd told her time and time again. She had believed it for six long years.
She often wondered what it was about her that had made her a target for someone like Brian.
She hadn't grown up in a household where violence was present. She had been raised being told by her father to never take anyones abuse. He'd always told her to hold her head up high and be proud of herself and her family.
Molly knew that she would probably spend the rest of her life trying to understand how this had happened to her.
She knew that she had to change the way she looked at her past. She wasn't a victim. She was a survivor.
She had escaped a brutal man. She'd somehow managed to break the spell he'd had her under.
She realized now that Brian had been so wrong always belittling her. He had been the weak one. He had been a bully. He had been so hideous inside.
She was everything he had told her she'd never be. She was strong, intelligent, and beautiful.
She had a man who adored her and she was making a life of her own on her own terms.
Molly knew that as time went on she'd come to peace with herself and her past choices. She wanted nothing more than the leave the guilt and the sorrow behind.
She prayed that one day she'd finally escape all the damage Brian had left on her sense of self worth.
She'd come so far so quickly but she knew she still had a long way to go.
She wanted the nightmares and the fear to stop. She didn't want to cringe when she saw portrayals of abuse on the tv. She wanted the little voices in the back of her head that still repeated Brian's barrage of insults, to shut up once and for all.
It would take time, she reminded herself. Time healed all wounds.
It felt so good to relax after the amount of stress she'd been under over the past week and a half.
This little spa day felt like a tiny escape from the stress she felt from her mother's rejection and every single other stressor in her life.
She'd still heard no word from her mother. It upset her more than she'd like it too.
She just couldn't comprehend how her mother could be so cold.
This was a moment in her life that most mothers would be ecstatic over; a grandchild not to mention seeing their child settle into a happy relationship after such abuse.
It seemed that her mother just couldn't move past her disapproval of Chibs and his life.
It depressed Molly when she'd realized that this grandbaby might just grow up without her mother present in its life.
Yes her mother was a huge pain. She was nitpicky, bossy, and meddlesome. She was her mother though.
Molly and her mother had once been close, before her father had died.
She could remember Jack and she sitting in their mother's lap at night as their mother read books like The Hobbit and The Secret Garden.
It was one of Molly's fondest childhood memories. This was Molly's inspiration to read to Mason so often.
When she was a little girl she'd thought that her mother was so beautiful. She could remember how her mother would wake up early every morning put hot rollers in her hair and apply her makeup. Gloria never had a hair out of place and she always looked her best rather it was day or night. Gloria was always so glamorous.
Molly could remember how her father had looked at her mother; like she was the most beautiful woman on the planet.
She could remember how her parents would laugh and kiss one another. She could remember how her father would sing to her mother. He would serenade her with silly little songs he'd wrote about her.
They had been so in love.
When Molly thought about how in love her parents had been it just made her father's suicide hurt more.
She could understand how devestated her mother was by Michael Dupuis' death. Gloria had lost the love of her life. That was more than enough to make anyone fall apart.
Molly knew though that her mother's past didn't excuse her behavior.
Molly was very serious about not letting her mother back until her life until some changes were made.
Her mother needed to change her behavior and get control over her drinking.
Molly knew that if or when her mother came calling, she needed to take a stand and lay down some ground rules.
Molly realized underneath all the sorrow she felt that her mother needed to stop trying to control her children's lives. It just wasn't healthy for anyone.
Of course Molly was stressing over her lack of employment at the moment as well.
Having a baby had made Molly realize just how much the way Chibs and she balanced their finances were about to change.
Kids were expensive.
At the moment they were relying only on Chibs' income. Thankfully it seemed to be enough for them to survive on, but still money was a little tight.
Molly felt guilty because she was unable to find a job in her field. She knew that if she could just find a job at a doctors office or even a walk in clinic then it would help out with the day to day finances.
She still wanted to get look in to getting a degree in counseling so she could help other victims of abuse, but it always went right back to the money.
Yes she could look into getting a loan to attend the University in Lodi, but was right now really the best time?
Molly really didn't think she could juggle motherhood, preparing for another baby, and classes all at once.
She had been putting up flyers around town offering her services in teaching the piano, but so far she'd had no luck.
She was still holding out hope that someone would find her flyers and decide to call. She wasn't asking for a big salary and to be honest she'd be more than willing to lower her asking price for the right person.
She was just grateful Chibs had found a piano for her at some pawn shop not far from TM Auto. He'd haggled down the price on the piano and had surprised her with it.
The piano wasn't the prettiest nor the fanciest, but it worked. It was an old wooden upright piano. It was no babygrand but it that was just fine with her.
Molly opened her eyes as Lyla spoke up taking a sip from the cold soda she'd brought into the salon with her. "How's planning for the baby going?"
"Pretty well. We have a doctors appointment Monday." Molly remarked the excitement she felt evident in her voice.
