Page 49 of The Last Autograph

Molly fiddled with the handle of her cup, then looked up. Jake sat back in his chair, one hand stroking his stubble, the other resting on the table. Ever since their first conversation at the patisserie, she’d wanted another chance to set the record straight, but lately, it hadn’t seemed so important. “I didn’t understand why, after eight years, he’d reach out, and in such a cryptic way. It seemed cruel and… unnecessary.”

Jake frowned at her “cruel” comment but didn’t address it. “Did you ever think of him over the years?”

“Of course I did.”

“But you didn’t care enough to get back in touch?”

Molly shook her head. She’d seen this day coming, and now that it had arrived—despite his previous comments—she suspected Jake was out for blood, perhaps only a drop, but blood, nonetheless. “He gave me no option.”

Jake leaned forward. “Meaning?”

With those deep brown eyes staring into her soul, Molly struggled to think straight. She swallowed against the dryness in her throat, her tea still too hot to drink. “Our last night together, we’d been to a gig at the local pub, and afterward, he invited me back to where he was staying. We’d had a great night, or so I thought. I got up to use the bathroom around five, and when I returned, Jesse told me to leave. I sat on the bed, waiting for him to change his mind, to explain, but he turned out the light, rolled over, and said nothing more.”

Gathering her thoughts, Molly recalled walking home to the dawn chorus that morning, strappy heels in one hand and suede clutch in the other.

How hopeless life seemed at that moment.

“I had no idea he was ill, and in hindsight, it makes me incredibly sad he thought so little of me—that he believed I was so shallow I’d walk away if I knew.” Molly finally sipped her tea, her appetite lost in the subject lying before them like playing cards. “But perhaps if the tables were turned, I would’ve acted exactly the same way.”

Jake held his focus steady but remained silent. It allowed Molly time to express herself at her own pace, and that was the reason she continued.

“I convinced myself he must have been seeing someone else. I mean, he did tell me he wasn’t, but…”

“I gather from what little Jesse said about you that you didn’t know each other for long?” Jake appeared to skip over her last words without validation.

“A few weeks… six at the most. I met him at a party when he first arrived in Tulloch Point. We had this almost secretive fling. I didn’t really meet his friends, and apart from a brief introduction to CeCe, he didn’t meet mine. Back then, I was the queen of insta-love. Jesse said what I wanted to hear, and I believed him. The crash back down to reality was so unexpected, I never saw it coming.”

Once again, Molly cast her mind back to that day. Despite lack of sleep, she’d driven out to Sandwater Bay around sunset and sat in her old Toyota for what seemed like ages, her sight fixed on the horizon as an angry wind whipped across the sand dunes, devastated by the callousness of his delivery.

“I was barely twenty, and there were always boys—men, plenty of men—interested, but Jesse seemed different. Charming, sometimes aloof, but also familiar. I trusted him. But back then, I trusted a lot of guys.”

“As opposed to now?”

She hesitated. “People aren’t always what they seem, as you know, and some of us give our trust too lightly, especially when we’re young and frivolous.”

“I agree.”

“I did try to contact him that first week, but my calls and texts went unanswered, and a few days later, he blocked me on all platforms.” Molly smiled sadly. “So, yes, I thought about him… often. It’s hard to leave people behind when you’re younger, don’t you think?”

Jake nodded in understanding. “It can be.”

“It’s like you’ve failed because that person doesn’t want you in their life anymore, and you never quite know why. That rejection hurts like a wound that never fully heals.”

“It wasn’t just you. Jesse alienated himself from most of his friends—he just didn’t have the energy to deal with the fallout. The tried-and-true stuck around, while others turned up late to his funeral in dark suits and sunglasses, then left as soon as the booze stopped flowing.”

“I wish I’d known about it. I would’ve been there in a heartbeat.” She looked up to blink back the tears and reached into her bag for a tissue. “I visited his grave a couple of weeks ago. That was hard… but also cathartic.”

Jake nodded. “I haven’t been back since the day of his funeral. Makes it all seem too real, and I don’t want to remember him as just a headstone in some country cemetery.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“I’m sorry I misjudged you. It may not have been apparent, but for a while there, I didn’t trust your motives.”

“Oh, it was more than apparent, don’t you worry about that.”

“And here’s me thinking I was being subtle.”

As his smile helped her relax, Molly leaned forward, her fingers intertwined in her lap. “I’m not comfortable with the bequest.”

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