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We headed to my house, and when we entered, the scent of cleaner was strong in the air. “Was it bad?” I asked, knowing she’d come over while we were gone.
“Not too bad, Sammy.”
I didn’t want to know more, didn’t want to know about the bottles or knocked-over tables if that had been the situation. It had been before.
“I have all the bills on automatic withdrawal from my account, so you don’t have to worry about that,” I told her as we went to my room. “If you can just keep an eye on the house while Mama is gone, and then when she comes home, and—”
“Shh.” Molly pressed her finger to my lips. “It’ll be fine. We’ll all be fine. We’re adults, and we can take care of ourselves without you.”
I bit her finger, and she jerked it back.
“Ouch. Shit.”
I just…hugged her, held her, knew how lucky I was to have this woman in my life. “God, I’m gonna miss you.”
“I’m gonna miss you too, but we’ll talk all the time.”
“Don’t even know my life without seein’ you damn near every day, though.”
“Maybe it’s time you did,” Molly replied. “That doesn’t mean we’re not best friends. We always will be, but you have a world to explore and a hot man to do all those naughty things with that you like to do.”
I laughed. Yeah, I did.
Molly sat on my bed, legs crossed, and we talked while I packed. Talked about the past and her plans for her backyard and the little oasis she wanted there.
“No one’s mentioned me and Em yet?”
“Not a peep. I’m sure Aunt Sherry has sworn the family to secrecy.”
“I’m sure she did. Already had one scandal in the family with Mama. We wouldn’t want another.”
We dropped that conversation. Once I had everything I needed, she held my hand as we walked through the house. At the front door, I turned around for one last look. “This is the only place I’ve ever lived my whole life.”
“And it ain’t goin’ nowhere either. It’ll be here if you come back,” Molly said.
She was right. It would be.
It wasn’t until we were in the car and she was pulling away that I asked, “Can we make a stop?”
“Yep,” Molly replied, knowing where I meant.
She waited in the car when we arrived. Aunt Sherry was outside, hanging clothes on the line, something she still liked to do. Said it made the clothes smell fresher.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey yourself.” She pinned up another shirt.
“Mama’s good. She’s going into a program. A real good one that Em got for her. Molly’s gonna bring her.”
“Yep, your mama told me on the phone. I don’t see why you wouldn’t ask me to bring her.” She stepped around the clothes separating us. “And that don’t mean I trust him. He can’t buy me like that.”
“He wasn’t tryin’, and you don’t have to trust him.”
She sighed. “It’s not right, Sammy Joe…you springing this on us…your sexuality…and that man, just expectin’ us to accept it with no questions. And now you’re leaving your home, leaving your mama…”
“I’m not leaving her. Don’t put that on me anymore. It’s not fair. I love her, and I’m doin’ my best by her, but I deserve a life too. And you’re damn right I expect you to just accept him, because that’s what people do. It shouldn’t matter who I love. We’re family, and that’s supposed to be more important than anything else.”
“You know we love you, but…I read about it online, what that man did.”
“He didn’t do it. And that’s also an excuse. I’m not sayin’ you’re not worried, but you also struggle with me being gay. Pretendin’ that’s not the truth don’t change it. But I want you to know I love you, and if you change your mind, you just have to call.”
A tear slipped from her right eye. “I love you too.”
And that was it. She didn’t say anything else. “Tell Jasper I love him, will ya? He’s got my number if he ever wants to be in touch.”
Aunt Sherry bent down for another shirt from the basket, and I headed back to the car.
“I’m sorry,” Molly said.
“Me too.”
She drove us back to Emerson’s house, and the four of us had dinner together—me, Emerson, Molly, and Charles.
“Do you know where you’re going?” Charles asked.
Em shrugged. “Wherever Sam wants to go. Or we can just get in the car and figure it out along the way.”
“Check in every day,” Molly said, then looked at Emerson. “You too. I already got your number from Sammy. I expect calls from both of you.”
“Me too,” Charles added, getting a round of laughter from all of us.
After dinner, I stood by Molly’s car with her, and she said, “I don’t know how to say goodbye to you, Sammy Joe.” She tucked her short, blonde hair behind her ears.
