Chapter 25

First Love

Singing reeds

humming a symphony of nature

swaying gently in the breeze

Bright sunshine

dancing playfully

on the surface of the pond

Damp dirt

clinging to our shoes

following us along the path

It was within these hours

that I met you

studious boy

with hair, akin to a halo

Molly was woken up the next morning by Angela, the creaking of the ladder sounding almost as if it came from inside of a dream. She yawned and opened a bleary eye to take a peak at the clock on her desk. 7:00 am.

"Shall we go make everyone some tea and breakfast before heading back to the hospital?" Angela asked, stifling a yawn and throwing a thin sweatshirt on. "Oh, and happy birthday," she added, throwing another sweatshirt at Molly for her to wear.

Molly caught it, still sleepy and replied with a tired 'thanks'.

She walked out into the hallway, her eyes adjusting to the light and gasped as Toby came out of the bathroom the moment she reached for the handle.

"Woah!" he exclaimed in surprise, taking a step back. "You scared me. Good morning, Molly."

Molly's sleepiness went away in a second when she remembered that both Toby and Chase had stayed the night.

She smiled sheepishly, suddenly conscious of her appearance.

"Good morning, Toby. Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you. Did you sleep well? You must be tired, we only got a few hours of sleep after all. As soon as I get ready, me and Ang will fix some tea and breakfast for everyone."

"I'd be lying if I said I was full of energy, but the air mattress was surprisingly comfortable so I got a good night's sleep. Let me know if I can help prepare anything, as thanks for letting me stay here."

"Oh no, don't worry about -," Molly started but stopped as she looked at Toby's kind smile and was reminded of his words from yesterday. "Well, maybe we could use your help. Just give me a moment and I'll be out."

Toby gave her a knowing smile and gently laid a hand on her head. "Oh, and happy birthday again, Molly."

She said thanks and went into the bathroom, touching the spot on her head that he had touched. No one besides her dad had ever patted her head before.

Toby went back to the living room and started petting Fortis, their cat. The truth was, he had been awake for about an hour already, too used to his early morning routine at the fishery and had spent it petting Fortis and looking around at the old pictures on the shelves and the decorations adorning the cabinets. It made him happy to see the place Molly had spent her childhood at.

Soon, Angela came out and greeted him cheerfully, looking in Chase's direction to check if he was still asleep. Realizing he was, Angela quietly told Toby where the mugs were and they got started making tea. Molly came out shortly after looking considerably more awake and chuckled a bit when she saw Chase sleeping soundly despite the clinking of the dishware.

Five minutes later there were four piping hot mugs of black tea and some eggs and frozen sausage sizzling away in their cast iron pan. Molly handed the milk to Toby, letting him add it to the tea while Angela cooked the eggs.

"Molly, how about you go wake Chase up? This is going to be ready soon." Angela said, prodding the sausages lightly.

Molly felt slightly awkward going to wake Chase up but knew it only made sense for her to do it. She crossed the room and leaned over, peaking at his sleeping face. He looked like a different person with his face so relaxed compared to the constantly tense or bored look he usually had on. His usual bobby pins he wore to keep the bangs out of his face were laying on the side table leaving his hair standing up every which way. Molly had the unusual urge to touch his hair but reached out and gently shook his shoulder instead.

"Chase, er, it's time to wake up. We've made breakfast," Molly said in a low voice, embarrassed for some reason.

Chase mumbled incoherently and turned towards Molly pulling the covers up, partly hiding his face.

Amused, Molly tugged the covers back down and repeated herself. "Chase, come on. Breakfast will be ready soon."

Chase made a troubled look and mumbled some more, slowly opening his eyes and blinking the sleepiness away. After a moment, his tired eyes made contact with Molly's and widened. He shot up and had to catch himself on the edge due to dizziness.

Molly, surprised by his sudden movement, jerked back and had to cover up a laugh as she stared at Chase's bemused expression.

He frowned and covered his face to hide his embarrassment. "That's right, I'm at your house. I forgot."

He slowly got up, mumbled something about the bathroom and stumbled over to the hallway, the bathroom door making a loud noise behind him.

Molly looked over at Toby and Angela who had witnessed the whole thing and they all started laughing.

