Chapter 12: The Cabin, Part One
Randy awoke from his slumber, thanks to somebody persistently nudging him on the shoulder. He wearily opened his eyes and tried to stretch, only to be restricted by the confines of the vehicle he was sat in. For a split second he had no idea where he was, but a reassuring voice soon assisted him in acclimatizing.
"Randy… we are here, home sweet home." Molly said, sounding positively bubbly about the prospect of being back in Forest Lake. She had grown up in the area and spent most of her life living there, so it was a nice moment for her. Practically all of her family had relocated since she had became a professional wrestler, but after a failed experiment living in Florida, she was content to be back where her roots were.
Randy was greeted by a gloomy scene, as he looked out of the passenger side window of the car Molly had been driving. Rain was threatening to fall and could hear the wind whistling through the glass of the windows. It had been an epic journey from the airport in Minneapolis and he had lost track of what the time of day was. As he tried to find his bearings, Molly sought out his first impressions of her residence, which stood right before them.
"So what do you think?" Molly asked, puzzling the woozy Randy. After he returned a mere shrug of the shoulders, Molly helped him out somewhat. "My home Randy. What do you think of my home?" she said, pointing through the windshield at her place.
Randy looked straight ahead and was astonished to see what appeared to be a tiny cottage; he had seen Chris Jericho's extravagant rock-star mansion, Christian's modern home full of the latest technology, and Matt Hardy's expansive luxury apartment, but the sight of Molly's place was even more jaw-dropping. The first word that entered his head was 'wow'; her residence was not the sort of place a typical WWE Superstar lived in.
Just from seeing the outside of the building, he could tell that the place had character and reflected Molly's humble image; not to mention her upbringing. He took a look at the immediate surroundings and noticed that, save for a garage just off from her house, there were no other buildings in sight. A forest surrounded the entire area, though the trees weren't really tall enough to block out what little light was still present that evening.
"You live in the middle of nowhere…" he said, still gob smacked by the amazing nature of her property. He couldn't wait to take a peek inside.
"Yeah, I guess I do!" she said perkily. "You want to check it out?"
"I sure do." he replied, and they both exited the car. Randy went round to the trunk and helped Molly lift their luggage out, before heading up to the entrance. He took another look at the outside of the building, as they walked up the graveled drive together. If anything, it looked even smaller than it did when he viewed it from the inside of the car. It was nothing more than a cabin, and looked rather rickety. He was slightly concerned, as a loud clap of thunder sounded and the dull evening sky was illuminated by a bright flash of lightning. As the threat of rain materialized and it began to teem down, the two of them made haste across the driveway towards the front door.
Molly desperately tried to find the key to the front door in her handbag, as they both sought refuge under a shelter situated at the entrance. "I must apologize for the inclement weather, it is forever raining out here." she said, in a gesture which was not really necessary.
'She is just too sweet sometimes…' Randy thought, as Molly finally found her key and unlocked the door. She went to pick her bags up, only for Randy to usher her away; as he picked them up himself. Molly wouldn't stand back and let him 'get away' with that, as she maneuvered around him and picked up his bags. They were far heavier than hers, but that made no difference to her.
"I am supposed to be looking after you remember…" she quipped, as Randy reluctantly allowed her to cart his bags into the cabin. Molly flicked on the light switch as she entered, which lit a light bulb hanging in the centre of her living room.
His wonderment continued as he walked through the entrance; he was confronted with her living room immediately, which contained nothing more than a luxurious leather couch, a large oval rug in front of that, and a cabinet that he assumed was the home of Molly's entertainment equipment. He couldn't believe that she would live so primitively, that she didn't even have a television set.
Three rooms branched off on the far side of the room, but that was it; there was no staircase, as the cabin was only a one-storey building. He didn't detect much in the way of heating, as there was no fireplace. 'How does she live like this?' was his initial reaction to the interior.
Molly directed Randy across the wooden flooring, towards the left hand room of the three across on the far wall of the cabin, as they had entered. She opened the old wooden door to the room, turned on a lamp that stood in the corner and dragged his bags inside. It was evidently going to be Randy's bedroom for the duration of his stay, as she heaved his belongings onto a bed situated in the centre of the box room. Once again, in keeping with the rest of the residence, this particular room was tiny. There was not even room for a side table, as the double bed left only a slither of room along its sides. There was just enough room for a small chest of drawers next to the door, and barely enough for the two to stand side by side in front of it.
