The Gravity of Love (8 page)

Josiah nodded. "Ditto."

And with that, the cake and sundae was
delivered and little talk came after they picked up their spoons.

_______________________________________________________________________

"What the hell happened to you
two?" Marty asked when Molly and Harrison came walking in to the high
school the next day. Harrison's arm was in a sling, his one pant leg slightly
rolled up on the bottom to reveal bandaging. Molly was standing strangely
straight, her posture never that good.

"Elevator." They both growled,
then went their separate ways, Harrison taking a right at the corner and Molly
taking a left.

Marty followed her friend. "What's
this about the elevator? And couldn't one of you call? Joe and I sat in the
restaurant for three hours! Three hours waiting for you two!" She
exclaimed.

"I got stuck in the elevator at the
top floor. I waited there for an hour until Harrison found me and brought be
back down the ordeal about a half hour long. Then we got in his truck and
drove to the restaurant, but Harrison was worried about my injuries so I
worried about his and we ended up getting back in the truck and driving to the
hospital. The hospital was horridly busy and to see both of us, we ended up
sitting in the emergency room until after midnight. Trust me, after that, you
didn't want a phone call from us our nerves were shot. I'm sorry we didn't
make it last night but we were a bit caught up, you know?"

Marty nodded. "Quite a night then,
huh? Was it fun? You know, to spend all that time with Harrison?"

"Fun? I wouldn't say that. But it was
nice to spend time with him even if it was in a hospital. Our time together
is more and more rare. I'm sure Josiah would say the same thing about Harrison
if you asked him."

"Actually, he did. It's weird, you
know? He's Harrison's friend, not ours, but he hangs out with us more than his
friend but not because it's his choice, but because Harrison is always busy
wooing his multiple girlfriends."

Molly shrugged, her arms wrapped around her
delicate middle. "He'll grow out of it one day."

"Yeah well, who cares? How are you
doing? Are you able to teach today?"

"Oh, of course. It's just a case of
torn and stretched muscles and such. Very uncomfortable when laying down and
trying to sleep, but teaching is doable."

"Well if you need help at all today,
I'm right here." Marty said, then opened the door to her classroom.

Molly nodded a thanks, then went in to her
own and prepared for the day."

_______________________________________________________________________

Molly was just chopping up green peppers to
add to her stir fry supper when a knock came to the door.

"Yes?" She called out.

"It's me." Harrison's voice came
through.

"Come on in door's unlocked."

When he did, he made a big show about
sniffing the air. "God that smells good. What are you making,
Radcliffe?"

"Best take that comment back
quickly." Molly said slyly, grabbing a nearby silver bowl and holding it
up. "The meal is completely made up of vegetables your worst enemy, you
know. Best get running now before they attack."

He shook his head with a smirk.
"You'll never let me live down my childhood, will you?"

"What good is it to be someone's
friend for life if you can't tease them about when they thought that vegetables
would really come and attack them?"

He groaned, his hand over his face. "I
was five!" He exclaimed.

She laughed, pausing in her labor to
stretch upon her toes and kiss his stubbled cheek. "Well then, I suppose
you're over it now?"

He grabbed a mushroom and shoved it in his
mouth with a smile. "See?"

"Good then take a seat and I'll
serve you a plate when it's done."

"Good good just make it fast the
eclipse is coming soon."

"Eclipse? That's tonight?"

He nodded, leaning back in his chair and
putting one arm behind his head. "I talked to Marty on the way here and
the four of us are going to go watch it at the astronomy building."

She nodded, sticking her finger that she
had just cut by her lips as she dumped in all the vegetables in to the pan.

Once it was finished frying, she served up
the stir fry and sloshed the juices left behind, pouring it over the white rice
that went under the vegetables. Adding chop sticks for a nice affect, she
handed one plate to Harrison and took the other for herself. They walked in to
the living room and sat on the black leather sofa clicking on the tv and
readying to enjoy their meal.

_______________________________________________________________________

"Oh damn, we're going to be
late!" Harrison said, checking his watch.

Molly's eyes slowly opened, peeking over at
Harrison. "Huh?"

"For the eclipse we fell
asleep!"

