His Girl Friday

Chapter Five-Your Eyes Feel Like Home

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Molly groaned in frustration as she slowed her car to a stop yet again. It was 10:15 and she was still quite a long way from the airport. There was no way she’d arrive by 10:30 as she’d promised. At first, the traffic hadn’t been so bad at all, and the interstate was virtually empty, but when she drove into Georgia, there seemed to be more and more cars on the road, all of them driving slower than usual until traffic came to a complete standstill. It appeared that there was a multi-car accident just ahead, causing a traffic jam. Molly thought the wreck had been cleared away when traffic started to flow slowly, but now she was stopped again for Lord knows how long.

Once she was certain she was stopped for a while, Molly reached for her phone from the center console and sent a quick text to Lachy explaining what was going on and apologizing that she’d be late. She didn’t receive a reply, though she really didn’t expect to. Signal was horrible where she was, and she wasn’t sure if the text would go through or not She just hoped he didn’t think she’d forgotten about him.

It wasn’t until about an hour and a half later that Molly finally arrived at the airport, which was as she expected, a complete madhouse. There were cars everywhere and people walking back and forth from the parking lot, seemingly in a hurry to get to one place or another.

Molly bit her lip nervously as she searched for a parking spot. She was supposed to meet Lachy at the front entrance of the airport, and normally she’d have just pulled into the drop off area, but it was completely lined with cars. Finally, Molly found a space to park, though it wasn’t very close to the entrance.

As she walked briskly from her car to the front entrance of the airport, Molly sent a quick text to Lachy that she was there and on her way inside. She hadn’t received any texts since the last one she’d sent, which pretty much confirmed her suspicion that the text hadn’t gone through. “Great...He probably thinks I’m not coming.” She muttered to herself as she glanced both ways before crossing the street between the building and the parking lot. She didn’t slow her pace as she hurried inside and searched for the spot they’d agreed to meet at; a tall Christmas tree just to the left of the entrance doors.

“Ah, there it is..” She thought as she made her way toward the brightly lit and colorfully decorated tree. Her eyes scanned the area for a familiar head of brown curls, but he was nowhere to be seen. Molly wasn’t aware of the frown that tugged at her lips as she circled the tree in hopes that he’d be on the other side, but to no avail. Where was he?

After a few more moments of searching around the area, Molly decided to call him to see where he was, however, just as she was about to select his name in the recent call list, a text notification appeared at the top of the screen. It was from Lachy. Molly couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as she anxiously clicked the notification.

“Turn around…”

Confused, Molly looked to her left and right before she turned to look behind her, and to her own surprise, her breath hitched as her eyes met his. A smile played at his lips, though an expression she couldn’t quite name was evident in his eyes as the two stood frozen in place not even five feet apart from each other. In that moment, Molly found herself realizing just how much she’d missed him. Seeing his smile as their gazes met felt so familiar, almost as if she were home, though at the time she didn't realize it. Unbeknown to her, he was thinking the exact same thing.

The two stood, gazes locked for what seemed like ages before Molly finally broke the spell, the smile that had lit her face quickly transforming into an apologetic expression. “Lachy, I am so, so sorry. Traffic was awful, and I got stuck behind an accident for ages...I tried texting you, but the signal was horrible and I don’t think the text went through, I…”

Molly’s rambling apology was silenced by Lachy as he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. “Hey, none of that...There’s no need to apologize, I’m just glad you got here safely.” He murmured as he pulled away slightly, though his arms were still wrapped around her. “And I’m sorry you went through all this trouble…”

Molly wasn’t expecting the hug, but she found herself hugging him back, hesitant to let go. “It wasn’t any trouble at all, really.” She said softly as she looked up to meet his gaze. The smile that had graced her lips upon seeing him had returned, mirroring Lachy’s smile. Molly seemed lost for words for a moment before she finally snapped out of whatever daze had befallen her, clearing her throat as she pulled away completely from Lachy’s embrace. “So, shall we?” She asked as she gestured toward the doors. “My mom will be expecting us home soon, especially since she doesn’t know I’ve run a tad late.”

Lachy nodded before reaching down to pick up a medium sized duffel bag, which Molly assumed was his carry on. “In that case, best not keep your mama waiting, Molly Beth.” He teased as the two began to make their way toward the doors.

