Chapter 7

Just Relax

It blinds me

The rays bouncing off of its waves

Kill my eyes

The beauty lost in a feeling of suffocation

I can't breathe

The water pounds me against other souls

Lost in this sea of people

Not knowing who

Not knowing what

Will find them next

It was Monday night, 5:30 pm and Molly was giving herself a final look-over in the mirror by her nightstand. She didn't think dinner with Owen at a bar was an occasion to dress fancy so she chose to wear some dark skinny jeans with black sandals paired with a simple white blouse and a bright blue blazer over it. It was still March so the blazer was serving as her jacket. Molly didn't spend a lot of money on clothes but she still made sure she looked nice. If she dressed like a slob she tended to feel worse about herself than if she was in something more fashionable.

"What do you think, Finn?" she asked the small sprite, looking at her reflection from behind her.

"You always look nice Molly!" he said praising her.

"Thanks, but that doesn't really help," Molly said laughing a little. Finn didn't know how to insult anyone; she wondered if she had asked him that question after working outside all day if his answer would've been the same. "But, I guess it doesn't matter, it is just Owen. And it is just the Brass Bar, it's not like we're going anywhere fancy. Well, plus, it's not even a date." That's right, it isn't a date, she reminded herself. Molly was starting to get nervous for no reason. Looking at the clock it showed 5:35 so she grabbed her orange clutch and she and Finn left, locking the door behind them.

"Alright, so you'll wait at the lighthouse until I'm done with dinner, right?" she asked Finn, making sure she knew where he was going to be when she tried to find him afterwards.

"Yup! According to that stone tablet there should be another moonstone in that area so I'll find it and wait for you there."

"Okay, sounds like a plan. I shouldn't be too long, maybe an hour or so," Molly said. She didn't want to stay too long.

"You can stay until whenever Molly, I don't mind," he said.

"But I mind making you wait, so I'll try not to let it go on too long," said Molly.

"You're so nice Molly," Finn said smiling.

Molly blushed, embarrassed. "No, no. That's just normal."

Finn rolled his eyes and didn't say anything more. He had already figured out that Molly didn't take compliments too well. But, it was better to be humble than conceited so it was okay. He just wanted her to realize what a great person she was. It was important to find the bells but Finn felt like he had the extra job of boosting her confidence and he was starting to think that it would take just as long to do that as finding all of the bells.

"Okay, we're here," Molly said, motioning to the wooden doors that led inside the bar. So far, Owen wasn't in sight but she was five minutes early so she'd wait outside for him. She waved as Finn headed towards the lighthouse and went to look out over the edge at the ocean. It was already pretty dark out so the ocean was just a giant slab of dark blue, the occasional sparkle showing the sign of a wave as it caught the moonlight.

It was so calm on this island; never before had she been in such a peaceful place. Not many people were out walking and since there weren't any cars there wasn't that constant noise of an engine or the honk of an impatient taxi driver. The only thing she could hear was the sound of the waves slapping against the stone wall and the distant voices of Irene and Shelley talking outside of the clinic.

She looked below the ledge she was leaning against and saw a white cat walking along the paved stone that acted as the island's seawall. It looked up at her; it's blue eyes as light as ice. It meowed and jumped up a step to come closer.

"Here kitty, kitty," she whispered, holding out her hand. The cat seemed hesitant but climbed another step, a couple inches out of reach. Molly reached out over the ledge some more, her feet momentarily leaving the ground as she gently patted the cat's head.

"What do you think you're doing!?" said a voice and a strong pair of hands yanked her back, holding her steady as she lost her balance and almost fell down.

Molly looked up and saw Owen staring down at her with a hard look.

"W-what?" she stammered, surprised.

"I asked what you were doing, that was pretty stupid you know, that ledge isn't very tall and doesn't even have any railings. You could've fallen!"

"I was petting a cat, don't worry, I was barely leaning over," she said, getting a little flustered. He was still holding onto her shoulders.