Molly was suddenly awake and bolting around
taking plates and grabbing shoes. "We have got to stop watching boring
tv shows together neither one of us can stand staying awake through
them." She yelled from the back room.

Harrison snorted in agreement, wrapping his
sling around his neck and putting his arm in to it, his fractured elbow aching
in protest.

Molly came running back out, pulling her
curls in to a low ponytail and slipping on a pair of her favorite clogs.

Grabbing her windbreaker, she put her keys in
her back pocket and hurried to the door, Harrison right behind her.

But half way to the star and space
building, Harrison realized they wouldn't make it. Pulling his truck over to
the side of the road and parking it, he jumped out, grabbing Molly and running
up a hill that led to a nice park that kids play soccer and such on in the
summertime.

Harrison handed her a special pair of
sunglasses and they sat on the ridge, staring up at the sky and awaiting for
the big moment.

"Where's Candy Grey this fine evening?"
She hadn't meant to say it. Didn't even know where it had come from or how it
escaped passed her sudden dry lips, but it had. So much for a peaceful time...

Harrison shrugged. "I don't know.
Probably watching the eclipse somewhere."

"I mean...why didn't you take her? You
said you arranged this whole thing...why didn't you take Candy Grey out on a
fancy date? Eclipses can be very romantic, after all."

"True." Harrison admitted.
"But eclipses don't happen every day. I want to share it with friends that
will always be there instead of risking it on someone who might not. You remain
the most important person to me, Molls. So I want to share this with you."

He never was one for sentimental talks, so
after saying his piece, he laid on his back, stopping their chat. Silence fell,
but it was warm and comfortable and she liked it just fine.

Laying beside him, the two watched as the
eclipse got noticeably closer to happening. And when both of their cell phones
went off, even knowing that it was Marty and Josiah, they ignored the
persistent ringing and gave the calming moment only to themselves.

_______________________________________________________________________

Molly went to work the next day with her
spirit's uplifted. She felt closer to Harrison than she had for a while and it
felt good. But, for some strange reason, all good feelings have a tendency to
evaporate all too quickly, as was the case here.

"I'm sorry I keep intruding, but I was
wondering if I could talk to you?"

Molly inwardly screamed. Candice had come
to her door once again. She really had to find a way to escape the classroom
much faster.

Molly checked her watch. She had nowhere to
go, but she didn't want to give the impression that she had all day to talk to
this woman. "I have a few minutes." She lied.

"Great! Um...I was just wondering
if...if Harrison ever talks to you about me? I mean, you say you're good
friends, so I figure he probably shares his thoughts about girlfriends with
you, doesn't he?"

Molly quickly shook his head. "No, no
he doesn't. We made a pact long ago that we wouldn't discuss the people we're
dating at the time. It makes it easier for multiple reasons. So really, I don't
know anything about you from him. He knows better than to tell me."

"But why? I thought you two were
close?"

"We are, but I have a tendency to not
approve of his girlfriends not that you're one of them that I disapprove of
and then I relate my feelings back to him and then he gets upset because he
feels awkward dating someone that I don't like."

"Why's that?"

"Then he has to go through the trouble
of keeping her away from me when they're out of dates and such. I mean, he'll
date the woman anyway, but getting my opinion is usually too much trouble than
it's worth. I'm sorry, I really can't help you with this."

Candice bit her lip. "Well, I guess
I'll have to judge myself then, huh? I mean, I think we're doing amazing. It
sure feels like it. I just know he feels something really special for me. And I
think I do with him too. It feels like we're getting really close...really
serious, you know? Like this could really turn in to something down the road. I
think he's serious about it too. And I hope I'm right. I mean, that man got
some lips on him, doesn't he? And God...those eyes when he kisses you..."

Molly hid her gag. "Please,
really...I'm not in to details. I love Harrison, but not to the point that I
want to hear those things. He's my best friend...I rather not have to think
that women think his kissing techniques are good."

"Ah, I see. Don't want to know because
you're not dating him, right? I mean, it's not like you ever kissed him or will
ever, so yeah...I see your point. Okay, well you really can't help me then.
I'll see you around." Candice said, then turned and left.

Molly's fingernails dug in to the tender
skin of her palm and her teeth bit hard in to her lower lip, fuming with anger
as she was.

