Chapter 26

March & Waltz

Heavy steps

Pressured stairs

Creaking wood

The tension weighs my body down

Reaching the top, my support falls out below me

Falling backwards, I reach out my arm

Grasped hands, a weightless sensation

Suddenly we find ourselves mid-air

Waltzing in space, gravity an afterthought

I'm spun around, the warmth in my hand the only feeling

Back on the landing, the ceiling stares back at me

I look to my left and I realise

I'm only one flight up

As soon as Molly got back she was bombarded with questions about her father's condition from the villagers and while she was grateful for their concern, she felt exhausted by the time she reached her house from having to repeat the same story over and over again.

She didn't rest, however, as she went straight to check in on her animals and met Finn, catching up with everything that happened while she was gone – which wasn't much.

"Cain came by every day for the animals and Craig even tilled the soil for you when he found out about what happened with your dad. Isn't that nice?" Finn said, hovering happily, glad his best friend was back at home.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I should bring something over as thanks sometime soon."

She looked at her watch. 1 pm.

Molly sighed. "As much as I want to rest...we've got work to do Finn."

He saluted in response and they went to go buy seeds, managing to plant the entire field by the time the sun went down.

Molly nearly collapsed onto her couch when she went inside, Finn grabbing her some water from the fridge. She wanted to get all of her produce planted today as she knew that Autumn was going to be a busy season for her and didn't want to waste any time.

She was about to go get ready for bed when she got a call from Kathy.

"Kathy? What's up?"

"Hey, sorry I couldn't come out to greet you earlier, we had a lot of customers here at the bar," Kathy said, apologetic.

"Don't worry about it, I couldn't have talked for long anyways, I wanted to get a lot done today."

"Figures, classic Molly," Kathy said chuckling.

"Time waits for no one," Molly replied, sighing a bit.

"True that. Speaking of which, your birthday's already passed but we haven't celebrated at all. What do you say to having a small party at the bar next weekend?"

"Ah, I don't know Kathy, I'll probably be really busy…"

"Come on, Molly. You can spare a couple of hours, right? 8 pm, next Saturday. There'll be sweets and drinks now that you're legal. You won't have to do anything except show up, promise! Besides, knowing you you'll probably stay on your farm all week, right? You need to take breaks too, you know."

Molly groaned but agreed in the end as she knew Kathy was dead-set on celebrating her birthday. Also, as Toby had mentioned, she probably did need some more self-care activities.

Saturday arrived in a flash and, just as Kathy had predicted, Molly had barely left her farm save for delivering a berry pie to Craig as thanks and buying several fruit trees to fill the space she tirelessly cleared out by her pond.

No one had stopped by either, which made sense as she guessed that Autumn was a very busy time for everyone on the island and not just the farmers.

It was 7:30pm and she left Finn at the front door. She hiked her floral patterned tote bag full of candies from the city further up on her shoulder and headed towards the bar. As they were technically celebrating her birthday she made sure to dress up a bit and felt nice wearing a wine-red sweater dress and sheer tights instead of her usual dirty farm outfit.

She got there just before 8 pm and was hugged by Kathy and jostled around playfully by Owen and Luke. As the minutes passed by, others joined the party including Renee, Bo and Julius who came with Candace by his side. Molly looked to Kathy, who nodded, confirming her suspicions.

"I was only gone for a week, what in the world happened?" Molly whispered, smiling from across the room at the new couple who was, of course, being harassed by Owen.

"Well, they've liked each other for ages but Julius was waiting for Candace to make a move. Maybe he was testing her feelings for him 'cause you know how shy she is and all. It's not surprising to us, we've been waiting ages for this to happen," Kathy said, shoving a drink in Molly's hands and ushering her over to where the other's were.

She congratulated the new couple and then saw Toby slip into the bar from the corner of her eye. She smiled at him as he walked straight towards her, grabbing a glass of juice on the way.

"Hey," he said smiling, same as ever, down at her.

"Hey," Molly replied, laughing as Kathy threw an arm over her shoulder, pulling her close and trying to get everyone's attention.

"AHEM. As you all know, we are here tonight to celebrate Molly's 21st birthday. She hasn't been on the island that long but I think I can speak for everyone when I say that things have gotten so much better since she's came."

Molly's face burned in embarrassment as everyone's eyes focused on her, saying, "Here, here!"

"So let's make a toast...to Molly! And to Julius and Candace because you guys are too cute," Kathy said, raising her glass towards the middle and winking at Molly as Candace's face turned red as well. Everyone laughed and the clink of their glasses signalled the start of the festivities.