"Well, as you might have guessed… this is your room." Molly said, as Randy continued to peruse his surroundings. "I hope you have plenty of warm clothing with you, because it can get pretty chilly out here… and I only have an electric heater." she said awkwardly. The irony was, that she was supposed to be nursing Randy back to full fitness after his cold earlier in the week; if anything, her cabin was far from ideal for that. Molly was hardened to the conditions in her home state, so the thought had never crossed her mind until that point.
"I think I will manage…" Randy said, with a distinct lack of confidence. At least the thick blanket on the bed looked ample enough to keep him warm at night. He immediately opened one of his cases to find a woolen sweater that he knew he had; the cabin was extremely cold and he was only just over the worst of his illness. He found the item he was after, and pulled it over his head, which was enough to put a smile on Molly's face.
Randy left the rest of his unpacking, as Molly grabbed his hand and led him next door to show him the bathroom. Once again, there was barely enough room to breathe in there, as an old ceramic bathtub took up the majority of the room. Randy noticed there was no shower unit; he couldn't remember the last time he had sat in a bath to wash, rather than use a shower.
Molly then led him into the final room of the three he had seen upon entry, which was her kitchen area. It was the same old story in there, as space was at a premium and an old gas stove appeared to be the primary source of cooking equipment; there did not appear to be a microwave oven for instance.
"Hey Molls, I gotta ask you something." Randy spoke up.
"Sure."
"How do you survive in this place?" he asked, as curiosity finally got the better of him. "I mean, it's like a throwback to the ancient past."
Molly scowled at his suggestion that she was stuck in yesteryear. "I'll have you know Randy Orton, that everything in this house is in good working order and does it job. I don't need fancy gadgets and gizmos to survive you know."
"Let me guess… you go fishing and hunting in the woods, rather than use the local convenience store." he joked, with a hint of seriousness in his suggestion. He wasn't surprised when Molly thumped him on the arm once more; that was becoming something of a habit, as his mouth constantly got him into trouble.
"I resent that remark! Don't worry though, you can make up for it by going down to the convenience store in the morning for me." she snapped in return.
"Fine by me." Randy responded, with a smug grin on his face. That cocky look was soon wiped clean from his face, when Molly informed him of the location of the nearest store.
"Well, on the evidence of that workout the other day… a 30 mile round trip shouldn't do you any harm at all." she said, laughing heartily at what Randy had just let himself in for. He looked mortified for a few moments, as Molly watched him cringe. She just couldn't bring herself to see him like that for too long, so she put him out of his misery. "I'm only kidding Randy… we can ride in my set of wheels."
Randy breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that. He noticed that Molly had filled a sauce pan full of water and placed it on the stove. She took a box of matches from one of the drawers in the kitchen, in order to light the stove and heat up the water. "I'm going to make a cup of coffee, do you fancy one?" she asked.
"Yes please." he accepted her offer. "You do have milk and sugar?"
"There is no milk obviously… as it only goes off because I am never here. But there should be some sugar in that cupboard over there." she said, pointing up at one of the cupboards above her refrigerator. As Randy went rummaging for some sugar, something odd struck him. 'I'm sure I only saw three rooms… and there is only one bedroom…'
"Molly…" he said, trying to attract her attention as he continued his search.
"Randy…"
"Are there any other rooms, you haven't shown me?"
"Well… there is my garage, but apart from that… you've pretty much had the guided tour." she replied.
"So… if I am sleeping in that bedroom, where will you be sleeping?" he asked, having no idea what the arrangement would be.
"My couch is really comfy, so I'll be able to snuggle up on there with a blanket. And before you say anything… you are my guest this weekend, so I insist that you sleep in the bedroom."
"Moll…" Randy tried to protest, but before he could continue he felt Molly's hand clamp over his mouth. That startled him, causing him to turn on his heels to face her.
"No arguments hun. Call it girlfriend's prerogative." she said sternly, pointing at him with her free hand. He loved it… whether Molly was being kind, or laughing and joking, or telling him what to do, like in that particular instance… the girl seemed like human perfection, and he was the lucky one reaping the reward.