Chapter 21

Burning

She often wondered what it must have felt like

The brush of a gaze

The sweetness of a sigh

And the lightness of an eyelash

Wiped away, wished upon

She wished for more space

She wished for more sight

To see just what she could move around

To make space for these new senses

The firsts of more to come

Open

She whispered in the stillness

Expand

She pressed against her chest

So much to discover, but did she have the room?

So much cluster, so many doubts

How to clear this crowded space

She wished for him to teach her.

"So...Owen and I are going out now."

Molly squealed, gripping her drink and biting the straw as Kathy's face brightened in color fighting to keep her smile in check.

"Ohhh, congratulations," Molly whispered, getting a look from Hayden and Chase who were both preparing the kitchen for the day.

It was 9 am on a Thursday before the bar opened and Molly had demanded to meet up with Kathy the day after her date with Owen, which was when Kathy would make up her mind as to whether or not she would date him. Molly had already known Kathy was going to say yes, but hearing her friend say it out loud when she was usually so withdrawn about the matter felt especially satisfying.

"About time too," Molly added, raising her eyebrows. Kathy just pouted, shrugging her shoulders.

"What's the rush," she replied, smiling a bit bashfully. They both giggled, making Chase clear his throat from across the room.

"If we're bothering you, Chase, all you need to do is stop eavesdropping on us," Kathy half-yelled from their table.

Chase only made a face at her then returned to work, trying to ignore their squeals and giggles.

Molly asked her if Hayden already knew and if he approved.

"Well, I don't know if my dad will ever approve of anyone, but yeah, he knows. I told him as soon as I came back yesterday, actually. He didn't seem surprised but he didn't seem especially happy either," Kathy said, frowning a bit. Kathy and Hayden had a really close father-daughter relationship, Molly could tell. She figured that because they were the only family they had left after Kathy's mom decided to leave the island when she was only a small child. In a way Molly was envious of their relationship because ever since her parents got a divorce she only saw her dad a few times a year.

"Don't worry about it too much, I think all dads are like that," Molly said, waving her hand casually.

"Is your dad like that?" Kathy asked.

"Well, there was a time in high school when a boy asked me to a dance and my dad didn't like him so he was rather rude when he came to the house to pick me up. After that I didn't really have any boyfriends so I guess I never gave him any reason to worry," Molly said, scratching her head, a bit embarrassed.

"I wonder why, I mean, you're so pretty. Did you choose not to have any boyfriends?" Kathy asked, curious.

"Mnnn, it was more like...I never liked anyone enough?" Molly asked to no one in particular. Even she couldn't explain why guys had never really caught her eye.

"Geez, Molly. Talk about high standards," Kathy said, chuckling a bit.

"Well there are no standards right now because I'm not even looking for anything like that," Molly said, jabbing her finger at Kathy in defense.

At that moment Chase came over and took Molly's finished orange juice from the table. Molly started a bit, wondering if he had overheard their conversation.

"Hayden says to wrap it up soon, Kathy. There's still a bit of work to do before we open."

Kathy gave Molly an apologetic face and picked up her own drink.

"Sorry Molly, gotta go. Do you want to stay over Friday since Saturday is going to be the summer festival? Oh...but you'll probably be busy with Gill for the preparations, huh?"

After finding out that she needed to get closer to the villagers and bring them together as a community even more, Molly decided to take a step out of her comfort zone and ask Gill to assist in planning the upcoming summer festival. It wasn't much, but Molly was in charge of handing out the fliers to everyone and setting up the booths the night before.

"Yeah, probably not Friday night...sorry Kathy!"

Kathy just said it was no problem and got up going to change into her uniform for work leaving just her and Chase at the table. He was still standing next to her seat, drink in hand.

"You're volunteering?"

Molly nodded. "Yeah, I decided I'd like to get more involved, if possible."

"You're already so busy with your farm work...you really think you can handle more?" Chase asked.

Molly flushed. "I'm not a child, I can handle it just fine."