"I guess he isn't a morning person, huh?" Angela said, plating their food. When Chase came back from the bathroom, some more snickering began, which he ignored, and they quickly ate their breakfast.

After cleaning up and getting ready, the foursome headed to the hospital.

They found their dad's room considerably quicker than the night before. Molly and Angela entered first, knocking quietly.

"Dad? Mom?" Angela asked as she opened the door and leaned in to find their mom talking quietly to their dad who was laying down on the bed. He was covered in bandages and had an IV hanging beside the bed, needle inserted at the bend of his arm. Despite his appearance, he was smiling faintly as he chatted. When he saw Angela, and then Molly peeking out from behind her, his smile increased noticeably and he called out to them, slightly hoarse.

"Angela, Molly. My daughters. Long time, no see."

"Dad!" they said in unison and ran over, each grabbing a hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"How're you feeling? Are you in pain? Has the doctor said anything?" Molly asked quickly, looking between her mom and dad.

Mr. Auclair looked back at her with tired but happy eyes and spoke slowly. "I'm pretty sore, as you'd expect. The pain isn't too bad because of the meds, but I've been sleeping most of the time. I'm glad you came when I was awake so I could see you. As for the doctor...your mom can explain everything to you, I don't trust my comprehension skills at the moment, you see." He took a deep breath and sighed, closing his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. Molly could tell he was tired and looked at the purple bags under his eyes in concern.

"I'll let you know what the doctor said so let's let your dad rest," their mom said. "Oh, but didn't you say you were bringing the boys today? Where did they go?"

Angela and Molly exchanged glances.

"Good question," Angela said a bit sheepishly. They had totally forgotten about them when they saw their dad.

"I'll go get them, hold on," Molly said, going over to the door and motioning for them to come in.

"Are these the boys that accompanied Molly all the way here from the island?"

"That's right," Angela said playfully, making eye contact with their mom, both smiling mischievously.

Molly came back in with Chase and Toby following closely behind, Chase looking extremely uncomfortable and Toby taking everything in stride with his usual polite smile.

"Glad to see you well after the accident, sir. My name is Toby, your daughter has been a dear friend to me," Toby said, briefly shaking the hand that was extended to him.

"A dear friend, eh?" he said, peering up at Toby's face as it flushed slightly at his words. "And how about you?" he asked in Chase's direction.

Chase sighed and reached forward, shaking his hand for the briefest of moments. "My name is Chase. Molly has helped me out a lot this year. I'm glad you're alright, I hope your recovery goes smoothly."

Molly's dad gave him a scrutinizing look and hmphed turning away from the two of them. "Well, I'm glad no one is here to ask for my permission in marriage but I can't say I like meeting these 'friends' of yours. Surely they have better things to do."

"Dad!" Molly said, embarrassed not only due to the mention of marriage but also because of her dad's grumpy manner towards them.

"I'm not going to be good company right now, I feel as though I could fall asleep at any moment. Don't waste these boys' time any longer. You can bring them back to meet me another time, if you feel the need. I'm sure they have things they need to do instead of keeping this old man company."

"Your father's right, Molly. Angela is going to be here while I go home and shower so why don't you go with Chase and Toby?"

Molly looked at her dad with his drooping eyes and sighed. "You're right. I'll be back later then." She walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to which he smiled softly and addressed both Toby and Chase as they headed towards the door.

"Thank you for coming to meet me and being with my daughter. Please, take care of her. She's a smart one but she tends to overwork herself."

Molly looked indignant and was going to rebut him but was cut-off as Toby chuckled and Chase smiled.

"We know," they said simultaneously then glanced at each other awkwardly.

Angela laughed, their mom hiding a smile beside her as they said their farewells.

Molly glanced back at the two of them as they made their way towards the exit. They were both looking away from each other, Chase with a slight frown on his face and Toby, expressionless. She couldn't really tell if they got along together or not. She knew they weren't really friends but did they actually not like each other?

Once they got out to the car she checked the time and asked Toby and Chase if they planned on going back to the island right away.

Toby glanced at the clock which now read 10 am and crossed his arms, conflicted. If he left now he'd be back in time to help Ozzie bring in the catch of the day but then that would mean he couldn't spend more time with Molly.