As everyone went to the table to play cards, Molly leaned over and asked Kathy if she had invited Chase to the party.

"I did, but he's probably just late. You know how he is, always playing cool," she said rolling her eyes.

Molly glanced at the door again, wondering if he was going to come or if it was just her that felt that they had gotten closer lately.

Kathy noticed her friend's gaze but guided her to the table nonetheless and handed her another drink.

"Kathy…," Molly said, eyeing the drink.

"It's really good, I promise! Come on, you've just turned 21, time to live a little."

"Fine, fine," she said, accepting the glass.

The next hour went by quickly with everyone playing cards and getting livelier with alcohol. Molly kept checking the door out of the corner of her eye, wondering if Chase was going to show up. Just when she thought he wasn't coming after all, she saw the door move and Chase slipped in, a cool breeze following behind him.

Kathy also spotted him and jumped out of her seat.

"Chase, you're so late!" she said, grabbing a can of beer and walking over to him. "I'll forgive you if you drink this, though."

He pushed the can back towards her. "Like I'd get pulled into your pace, you alcohol maniac. I'll get my own, thanks."

Kathy 'tsked' and came back, plopping down next to Molly and almost knocking over her glass.

Molly grabbed the cup to stop it from spilling and gave Kathy a look.

Kathy rolled her eyes, "I know, I know." She pushed the drink away and grabbed a handful of fries.

Molly nodded her head, satisfied and turned around in her chair to see Chase making his own drink behind the bar. She got up and made her way over, grabbing some of the candies she had brought and offering one to Chase.

"I thought you wouldn't come, don't you dislike parties?" She asked, handing him a caramel.

"I do. That's why you should be grateful I even came at all," he said, taking the caramel and nodding his head in thanks.

Molly rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the small smile on her face.

"You okay then? Kathy didn't make you drink too much?" Chase asked, taking a swig of his own concoction.

"Yeah, the drinks I had were pretty light and I've made sure to keep snacking. I'm not that much of a lightweight to get drunk from a couple drinks."

"You say that but your face is pretty flushed right now," he said, pointing at her cheeks.

Molly blushed, almost slapping her cheeks, "No they're not!"

They continued chatting, unaware that there were multiple pairs of eyes focusing on their exchanges.

Toby couldn't help the sting as he glanced in their direction, Kathy couldn't help but smirk watching Chase fall harder and harder and Luke couldn't help but be annoyed because Molly and Chase getting along so well was so out-of-the-blue for him.

Luke knew he was fighting a losing battle and when he unintentionally upset her at the beach before, he felt so terrible. When he heard that Molly's dad was in an accident and he couldn't do anything for her it made him feel even worse and then to find out that both Chase and Toby had gone off with her was the final blow.

He was so obsessed with his own feelings he didn't even pay attention to what was going on around her. Plus, to know that Chase, grumpy, cold, unchanging Chase, had grown closer to Molly than even he was made him so angry for some reason. Why Molly would even pay attention to a guy like that, he didn't understand, but he knew he didn't like it. He hadn't even gotten to tell her that he liked her and now it's like he's out of the race.

Luke continued to chug his drink until he found himself standing up and making his way over to where Molly was sitting at the bar, swaying a bit as he strode over.

Molly noticed him coming over and smiled good-naturally. "Hey, Luke, what's up? You okay, you look a bit unstable there."

He stared at her smiling face, so innocent and unaware of how he's been feeling.

"So unfair," he whispered and then placed both of his hands on the counter's edge, trapping her in-between.

"Luke?" Molly said, shrinking back.

"You know, I feel awful. I feel so bad about what I did on the beach and not going with you back to the city. I feel so bad knowing that I couldn't help you with your dad. I feel so angry knowing that others are getting closer to you."

Molly raised her eyebrows in concern, "You don't have to feel bad about any of that, how could you have known about my phobia of water and there wasn't anything you could really do to help, my dad's fine now anyways. And what do you mean about others? Are you talking about Toby and Chase?"

"I-, I still feel bad though, you know?!" Luke said, casting his eyes downwards and gripping the edge.

"Luke, it's fine. I know you didn't mean any harm. Look, I think you've had a lot to drink. Why don't you sit down?" Molly said, quite concerned now.

"Don't wanna."

"Hey, just sit down already," Chase said, interjecting.

"This doesn't concern you!" Luke said, raising his voice and making Molly flinch. Chase furrowed his eyebrows, displeased. The others also glanced over in concern, wondering what was going on.