“Hey, wait till you meet her and you’ll understand what I mean. My mother is the biggest worry wart this side of the Mississippi. I wish I were joking…” Molly mused, her tone rather serious. And it was true. Her mother spent more time worrying about this and that, and especially about Molly. The young woman supposed that’s where the had inherited her own tendency to worry and stress over the smallest thing. Poor Lachy had had to listen to quite a few of Molly’s little worries over the last couple of months, though he didn’t once complain. He always listened patiently and offered advice when he could, never brushing her off as being silly.

“I believe you….From what I can tell, the apple doesn’t fall from the tree.” He mused as he set his bag in The back seat of Molly’s car before sliding into the passenger seat. His tone was only lightly teasing, which earned a small smile from Molly.

“You’re probably right…” she slid the key into the ignition and turned the engine over. “I’ll warn you in advance, I’m a bit of an aggressive driver. That’s what happens when you learn to drive in a tourist town, I guess.”.

Lachy’s expression was one of skepticism and maybe just a little bit of fear. He let out a nervous chuckle after a moment, still unsure whether Molly was joking or being completely serious. Or maybe both? “Molly Beth, if you kill us…”

Molly shook her head. “Oh, just buckle your seatbelt, you’ll be alright.” She teased before she backed out of the parking spot and made her way toward the exit of the parking lot.

Chapter Four- An Unconventional Thanksgiving

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As October turned into November, Lachy and Molly continued to get to know each other and quite quickly became close friends. Rarely did a day go by that they didn’t at least text, if not spend an hour or two in a phone call. Molly found it so easy to talk to Lachy, as if she’d known him much longer than nearly two months. In such a short time, he’d become Molly’s best friend, someone she could talk to about anything and everything, and she could hardly imagine life without him.

Due to their busy work schedules, neither Lachy nor Molly knew when they’d get to see each other again, especially with the holidays coming up. At the end of November, the Wiggles tour in the States would be over and Lachy would be flying home to Australia. In fact, it was on Thanksgiving Day that Lachy was due to fly back to Brisbane. Molly couldn’t understand for the life of her why Anothony had decided to book flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year. Well, for the United States, at least. They were all bound to be stuck in the airport for hours.

Molly would spend Thanksgiving with her parents at the Seacliff Inn, as she did every year. Typically, there were a few guests spending the holiday there too, but this year not a single room had been booked, and for that, Molly was glad. This was the first Thanksgiving since her breakup with Asher, and the first one she’d be spending single in almost four years. It was both refreshing and depressing at the same time.

As was tradition, Molly went grocery shopping with her mother the night before Thanksgiving and then returned to spend the night at the inn so she’d already be there to help with the cooking. However, as this year it was only herself and her parents, it wouldn’t be nearly as elebarote of a celebration. Molly and her mother would still cook Thanksgiving dinner, but the plan was to sleep in and have a lazy morning watching the parade and maybe a Christmas movie or two before any cooking was to be done. But of course, nothing ever goes to plan.

Molly would have loved to sleep in, but at 6:30 on Thanksgiving morning she found herself completely wide awake. She blamed her inability to sleep on the fact that she was up before 6:00 a.m. on most mornings for work. Her body was just used to being awake at this time and it tended to happen on weekends as well. So, with a sigh Molly got out of bed and pulled on a pair of thick fuzzy socks before she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. If she was wide awake, she might as well make coffee.

Before she stepped out of her room, Molly made sure to grab her phone. She knew Lachy didn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, or at least, he didn’t celebrate the same time she did, but she thought she’d message him a Happy Thanksgiving anyway. Besides, she knew that he was already at the airport waiting for his 8:30 a.m. flight.

“If it even leaves by then, that is…” She muttered to herself as she curled up on the love seat in her parent’s private living room, coffee in hand. Once she was settled she began to type out a text to Lachy.

“Good Morning And Happy Thanksgiving!”

While Molly waited for a reply, she sipped her coffee and scrolled through some of her social media apps, though she didn’t have to wait too long. Soon her phone began to buzz with not a text but a call from Lachy. She smiled a bit as she accepted the call. “Hello?”

“You’re certainly up early. What happened to sleeping in, hmm?” Lachy questioned. “Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, by the way.”

“Well, you know, it’s another side effect of being a teacher. I’m almost always up before the sun. It’s a curse, my days of sleeping in are few and far between.” She replied. “You’re already at the airport, I take it?”