"Bull crap, your feet were off the ground. I know it isn't that big of a drop but you could still break a leg or something, so next time…next time go down the stairs and pet the cat like a normal person!" he said, upset.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? Calm down, Owen, it's not that big of a deal. I understand, I won't do it again," Molly said, getting a bit upset herself. She was just petting a cat and she had it under control.

"Okay. Good," Owen said, letting go of her shoulders crossing his arms and trying to calm himself down.

Molly rubbed her shoulders. "Better?" she asked, as he let out a long sigh.

"Yeah, sorry, I guess I just freaked out when I saw you leaning over. It did look like you were going to fall, though," he said, staring accusingly.

"Well, sorry for looking like I was going to fall?" she said, a bit uncertainly.

"No, no, it's fine. Nothing happened, so it's fine," Owen said, running his hand through his short red hair. "Well, should we go in?"

Molly nodded and let him hold the door open as she entered the bar. She'd only been in there once before. It was a small bar with a large dining area and a small dance floor. Most things were wooden, just like her house, but with a few potted plants and metal decorations hung up on the wall.

Owen led them over to a two-person couch to the right of the door and sat down, patting the spot next to him.

"Sit on down."

Molly did and picked up a small two-sided menu from the table in front of them.

"What would you recommend?" she asked Owen. "I actually haven't been here to eat yet."

"You haven't? Well, you're in for a treat then, they have really good food here."

"Oh yeah?" Molly asked, wondering if it was Hayden that cooked the food.

"Yeah, Chase may be grumpy but he makes a mean lasagna," said Owen.

"Chase?" she said, surprised.

"Yeah, Chase. He's the chef here, you didn't know?"

"Well, now that you mention it, I think he did tell me he works here. But I didn't know he was a chef," Molly said. She wouldn't have pegged Chase as a guy that likes to cook but then again, she didn't really know him that well.

"Oh yeah, he came about a year ago and started working here right away. Apparently he's been studying under Yolanda, but I think he went to a culinary school before this too. I'm not sure; me and Chase don't really talk that often."

Molly chuckled. "Well, I can understand. Chase isn't really the sociable type, is he?"

"What about me?"

Molly and Owen turned around and saw Chase standing behind them, his usual blue apron tied around his waist along with his look that said "don't bother me".

"Oh, uh, Owen just told me you were the chef here and I, er I didn't know," Molly said, blushing. It was always awkward when you got caught talking about another person, although her statement wasn't necessarily a lie. He was an unsociable person.

"Right. Well, I'm here to take your order, so what do you want?" he said, taking out a small pad to write on.

"I'll take the lasagna," said Owen. "And a wheat cocktail."

Chase nodded and turned to Molly, pen waiting.

"I'll, uh, take the chicken flatbread personal pizza and a glass of water, please."

"Just water? Come on, Molly, it's no fun when I drink alone," Owen said, slapping her back.

Molly flew forward a couple of inches and shot him a glare. "I can't, I'm not twenty-one yet."

Both Owen and Chase stared at her, as if they didn't quite believe her.

"You're not?" asked Owen.

"No, I'm still twenty. My birthday is August 7th, so I still have a few months. Why, how old are you guys? You can't be much older, right?" she asked. They looked about the same age, Owen maybe a bit older but it could just be his bulk that made him seem that way.

"I'm twenty-four," said Owen, grinning. "And Chase here is twenty-three, right Chase?"

Chase just nodded.

"Well, three or four years isn't that much older," Molly said a bit defensively.

"Just enough to make me able to drink and you not," Owen said, laughing.

"I don't care, alcohol isn't even good anyways," Molly rebutted.

"Oh, so you have drank?" Owen said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Well…when I was a kid I snuck a sip from my dad's beer can and that was nasty and…er, I had a sip of champagne on New Year's last year," Molly said reluctantly. She knew most people her age had either gone through that stage or are still into that party-hard lifestyle but she was never really attracted to it. There was a time, earlier in high school, when she thought about it but after watching her friends succumb to peer pressure one by one and get into all sorts of trouble she vowed to stay away from any sort of alcohol until she was old enough.