Luke turned his attention back to Molly, not even paying attention to her expression as he continued. He knew he'd regret saying it like this but all of his emotions were being brought up at once and the influence of the alcohol was making him rash.

"Don't you get it? I like you! I've liked you for awhile but nothing seems to go right and then all of a sudden you start hanging out with Toby and Chase and getting along fine with them! What's with that, hey?"

"Luke, wait, you're not sober, don't you think-?"

"It's the truth!" Luke said, cutting her off. "I don't care if I'm drunk, in fact, it's better if I am." He looked at her troubled face and locked on to her lips. If she wouldn't turn his way then…

Chase seemed to predict what Luke was going to do because as Luke leaned forward, Chase grabbed a damp washcloth and threw it on top of his face.

Surprised, Luke jumped back and grabbed the cloth, flinging it to the ground.

"What's your problem?!" he said, sputtering.

"What's your problem?" Chase repeated. Molly had taken the chance and gotten up from her seat, not quite sure what to do. Thankfully, she didn't have to do much as Bo and Owen came to the rescue, each putting a hand to Luke's shoulder.

"What's going on, why're you so angry?" Owen asked.

"Because! Because…," Luke stopped and looked at the ground. He had gone from high to low in a matter of seconds and was now feeling the weight of his actions and the amount of alcohol he had consumed.

Owen sighed, putting his arm around his buddy's shoulder. "Come on, I think you've had enough. Why don't we go back?"

Luke let himself be led to the door while Bo gathered their stuff and came over to Molly to apologize.

"I'm really sorry about Luke, Molly. He gets like this when he's drunk sometimes...are you okay? You too, Chase?"

Chase crossed his arms, "It's whatever."

Molly sighed. She felt that it was partly her fault for pushing him away and ignoring his feelings this whole time. It was easy to get angry at him for lashing out so suddenly but at the same time it made her think that this was a good opportunity to stop avoiding him.

"It's fine. He'll probably feel like crap tomorrow but I think it's best if I talk to him. I'll swing by around 5pm, just let him know that when he's calmed down."

Bo said he understood and would relay the message when he could. With that, him, Luke and Owen all left the party and Molly sighed as she came back to sit next to Kathy.

Everyone stared at her, the atmosphere awkward.

"I guess it's not really the time to sing happy birthday, is it?" Julius asked, breaking the silence.

Kathy glared at him but then started laughing, breaking the tension and soon everyone else was chuckling at how ridiculous the suggestion was.

"Maybe we can skip the singing but some dessert wouldn't hurt right about now!" Kathy said, bouncing off behind the counter and carrying back a beautifully decorated two-tier cake with a chocolate plate that said, "Happy 21st Birthday, Molly" on it. Chase followed with some small plates and forks and joined them at the table.

"You can thank your resident cook for the cake. I made the chocolate plate though, so you can thank me too," Kathy said winking as she set it down. Molly beamed and thanked them both.

The cake was so good that everyone temporarily forgot the earlier incident and, thankfully, the party ended on a good note.

As they were saying their goodbyes, Toby came up to Molly and asked her to have dinner with his uncle and Paolo the following night.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you say you were going to Luke's around 5pm so I thought maybe while you're out you could come into town?"

Molly felt conflicted because as much as she knew it was going to be awkward and she would want to be alone afterwards, she also felt that maybe having some company and taking her mind off of it wouldn't be so bad either.

"I still have to give you your present, too."

"Present? But you already used your boat ticket to come with me to the city, I don't need anything else," she said, trying to protest.

"Well, too bad, because I had already prepared it beforehand so you have to take it."

Molly sighed, giving up knowing that there was nothing she could do now anyways.

"Well, if you put it that way then I have to come," she said shaking her head but still smiling.

"Good. Then, I'll see you tomorrow." Then, with that everyone else left having cleaned up and left Kathy and herself alone.

"I'll call you later in the week?" Her friend said giving her a sympathetic smile.

"I guess so. Thanks for throwing the party, Kathy, even if it did get a little bit weird there at the end…"

"Ah well, what's a party without a little drama?"

"You only say that because it's not your drama," Molly said, rolling her eyes.

Molly left, grateful for the cool night air as she was feeling rather stuffy in both mind and body.

She took a deep breath before going inside her house and getting ready for bed, Finn waiting patiently before tucking in beside her.

"Did you have a good time" Finn asked, yawning as the clock struck 11 o'clock.

Molly paused before answering. "Yeah, I guess I did."

