Page 98 of Finding Molly Parsons

“Wow, so they’re still together, great.”

“Yeah, Rachel’s cool, but…”

“But?” Molly jumped all over that brief pause.

“I don’t know. Carmen doesn’t seem totally happy. I could be wrong, but I like to think I know her.”

“Has she said something?”

“No, not at all. It’s just a feeling.”

Molly hated the idea that Carmen could be unhappy, but she’d be lying if the thought also didn’t stoke a tiny bit of hope that maybe she hadn’t missed the boat completely. Maybe she and Carmen could still happen?

“Well, I’m sure she’s fine. Look, I was thinking about visiting in two weeks’ time. How does that sound?” Molly pushed her phone further away as Faith screamed and shouted how happy she was Molly was finally visiting Seattle. “I’ll take that as a yes then,” Molly laughed.

“Yes, yes, yes. You have to come. I can’t believe you haven’t visited yet.”

“I know, but I wanted to make sure everything was okay here. Bessie will call in extra people to help, but you know I don’t like leaving extra work for anyone.”

“I know, I know. I’m just pumped you’re coming here. Oh my God, there is so much I want to show you.”

“I can’t wait, sweetie. Have a great time tonight, say hello to everyone and tell Nat I’ll kick her ass if she hurts you.”

Faith scoffed. “No, I will not, because you wouldn’t.”

“Ugh, can’t you just pretend I’m even a little intimidating?” Molly laughed.

“Nope,” Faith grinned. “I’ll say hello to everyone. Shall we catch up on the weekend?”

“Sounds great. Love you.”

“Love you.”

Was Carmen unhappy? That’s the only thing that resonated from the entire conversation with her niece. Molly pledged to be a friend to Carmen, so calling her to make sure everything was okay seemed reasonable, right?

Checking her watch, Molly noted it was later than she thought. Carmen and Molly’s messages usually happened in the daytime, and they were yet to have a phone conversation. Nibbling her bottom lip, Molly weighed up her next move. Either she stayed out of it and continued to message Carmen daily, or she called Carmen and figured out if Faith’s worries were legitimate.

“You’re just being a good friend,” Molly mumbled to herself, her finger already navigating to Carmen’s contact info. The call connected after two rings.

“Molly?”

Oh Lord, that voice. “He-hey, Carmen.”

“Is everything okay?”

Of course, Carmen would be concerned. There was no reason for Molly to be calling this late. “Everything is great. Um, I just wanted to double check you were okay with me visiting. Faith just called, and I told her I could come up in a couple of weeks.” There, that was the truth. Mainly.

“Yeah, that’s more than okay. Faith’s going to be buzzing until you arrive,” Carmen laughed.

“I could have just messaged, huh?”

“Probably, but it’s good to actually talk to you,” Carmen said softly. It was difficult for Molly not to read into anything. Not when Carmen’s tone of voice gave her reason to think there was something more to it.

“So,” Molly chirped, needing to lighten the atmosphere before she said something stupid. “How’s the website coming along for Rita?”

“Oh God, yeah, it’s looking great. We’re going to host a fundraiser next month, so I’ve been incorporating that into the site. I’m so pleased I made a change. As much as I loved working for myself, I feel so much more accomplished working with Rita.”

“Well, I’m proud of you, Carmen. It takes a lot for someone to change up their life like you have.”

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