r a i n .

“Cotton candy flavoured gum?” Molly repeated, “That sounds delicious, I’ll absolutely grab one of those- what else would go with it?” 

“If you think about it, it really didn’t work the way that they wanted to. No one is really separated at all,” She agreed with her sister, in a way glad that this was the outcome rather than everyone rising against each other. “If you want to help, dinner is on me today. No arguments- it’s the least I can do for all your amazing help.” 

“That’s always a good trait to have, though. Nothing can stop her.” She laid compliment to Melora, “I think we should focus on the glass first, a clear floor might help us in the long run- what do you think?” 

“You were right in the middle of it?” Molly asked with a frown, she was hoping for anything but that. “I’m sure you did the absolute best that you could, you shouldn’t feel guilty about that.” She replied. “I got caught up in the beginning but luckily no injuries from me.” 

Molly was constantly pleasantly surprised of her sisters wiseness and bravery, putting herself in places of uncomfort to help others. “I’ve been seeing a lot of that lately, like everyone has a new sense of community.” Molly commented in agreement. “Tell me if you change your mind, okay? You don’t need to stay here for longer than you feel comfortable.” She promised. “I had no idea there was this much space in here,” Molly laughed, maybe there was a benefit to it all with more opportunities to redo things and hopefully improve. “Thank you, Luce- I really appreciate your help. I’m hoping to get at least the majority of it done so we can open sooner,” She replied, although even with that it may take a while for the confidence of customers to rebuild. 

“The best news is that they’re recovering, and they should be out of hospital soon. It’s much better than the alternative,” Molly replied, she tried to think of all the more positive things rather than the negative- the negative would just make her spiral further. “Oh, no, don’t worry about it!” She spoke with a laugh, “I appreciate it nevertheless!” She exclaimed, “You should be taking some time for yourself, burn out will only make it worse. Do you have any leave banked up?” 

“Of course, I’d be more concerned if she wasn’t even a little bit shaken up now. Has she been able to leave the house much?” Molly replied with a small shake of her head. She hoped that everyone was able to get the time they needed to heal and recover. She sighed as she looked around the room, it definitely was more than Molly had expected. “Some of the display furniture is broken, most of my stock will need to be reordered and a few windows,” She explained, wishing that list was a lot shorter than it actually was. 

Molly made a frown at her words, feeling bad for the other as just from listening it felt like it was shaping up to be quite the stressful period. “Did they prepare you for any of it when you signed the papers or are they planning on throwing you in the deep end?” Molly asked, not being able to help the concern that often showed on her face. “Probably stronger than me, I’d imagine. I just need to place them outside, there’s someone coming around to pick it all up later today. You’ll tell me if it’s too much?” 

Molly watched as the other struggled with the game, attempting to keep any laughter down to a minimum. “Are you going to let the game win?” She asked with a raise of her eyebrows

Molly gasped before asking, “How did you know that’s exactly what I wanted?” She laughed, a large grin spreading across her features at the thoughtful gesture from her younger cousin. “Thank you, Roxy. I definitely need a bit of a break. What did you pick up?” Molly asked

“Of course,” Molly replied, waving it off. Even without the special circumstances Molly wouldn’t have accepted it; she knew personally how expensive things could get. “Hopefully it turn around soon, maybe in the next coming days as people get more confident to go out more. Did you have many damages?” 

“You’re completely right, I’d be surprised if it didn’t boost everyone’s community spirit.” She replied, maybe that would be the only positive to come out of it all. “That’s so good, I’m glad they’re all okay, Clara.” Molly responded with relief, she was glad for anyone who made it out with minimal injuries. “Two of my cousins are healing after going to the hospital, I can’t imagine how it would be if it was any worse than they ended up.” Molly commented with a sigh, although she wished that no one had gotten injured in the first place, Molly was thankful that it wasn’t any worse. “And you? How are you feeling?” 

Molly accepted the tight hug and reciprocated the level of it; the hug was obviously something that Rose needed and Molly wasn’t going to stand in the way of it. “That’s great, Rosie- I’m so glad you weren’t caught up in any of it.” She responded, she wished more people had gotten as far away as Rose had. “Is everyone you know doing okay?” Molly asked, “I’m okay, most of my stock and furniture isn’t looking so great, but it can be fixed.” She replied, trying to make it seem better than it actually was. 

“I certainly would, you should take it and run.” She teased with a laugh. “Exactly, everything here is replaceable,” Molly replied, although she wished that nothing had to be replaced, it was shaping up to be more expensive than she originally thought. Molly tried to stop herself from thinking about what could have been, considering all the injuries and damages everyone else had gone though she had gotten out pretty lucky. “That’s good,” She spoke with relief, it was a horrible thing for anyone to have gotten caught up with. “Was your friend okay?” 

“Oh, what a time to start working,” She lightly joked, trying to lift the spirits even a little bit. “Have you started yet? I’m sure it’d be busy in those offices.” Molly replied, feeling bad for the other who would have been thrown into the job at such a time. “Would you like me to take your name and number so I can tell you when it’s here?” Molly offered. “Are you able to lift things? I’d love a little help moving some of these bags out?” She asked, not wanting to assign too hard of a job to her after offering so kindly. 

Molly laughed in response, “You’re not wrong, I feel like I’d still be turning them away even if we were open.” She replied, he definitely was right in more ways than one. Molly’s mind had been so concerned with the cleanup ahead of her that she hadn’t taken much of a break to get something as basic as food. All that was on her mind was that this- or at least a majority of it needed to be done before tomorrow, she couldn’t go another day closed. “That sounds like a great idea,” Molly spoke, she didn’t realise how much she needed a break until it was mentioned to her. “What do you fancy?” 

“Oh, Frank, that’s really thoughtful of you. I’d really appreciate that, so long as there’s not anyone else who could use your help more,” She responded with a smile, she did appreciate any help as the job ahead looked like it would be a long one. “Are you sure you're free? I could use some help moving the furniture back to their spots,” Molly admitted, she didn’t like to complain or ask for help especially considering she wasn’t the only one going through the troubles.