"That's good, then…," Finn said, drifting off to sleep. Molly turned over onto her side and closed her eyes, heart still beating loudly as she thought about having to confront Luke tomorrow and how uncomfortable she was sure it'll be.

Her alarm came quickly and Molly got up the next morning feeling a sense of resignation towards the day's inevitable events.

After a long morning of watering and weeding, Molly stepped inside to get some lunch and ended up taking a call from one of her university friends, Jessa.

She had a good time catching up with her as they revisited plans for the group to come visit the island sometime. Wanting them to experience Castanet's various festivals, Molly suggested they come out for the Moon Festival as it aligned with the university's mid-autumn break. Right before Jessa was going to hang up to check with the rest of the group about the dates, Molly decided to reach out for some advice with Luke.

"Say, Jessa….have you ever had a guy like you just wanted to remain as friends?"

"Sure, it's happened before. Why, is that happening to you right now?"

"It is...I kind of knew he liked me but he never said anything so I thought it would've been fine to just keep things as they were. But recently he got, uh, upset and ended up confessing awkwardly at a party we had last night. I'm supposed to go and talk to him later today but I don't really know how to go about it…" Molly replied, wincing inwardly as she remembered.

"Yeesh, that sounds a bit rough. Well, I don't think it was wrong of you to keep things as they were, after all, it would've been rude had you said you didn't like him before he even confessed to you. I think the important thing is not leading him on, you know? If you don't like him, then you don't like him and you just have to be honest and straightforward. Nothings worse than dragging this type of thing out."

Molly sighed, "You're right, it just makes me so nervous, I hate confrontation and I have a bad habit of running away from these kinds of situations…"

"I get it, but there's nothing you can do besides being honest with him. It'll be awkward, but he'll get over it and so will you. I'm sure it's a bit tough being on a such a small island though."

"That's for sure...well, thanks, I know what I should do. I'm excited to see everyone soon, I'll talk to you later."

Molly hung up the phone and went out to tend to her animals before coming back in to shower and change, walking out the door and up the mountain path feeling as though she was a soldier walking into battle.

She stopped in front of their door and took a deep breath, knocking three times. She barely lowered her hand when the door flung open in front of her, Luke's bright blue hair sticking out from under his even brighter bandanna.

"Molly," said Luke, eyebrows turned up in concern, or perhaps guilt from last night?

"Uhm, hi, Luke. Er, I think Bo may have told you already but uh, shall we talk?" Molly asked, having a hard time meeting his eyes.

Luke sighed and jerked his head towards the forest, "Sure, wanna go for a walk while we're at it?"

Molly didn't protest as she let him lead the way, looking back to see Bo peeking out from behind the window curtain.

They walked in silence for about a minute before Molly cleared her throat, "Umm-."

Luke suddenly turned around and clasped his hands in an apologetic gesture.

"I'm so sorry!

I can only remember bits and pieces of last night but I know I was acting really strange and pushy and I didn't mean to blurt out all of that! I probably scared you, so I'm really sorry! I just...I was just…"

At this point Luke turned around again and put his forehead against a tree close by.

"I'm so jealous," he said, banging his fist against the tree in frustration and then turning around to face her, leaning as he did so. "Because I like you. I've liked you for awhile."

Molly swallowed.

"Luke, I…"

"I know. You don't like me. I can tell, always have. I just thought if I tried hard enough you'd eventually turn in my direction, but…"

"Listen to me, Luke," Molly said, trying to get to the main point. "I...I can't blame you or anything for your feelings, to know that you like me is a flattering thing, but, you're right. I can't return your feelings, I only see you as a friend. I don't mean to be blunt but I just want to be honest with you – you've always been just a friend and that won't change. I...I could've handled things better, maybe I said some misleading things before but this is how I feel and it's not going to change."

Luke looked at her sadly, sighing.

"I know...I know."

They stood there awkwardly for a bit before Molly dared to break the silence.

"So, uh, we'll just try and go back to normal then?"

"Yeah, normal is good. Just please don't try and ignore me 'cause that would really hurt," Luke said, smiling sadly.

Molly blushed, slightly ashamed that her first instinct would be just to avoid him as much as possible. She chastised herself inwardly. Molly, you're such a coward.

"I won't ignore you, Luke," she said, saying that more for herself.

"Thanks. Well, guess I'll head back, pops will have dinner ready soon, so.."

"Right. Uh, thanks for talking to me and...well, for everything," she said awkwardly.

"Ha, I didn't think I'd be thanked seeing how much of a jerk I've been, but…" Luke replied, nervously scratching his head.