She stomped over to Marty's classroom,
throwing open the door. "I kissed him first!" She shouted angrily,
then spun on her heel and stomped to her car, leaving Marty and her late class
that was still in session to stare in bizarre shock.

"Miss Lewison? Uh...what was that all
about?" A girl in the front row asked, still staring at the adjoining
door.

"Yeah, what's up with Miss
Radcliffe?" A guy asked with a sly grin. "And who did she kiss
first?"

Marty's cheeks flared red, sure she knew
who Molly had been talking about. "I...I don't know. She's under a bit of
stress lately."

And with that, Marty excused her class,
then ran out to her car to go get the scoop of what had set off her friend.

_______________________________________________________________________

"So...you kissed him first, huh?"
Marty asked slyly as she slipped in to the car and omitting the fact that Molly
had just embarrassed herself in front of a whole class. Molly glared angrily at
her. "I hate that woman, I really, really do." She said, wiping a
fist across her damp cheek.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. But I'm sick of
this. She gets me all riled up on purpose."

"Why don't you tell Harrison and have
him make her stop?"

Molly shook her head. "No. Harrison
wouldn't stop it he'd use me as an inside tool. He loves when his girlfriends
talk to me then he hounds me to tell him what they told me and it's horrid.
The only thing worse than hearing about how good Harrison is at his talents is
having to tell them to the man himself."

"We, I can imagine. So what was all
this about you kissing him first?"

Molly flushed crimson. "I didn't mean
to say that. I was just really mad."

"Understandable. But I want to know
what that meant. You kissed Harrison first? First when?"

"His first kiss. It was with me. It's
supposed to be secret something only between us. I don't know...it was
stupid. We were fifteen and everyone around us was already in to the dating
phase. I mean, look around at your classmates. Personally, we didn't see the
big deal. But everyone said 'just wait until your first kiss and then you'll
understand'. So one day, Harrison and I tried it out. It uh...it wasn't
anything special. Or well, I guess it just wasn't special between us, because
he stayed away from dating until he came back from the military. Then he dated
every girl in sight and he sure didn't mind kissing them. I don't know. It
never bothered me and I never really think about it. But when someone says
things like Candice...like they think that Harrison could never be attracted to
me enough to ever think of kissing me and it's so obvious to them...it just
sets me off. I don't know why...maybe because I know, deep inside, it's true.
He can date every other woman and be wildly attracted to them...but just not
me." Marty's eyebrows raised considerably, wondering if her friend could
possibly be wishing the opposite was true. It wasn't very Molly like, but who
knew?

Not wanting to push her though, she let the
subject drop, Molly obviously not wanting to go any further in the conversation
as she emotionally blocked everything off and became very sullen.

_______________________________________________________________________

Molly adjusted the shoulder strap of her
army green satchel as she walked down the street. After burning two tries at dinner,
she was heading out to eat dinner at a restaurant.

She flipped a page in her little planner, a
pen sticking out from between her lips. She wanted her life to change. She
wanted it to mean something, to add up to something worthwhile. And every day that
passed seemed to further prove that drastic changes needed to be made and they
wouldn't wait.

Opening the door to her favorite Chinese
restaurant, she went to take a seat when she stopped in her tracks, seeing
something that took her back for a moment.

Harrison and Candice were in a corner booth
at the other end of the restaurant. Instead of fleeing, her feet melted in to
the ground as she watched them laugh together, Candice's eyes shining bright,
her bright red lips parted in her joyous smile.

Harrison had that good time grin on that
always made him look devilishly handsome and he knew it well too.

Shaking her head, she walked back out of
the restaurant and towards home, no longer feeling very hungry as she ripped
out pages that told what was contained in her boring life.

_______________________________________________________________________

"And I was wondering if you could tell
me what that means. What he feels about me."

"Ah, I see. Don't want to know because
you're not dating him, right? I mean, it's not like you ever kissed him or will
ever, so yeah..."

"I think we're doing amazing. It sure
feels like it. I just know he feels something really special for me. And I
think I do with him too. It feels like we're getting really close...really
serious, you know? Like this could really turn in to something down the road. I
think he's serious about it too. And I hope I'm right. I mean, that man got
some lips on him, doesn't he? And God...those eyes when he kisses you..."