"No, that's not what I meant..." Chase said, looking away.

Molly looked up at him, confused.

"I just...think that if you over work yourself you'll ruin your body. You shouldn't push yourself," he mumbled. Why was it so embarrassing to be honest?

Molly's mouth opened a bit in surprise. First wanting to take a walk with her, now worrying about her well-being? Who was this Chase and what happened to the grumpy dismissive one?

"Oh. Well, you don't have to worry about that. I don't mine nearly as much as I used to so I still have a lot of energy to spend. I won't let myself get like last time," Molly said, referring to the time she almost drowned because she was so exhausted.

Chase's eyebrows furrowed and he leaned forward putting one hand on the back of her chair and the other on the table, getting close enough to Molly that she could see the small freckles that were scattered on his cheeks.

"If anything like that happens again, I won't forgive you," Chase said in a low voice, searching her eyes.

Molly blushed furiously, moving back until she almost fell off of her chair. She quickly reached out to grab onto something to steady herself and ended up grabbing onto Chase's arm.

Chase made a noise of surprise and lost his balance, consequently falling on top of both Molly and the chair that was between them. He managed to move his hand behind her head before they hit the ground and ended up just inches away from her face. Chase froze for a second, her head cradled in his hand and her round eyes locked with his in shock. For one wild second he imagined himself just lowering his face a few more inches and making her cheeks even redder but snapped out of it and hastily pulled himself up.

"Are you okay?" He asked, offering her a hand as she turned around on her knees awkwardly. She refused his gesture, not looking at him and stood up.

"I-I'm sorry, that was my bad. I should go now before I cause any more trouble," she said, still not facing him and forcing out a nervous laugh. "Thanks for worrying about me, but I'll be fine," and with that she left, rushing out the door without a backwards glance. Chase rubbed the back of his neck, his face hot.

He cleared his throat and picked up the glass, unbroken, from the floor and returned the chair to it's normal position, heading back to the kitchen.

"You alright?" Hayden asked, who had seen the entire scene unfold but decided to keep a distance from it all.

Chase just nodded and mumbled an apology before going back to cleaning the counter top.

"You already cleaned that area," Hayden said, his beard twitching a bit.

"Oh, shut up," Chase said throwing the dishrag back into the sink and declaring that he was going to go use the restroom.

Molly got out of the door and turned immediately to go back home. The morning was rather cool for the beginning of August but she felt as if she'd just stepped into a sauna.

What was that she thought to herself, replaying the scene in her head. Granted, she caused them to fall together but why did he get so close in the first place? And why did he say that so seriously? And why was he looking at her like that? Normally, she'd be suspicious if a guy acted like around her but...it was Chase. Chase didn't look at her like that...didn't worry about her like that...didn't get close to people like that. She really wondered what had happened to him.

Just as she was turning to cross the bridge that led back home, Gill came up behind her yelling out her name.

"Molly, hold up!"

Molly turned around, slightly out of breath, cheeks still red.

"Are you okay? You look a bit..." Gill trailed off, taking in her flustered appearance.

"I-I'm fine, just, uh doing a bit of jogging in the morning," Molly said pretending to swing her arms around like she was running.

"Is that so...well, anyways, I'd like you to have this list of people who will be setting up booths at the festival Saturday so you know how many tables and chairs to set out. Also, thanks for passing out the fliers these last few days. I've gotten a lot of responses from the islanders! Hopefully this year turns out to be bigger than the last."

Molly smiled. She thought Gill was most sincere whenever she saw him talking about the island.

"What is it?" Gill asked. Molly replied that it was nothing and thanked him for the list.

"I'll see you on Friday night, then." She waved him goodbye and went back to the house to focus on watering her plants and putting enough feed in the barn for Cain to set out when he takes over for the few days she'd be gone for her birthday. Her mom had already made a reservation at Molly's favorite Italian restaurant for dinner the night of her birthday. Thankfully, her birthday was the day after the summer festival so she could help with that and then go ahead and leave early the next morning. She felt a bit bad making Cain and Craig's family help out with the garden and animals but she was really looking forward to going back home. It was going on about six months since she'd left, after all. She was especially looking forward to hugging Fortis, their cat.