“It’s all the coffee you drink, you can’t convince me otherwise. I swear you drink more coffee than any person I know, Molls. You’re addicted.” Lachy’s voice held a teasing tone despite the fact that he was absolutely right. “ And I am, yes. The others, however, are not. There’s talk of bad weather out west that will delay some flights or possibly cancel some, so Anthony suggested staying in the U.S. through the weekend rather than being cooped up in an airport for God knows how long..”

“Hey, don’t you ‘Luke Danes’ me Lachlan Gillespie! There are worse things in this world to be addicted to than coffee, you know.” Molly mused, smirking slightly, though her smirk faded as she heard him explain about the bad weather. “Why aren’t you with them?” Surely he wanted to be with his friends rather than spending hours in the airport.

There was a deep sigh on the other end before Lachy began to speak once more. “I’m just ready to be home in Brisbane, Molls. Don’t get me wrong, I love being here, but, I miss my family and my dog, and sleeping in my own bed ...” His voice trailed off.

In all of the many phone conversations Molly had had with Lachy over the last couple of months, she’d never heard him sound as tired as he did at that moment. She couldn’t blame Lachy for being tired and homesick, especially after he’d been on tour since early August with very little down time. Anyone would be exhausted after that.

“I’m sure you are, Lach. I couldn’t imagine being away from home for so long. Any news about delays for you flight?”

“Not yet, so I’m assuming no news is good news? I hope so, at least…” He replied, “My flight is due to leave at 8:30, so I’m guessing…” Molly heard Lachy’ pause for a moment before he sighed once again. “Well, scratch that, it’ll be leaving at 2:45 p.m. now. They just posted a delay on the screen.”

Molly glanced at the clock above the television on the wall and bit her lip. It was only around 7:15 a.m., so she knew he had quite a wait in store for him. “Well, so much for luck, huh? Where are you flying out from again? If you haven’t gone through security yet, maybe I could come and sit with you while you wait. I know it’s not the most fun thing to wait in an airport all alone.”

“I haven’t gone through security just yet, but I’ll be fine. It’s a holiday, Molly, you should be with your parents. And who knows..Maybe I’ll get lucky and the flight will leave earlier. Let’s just hope no Little Wiggles spot me... “

Molly opened her mouth to reply when she was interrupted by her mother. “Molly Beth? Who on God’s green earth are you talking to this early?”

Molly turned to look at her mother and shook her head, mouthing “I’ll tell you later.” To which her mother just shook her head and continued into the kitchen to presumably pour herself a cup of coffee.

“Speaking of parents, that sounds like your mum? You know, it is rude to call someone before 9:00 a.m. Molly Beth...” Lachy teased.

Molly rolled her eyes. “Excuse me, sir, you’re the one who called me!”

“Yes, but you texted me first, so the blame still falls on you.”

Molly shook her head. “Well, you were awake anyway. Had I known you weren’t at the airport, I’d have never texted you that early.”

Lachy chuckled a bit. “Are you sure about that? It isn’t the first time you’ve texted me at the crack of dawn, you know. Though to be fair, I do have a tendency to keep you awake with phone calls and texts way past your bedtime, don’t I?” Lachy chuckled once more as Molly hummed in agreement. “ I guess it’ll get worse once I‘m actually home. There’s a 14 hour time difference between South Carolina and Brisbane.”

Molly wrinkled her nose at this information. She still wasn’t excited about that. Once Lachy was back in Australia their conversations would be limited to Skype, and only when they were both awake and free from work. “We’ll figure something out.” She said softly.

“We will.” Lachy agreed before breathing another weary sigh. “I should let you go. It’s thanksgiving, you should be spending time with your parents. I should also go see if there’s anything I can do about getting my flight switched.”

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Let me know if anything changes.” Molly replied. She knew the chance of Lachy getting an earlier flight was rather slim, at least one with minimal connections. But she wouldn’t say that out loud, she figured he knew as well as she did.

“I will.” Lachy promised. “Have a happy Thanksgiving, Molly.”

“You too. Feel free to call or text whenever you’d like today. I know it can’t be fun sitting in that airport all day alone.”

“Oh, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. You might just be my source of sanity in all of the boredom I’m sure to face.” Lachy chuckled. What he didn’t know was that his words brought a slight blush to Molly’s cheeks, though she’d deny it. “But I’ll definitely call you once I know when my flight leaves.”