The pencil that was entwined around three
fingers snapped, the noise of the crack breaking the thick silence.
"Huh...how cliché of me." Molly groaned, chucking the two pencil
halves on to the counter.

Candice's words kept grinding in to Molly's
mind, making her go insane. Was it really possible that Harrison could be
getting serious with some one?

That had never happened before. He dated
for years for fun only. He wasn't one for commitment. What most people didn't
know about him was his great distrust to anyone. That the reason why he watched
every one like a hawk was because he was wary of a person turning their back to
mislead him. His faith in man or woman kind was null. It was an insecurity
he carried around and that he was forever embarrassed about. He does his best
to keep it well hidden, for only he to know, but it always shown to Molly.
Wasn't it because of those faithless feelings that he never grew serious about
any woman? Had he changed when she wasn't carefully watching? Had he grown as a
person while dating Candice?

Could she really have an impact on him in
such a profound way? In a way that Molly never had been?

Her teeth pierced her bottom lip, making
her hiss in sudden pain. She would hate to admit it and never would, but the
thought made her go wild. The thought that Candice Greybill was able to help
Harrison in his personal issues in any way that Molly herself had failed at.

And Molly hated the thought. Hated the wild
feeling she got, the fury that welled inside. She had always had a bad temper,
but this seemed to becoming from somewhere other than where it usually did. It
didn't come from her mind, from her over active thoughts. No, it came from
somewhere lower, deeper. Somewhere that hurt more.

"When did I lose you, Harrison? When
did I stop knowing who you are?" She whispered between clenched teeth as
she shut of the light and plopped hard on her bed.

_______________________________________________________________________

Molly grabbed a tray and loaded a few
choice pieces of food on to it, then went to pay for it when she saw Harrison
near the check out. Suddenly she remembered why she didn't eat at the school
cafeteria when she's busy trying to avoid the Principal of the school.

"Hey Radcliffe, come eat with
me." He called.

Biting down on her tongue, she thought
fast. "I...I can't. I volunteered to work at the library today so I'll be
eating there. I'll see you later." She said quickly, handing a five dollar
bill to the cashier and taking off.

But she didn't get out all alone.
"What was that about?" Marty asked, her own lunch tray in her hand.

"What? I volunteered at the library
and I'll see him later just what I said."

"You're avoiding him." She stated
with a shake of her head. "I knew it. You haven't talked to him in three
days. Since Friday, right? What's going on?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm fine.
But I really do have to go, so I'll catch up with you later. And just because I
say that does not mean I'm ditching you too. I just have to go." Molly
said, then rushed off, unhappy that her plan was already unraveling to prove it
wouldn't work. Avoiding someone that was your boss and that worked right down
the hall from you was quite the impossibility.

_______________________________________________________________________

When Marty came to Molly's classroom to see
if she was ready to go home, but found the classroom with the lights shut off
and completely empty. Where was Molly? She swung by the library to see if the
one in charge would know, but instead of finding a grey haired homely woman,
she found a familiar face Molly.

"What are you doing here?" Marty
asked in confusion, the car keys dangling from her fingers.

Molly looked up from the computer that she
was typing on and bit her lip. "I'm going to be catching the bus home
today. I'm working here until five."'

"Working here? In the library?
Whatever for?"

"I wanted another job and I applied
here the other day. They accepted me and now here I am."

"But why a second job?"

"I want more money. Teaching isn't
enough when you have car payments, apartment fees, insurance and taxes and then
have anything left over. Not here. I want money to do things. To live a little.
I'm only in my late twenties but I live like a fifty year old woman I don't
go out, I don't do anything. I stay home and watch movies and I eat mostly at
home and I work and that's just about it. And I want more than that. I crave
more. All of my dreams are suffocating and they cry to me to be set free and
hopefully, if I have another job and I put some money away...well, maybe I'll
be able to do more."

"So...does Harrison know about this
already then? Is that why you're avoiding him?"

Molly shook her head. "Harrison
doesn't know and I'm not avoiding him." Well, at least one part of that
statement wasn't true. Harrison didn't deal with who was hired for the library
that was left up to others.