"Have you thought of any names yet? I know it's soon, but it's so hard to decide. It took me forever to settle on Piper's name." Lyla asked excited for her friend.
She knew that Tara had given Molly a book full of all sorts of baby names that she'd had when she was pregnant with Thomas. Molly and Chibs had been leafing through it every night.
The two women had bonded easier than either of them had ever expected they would.
When Molly had first met Lyla she'd felt more than awkward around the woman.
She never would have thought she'd have anything in common with a former adult film star turned escort.
The women had quickly found that they had more in common than just being mothers and old ladies.
Lyla's son Piper was the result of a tumultuous relationship with her ex. Though Piper's father hadn't been near as violent as Brian Parker, Lyla still understood what it was to be a victim of an abuser.
Lyla was thankful for Molly's friendship.
Chibs along with the rest of the men in the club had really been there for Lyla after Opie's death.
Lyla was pleased to see that Chibs had found a good woman.
Molly was grateful to have found a good friend in Lyla. It was nice to experience friendship after years of isolation by Brian.
"We've only talked a little about girls names so far. We think we've narrowed it down to Ruby or Matilda. We aren't really sure if we'll stick with those though. Ruby is pretty but we aren't sure about it. So we may rule that name out. Filip really likes the name Isla. It's Scottish. He said the name Isla comes from the Scottish island Islay. I kind of like that name. I keep going back to Matilda though, so maybe Isla Matilda Telford." Molly explained letting out a soft sigh the warm water doing wonders for her sore feet.
She paused for a moment taking a sip from her styrofoam cup of water before speaking again. "Thank god we have like nine months to decide."
"So I'm taking it you're hoping for a girl?" Lyla asked as she removed her feet from her own bath allowing the salon tech to dry them.
"Not really. I mean we have Kerrianne and Mason. So in a way we already have a girl and a boy. I'll be happy either way. I'm kind of thinking that if it turns out to be a boy I want to name it after Filip." Molly responded as she sat her cup back down on a table beside her hoping that it wouldn't spill.
Lyla smiled happy to see that Molly seemed to be far more relaxed than she was when she had picked her up at her house this morning.
A spa day was always the best stress reliever. "So Filip Junior or Filip the second?"
"I have no idea. I may just decide to use Filip as the middle name. It seems like it's so much harder to name boys to me. I mean there are so many gorgeous girls names and not as many beautiful boys names. We can't find anything we like yet. Filip keeps joking that if we have a boy we'll name him Thaddeus or Cletus or Ernest." Molly replied chuckling.
"Ernest Filip...nice." Lyla laughed not helping but to picture the name Ernest as being an old man's name instead of a baby's name.
Molly pulled her feet out of the bath allowing the salon tech to begin drying them as she spoke. "It didn't seem this hard when I had Mason. I settled on his name pretty quickly. Brian wanted to name him Joseph after his father. I'm so thankful I talked him into the name Mason. It'd kill me if my baby was named after that bastard."
"So I'm taking it your ex's father isn't any nicer than him." Lyla remarked spotting the troubled look that washed over Molly's face when she mentioned her ex father in law.
"That's who Brian learned all his cruelty from. Joseph never did like me. He expected me to be a stay at home wife like Brian's mother. To be honest he frightens me. He's a wealthy man...I know he didn't take losing his grandson lightly. I don't think he's just going to sit back and let me keep my son." Molly admitted her stomach aching at the thought of Joseph Parker.
"You're afraid he'll try to take Mason?" Lyla asked sensing the fear in Molly's voice.
Molly felt her heart begin to pound as she replied. "I'm certain he'd try. I have a feeling he'd be happy to knock me out of the way and take Mason back to New Orleans with him...one way or another."
Lyla reached out patting Molly's hand. "Chibs and the guys wouldn't let that happen. They take care of their own. If you're worried you should talk to Chibs about it. I'm sure there's something the guys can do."
Molly let out a heavy sigh as she spoke. "I know. I feel safe with him...but he can't be there twenty four seven. He keeps assuring me that it'll all be okay. I want to believe him but I just have a bad feeling about this all."
Molly paused shaking her head as she took a big gulp of water. She did her best to smile as she spoke again wanting to change the subject. "Can you take me by TM Auto before we go to lunch. I need to talk to Happy while Chibs is gone on his lunch break."
"To Happy? What for?" Lyla asked curious as to what Molly could want with the Tacoma Killer.
Molly gave Lyla a mischievous smile as she spoke up. "You'll see."
Lyla chuckled wondering just what Molly was up to.
The two women both sat back enjoying their day of pampering completely oblivious to a familiar car parked down the road watching every move they made though the lens of his camera.
Molly walked into the clubhouse Lyla following close behind her. She scrunched her nose still unaccustomed to the smell the clubhouse seemed to always have to be blunt the smell was; pussy, cigarettes, and beer.
