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Molly shrugged. "I assume so. Ema stopped officially inviting me a while back, but I'm sure I'd hear it from her if I didn't come for dinner on Saturday night."
"Good." Mrs. Chand shifted the box she was carrying from one hip to the other. "We're all doing a Christmas tree together, and the Reddys have a tradition where everyone brings an ornament--it's better if you make it by hand--and hang it on the tree."
"Oh," Molly said, raising her eyebrows. "I didn't know about that. Okay, I'll have to make something."
"Perfect. I'll see you Saturday, honey." Mrs. Chand reached out and touched Molly's arm warmly, giving her an almost imperceptible wink as she looked in Adi's direction one more time before walking on.
Molly stood where she was for a second, processing it all. Did Mrs. Chand think there was something going on between her and Adi? Or that maybe thereshouldbe something going on between them? He was kind and definitely attractive, but no part of Molly felt that way about Adi. In fact, her heart and her mind were both still so fully wrapped up in Rodney that it nearly made her feel flu-ish once again to even think of growing close to another man. To kissing another man. To imagine letting another man hold her...Molly shook the thought from her head and walked on.
Saturday night found her standing around outside Ema and Dr. Reddy's house, as usual, this time talking to two of the oldest women on the island as they braided fallen palm fronds together to make garlands. Christmas preparations were in full-swing, and Molly was loving the festivities.
"We always do this," Ema said as she walked by the weather-beaten picnic table where Molly sat with the older ladies. "We decorate for Christmas for weeks, and then the days around Christmas are filled with dinners, gatherings, and celebrations." She paused to inspect their handiwork. "Looser braids so that we can decorate them with ornaments, please."
Molly nodded at the instruction and continued to work.
At some point during dinner, as the platter of fresh fish and grilled vegetables were passed around and the laughter floated on the December evening breeze, Molly looked down the table and caught Adi's eye. The way his warm brown eyes fixed on hers lit up all her nerves like a string of Christmas lights; the sensation surprised her and she blinked a few times, feeling her face warm under Adi's gaze.
Next to Molly, Mrs. Chand cleared her throat and nudged her to get her attention. "Rice, honey," Mrs. Chand said. Molly took the bowl from her and looked away from Adi shyly.
What is this? she asked herself as she spooned rice onto her plate. There was no way that a glance from a man had meant anything to her in a romantic way--that would be disloyal to Rodney, and it was completely improbable. She passed the bowl of rice down the table and dismissed the thought altogether, instead striking up a conversation with Joni, who was the secretary at the high school.
At the end of the night, the whole property was aglow with lights and the giant palm tree in the yard was wrapped in tinsel and hung with decorations. The outside of Ema and Dr. Reddy's house looked festive, and there were enough handmade decorations for them to take to the hospital and hang there as well, which was part of the goal. Molly helped to take everything into the kitchen and to say thank you for the evening, but as she stepped into the doorway of the house, she found herself face to face with Adi.
"Walk you home?" he offered, looking down at Molly, who had a plate in one hand and a bowl in the other to take to the kitchen.
"Oh," Molly said. She wasn't sure what to say to that, but her first instinct was to say no. "I'm fine. But thank you."
"It's dark," Adi said, stating the obvious. He looked over her shoulder at the night, which was lit only by stars and moonlight. "I'll walk you."
And so it was decided. Molly dropped off the dishes, accepted a kiss on the cheek from Ema, and stepped onto the porch with her hands in her pockets.
"You live in the Reddy waterfall house, right?" Adi asked, already stepping off the porch and walking in that direction.
"How did you know?" Molly took a few rapid steps to catch up and then fell into place beside Adi as they strolled.
He gave a soft laugh. "Everyone on Rotuma is family, or married into someone's family, or knows everything about everyone else's family...there are no secrets. And we all know about you."
"Oh." Molly was at a loss for words, and she didn't know exactly how to take that statement. She'd imagined herself as something akin to invisible on Rotuma, blending in and living her life off the grid. Her new neighbors and coworkers didn't ask a lot of questions, and no one bothered her about her past. But it seemed that that had all been an illusion, because they already knew everything about her.
"Don't worry," Adi said, walking closer to her so that their shoulders bumped together. "We don't gossip about you every time you aren't around, but the women do have a network of gossip--it's kind of like a phone line." He laughed again. "They say you're the pretty widow."
Molly's head snapped in his direction and she looked up at him with wide eyes. She recalled talking to Ema while she was in the hospital, still feverish and recovering from the flu. Once she'd recovered, she couldn't remember what all she'd said, but she'd certainly hoped it wasn't anything too personal. Apparently it had been.
"Yes," Molly said, looking ahead of her again as they walked past houses already hung with holiday lights and decorations. "I am a widow."
The street was unpaved and the driveways all made of sand, and Molly felt the softness of the powdery sand give way beneath her feet as they scooted off the hard-packed and well-traveled part of the street to make room for a car to pass. The driver hung a hand out the window, waving cheerily as he passed. Adi and Molly waved back.
"My wife died," Adi said simply, letting his hand fall back to his side once the driver had passed.
Once again, Molly's head whipped in his direction. Adi didn't look much over thirty--if that--and it surprised her to hear him say that he'd also lost a spouse so young.
"I'm so sorry," Molly said, watching his profile in the light of the moon.
"We were having a baby," he said. "A son. And she died giving birth. So did the baby." His words were simple, but the emotion was raw and close to the surface. Molly felt her throat close up and tears choke her as they walked on in silence.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Adi," she said, not sure how to properly address the compounded loss of both a wife and a child. "Has it been very long?"
"Three years," he said. "And you?"