"That's so funny, so you're a good kid then?" Owen teased.

"You say it like it's a bad thing," Molly said in a low voice.

"Naw, its fine, its fine. Just doesn't seem very exciting," Owen said, shrugging.

"Some people don't find being drunk everyday very appealing," Chase said, still standing behind them.

Molly had almost forgotten that he was still there.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying a drink after the end of a hard day's work," Owen shot back.

"Maybe if you actually did your work every day," Chase said, snapping his writing pad shut.

"What do you know about –," Owen started, but was cut off by Molly putting her hand on his shoulder and giving him a hard look.

"Well, we're pretty hungry so maybe we should stop here and let Chase get back to work," Molly said, directing it at the both of them. Now she knew why Owen and Chase didn't talk that much.

Chase hmphed, shrugged and walked back to the kitchen Owen glaring at him the entire way.

"Did you hear what he said?" Owen asked, like she wasn't sitting by him the whole time and heard the whole thing.

"Yeah. Chase…is pretty rude," Molly said. It wasn't the best thing to go around accusing people of being an alcoholic. She didn't know Owen very well, so maybe he is, but even if he was, there are more delicate ways of saying it.

"He's always been like that, I don't know why!"

"Some people are just like that, just ignore it. What he said wasn't true, right? So forget about it," Molly said, trying to calm him down.

"No! I do my work just like everyone else and…well I do have a drink every night but only like a shot glass full, nothing more. I don't get drunk," said Owen, defending himself.

"Hmmm," Molly said, pausing and wondering if she should say something about that. "Well, Owen…it's fine that you drink, but every night? Even if it is just a shot glass full," she said, seeing that he was about to say something back.

"Aw, come on, I'm young, I can handle it," Owen said, waving her off.

"I just don't think you should make it a habit," she said, simply.

Owen shrugged and they talked about lighter things until Kathy came over with their food.

Setting the food down on their table, she looked up and said a short "Here's your food" before she walked away, her shoulders tense.

"Uh, what was that?" Molly asked Owen as she started on her pizza.

"Whut wush whut?" Owen said through a mouthful of lasagna.

"Kathy looked like she was angry."

"Oh," Owen said, swallowing. "She's probably angry at me; I went over when she was at Horn Ranch and unhooked the harness so she fell sideways when she mounted her horse."

"Why'd you do that?" Molly asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Cause I like her," he simply replied.

"What?" Molly said, snorting. "Are you in fifth grade or something?"

"I just think she's cute when she's angry," he said, smiling.

"That's another thing you shouldn't make a habit of," Molly said, rolling her eyes. Men.

"I know, I know. But, I'm fine for now, I like just being friends. When she's ready, I'll get serious."

Molly didn't know if he was thinking about it seriously or if he just liked teasing her but she figured everybody does things their own way so she wouldn't worry about it.

"Is your taking me here just another way of upsetting her?" Molly asked, catching Kathy glancing in their direction again.

"Hm? No, I just wanted to get to know you more. And anyways, if it annoyed her that would mean that she actually liked me," Owen said, sighing and looking at Kathy as she cleaned off some tables.

"Well, she keeps looking over here like she's jealous, so I wouldn't leave out that option."

"No, no, she's just trying to make me feel bad about the other day," Owen said.

Molly just shrugged. "If you say so."

They ate the rest of their meal and paid the check, leaving the small bar and, after declining his offer to walk her home saying she still had stuff to do in town, went over to the lighthouse to find Finn.

She found him sitting on the white bench directly beside the tall lighthouse, a dull white due to its age.

"Finn!" she called out, crossing the small rope bridge that led to the small island the structure was on.

"Molly!" he called back, waving.

"Sorry I took so long. Did you find it?" she apologized.

"It's okay; it wasn't too long and yeah! Its right over there," he said pointing to a small round stone in the ground that was glowing faintly.

"Great! Do you have the bell?" she asked. Their plan was that, if he found the stone, Finn would fly back to the house and bring it here.

"Sure do, here you go," said Finn, handing her the bell.

