vehemence.
Before Josh’s accident, Molly’s swearing repertoire had consisted of “fudge” and “crumb”, but she’d turned into quite the salty sea dog these days, Lily noted.
“So you understand why I don’t want to take his money.”
Molly surprised her by shaking her head. “No, I don’t.”
“ What ?”
“Sweetie, you have been lecturing me on accepting the kindness of strangers and admitting that sometimes you need help for weeks.”
“This is different. Luther is not a stranger, and this is not about kindness .”
“What is it, then?” Molly crossed her arms over her chest, clearly ready to battle this one out.
“This is him rubbing my face in it. He wants me to be so down on my luck, his money is the only thing that saves me. He wants me to think of him every time I pay the utilities or buy steak or treat myself to a manicure. And I won’t let that happen.” Lily became aware she was out of breath and that maybe she’d raised her voice a little toward the end there. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get all yell-y on you.”
Molly’s posture softened. “Maybe he’s reformed in the years since you knew him. Maybe this bequest is about regret.”
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. He’s gone, and even if he did reform, it was too late for me. What he did changed my life forever. He stole my mom from me. I never got the chance to see her before she died…” Lily broke off, surprised by the tight feeling in her chest and the heat behind her eyes.
Molly drew her over to the couch and they sat together.
“Sorry,” Lily said, feeling foolish.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Molly said.
Lily caught sight of the envelope with its jotted workings. Leaning forward, she scooped it up and passed it to Molly.
“What’s this?” Molly asked.
“Guess.”
Molly stared at the numbers. Then realization dawned.
“ No .”
Lily was amused by her friend’s disbelief. Surely Molly had been keeping a running tally in her head last night, the way Lily had? Then she thought about the kind of person Molly was and realized she’d probably done her best not to keep a tally.
“That’s the takings from the bachelors, plus the raffle money. And we still need to add in your share of the night’s tips, plus Jason said he’d match that, so it’s probably a lot more than this.”
“It’s too much,” Molly said, her eyes wide as she looked at Lily. “I mean, it’s just… I never imagined we’d raise anything close… I don’t know what to say.”
“No kidding.” Lily couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“I really can’t take your money now I’ve seen this,” Molly said. “That would just be greedy.”
“Either you take it, or I’m finding the most pointless charity I can find and donating the whole lot,” Lily said firmly.
“You wouldn’t.”
Lily pretended to think as she stared off into the distance. “I bet the Kigusoc Society of America would love ten thousand big ones.”
“I don’t even know what that is,” Molly said.
“They’re those people who get around in adult-sized animal onesies,” Lily explained. “And if they don’t want it, I’m sure the Cockroach Lovers Society would snap it up.”
Molly made a disparaging sound. “That one isn’t even real.”
“It could be. You never know. The world is a weird place.” Lily sobered. “I want you and Josh to have it, Molly. It would make me feel as though something good has come out of all the bad.”
Molly studied her hands for a moment, her face downturned. When she looked up again, her eyes were glazed with tears. “What did I ever do to deserve you, Lily Taylor?”
“Get outta here. It’s the other way around. Always has been.” Lily swallowed a lump of emotion.
“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one.”
“Maybe we could found a mutual admiration society.”
“Deal.”
Lily went to fetch a box of tissues from the bathroom, since they both seemed
Before Josh’s accident, Molly’s swearing repertoire had consisted of “fudge” and “crumb”, but she’d turned into quite the salty sea dog these days, Lily noted.
“So you understand why I don’t want to take his money.”
Molly surprised her by shaking her head. “No, I don’t.”
“ What ?”
“Sweetie, you have been lecturing me on accepting the kindness of strangers and admitting that sometimes you need help for weeks.”
“This is different. Luther is not a stranger, and this is not about kindness .”
“What is it, then?” Molly crossed her arms over her chest, clearly ready to battle this one out.
“This is him rubbing my face in it. He wants me to be so down on my luck, his money is the only thing that saves me. He wants me to think of him every time I pay the utilities or buy steak or treat myself to a manicure. And I won’t let that happen.” Lily became aware she was out of breath and that maybe she’d raised her voice a little toward the end there. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get all yell-y on you.”
Molly’s posture softened. “Maybe he’s reformed in the years since you knew him. Maybe this bequest is about regret.”
“You know what? It doesn’t matter. He’s gone, and even if he did reform, it was too late for me. What he did changed my life forever. He stole my mom from me. I never got the chance to see her before she died…” Lily broke off, surprised by the tight feeling in her chest and the heat behind her eyes.
Molly drew her over to the couch and they sat together.
“Sorry,” Lily said, feeling foolish.
“You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Molly said.
Lily caught sight of the envelope with its jotted workings. Leaning forward, she scooped it up and passed it to Molly.
“What’s this?” Molly asked.
“Guess.”
Molly stared at the numbers. Then realization dawned.
“ No .”
Lily was amused by her friend’s disbelief. Surely Molly had been keeping a running tally in her head last night, the way Lily had? Then she thought about the kind of person Molly was and realized she’d probably done her best not to keep a tally.
“That’s the takings from the bachelors, plus the raffle money. And we still need to add in your share of the night’s tips, plus Jason said he’d match that, so it’s probably a lot more than this.”
“It’s too much,” Molly said, her eyes wide as she looked at Lily. “I mean, it’s just… I never imagined we’d raise anything close… I don’t know what to say.”
“No kidding.” Lily couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
“I really can’t take your money now I’ve seen this,” Molly said. “That would just be greedy.”
“Either you take it, or I’m finding the most pointless charity I can find and donating the whole lot,” Lily said firmly.
“You wouldn’t.”
Lily pretended to think as she stared off into the distance. “I bet the Kigusoc Society of America would love ten thousand big ones.”
“I don’t even know what that is,” Molly said.
“They’re those people who get around in adult-sized animal onesies,” Lily explained. “And if they don’t want it, I’m sure the Cockroach Lovers Society would snap it up.”
Molly made a disparaging sound. “That one isn’t even real.”
“It could be. You never know. The world is a weird place.” Lily sobered. “I want you and Josh to have it, Molly. It would make me feel as though something good has come out of all the bad.”
Molly studied her hands for a moment, her face downturned. When she looked up again, her eyes were glazed with tears. “What did I ever do to deserve you, Lily Taylor?”
“Get outta here. It’s the other way around. Always has been.” Lily swallowed a lump of emotion.
“We’re going to have to agree to disagree on that one.”
“Maybe we could found a mutual admiration society.”
“Deal.”
Lily went to fetch a box of tissues from the bathroom, since they both seemed
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