“You’re sanity? Are you sure about that?” Molly shook her head despite the fact that Lachy couldn’t see it.

“Quite sure.” Was Lachy’s reply. “Now go talk to your mum! Bye Molly. “

“Okay, okay.” Molly laughed. “Bye Lach.” And with that she hit the “end” button before standing from the couch and heading into the kitchen where she found her mother already working on breakfast.

“It’s about time you got off the phone. Who were you talking to?” Sarah asked as she gestured toward a carton of eggs. “Care to crack those for me?”

Molly nodded and began to crack the eggs for her mother’s breakfast casserole. It only occurred to her right then that she hadn’t mentioned Lachy to her parents. Though, there really wasn’t a reason for her to have told them about him, was there? He was, after all, just a friend. “Oh no one, just a new friend.” She replied.

“What’s his name?” Sarah questioned with a raised brow.

Molly shook her head. “Mom...I never said it was a guy.”

“I know you Molly Beth, your cheeks were blushed when you came in here. Are you talking to Asher again? Oh I hope so, you were so well suited. “

Molly tensed a bit at the mentioning of Asher and she shook her head. “There’s not a snowball’s chance I’ll ever speak to

him again, Mom. I mean it. Asher and I are over and that’s all there is to it. “

Molly heard her mother sigh before she spoke again. “I wish you’d tell me what went wrong with him. Everything seemed so perfect between you. And the wedding was so close…”

“Mom, please. That’s enough. I don’t want to talk about him, okay? He’s very much a part of my past. And I’d prefer to leave him there.”

“Okay, fair enough. I’m sorry I brought him up.” Sarah said as she continued to fry sausage on the griddle. “That still doesn’t answer my question. Who’s your friend?”

Molly couldn’t stop herself from grinning even if she wanted to. “Well, his name is Lachy. And before you start, we’re just friends. I met him earlier last month At McGuire’s and we sorts just clicked?”

“McGuire’s? What were you doing there, you never go to McGuire’s…” Sarah sounded skeptical as she gave her only daughter a look.

Molly shrugged and reached for a whisk to begin beating the eggs. “Hannah and Sophie invited me to go with them and I agreed.” She chose to leave out the details of the drugged drink, it wasn’t necessary and would only worry her mother. “I bumped into him at the bar and we struck up a conversation. We exchanged numbers before we left and...yeah, we’ve been talking ever since and we’ve become really good friends.”

“You exchanged numbers? That’s really not like you. It took you forever to talk to…” Sarah paused, realizing she was about to bring up Asher again to her daughter. “Sorry Molly…”

Molly shrugged and shook her head. “It’s okay. Um, where do you want these?”

Sarah pointed to a glass casserole dish that already had a few other ingredients in it. “Pour them in there, top it with cheese, and slide it in the oven.”

Molly nodded and did as she was told before she set about making another cup of coffee. “He’s actually stuck at the airport today. That’s why I was on the phone with him so early. He’s flying home to Australia, but his flight has been delayed. He was supposed to leave at 8:30 but they’ve pushed it back to…”

“Australia?” Sarah’s voice held a skeptical tone once more. “Why was he in Folly Beach?”

Molly smirked a bit. “He was here with his band…”

“Band? Is that why you were at the pub in the first place?”

Molly shrugged. “Kinda?”

“Molly Beth!”

“What?” Molly questioned with an air of innocence in her voice. All the while, she was hiding a smirk from her mother. “There is nothing wrong with being in a band. They’re actually kind of good. They sing Irish and Scottish Folk music. They’re called the Unusual Commoner’s, I think..Come on, Mom, what is it?”

Sarah was silent for a moment as she moved to the task of slicing fresh fruit. “Nothing, it’s just...Meeting a guy in a bar, exchanging numbers with him, getting close to him despite the fact that he lives in halfway across the world. That’s not like you, Molly. I’m just concerned is all. I don’t want you getting hurt again.”

Molly bit her lip as she listened to her mother. “It’s different with Lachy...I can’t explain it. We’re only friends, Lord knows I’m not anywhere near ready for a relationship with anyone. But like I said, we clicked..I couldn’t leave that bar that night without giving him my number. And I’m so glad I did.” She smiled a bit as she moved to help Sarah with the fruit. “He’s become my best friend. I know, it sounds crazy, I’ve known him less than two months, but I can’t imagine not having him in my life. That’s crazy, right?”