The smell only seemed to disappear for a short while when the croweaters really scrubbed the place down on Sundays.
Molly was grateful that Chibs was no where in sight around the garage or the clubhouse.
He was gone having his lunch break at the same burrito and taco restaurant he ate at every Thursday. He loved it because he could get a huge burrito for only a few bucks.
Molly paid no mind to the two croweaters hanging around the bar with some nomad.
She wasn't going to allow the croweaters to intimidate her or distract her from the task at hand.
She was learning that it was best just to follow Gemma's advice and not let the croweaters get to her.
She was learning not to show any sign of insecurities around the women. They would jump on any sign of weakness.
She was Chibs' old lady and the croweaters should watch themselves. She was learning quickly how to operate in this life from the Queen of Samcro.
Gemma had to admit she was proud.
Molly made her way off towards the dorms leaving Lyla at the bar. This wouldn't take long, hopefully.
She reached up knocking a little shocked when a very disheveled blonde girl answered the door. The croweater looked rough; smeared eyeliner, ripped tights, and a tube like dress that made Molly think of a sausage wrapper.
The croweater glared at Molly a look of distain on her face. "What?"
Molly rolled her eyes reminding herself of Gemma's words Make them respect you. She ignored the snotty girl choosing not to talk to her at all. "Happy it's Molly. I came to get my stuff. You called this morning and said you were done."
The croweater narrowed her eyes not liking Molly's choice of ignoring her. She spoke up her voice full of arrogance. "He's busy honey."
The croweater let out a squeak as Happy took her by surprise shoving her out the door none too gently. "Get out of here. Don't talk shit to Chibs' old lady."
The girl widened her eyes realizing her mistake. She scurried down the hall her head lowered in embarrassment.
Happy let out a huff irritated with the newbie croweater. The girl wasn't too bright but she was hot.
He nodded to Molly as he spoke again his voice a bit friendlier, well friendly for him. "Hey Molly I finished them both up this morning hold on."
Molly watched him walk away from the door leaving it open. She peered inside the door doing her best to remain stealthy about it.
She was sure Happy wouldn't take too kindly to her invading his privacy.
The Tacoma Killer still frightened her. She'd be lying if she tried to deny that.
She was trying to follow through on her promise to herself to get to know Chibs' brothers better though. They were family.
She was more than surprised to see that the room was spotless. She guessed Happy was a neat freak.
She was unable to wipe the smile off her face as Happy walked back to the door handing her two sheets of paper.
She peered down at the drawings the joy in her voice obvious. "They're gorgeous. I can't wait."
The two sheets of paper contained two very special drawings.
The first was of a very detailed crow sitting on the branch of a cherry blossom tree. It was all black except for the pink of the cherry blossoms.
She had wanted something feminine that would still tie into the idea of having the crow. Happy had managed to capture what she wanted perfectly. It was so intricate that she felt as though she could reach into the drawing and actually touch the crow.
The second drawing was of a beautiful purple Scottish Thistle with a banner over the stem. The banner contained four letters; FTCT. The letters of course stood for Filip Thomas Chibs Telford.
She had wanted to do something more personal for Chibs along with the crow. She'd begun to do a little research on Scotland and had come along The tale of the Thistle of Scotland.
The flower was tied to a legend about sleeping Scottish warriors who were saved from an ambush by an invading Norse army when one of the Norsemen stepped on the piney thistle alerting the Scots.
Apparently the thistle was the flower of Scotland.
She knew that the thistle would be the perfect way to show her love for Chibs on her body. Chibs was a proud Scotsman. What better way to represent him with a thistle and his initials?
Molly knew that most people preached against getting tattoos for their significant others. Molly had no doubts in her mind about this though.
She wanted this so badly.
She couldn't see herself ever regretting it.
She loved Chibs so dearly. It had become clear to her that Chibs was the love of her life. He was a father to her son and the father to this baby. He was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Molly had come to Happy with this request at Mason's birthday party knowing from talking to Chibs that he was the man for this job.
She took Happy by surprise giving him a hug as he spoke. "Thank you so much. They're amazing."
She pulled away from him her cheeks flushing as she spotted the look of shock on his face from her sudden hug.
He managed to give her a rare smile as he spoke. "I'm glad to help. Just call me when it's time and I'll tattoo ya."
Molly nodded her head knowing that it was going to be so frustrating to wait for this.
Given her pregnancy she couldn't get these tattoos right away.
"I'm sure Chibs is going to drag me to you the second I give birth." Molly joked knowing that Chibs would be ecstatic
She couldn't wait to show Chibs these. He was going to love it.
Chibs ran his hand through his hair trying to act far more confident than he felt as he walked through the front door the bell above his head dinging.
This was the same shop most of the sons came to when they were looking for biker rings. It was downtown in a shopping center not far from Chibs' old apartment complex.
