“Do we have a deal?” Opal tilted her head.
“What happens if she says no?” Max said. Molly wasn’t any more predictable than the three members of her elderly fan club.
“She won’t.” Ethel waved a hand. “Molly loves the aquarium.”
But she didn’t exactly lovehim. Things had thawed between Max and Molly since the initial firing, but he wasn’t convinced she’d jump at the chance to work with him. Every time they grew closer, something always seemed to get in the way.
“Fine. I’ll do it.” He tipped his cup back and let the whiskey slide down his throat with a slow burn. “But the dog stays home.”
He had to draw the line somewhere. Also, Ursula might be cute, but she was a troublemaker. Max wouldnotallow himself to be strong-armed into putting a dog on the payroll. It was bad enough that he was letting his bonkers team of volunteers dictate his business decisions, particularly after they’d brazenly objectified him for the sake of the island’s sick and injured sea turtles.
A passerby walking a Newfoundland with wet sand matted in its shaggy coat stopped to stare at him. Oh joy, he’d been recognized.
“It was for a worthy cause,” Max said to the stranger, slurring his words ever so slightly. Then he turned his attention back toward his blackmailers. “I repeat, I’m not hiring the dog.”
Mavis shook her head, and Ethel snorted with laughter.
“Keep telling yourself that, Sandman.” Opal smirked.
Either Max was drunk, or Nibbles the Chihuahua smirked too.
***
The sand sculpture of Max had proved to be a formidable distraction, but by evening, Molly was once again wilting beneath the pressure of the lies she’d told her parents.
She reminded herself that she was a grown woman in charge of her own destiny, and she didn’t owe anyone an explanation for her life choices. Also, she hadn’t outrightlied, had she? She’d only misled them a bit?
Nope. Those were just technicalities. She was a liar, full stop. If she’d been wearing pants instead of her favorite floral smocked sundress, they would have indeed been on fire.
It was time to face the music. Mom and Dad were both sitting on the deck of the beach house, facing the ocean as the sun went down. In the kitchen, Molly opened a bottle of rosé with trembling hands. She’d given Ursula a doggy bone stuffed with peanut butter in an effort to persuade the puppy to ignore her father. So far so good. The bone was nestled between Ursula’s paws as she stretched out, frog-style, in a sunbeam on the opposite side of the deck from her dad. If there was ever a good time for Molly to fess up and throw herself under the bus with minimal damage, that time was now.
She carried the opened bottle of rosé and three wine glasses out to the porch. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, causing the sea to look like liquid gold. Sand sculptures dotted the shore as far as the eye could see, and everything seemed softer and hazier than it had in the bright light of day. Molly remembered that the Charlie’s Angels always called this time of day the “magic hour.” She hoped they were right and she’d somehow magically come out of this conversation unscathed.
“Cheers!” Molly set the bottle and glasses down on the picnic table in the center of the deck and began pouring. “It’s been such a nice weekend so far, hasn’t it?”
Her father nodded wordlessly as she handed him his wine.
Mom reached for hers and smiled. “Absolutely lovely. We really enjoyed meeting Max yesterday. We were hoping to see him this afternoon, but I suppose he’s been busy at the aquarium?”
“Yes, I’m sure he has.” Molly sat down in the chair closest to Ursula, who was busy trying to shove her entire tiny snout into the center of her bone to get to the peanut butter.
In fact, Molly was sure of nothing of the sort. She hadn’t seen Max at all after he’d gone off in search of Ethel, Opal, and Mavis. Which was fine, really. She’d gotten exactly what she’d wanted. No more pretend boyfriend muddying up the waters and confusing her about what was real and what wasn’t. No more Max inserting himself into her family time with her parents. She should be thrilled. And she was…so,sothrilled.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart? You look sad,” her mother said.
“Nothing’s wrong.” Molly forced her lips into a grin, but the furrow in her mom’s brow grew deeper. She took a deep breath. “Actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you two about. A few things, really.”
Her father brightened. “You’ve decided to go back to school.”
He said it as a statement of fact rather than a question…as if following in his footsteps was Molly’s destiny and getting started on the road to tenure was just a matter of time.
“No.” She shook her head.Gosh, no.
Her mother waved a hand. “Honey, let it go for now. Molly seems to be doing great. She’s obviously moved on from her last relationship.”
Molly swallowed. Had she?
“Molly’s happy at the aquarium and Max seems like a fine young man.” Mom shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe she’ll end up being second in command. He certainly seemed impressed with her fundraising ideas.”