Let's Make Up

Apple Pie

The rest of the day was a whirlwind for her. John met with the company's CEO and had both the moon-faced receptionist, as well as Molly, join them. As soon as Megan sat down, John asked how her hotel stay was. She was nervous and tried to pretend she didn't know what he was talking about. The CEO, Dennis Hatcheson, a sturdily built and intimidating man that looked to be around John's age, though less grey, told her he could easily access the Lakeside Suite's security footage since he was friends with management there and she instantly attempted to change her story. The front desk girl tried her best to sell her cover up, saying she thought that John was getting the room for her and that it was a reward for having worked there a month. She was, of course, called out for lying since she made the reservation under Molly's name and had given her the information as well. Dennis apologized to Molly and explained the same thing that John said earlier about no longer staying in a hotel on the company's dime, or that she'd be given any allowance. He told her that he didn't want to investigate further and believed it was only Megan's wrongdoing, but having spent the money already, he didn't want to trust that more wouldn't be frivolously thrown away. She understood and thought of everytime she'd heard the saying 'It only takes one rotten apple to spoil a bunch.' Not that she felt she needed anything else though since John already told her she could stay with him.

Rosie talked with her a bit after the meeting and told her she should've been called right away because she wouldn't have let Molly get walked on and wouldn't have allowed Megan to stay there in the hotel, taking her place. She got herself all worked up and told Molly she was going to take it upon herself to get the company's money back from the Lakeside Suites and got straight to work making phone calls. Again, Molly thought Rosie looked sweet, and spoke with conviction, but truly believed her when she said that hell would be raised over it.

Molly got to sit in on some personal complaint sessions that John dealt with and got introduced to some more of her coworkers. He said it was too much of a work load for him when there were other managerial issues he was involved in and couldn't file or find time for the employees who had only minor things, such as desk mates eating at their computers or how loud someone's music was, to talk about. That was why Molly was hired. Many of the younger employees didn't follow dress code and she would be the one addressing these problems, it was something she had to be conscious of as well since casual clothing wasn't allowed and if she wore short sleeves or translucent nylons, her tattoos would show. Molly figured it would be a good way to learn about her surroundings and the people she worked with. Over-all it was tedious to do the filing and boring sometimes, but the part of her that missed the gossipy interactions as a makeup artist, enjoyed talking to her office peers.

Once she finished her last session, Molly started packing her bag in the back with John. He told her that he'd been on the phone with Helen earlier in the day and that they were going to meet with her, but she wasn't too thrilled with that considering their initial meeting.

"Why are we doing this again?"

"It's part of our coparent agreement; anyone who stays at my house, female or not, needs to be introduced to Helen and Avery first. I'm telling you that you can stay with me... but if Helen doesn't want Avery to be around you, for whatever reason, I'll be sortof stuck." He said, rubbing his neck. "So please behave. If Avery doesn't get to stay with me for my scheduled days, then I'm considered to have broken my contract and Helen can file to have me owe her a lot more in child support and make it so that I can never get to spend whole days again."

Molly nodded sincerely at him and could tell he was really serious. She felt a combined sensation of butterflies and anxiety as if she were meeting a boyfriend's parents for the first time.

"Is there anything off limits so I don't blow it?"

"Don't show your tattoos. Don't mention anything personal you might know about me. Don't let her know we've... gotten... involved. But, also, don't just sit quiet, she'll want to hear you talk and interact." He sighed.

"Anything else?" Molly asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, do defend yourself if she tries to attack you, I'd prefer things to go smoothly but I also know how awful she can get."

John pulled up to a place that was no different than any other typical neighborhood except that the owner obviously wanted to show off some grandeur by having statues in and around the sculpted garden beds. They were well manicured and admittedly very nice looking despite the lack of flowers as the autumn was nearing and mornings already had a cover of frost. Molly flattened her skirt and pulled some wrinkles out of her opaque black tights. She flipped the visor mirror down and wiped away any fallen makeup from below her eyes.