"Toby, you have to go help Ozzie, right? If you leave now you could probably make it in time?" Molly asked, innocently.

Toby let out a long sigh and resigned himself to his duties. "You're right, I should probably head back, Ozzie could always use the help."

She then turned to Chase and asked him the same.

"Ahh, well, no. I still need to go buy the things Yolanda asked of me, so I can't yet," he said, thankful that he could use his job as an excuse to stay.

"That's right, you did say that. Okay, then shall we head to the ferry? I can drop you off somewhere on the way back, Chase."

They all agreed and Molly drove the short distance to the docks, parking the car and getting out to see Toby off while Chase stayed seated.

She walked over with him to the entrance and smiled, looking up at him.

"Thank you so much for coming, Toby. I don't know what I would've done without you. And thank you for your words last night...I'm reflecting on them, truly. Please let me make it up to you when I get back to the island, alright?"

Toby returned her smile, truly happy that he could be there for her and felt slightly regretful at their parting. He looked up and saw Chase staring at them from the passenger's seat as the horn sounded behind him.

"It's going to leave soon, you should hurry up and get on," Molly said, rushing him. He lifted his hand and patted her head a few times, lingering for a few seconds at the end.

"I'll be off then. You can make it up to me with a picnic when you get back. You know how I love your cooking. I'll be waiting."

Having said that, he smiled gently at her embarrassed face and got on the ferry, waving as it took off. Molly continued to wave until she couldn't see him anymore and went back to the car, wondering at the danger of Toby's head pats.

She got in and glanced at Chase whose arms were crossed.

"Something wrong?" she asked, oblivious.

"No," he said, simply. She shrugged and looked away. She was used to his mood swings and decided it was best to leave him be. After finding out which area he needed to get to, Molly drove downtown and parked in a public lot.

She turned towards Chase. "Well, here we are. I guess I'll head back to the hospital for now." He didn't respond at first which prompted her to ask again.

"Chase?" she questioned, wondering if he hadn't heard her.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked, making eye contact.

"Come with you...shopping?" Molly asked again, even though she heard him perfectly well the first time.

"What else would I be talking about?" Chase said, cocking his head to the side as if she were the one asking weird questions.

"Well, but, I should probably head back to the hospital soon…?"

"To do what? Watch your dad sleep? Are you really going to stay there the whole day in that tiny room on your birthday?" Chase asked.

"Th-this isn't about my birthday, it's about my family. Compared to what my dad's been through my birthday is meaningless," she said, defensive.

"I'm not trying to compare anything. Look, this isn't coming out right, I don't mean to belittle your family's situation, but shouldn't it be fine to go out for a couple hours on your birthday? Your sister is with your dad, your mom is probably still at your house. What's the issue?"

"I-I just feel like it'd be wrong to go out and have fun when my dad's in the hospital," Molly said, conflicted.

"Do you really think your family is the type to complain about something like this? Besides, we're talking about two hours or so, not the whole afternoon. Why don't you message Angela and tell them that we'll be out for a bit and that we'll bring them back some lunch. There, now you have a reason to stay out. Admit it, that hospital cafe is overpriced anyways," Chase said, doing his best to convince her.

"I mean, it is, but…," Molly said, biting her bottom lip.

Chase sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose in mild frustration.

"Why're you making me say this?"

"Huh?"

"Let me cheer you up. I want to cheer you up, Molly," Chase said, leaning against the dashboard and looking at her.

"It's not like I'm in a bad mood, though! I'm fine already," Molly said, blushing. She never thought she'd hear that line come from Chase's mouth.

"Liar," he said, poking between her eyebrows earning a flinch from Molly. "There's been a line here since yesterday. Come on."

Molly rubbed her forehead, pouting a bit. She let out a long sigh after a moment and got out her cellphone which she'd brought from home and messaged Angela. Within seconds she received the simple reply of "Ohh, gotcha. Thanks for lunch in advance. Have fun ;)"

Molly shook her head, already anticipating the reception they'd get when they went back.

"Alright, let's go then," Molly said, opening the door and missing the triumphant look on Chase's face. "Where to first?"

"To the l'epicerie."