Molly stood over the stone and watched as the bell absorbed the moonlight and turned a brighter yellow.

"Only one more stone to find!" said Finn, waving his arms around in excitement.

Molly smiled. "Yup! Now, let's go back and get some sleep, I have to get up early tomorrow."

Finn agreed and they headed back to her house, Molly sharing what had transpired in the bar during her dinner with Owen. Finn seemed to agree with her thoughts on Kathy's feelings towards Owen and they had a fun time imagining what their kids would be like if they got married.

Eventually they went to bed after Molly took a shower and changed into her pajamas. Thankfully, she went to bed before eleven so she was able to get a decent night's sleep before she had to wake up early the next morning for her fishing trip with Toby and his family.

Packing the tuna sandwiches along with the cucumber and cream cheese rolls she prepared the day before, Molly hurried up and got ready, rushing out the door just in time to make it to the dock at 6 o'clock.

"Molly!" Toby called out, waving her over to their boat, floating next to the dock. Ozzie and Paolo were already on board, getting ready to cast off.

"Sorry, am I late?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"No, you're right on time, they're just excited to get out there," Toby said.

"Oh, good," she said relieved. She hated being late. Toby and her got on the boat and after a greeting to the other two they untied the rope holding the boat to land and started the motor, heading out on the calm morning ocean.

Toby showed her the rod she'd be using and where the worms were and told her a bit about where they were going. Apparently they were fishing for yellowtail today and those were most abundant near Toucan Island, an island south of Castanet with a totally different climate.

Before he could go into depth about anything else though, Molly got the sandwiches out of her bag and handed them to him.

"You didn't tell me to bring anything but I figured we'd get hungry out here so I brought some different types of sandwiches."

"Wow, they look great Molly, you didn't have to do that," Toby said, putting them in a cooler. Paolo looked over and repeated the sentiment followed by a hearty "Thank you!" from Ozzie.

"Oh, and before I forget…Happy Birthday!" she said, bringing out a small cake she made last night before she went to bed. It was a simple raspberry flavored cake with vanilla frosting and the words "Happy Birthday Toby!" written on top in green letters.

"You baked this?" Toby said, beaming as he took the cake from her.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind, I don't really have much money to buy anything right now," Molly said, a bit shy. She thought she was a good baker but she did have doubts that bringing a handmade cake might have been a bit over the top.

"Oh no, I like this much better. Thank you so much, Molly, I love it. I'm so happy," he said, sounding truly appreciative.

"It's not that much! Really…"

"Come on now Molly, just say you're welcome or we'll be here all day, you both being so humble and all," said Ozzie from the wheel.

They both smiled bashfully and Molly said a quiet "You're welcome" while Paolo tugged on Toby's clothes to get a better look at the cake.

They spent a nice morning fishing around Toucan Island and Molly learned a bunch of fishing tricks from Toby. She even caught a few big ones herself. Of course Ozzie and Toby caught the most, Paolo just behind them in count. She didn't think she would like fishing that much but being with the three of them made it really fun. As they talked, Molly learned that Toby had been working with Ozzie as a fisherman since he was thirteen, his parents coming out to visit once a year. When Ozzie was helping Paolo reel in a fish, Toby told Molly that Paolo's mother had died during childbirth. She had had a weak body and at that time it was only Irene running the clinic and they didn't have the necessary equipment to save her.

"I'm…really sorry to hear that," Molly said, looking over at Paolo jumping up and down in excitement about his catch.

Toby looked over at him too, a sad look on his face. "Yeah…I was younger then but I still remember my aunt. She was a great person. Even though she got sick easily she would always do what she could to help out around the house. Being a fisherman is a job with a lot of danger and you have to be strong and know what you're doing. She was like the morning to my uncle. When they were together he could always relax and wind down from work…she was a kind person and died much too early."

Molly looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. She could understand. Bryant, Angela's husband was a great person too and he didn't deserve to die at such a young age…

She wondered how Ozzie handled her death and how he can be so happy now when the person he loves is no longer here. This made her think again of Angela, and how strong she was to get up and make a new life for herself.