The jewelry shop wasn't the fanciest place on the planet. To be honest the store smelled like a mixture mothballs and cigar smoke.
The shop specialized in used jewelry as well as handmade jewelry. A lot of people came in to melt down their gold and silver jewelry in order to sell it or make new jewelry.
Chibs wasn't here for that though nor was he here for a new golden biker ring.
He was here for his old lady.
A huge part of him feared what he was about to do. This was a huge decision.
Molly more than likely wasn't expecting this.
What if he freaked her out? What if she thought it was too soon? Or what if she thought he only wanted this because the baby?
He knew that he loved Molly. He'd thought he could never feel this way again after Fiona.
Molly was his old lady and he wanted to make it official.
He had wanted this from the second she'd announced Brian had signed those divorce papers.
He knew that if Molly had any reservations about getting married that he could always promise her that they didn't have to get married right away.
He adored her and would love nothing more than being married to Molly, but he knew that if she wanted to wait he would. He would wait for an eternity if that's what she wanted.
The fact that Molly was carrying his child only intensified his desire to make her his wife.
He loved the sound of it; Molly Telford, Mrs. Molly Telford.
He wasn't surprised as the old man who owned the shop gave him an anxious look. Old Phil had been paying the sons for over a decade now to keep thugs away from his store. A little store like this was an easy target for robbery.
Chibs nodded down at the jewelry counter ignoring the man's look of apprehension. "Do ya have any womens rings?"
"What kind of ring?" Phil asked shifting the cheap cigar in his mouth as he reached under the display counter shifting around for the rings he had.
Chibs took a deep breath his heart pounding as he spoke. "An engagement ring."
"I have more than a few of those. All for a good price of course. You know I'm always willing to deal with the sons." Phil remarked sucking up a little to the intimidating biker.
Chibs nodded his head knowing that he would more than likely need to get a good deal. "That's good. I'm lookin for somethin nice fer my old lady. I want somethin simple but elegant. I don't want it so simple that it looks cheap though."
He knew that he had to watch what he was spending. With a baby on the way he would need to save his money.
He would be lying if he tried to say that he didn't feel guilty knowing that he couldn't afford the biggest diamond ring he could find for Molly.
He kept thinking back to that picture of Molly in her wedding gown when she'd married Brian. The huge sparkling diamond engagement ring on her finger was the thing most girls probably dreamed of.
A huge ring wasn't in Chibs' budget though, it never would be.
He took a deep breath reminding himself that Molly wouldn't be disappointed if this ring was a little on the small side.
She wasn't materialistic, even though she had lived in luxury for the six years she'd spent married to Brian.
Chibs stared down at the rings Phil set out suddenly feeling overwhelmed.
He automatically regretted not bringing someone along to help him with this.
What were his choices in help though, one of the guys at the clubhouse? No that wouldn't work.
He had considered waiting until after Mason's school let out and bringing the little boy along with him. He knew though that Mason more than likely wouldn't be able to hold in such a huge secret.
He could remember when he'd married Fiona they had gone out and bought the ring together. He'd been so poor that all he'd been able to buy was a thin gold band with a speck of a diamond in the center.
They hadn't even been able to afford wedding bands until after they'd been married for six months.
He let out a sigh as he picked up a plain silver band with a small solitaire diamond in the center. It was in his price range but it wasn't quite what he'd had in mind.
Chibs knew that this plain ring wasn't good enough for his Molly.
He wanted something special, something that she would be proud to show off to anyone and everyone.
She deserved something as beautiful as her.
The other rings were just as plain. They were all very similar; gold and silver bands with simple diamonds.
He placed the ring back down on the counter as he spoke up. "Do ya have any thing other than these? I know I said I wanted somethin simple. But not this simple."
"I got a few rings in from some estate sell out in Oakland. They're some nice pieces...all antique." Phil remarked as he bent over digging around under the counter again.
Chibs nodded his head knowing that the word antique usually meant expensive.
Phil was more than willing to make a deal with him though. Maybe he could talk him down to a reasonable price.
As soon as Phil pulled out these rings his eyes locked down on one in particular; an art deco style emerald ring.
The filigree platinum band was clearly aged giving it a grayish tone. The gray tone only made the rounded emerald in the center of the ring more vibrant.
The green of the emerald reminded Chibs of the specks of green in Molly's hazel eyes.
It was gorgeous just like his old lady.
Phil spoke up noticing the way Chibs was staring down at the ring. "It's an old one, it's from the 1930s or forties at least. I'll lower the price by a few hundred and throw in a box for it. Like I said I'm willing to give ya a good deal."
Chibs finally tore his eyes away from the ring a smile on his face as he spoke "Aye I'll take it."
He reached into his wallet knowing that even if this was a little more than he'd wanted to spend originally it was all worth it.
His old lady was going to love it.
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