"The what?" Molly asked, thrown off by his sudden use of French.

Chase laughed good-naturally at her perplexed expression. "The grocery store. Specifically, a spice one."

The next couple of hours were spent popping in and out of shops – Specialty grocers, bakeshops, commercial kitchen stores; stores Molly would never have known about had Chase not invited her out. While she wasn't passionate about cooking, she did enjoy it as a hobby and had an interesting time listening to Chase as he explained what certain items were used for and what dishes he could make with what. Molly knew he had gone to culinary school and that he studies under Yolanda while working at the Brass Bar at night, but she had no idea as to the motivation behind his career choice. As they were walking back to the car, she decided to bring it up.

"Chase, why did you decide to be a chef? If you don't mind me asking," she asked, gripping the takeout bags they purchased for lunch.

Chase looked down at her thoughtfully. It had been awhile since he'd talked so much, let alone about himself. Somehow it was so easy to make conversation with Molly, even for someone like him who struggled with social interactions.

"I wouldn't say I really decided to be a chef. It's not like I ever really wanted to become one, specifically. I...have enjoyed cooking ever since I was young. It always brought me a sense of satisfaction when someone liked my cooking or when I was able to improve upon a recipe. All I wanted to do was let people enjoy food and the best way to do that was to become a chef and so here we are," he said simply, shrugging.

"So, you don't want to own your own restaurant someday or anything like that?" she asked.

He made a complicated smile and replied, "I've thought about it, maybe opening a cafe or something, but...I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm not that ambitious in terms of my career. Bad, isn't it?"

"No?" Molly replied, sensing that it may be a sensitive topic to him. "I don't think being unambitious is a bad thing...it's not like you have to own your own restaurant or be a famous chef to live a fulfilling life...I mean, just look at me. I dropped out of college and am running some random farm on an island in the middle of nowhere. At least you're using what you learned for something."

Chase glanced at her sideways. "Does that bother you? Doing something different than what you studied?"

Molly shrugged. "I don't think about it that often, but I do feel a bit, uh, useless sometimes. Like, what am I even doing? Is this what I'm supposed to be doing? – kind of thing. But, I don't find farm work meaningless. I just have to remind myself that it's okay to change my mind about what I want to do as long as I commit to what I'm doing. I do envy you a bit, though. You're using your talents and making a living out of it. It'd be nice if I could do something like that too, even if on the side one day."

"You studied Art and Creative Writing, right?"

Molly blushed and nodded. She still felt a bit stupid for going for creative subjects and then dropping out halfway through.

"Why'd you decide to quit?" Chase asked, curious.

Molly looked away. "Ahhh, well, I just figured I could pursue those things without going to classes."

Chase wanted to continue the conversation but they had reached the car and Molly changed the subject, driving off to the hospital once more. He had the feeling she didn't like talking about this topic.

They were welcomed into the hospital room by grateful hands reaching out for the sandwiches. Molly's mom had just gotten back herself and they ate peacefully around the small round table provided for them.

Chase found himself on the receiving end of a barrage of questions from both Molly's mom and Angela. Thanks to this Molly was able to find out things about Chase she hadn't known before such as the fact that he was an only child, his mom was a chef that was constantly on the move as she worked on a cruise ship and that his father had left them when he was still a small child.

"Oh, what a terrible thing, your mother must have had such a hard time raising you all by herself," Molly's mom responded shaking her head.

"It wasn't that bad, we moved in with my grandparents after he left so I always had people around," Chase said, clearly uncomfortable talking about himself and avoiding eye contact.

Molly, noticing this, changed the subject asking her mom if she canceled the reservations at the Italian place for that night.

"Oh, no, I completely forgot. I'm so sorry, Molly, but could you call them up? I know it's your birthday but someone really ought to stay here with your father."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. We can go the next time I come back, it's not like it has to be on my birthday," Molly said waving her hands around. She didn't want her mom to feel guilty about it.

Molly was about to dial the number when Chase lightly covered her hand with his.

"Don't cancel it just yet. Why can't the three of us go?" he asked, referring to Angela as well. "I'm sure your mom doesn't mind, right Ms. Auclair?"