"Do I look alright?" She asked, turning to John.

His eyes swept over her in an obvious manner before he spoke.

"Very." He said, still looking at her and making her melt a little. "Now let's go, we're already a couple minutes late and she won't like that."

Molly had known some 'type A' stuck up people before, and several had been her clients. She just hoped that she'd be able to charm this woman the way she did them, only without offering a service of any sort.

They didn't have to knock or ring the doorbell when Molly saw Helen's fake hair and smile poke out from behind the front door, making them hurry their pace.

Once they got inside, Molly asked if she needed help in the kitchen.

"Oh no, make yourself comfortable." She was told, and she looked to John for a clue on how to proceed.

He nodded once at her, so Molly tried again,

"Well, I'll come visit with you there then. I'd feel so rude to just hang around while you do all the work."

Helen raised an eyebrow, but only ever so slightly.

"You must come from a good family, Molly, did you spend lots of time in the kitchen growing up?"

"I did and I didn't. I spent lots of time helping my parents but I didn't actually know I was a decent cook until university." She explained. "Is there anything you'd like me to do?"

Helen handed her a cucumber and a cutting board, then turned to grab a knife.

"That's good to hear, it's not so common for a woman to have much tradition anymore."

Molly found it ironic that a divorced woman was talking about traditional roles but hoped that if Helen ever found out she was covered in ink, and had already gotten somewhat intimate with John, that she'd keep the same hospitality, even if it was clouded with personality tests.

A shrill but happy sounding scream filled the air and a little girl ran into the dining area.

"DADDY!" The girl repeated several times. "You're eating with us today?!"

John knelt down to be at the girl's level and embraced her in a warm hug.

"Hey, sweetie, I am eating with you today. We have a guest over."

Molly made a fake gasp and covered her mouth, making the little girl's eyes widen with anticipation.

"Johnny, you didn't tell me that you know Rapunzel!" Molly exclaimed.

The girl laughed, "Daddy, she thinks I'm a princess!"

"You are a princess-- my princess." John said smiling at them both. "Avery, I'd like you to meet Molly, she works with me."

Avery approached her and stuck her hand out, trying to look very mature.

"Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine!" Molly said exaggeratedly as she shook her hand and did a curtsy. Then she took a step back and looked at her while squinting one eye.

"Are you sure you're not the lost princess, Rapunzel? You've got such pretty big eyes and long blonde hair!"

Avery giggled and the whole room smiled, even Helen, who not long after told everyone to sit so they could eat.

The meal was great, there was a cucumber and dill salad, roasted potatoes, and pan fried chicken with white wine. Avery said she wanted some as well and Helen went to get her some apple juice in a fancy cup so that she wouldn't feel left out. Molly got the feeling that as much as Helen was kind of a hard sell for personality, she still cared for her daughter, if even just to show off. Besides the good food, the dinner still went by slowly and was full of interrogation from Helen. Where Molly went to school, what her background was, if she did sports, past time activities, her take on religion and much more. It was intense. Avery also asked some questions such as, what her favorite colour was, as well as movies and food preferences. Apparently they had a lot in common with similar answers of all the colors, a princess movie, and pizza.

Helen didn't show that she had any approval, but did praise her interactions with Avery.

"Molly, you are so good with children! Do you have any of your own?" She asked, taking a sip from her wine glass while looking at her guest.

Molly smiled but her brows were knit and John recognized the expression as a sadness that he'd observed from her before when they'd talked about their pasts at the diner.

"No, I'm not married, I don't have any kids."

"Well, you don't need to be married for that." Helen told her with a hint of snippy attitude.

"I... actually can't have any." Molly said with a voice that she tried to keep strong. She was going to explain about how she always had irregularities and had a condition that caused cysts that became too much and ended in her getting a hysterectomy, but she didn't want to make a scene, knowing she would cry.

"I'm sorry." Helen replied and sounded surprisingly sympathetic, but was probably just shocked. John said nothing but watched her carefully and nudged her foot with his own so that she knew he was still there.