She was busy enough Thursday that she couldn't dwell on the morning's happenings, but by night she found herself spacing out at the dinner table, Chase's eyes inches from her own floating back to the surface of her mind. The change in Chase was too big, she thought, wondering how one person could act so differently from one day to the next. But then again, if she thought hard about it, Chase had already changed rather a lot since the first few months she'd been here. Change was one thing, she thought to herself, but acting like that, and to her, was another thing.

By the next day, she was almost convinced that it was a dream until she met Chase's eyes walking into the bar to give Kathy a book back she had borrowed from her weeks ago.

Once Chase saw that it was her, he visibly straightened up and then very quickly averted his eyes, making himself appear busy by chopping up some vegetables.

Molly pretended not to notice his reaction but still felt her cheeks flush nonetheless. She handed the book to Kathy, thanking her for the recommendation.

It was around 3 pm and the bar wasn't that full of tourists, so they were able to have a quick chat.

"Didn't you love Josef, the café owner? I mean, I know he was like, the C character but I still thought he could've stood a chance," Kathy said, sighing.

"C character? Who was A and B? This was a mystery novel, she didn't even end up with anyone in the end," Molly said, laughing a bit. Kathy began to protest but then Chase came up behind Molly reaching over her shoulder to look at the book's cover.

"The 5th street lullaby, huh?" He said, quickly reading the summary. "I'd have to agree with Molly from the looks of it. This is about a high school girl that learns about a murder that happened on her street 20 years ago and ends up figuring out the killer's identity and her struggle to bring justice to the victim's family. Kathy, where do you get romance from this?"

Chase was so close to Molly that she could hear his voice right in her ear. She blushed scarlet and stepped to the left, facing the ground. This didn't pass by Kathy's attention and she gave her friend a suspicious look.

"Please, just because you don't know the first thing about romance, Mr. I've Never Went on a Date in My Life." Kathy teased.

Chase just shrugged. "My first love is food and it will be my last."

Kathy made a face and rolled her eyes. "This guy. One of these days you'll find that food isn't enough to keep you company and then you'll regret being so cold to everyone. Don't you think so Molly?"

"Huh? Oh...right, well, everyone gets lonely sometimes but I don't think everyone needs to marry to have a happy life," she said, rather level-headed.

Kathy threw up her hands, slightly exasperated. Chase gave Molly a look she couldn't quite describe then surprised them both by asking Molly if she'd ever gone out on a date before.

"I, well, I guess I have but it's been awhile..." She said, not really wanting to continue the subject.

"What do you mean it's been awhile? You just went on a date with Toby, right?" Kathy said, not taking the hint

"Wha-!? That wasn't a date that was just...going to a festival together," Molly said, getting defensive.

"Which is...a date." Kathy said, amused by Molly's reaction. "Come on, you can't say you don't have any feelings whatsoever for Toby after that."

Molly couldn't hide the embarrassment on her face as she looked at Chase who, again, was looking at her in a way she didn't quite know how to comprehend.

She searched for the right words to say, because for some reason she couldn't flatly say no. Did she have feelings for Toby? She'd never thought about it before, but now...remembering the touch of his hand on her face or the glimmer in his eye, she felt her throat tightening a bit.

"I...look, let's stop talking about this. It wasn't a date, alright? Toby and I are friends, we're not dating and I'm not about to discuss my personal feelings about everyone on the island at this moment."

Molly snatched the book from Chase's hands and forcefully gave it to Kathy. "Don't you guys have work? I have to go set up the booths and decorations down by the beach now, so I'll be going. I'll see you both tomorrow."

Kathy shook her head, feeling jilted out of a good show and Chase silently walked away with a sour taste in his mouth, wondering just exactly what Molly thought about Toby.