"Oh, what a great idea. That's right, don't mind us, you all go out and enjoy yourselves. It'd be a shame having come all the way to the city and leaving without having some good food. You can hardly call these sandwiches gourmet, after all."

"But Mom-," Molly started.

"Molly dear, it's your birthday. You'll have the rest of the week to spend with us. If you can still go, then go."

Molly leaned back, conflicted. Of course she was looking forward to eating at her favorite restaurant but leaving her mom here alone made her feel bad. Angela, guessing what she was feeling by the look on her face made a suggestion.

"How about you just bring some food back for mom? It's not like you'll be gone long."

"Well sure, but...wait, don't you mean 'we'? Aren't you coming?" Molly asked, noticing her use of second person.

"Ahh, see that's about the time my neighbor checks in on my animals and I want to be available to take his call so I think it's best if I just stay here," Angela replied, glancing in Chase's direction and raising an eyebrow.

He kept a straight face but was internally grateful for her surprising act of consideration.

"Uhhhh..."

Molly glanced at Chase expecting him to say something, however, she was met with only a shrug.

"What's so wrong with that? Surely you're not going to send him home without a proper meal, are you? After all, he came all the way here and helped you out so much," her mom replied, secretly pinching Angela whose straight face was starting to crack.

Molly blushed, slightly ashamed. She knew Chase had helped her out a lot but this now seemed a lot like a date. A date with Chase?

She looked at Chase again and sighed, covering her eyes. "Sorry, you're right, I'm being rude, aren't I? I guess it's fine, if you guys really don't mind staying and waiting for dinner?"

Angela and her mom shooed away her worries almost too exuberantly.

With that awkward exchange over, they whittled away the afternoon, Chase frequently getting up to go for walks while Molly and her family continued catching up with each other. They found out in the middle of the afternoon that her dad would be released in a few days granted his condition kept improving. It was also decided that he would be staying at their home as he would need a caretaker to help him with his recovery.

Wondering if this time together wouldn't improve their relationship, Molly couldn't help but smile and feel hopeful as she saw her mom's gentle face looking down at her dad in his hospital bed.

Soon enough it was time for her and Chase to make their way to the restaurant.

Away from the idle banter of her family, Molly felt slightly awkward walking in silence with Chase. The Chase she thought she knew but continued to surprise her with his playful comments and gentle moments.

"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing her troubled expression.

"Ah, no, no. I'm fine," she replied hastily. How could she tell him she was feeling nervous because it was just the two of them going out to dinner? Chase didn't even look phased, surely he thought nothing of it.

She internally chastised herself. I'm just overthinking things, I'm being too sensitive. Chase and I aren't even close enough to go on a date. He'd never ask me of all people to go on a date anyways.

She naively convinced herself of this, not noticing how Chase's fingers kept picking at his rolled up sleeves. A nervous habit, perhaps?

In just a few short minutes they arrived at the restaurant. Trattoria Gianna was a small, quaint and rustic brick building nestled in between a laundromat and a local deli from which they get their fresh ingredients from.

Molly liked this restaurant not only for their delicious home-cooking style menu but also the old-time atmosphere it gave off. The vines creeping up the side of the building and the strings of small soft yellow lights draping over the wooden fence that closed off the outdoor dining section was, in her opinion, picture perfect.

"Here we are," she said, smiling as she shut the car door, locking it behind her.

Chase took in the set-up and nodded in approval. "This looks promising from the outside, but the important question is – how's the food?"

Molly chuckled, his words expected. "It won't disappoint, I can guarantee it."

They were sat down at a small two-person table covered in an off-white linen cloth with embroidered grape vines and handed their menus.

"Any recommendations?" Chase asked as he perused the wine list.

"Well, I'm getting the mushroom ravioli – it's my favorite, but I've had the gnocchi al gorgonzola before and that was really good. Their pizzas are also nice, the base is extra chewy."

"In that case," Chase said, pausing as the waiter came to take their order. "I'll take the gnocchi al gorgonzola and a glass of your garganega blend."

While they were waiting for their food, Molly asked Chase if he had spent much time in the city before.

"I only spent about three years here. Two of them I was in culinary school, the other year was working after graduation."