"Ozzie…is a strong man," she said, almost to herself.

Toby looked at her for a while and nodded. "Yes. He is."

They both sighed, each one lost in their own reverie before Paolo popped over with his catch, so excited that he almost hit Molly in the head with it.

"Woah there Paolo, careful or you'll knock off Molly's head," said Ozzie, chuckling and taking the fish from Paolo's hands, putting it into the fish box built into the side of the boat.

"Sorry, Molly. But did you see that, Toby? It's my biggest fish yet!"

"I saw it. You're getting to be a great fisherman, Paolo. Ozzie and me'll have to watch out or you'll get ahead of us," Toby said, ruffling Paolo's hair.

"Molly is pretty good too, for it just being her first time," Paolo said, turning to face her.

"Oh, no I'm just trying not to look like a fool, haha. I don't mind if I don't catch any fish, I'd much rather you guys get what you need to."

"We have plenty of fish at home, this was just a leisurely trip to celebrate Toby's birthday and of course to get to know you better," Ozzie said, taking everyone's poles and putting them safely away for the trip back.

"Yeah, we're so glad you could make it," said Toby, giving her a gentle smile.

She smiled back and blushed a little. She really liked this family, and was glad she decided to come along. Saying so, they all said they liked spending time with her too and after having her sandwiches and cake for lunch, headed back to Castanet. Even though she had told Toby that she would come, she actually debated whether she would or not for a few days. She didn't like boats, especially not ones smaller than a ferry, they could capsize or something and they would all end up in the water and then who knows what would happen. But, Toby had mentioned that they had been using the boat for years and they haven't had an accident yet so, in the end, she went against her judgement and went along. After a while they made it back to the island.

"Thanks for teaching me how to fish, I had a really great time," Molly said, letting Toby help her off of the boat and safely onto the dock.

"Thanks for coming. You should come again, Paolo seems to really like you," he said, gesturing to Paolo, who coming over to show Molly every fish that he had caught that morning.

"He's not the only one!" Ozzie shouted from the boat.

Toby blushed scarlet. "My uncle is always trying to embarrass me."

"Embarrass you? You embarrass yourself, I was talking about me," Ozzie said, laughing.

Toby rolled his eyes but his blush stayed. Molly laughed a bit awkwardly, not really sure what to say.

"Oh right," Toby said, going back to the boat and pulling out the fishing pole she had used. "This is for you."

Molly's eyes widened, she didn't know much about fishing but she did know that poles usually didn't come cheap.

"That's not right, it's your birthday, you're the one supposed to be getting presents, not giving them," she said.

"Its fine, after all, you made me a cake so now I need to return the favor," Toby said, holding out the rod for her to take.

She took it hesitantly and beamed. "Thank you Toby, this is really generous of you."

Toby just shrugged and looked away bashfully. Molly chuckled; he was so quiet and shy.

"Well, I had a really good day. I'll see you later, alright?"

Toby smiled and said goodbye and Molly waved to Ozzie and Paolo before heading back to her house with a couple of fish in a small cooler, already cut and prepared for cooking thanks to Ozzie.

She got back to her house, checked on her animals and went inside. Finn welcomed her warmly and she fixed them both some baked yellowtail.

"How was your day Molly? Did you like fishing?" Finn asked, taking a big bite of fish.

"Yeah. Yeah, it was really great."

Finn smiled, pleased that she had a good day and they finished their dinner, going to bed.

Molly lay awake for a little while reflecting on the last couple of days and thinking about the villagers she was slowly getting to know. Toby and his family were by far the easiest to talk to and she thought she could get to be friends with Owen and Luke too, even though she was a bit worried that Kathy thought she wanted to date Owen. She'd have to clear that up soon. Thinking about last night at the bar, Molly was convinced that Chase was quite rude, and yet…looking back, his statement may not have been nice, but in a way he was defending her lifestyle. Or maybe she was just over-analyzing it.

There was one thing Molly was sure of, though – she certainly wasn't going to be bored.