Molly gathered and calmed herself, and inhaled deeply.

"No, no, I'm the sorry one. I really put a damper on things. I did enjoy the meal."

Helen nodded and asked if she and John could be excused. Molly of course, agreed, and smiled at Avery who was sitting diagonally from her.

"You know what would be really cool?" She asked the little girl.

"What!" Her big eyes were bright.

"If we cleaned up the table for your mom."

Avery scrunched her face and complained.

"Why do grown ups think cleaning is coooool?!" She said, dragging out her emphasis at an attempt to get back at Molly for her suggestion.

Molly only smirked back.

"Okay, maybe it's not cool, but I bet your mom would be really happy! She might even give you a little extra dessert!"

So Avery thought about it and started gathering the used dinnerware. She showed Molly where Helen liked the dirty dishes stacked and where the containers were for leftovers. Soon they were laughing together while cleaning because Molly told Avery she was even more efficient than Cinderella's little mice who helped out with all the chores. Avery even wiped the table clean and got Molly to reach the dessert plates so that she could set them out as well.

Just after they seated themselves again, Helen arrived with John behind her. He smiled at Avery as he entered the room and though Molly had been looking in his direction as well, she liked seeing the importance he placed on his daughter and the bond they shared.

"Molly, you didn't have to tidy, what type of a host am I who makes my guest do work?!" Helen exclaimed.

"Oh, it wasn't me, it was all Avery. Right, Princess?" She winked at the smiling girl.

John told Avery how thoughtful it was and she confessed that maybe Molly helped, but only just a little.

Helen grabbed a pie, as well as a triangular serving knife, and started handing out portions to everyone.

"I hope you like pie, you have such a skinny little body, there isn't much sugar in here if you're worried about that." Helen told Molly with that same irritating tone from earlier.

Molly chalked it up to her just needing to be petty all the time.

"I have a bad sweet tooth, you'll have to hold me back from taking more." Molly said, while dramatically reaching her fork towards Avery's plate, who screamed and tried to cover her slice with her arms.

She laughed at the girl's display and told her that she'd eat her own before going after that piece again.

Molly took a bite of her pie and was surprised by the flavor combination.

"Is this... peach and... persimmon?" She slowly chewed and asked the hostess.

Helen had a pompous glint in her eye, "Yes, a new recipe I tried. Can't say I've ever put these two fruits together. Do you like it?"

She took another bite and nodded thoughtfully with a slight furrow in her brow. "Ive always been more of an apple pie person, but it's... fine...I suppose. Persimmons are very starchy."

Realizing she might have sounded unpleasant, she caught herself and tried to be overly polite again. "I enjoy baking too though and I like how flaky the crust is, you did a good job."

John became a little nervous with their exchange and wondered why Molly didn't just praise the dessert. He cut in and said it was delicious and noted that Avery seemed to like it as well.

Soon the evening was getting wrapped up and they were heading out. Avery hugged John and took everyone by surprise when she hugged Molly as well.

"Looks like you've made a new friend. Where did my shy little girl go?" He asked her.

Helen talked with John some more as Molly waved to everyone and went to sit in the car while it warmed up a bit. She hoped she'd done alright and hadn't messed things up. John closed the door behind him, having reached the car and asked, "So what was with the pie?"

"Oh, Helen must have found an old interview of Julien's. I'm guessing she searched me up."

"Meaning what?" He asked, aware that she used her ex's full first name.

"Well, he's from the south and they have some weird sayings, right? He was asked about his love life and because I was working with him, we weren't public yet, so he told them things weren't official but that we went together like 'peaches and persimmons'. Nobody knew if that was good or bad, but we ran with it for a long time, it even became our pet names for each other. Peachy and Percy-- for persimmon."

John thought about it for a while before replying, "And you really are more of an apple pie type of person?"

"I am." She told him quickly and earnestly.

"Good." He said, "Well, somehow she agreed to let you stay."