Sarah glanced at her daughter from the corner of her eye and smirked slightly. “No, I wouldn’t say that’s crazy at all. I’d say you’re in lo..”

“Stop right there! I’m not in love with him, Mom.” Molly said firmly. “I’ll say this once again, we’re just friends. And that’s all we’ll ever be.”

“You said yourself you clicked with him, you can tell him anything? Sounds like love to me.”

“I’ve known him less than two months.” Molly sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes

“Love at first sight is a real thing, I don’t care what you say. “ Sarah chimed in.

Molly shook her head in almost disbelief. “This isn’t some Hallmark Christmas movie, mom. People don’t fall in love in two months.”

“They do if they’re soulmates...Do you mind grabbing the strawberries from the fridge?”

Molly, however, didn’t move to grab the strawberries as she was asked, but rather she stood and stared at her mother in shock. “You’re delusional! Soul mates? There’s no such thing…Lachy and I are not soulmates...we’re not in love, we’re just friends and that is all we’ll ever be.” She muttered. She finally moved from her spot to grab the berries her mother had requested.

Sarah continued to smirk as she took the box of strawberries from Molly’s hand. “Okay, whatever you say.” She said with a shrug.

“We’re not!” Molly said firmly. It was at that moment that her phone began to buzz, signalling an incoming call. She grabbed the phone from the counter to see that Lachy was calling her, just as she’d guessed.

“Speak of the devil…” Sarah mumbled as she send a mischievous grin toward Molly, who did her best to ignore it.

“Mom..” Molly rolled her eyes as she hit the accept button and held the phone to her ear. “Hello?” The smile that lit her face didn’t go unnoticed by her mother, even if Molly wasn’t aware of it herself. However, the smile faded into a frown as Lachy began to speak.

“Hey..I have a bit of bad news. It seems my flight has been cancelled due to the winter storm in Colorado. Not sure when I can get another flight out of here.” Lachy sighed. “It’ll be Monday at least, if I’m lucky.”

Molly bit her lip. “So, you’re stuck in the airport?” She questioned.

“Well, that’s one option. I thought about booking a hotel for a couple of days in Savannah until I can book another flight. Thankfully, all my clothes were packed in my carry on suitcase.. My work trunk has already been shipped back with the others…”

Molly frowned as she thought of Lachy spending the weekend alone in Savannah when he really wanted to be home. Especially not Thanksgiving weekend. Despite the fact that he didn’t celebrate, it still bothered her that he’d be alone. Especially when he was so close to Folly Beach “Don’t be silly Molly…” She thought. “You haven’t known him nearly long enough to even propose the idea of him coming here…” But damn her mouth and brain for not being on the same page. Before she could stop herself, she was asking him to do just that. “Why not come here?”

There was silence for a moment and Molly could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Finally, Lachy spoke up. “Molly, I couldn’t do that. It’s Thanksgiving, it’s a time for family. I couldn’t impose... “

“And friends. You shouldn’t be by yourself. My parents own an inn, and there’s no one staying here this week. I could come and pick you up from the airport…” She offered.

Molly could hear her mom clearing her throat behind her, no doubt trying to get her attention, but she ignored her as she waited for Lachy’s response. In all truth, she wanted to see him and she hoped he’d agree.

“Molly, are you sure about this? I really don’t want to interrupt your holiday.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you if I wasn’t sure. You said you’re at the airport in Savannah, right? I’m only a couple of hours away. I could be there by…” she looked at the clock, seeing it was now about 8:00. “Probably around 10:30.”

There was a pause once more before Lachy finally spoke again. “Okay, That sounds really nice actually. Thank you.”

The two worked out a few details of where they’d meet and what color and make her car was before they said goodbye. As soon as Molly hung up, she turned to head upstairs to her old room, but she was stopped by her mother.

“I take it we’re having a guest after all, then?” Sarah questioned with a raised brow.

Molly was once again biting her lip, a habit she’d had since she was a child. An apologetic expression was on her face. “Mom, I…”

Sarah shook her head, holding her hand up, though a warm smile tugged at her lips. “You don’t have to explain yourself Molly. You go get ready and I’ll make sure a room is ready when you get back. You’d better hurry! You told him you’d be there by 10:30, and traffic is going to be a mess!”