The hours passed quickly as she, Gill and the Mayor set up for the next day. Molly was careful to stay clear of the ocean and was able to finish her duties without any incident and Gill occasionally helping move the heavier things out of the way. Her recent incidents with Gill were actually far from her mind at the moment, mostly overrun by thoughts of Chase and his spontaneous behavior.

She even asked Gill if he knew about anything going on with Chase.

"Chase? Acting strange? He's always been strange in my opinion but...well, yeah, I guess I have seen a change in him recently. He's been opening up to more people."

"Really?" Molly asked, thinking about Chase's rude way of asking questions or joining in on conversations with a snarky remark. She wondered what his earlier years must've been like.

"You should've seen him when he first came to the island. Unless it was about food, no one could get a word out of him. There's a reason he only cooks at the bar instead of helping out with the wait staff," Gill said with a rather happy voice, as if he was speaking fondly of a little brother.

"How'd you get to be friends then?" Molly asked, perplexed. She didn't know if she could really be friends with someone who wouldn't open up to her at all.

"Well, do you think you and Craig get along now?"

Molly thought about it for a second. It's not that her and Craig were friends, per say, but..it is true that their relationship had evolved and they trust each other enough to let each other help out at their respective farms.

"I guess...we have mutual trust and that counts for something."

"You can form bonds with even the most unlikely of people. It just takes time and more often than not, the events that pile up to form that bond contribute greatly to the relationship you have with others."

Thinking about Gill's words, she realized how right he was. She had a good relationship with everyone because of the things that they've been through together and the trust she's had to put in them while living here.

"I may not be on the best of terms with everyone on the island, but I can at least say that I trust everyone exactly because of the history I have with them. You're also becoming a part of that," Gill said, smiling rather kindly at her.

Molly returned the smile and commented that he would be a good mayor someday. Soon after, they all wrapped up their jobs and returned home.

Molly walked into her house and discovered spaghetti waiting for her on the dinner table.

"Finn, did you make this?" she said, impressed that the little sprite could handle a big pot all by himself.

"I did! I knew you would be late so I made it ahead of time. You must be hungry, so let's eat," Finn said, sitting next to his smaller portion.

Molly thanked him and dug in, grateful to have a friend such as Finn.

"Are you looking forward to tomorrow?" Finn asked between mouthfuls of pasta.

"Mmnn...I am actually. Though I am a bit nervous at the same time."

"Why's that?"

"Although Gill will be making the announcements before starting the festival, he wants me to stand with him in front of everyone since I helped. He also wants me to be in charge of the fishing contest which is a bit nerve-racking. Not to mention the fact that I'll be wearing a bathing suit in front of everyone," she said, pursing her lips a bit.

"I'm sure you'll do fine! I don't know if you've realized but you've been a lot better with interacting with people lately."

"Really?" Molly asked. Has Finn been watching her that closely this entire time?

"Yeah, you're a lot more smooth when you talk to others...if that makes sense."

Molly laughed. "You make it seem like I'm making moves on people or something."

At this Finn tilted his head to the side, confused about the meaning. Molly waved him off, saying never mind but wondered if she really has changed since being here. Suddenly, she felt rather good about herself, knowing that others could see progress in her life and that she's succeeding on this adventure called farming. She could only think that things will get even better on the island, especially after the bell quest has been completed.

She looked at the painting of sunflowers that Finn and her had hung on the wall. Optimism really can go a long way she thought to herself with a little smile.

"Okay, Finn. Let's go to bed soon so we can get up bright and early to go to the festival! You're right, it should be fun."

Finn pumped his little fists into the air and agreed.

Molly settled in for the night feeling optimistic about tomorrow, but also slightly nervous, not just with the thought of facing Chase, but facing him in a bikini. Somehow she couldn't fight away the feeling that she wanted him to pay more attention to her. Burying her face in the pillow, she slowly fell asleep, dreaming about orange juice, an orange sun and slightly orange hair.