Page 33 of Finding Molly Parsons

“I…” Carmen was lost for words again.

“She said it serves you right,” Faith laughed. “Anyway, we got talking, and I told her about our plans. She asked if she could tag along. I think she’s lonely and honestly misses Molly.”

“She’s traveling with us?”

“Yeah, um… is that okay?”

“I mean sure, I suppose.”

“What is happening out here? Why are you having a pow wow by the front door?” Mateo’s hand on hip stance made Carmen roll her eyes.

“It was Enid at the door. Seems we have another travel companion.”

“Enid, the lady who said I’m smooth as a Ken doll?”

“Yup, the very one.”

“Well, this is gonna be interesting,” he laughed.

Carmen scratched her head, still clueless about how the last five minutes had unfolded. “Are you positive, you’re okay with it?” Faith asked again. Carmen’s face was obviously giving off uncomfortable vibes.

“Of course. The more the merrier.”

Following Faith and Mateo back to the living room, Carmen tried to mentally prepare herself for the next few days. Not only was she going to have to put up with Mateo and his Cher obsession, she was also going to share space with Enid, a woman who frankly scared her a little bit. But, as she contemplated her reality, another thing struck her. Faith wanted Enid to come along. She must have felt a connection to the old dear. And, after all, this was Faith’s journey. Her life had already changed so much and if what she needed now was to be surrounded by people she trusted and made her feel safe, then that’s what she would get.

Carmen just hoped she was still sane enough to support Faith after what was going to be a testing trip.

Chapter 9

Faith

Faith was brimming with feelings. Not only was she about to embark on a journey across the country to find Molly, but less than thirty-six hours ago, she’d reunited with Nathalie. Nathalie!

The Pride party had been eye opening, in the best way possible. Faith could count on one hand the amount of fantastic days she’d had in her life and by a wide margin, the party claimed the number one spot.

When Faith first clapped eyes on Nathalie, all the clichéd things happened. She was left breathless. The world around her disappeared. You know, the usual sappy stuff. But Faith didn’t care. All she’d ever wanted was to experience those emotions, and with Nathalie, she had them in spades.

Their talk by the pool had been shy to begin with. Faith’s mind kept traveling back to the dream she had on the bus, and if she were honest, several other dreams she’d had since. None of them family friendly. It wasn’t easy trying to get through an awkward conversation when certain parts of the body were waking up and causing mayhem. Faith was certain her face flushed more times than was humanly possible. If Nathalie noticed, she didn’t say anything.

Nathalie commented on Faith’s new look. Faith didn’t dare comment on Nathalie in that bikini. It was taking all her strength not to lower her eyes to Nathalie’s ample chest. Once the initial shock and awe had dissipated, they talked for hours. Faith gave Nathalie the CliffsNotes version of her reason for being in Seattle. The last thing she wanted was to bring the party down by talking about her family issues.

When it was clear Mateo and Carmen were far from sober, Faith stuck close to them. As much as she wanted alone time with Nathalie, Faith needed to make sure the Ruizes were okay. Thankfully, Nathalie found their antics completely entertaining.

By the end of the party, Faith had Nathalie’s phone number and a promise they would meet up again when she got back from Vermont. They began messaging the moment Faith sat in the passenger seat of Rita’s car. Carmen and Mateo had passed out on each other’s shoulders. Rita had made polite conversation, but she could see Faith was preoccupied with Nathalie.

Maybe the funniest part of the night was sending pictures of Carmen and Mateo with crude drawings on their faces, courtesy of Enid. Faith had never seen a woman cackle so hard than when Enid drew pieces of anatomy on each of their cheeks.

Today, however, the party was over and Faith had to bring herself back to reality. The reason she’d traveled thousands of miles and would travel thousands more: Finding Molly, and where she belonged.

“Everyone ready?” Carmen called from the driver’s seat. Faith was in the back with Enid. The group decided they would rotate seats after each rest stop. Enid brought out a book with a half-naked man on the cover. Faith gave her a little side eye and a smirk. Letting her head fall back on the headrest, Faith donned her headphones and selected the playlist Nathalie shared with her.

As the hours flew by, Faith’s mind wandered. In such a short space of time, she’d slipped into a new life. How would that look after she found her aunt? The prospect of never seeing Carmen and Mateo was like a punch to the chest. And what about her budding… relationship—could she call it that—with Nathalie? What if Molly didn’t want to be responsible for Faith? How would she deal with that? As usual, there were so many questions that she simply didn’t have the answers to.

The first rest stop was entertaining. Carmen wanted to stop for lunch, as did Faith if she were honest, but of course Mateo had so many rules and regulations regarding “roadside food” it took them an extra hour to find somewhere suitable. Carmen looked like she was ready to murder Mateo. Enid sat heckling them both when they argued with a few well-timed “oh damn, she’s going there” and “you just got burned, Ken doll.” Faith urgently needed the bathroom by the time they stopped.

The next leg of the journey saw Faith up front with Carmen. The Ruizes definitely needed a cooling-off period. Faith found it bizarre that they lived together successfully and yet already the road trip was causing such friction. When Faith noted Mateo had fallen into a food-induced coma, she broached the subject.

“You guys live so well together. What’s with all the stress now?”

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