"You went to culinary school after high school, right?" Molly asked. Chase nodded his head in response.

She asked if he enjoyed it. Somehow she couldn't imagine Chase in a class atmosphere.

"It was interesting, I learned a lot. It's great because it's hands-on most of the time. While theory is important there's not much use for it unless you put it into practice. But, I found it too tiring in the end. The schedule was pretty harsh and I was working part-time at some local food joints on the weekends. I felt like I had no time to rest and finally, after the second year, I decided to stop at my associates degree and get some work experience. Ironically, I became even busier since I chose to go for an internship at a higher-end restaurant in the city center."

"Really? Was it a lot of overtime, then?"

Chase laughed cynically. "Overtime? No, there was no limit to our working hours so the concept of overtime didn't even exist. Some weeks I was doing 50, 60 hours and barely getting my money's worth. I quit after about six months and taught some public classes through the school due to my professor's referral. It was there when I met Yolanda. I bet you wouldn't guess this but she was actually a really big deal in the chef community when she was younger before she suddenly disappeared one day."

"She came as one of the students in the class, if you can believe it," he said, smiling slightly as he reminisced. "Then, when the lesson was over she came up to me and started to criticize everything I did. At that time I was thinking 'who the heck does this lady think she is?' and then she tells me her name and I was floored. I asked her to make me her pupil – which she refused saying, 'go see the world and then come back and ask me'. So I did. I quit my job and joined my mom on the cruise ship she was working for. We toured around for a few months and I tried to learn as much as I could from my coworkers and about the local cuisine at every place we stopped at. Finally, I found out where she lived and showed up at the inn with a couple of suitcases and a backpack. I've been there ever since."

Chase stopped talking as the waiter came back with their food and his wine..

They spent a few minutes in silence as they savored the food.

Molly broke the silence first. "It sounds like you had a pretty rough few years before you came to the island...I didn't know you'd been to so many countries, either."

Chase shrugged. "If you talk to other chefs, you'll find that they go through similar experiences. It's a highly competitive world and to get to the top you have to work your way up from the very bottom."

Molly mused at his words. "True, I can't really see you taking orders in a kitchen for too long. Doesn't really suit your personality."

"Are you trying to say something, Molly?" Chase said, giving her a look.

She hid her smile as she took a sip of her water. "No?"

He mimicked her, sipping his wine and then held it out, offering it to her.

"Do you want to try some? Since you actually can now. It'd go well with your ravioli since it's a cream sauce."

"That's right, I can, can't I? I totally forgot about that. I wonder if Kathy's going to make me drink when I get back to the island…," Molly trailed off, knowing that Kathy has been waiting patiently for the day that she could legally drink.

Chase handed his glass to her, watching as her lips met the rim and parted to let the wine slowly pass through. He averted his eyes as she looked back up, passing it back.

"That...hm. It's a bit...bitter, isn't it?" Molly said, making a face and scrunching up her nose.

Chase laughed, the first real laugh he's had in a long time and couldn't help as his face transformed, the corners of his mouth turning up for once.

Molly was a bit surprised seeing Chase laugh without inhibitions, the first time she's ever seen him do so. While she realized he was laughing at her reaction, she forgot to feel embarrassed as she stared, mesmerized, at his face. She wondered if it was the years of stress he described that made him like he was, so taciturn and standoffish. She wondered if she had met him as a child, perhaps he would've laughed like this normally. His laughing face somehow struck a chord in her memory, but where - she couldn't place.

Chase cleared his throat, returning to normal. "I suppose it's as they say – alcohol is an acquired taste. Well, if Kathy has her way with you, I'm sure you'll get used to it in no time."

"Please don't joke like that," Molly said sighing. It could very well become a real possibility.

She flagged down the waiter and ordered food for her mom and Angela.

"So, what about you? You've lived here your whole life, then?" Chase asked, trying to turn the conversation around, realizing he was talking quite a bit about himself, unusually so.

"Yeah, born and raised in that same house. I've had a very normal life compared to you. Went to school, graduated, went to college, dropped out and here I am," she said, shrugging.

"It's not about comparing. I'm sure you've had your share of experiences as well. You've never traveled though?"

"Well, just for family vacations."