Molly smiled. "It's fine Luke, seriously. You've done nothing to worry about so much, apology accepted. I'll see you around," she said, waving as she made her way to the cart that would lead her to town.

Luke smiled back and waved, waiting just a bit before turning around and disappearing behind his door.

Molly got to the cart and let the wind rush past her face as she scrunched her eyes, relieved that the conversation was short and seemed to go well. It was always the lead up that gave her the most anxiety when it came to these things.

She walked slowly down to Toby's place, grateful that everyone was inside having dinner so she could reflect without interruption.

It's not like it wasn't her first time having to reject someone but it was a first in that it was a good friend whose feelings she couldn't return. It was because Luke was her friend that she felt that twinge of sadness and guilt just a bit more than usual. She hoped that things would go back to normal quickly and that Luke would find someone else to focus his attention on…

Soon she found herself at Toby's door and knocked quietly, fixing a smile on her face as she was welcomed in by all three of the fishermen.

It wasn't surprising when some boiled snapper and veggies were put out on the table and Molly found herself having a pleasant meal and conversation despite her earlier drama.

They had just finished eating some fruit for dessert when Toby invited her back to his bedroom, wanting to hand over his present.

Molly hung out by the doorway, taking a quick glance around his room curious about the things he had displayed. She spotted a messily glazed clay sculpture of a sailboat, a photo frame featuring who she could only assume were his parents with himself as a young boy and couple of fish fossils, dotting his half full bookcase.

"Here, for you," Toby said, holding out a small bag with scrunched newspaper coming out of the top. "Sorry I didn't have anything fancier to use."

Molly smiled, accepting the present. "Please, that kind of thing doesn't matter. Can I open it?"

Toby nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

She took out the newspaper and started unwrapping the objects inside. Jar after small jar came rolling out of the paper, filled with all sorts of different coloured paints.

"Is this…?" Molly trailed off, bringing one of the jars up to eye-level.

"Yup, it's paint made from seashells. I've been collecting them for awhile and had Paolo help me with the grinding. It's pretty amazing how many colours you can get out of them."

Molly was speechless. How many hours must it have taken him to not only collect the shells but to process them into paints as well?

"Toby...this is amazing. Thank you. I can't even imagine how long it must've taken you…"

Toby smiled widely, pleased at her response. "Not as long as you'd think. Paolo helped me out quite a bit – he's really good at spotting seashells, it was like a game for him."

"Still...thank you so much, I'll have to think carefully about what to paint with them," she said, wrapping everything up carefully again and placing them back in the bag.

"Once you do, will you let me see it? I saw some of your paintings back at your house. You're really good, Molly."

Molly blushed crimson, not used to such compliments.

"Oh, no, it's just a hobby, I don't think I'm that good."

Toby only smiled in response, thinking about how cute she was when she was flustered.

"Well, I'd better get back and get ready for bed. I've got another busy week ahead of me," she said, motioning towards the door.

"Same. How about I walk you to the bridge?" Toby said, putting on a light jacket and following her back to the front door.

"Thanks," Molly said, accepting the offer. She said goodbye to Ozzie and Paolo and walked in step with Toby, making small talk until they got to the bridge at the edge of town.

"Thanks again for tonight, the food was delicious and the gift is great."

"You're welcome, I'm glad you liked everything."

An awkward pause hung in the air as they looked at each other, Toby's eyes slivers of blue in the dark.

"Well, I'll see you later then," Molly said, breaking the silence and their eye contact as she looked away.

"See you soon," Toby said, clasping his hands behind his back so that he wasn't tempted to hug her.

With that they parted. Toby stood there staring out at the water sparkling under the street lights for a very long time before heading back to his home and lying back on his bed, playing back the evening over again in his head, content.

Molly got back home and set her present by her art drawer, getting ready for bed and having a good chat with Finn.

It was amazing that the day had started out so horribly with her dreading the conversation with Luke but was ending so peacefully after spending time with Toby and his family. There was just something about him that put her so at ease and she found herself so unguarded in his company.

With the balance of relationships restored back to order, Molly found herself hoping that this sense of peace would last forever.

Gahhh, I took forever again in uploading this...it's so hard to motivate myself, I'm sorry! Anyways, to those who read this chapter, thank you!
With this Luke is now officially out of the running (I feel sort of bad for making him out to be a bad guy lol, whoops) and some more loose ends will be tied up soon...From wherever you are in the world, I hope you all are taking care and staying safe :)