"Ah. The Lilac Manor?" Chase asked, taking his last bite of gnocchi.

"That's right. It's only five hours away but that area was so different, so rural. The city is so flat but there were rolling hills and small mountains surrounding it with spots of little lakes and rivers...Like the mainland version of Castanet. Lilac Manor was one of the reasons I wanted to move to Castanet."

"What were the other reasons?"

"Well...I always liked helping out on my grandparent's farm when I was younger and I have a lot of good memories from the times I stayed there." Molly said, finishing her food as well. "Actually, the old couple that run the Lilac Manor remind me of my grandparents. Since my family went there so often we got to know them pretty well. They had a daughter who was really tall with short hair, a bit darker than yours, who helped cook in the kitchen and then her son, who I often played with. See, Ang didn't like getting up early so when I'd wake up at 6 am I'd have to occupy myself until the rest of my family woke up...so I'd go outside to the veggie patch and every day this boy would be there, the hems of his pants wet from the dew, scrutinizing the produce. Thinking about it, it was a bit funny. He was so interested in watching them grow.

I think I met him when I was six or so and he was there every year until I turned twelve? I'm pretty sure his name was Chester...Anyways, we'd spend hours every morning playing around outside and petting the animals until 9 am when his mom would come out and get him. After that, I'd barely see him around during the rest of the day."

"I see...sounds like you really liked the place, huh?" Chase said, averting his eyes and looking out the window, sipping his last bit of wine.

"Yeah, it was great...It's a bit silly but thinking about it, I think that boy was my first love," Molly said, surprised that she only just now had this revelation.

Upon hearing that, Chase suddenly choked and spit out a bit of his wine, napkin coming up to the rescue.

Molly asked if he was alright upon seeing his face turn red from all the coughing.

Chase took a bit to calm down and then cleared his throat, staring down at the napkin on his lap. "Yeah, sorry. It, uh, went down the wrong pipe."

He cleared his throat again and declared that he was going to use the restroom.

Molly watched him walk off towards the men's room and then turned her attention towards the window, watching the people in the outdoor dining area eat and make conversation, most of them couples. Seeing them talk happily together, she wondered if her and Chase seemed like a couple to them. It was then that she wondered if Chase had ever been in a relationship before.

Within a few minutes he came back and motioned for them to leave.

"But wait, we need to pay the bill!" Molly said, taking out her wallet. Chase reached over and put his hand over hers, pushing the wallet back towards her.

"I already took care of it."

"But Chase, I can't have you pay for mine and my family's meal, that's too much!" She protested, trying to move her hand away.

He gripped her hand and took the wallet out from under it with his other hand, placing it back in her purse.

"You guys gave me food and lodging. It's the least I can do. Anyways, it's your birthday. Come on, if we don't hurry the food will be cold," he said, taking the plastic takeaway bags and walking towards the door.

Molly sighed and followed behind him. Once they got in the car she turned towards him and said, "Thank you, Chase" in a resigned voice.

He flashed her a rare smile.

"Happy birthday, Molly."

After dropping off the food, Molly took Chase back to the harbor to catch the last boat of the day. They said their goodbyes and she thanked him once more. Molly watched the ship sail off into the sunset, feeling as though they had truly started over and became closer during his short trip here.

The rest of the week went by quickly and was spent mostly with her family at the house, taking care of their father and meeting with other family members that had come to check in on his condition.

Molly was quite relieved when it was time for her to go back to the farm. She missed Finn, the other sprites, her animals and all of the villagers, especially her friends. Once she got back she knew she would be busy for many weeks catching up with the work and planting for the next harvest season.

She found herself on the first boat of the morning, exactly one week since she'd arrived with Chase and Toby in tow. Molly watched as Castanet slowly came into sight and she found herself sighing with relief.

She wondered when it was that she had started to consider this place home…

To those who read this story – thank you for being patient. This chapter was hard for me to write, mostly because it's purpose is to set things up for the future and provide background information – which was somehow hard for me, haha! That and I was really lazy during the holiday season ^^;
Thanks to AyCarayChicolion for the review, I so appreciated it and was surprised when you said you didn't like either Chase or Toby! Thanks for continuing to read despite that fact, haha!