Chain of Vengeance: Chapter Seven - Part Seven

Molly opened the front door on the early evening, but when she saw who was there the veins in her cheeks swelled as blood rushed up to fill them. She dropped her head to hide it, looked up again; down; and then she made eye contact with him; with Jack Catholic.

He actually looked beautiful in a way she had only rarely seen anywhere except in a woman. But he was masculine; that was absolutely definite, standing taller than her and with the enormous width of his chest and shoulders. He was smiling, his lips perfectly flat out as far as the edges, but there was a smudge of worry there too, a fear of rejection perhaps. His arms were down at his sides and there in his right, hanging loose, was a small box or something rectangular, wrapped up in a brown paper bag.

“Hi,” he said. “Sorry to bother you in the evening.”

Molly inhaled as though she were going to speak but held it, then she smiled, letting it out as a sigh and said, “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. What do you want?”

He withdrew a little and she felt shame for being rude to this man that she didn’t even know.

“I brought you something,” he said, raising the parcel very very slightly, subconsciously, “and I thought maybe we could talk if that’s okay.”

Molly looked down at her bare feet. Once again she drew in breath as though to speak but paused. She didn’t know how she felt about him now. She didn’t know how to react. Then she heard Ruben’s voice behind her. “Who is it?”

She turned to face him. Jack peered past her to do the same. Ruben was about eight feet away, dressed in the same clothes she had seen him in the day before.

“Jack Catholic,” she said, wincing at the tension she knew was coming but Ruben surprised her, cracking a smile. It was off-centre and tilting, but it was a smile. He ambled past her, extending his hand, the smile broadening if anything.

Jack shook it. “Nice to meet you.”

“Yes. I heard you were coming. My name’s Ruben; Molly’s brother. Your cousin in fact.”

Jack smiled. “I didn’t even realise you existed until a couple of days ago.”

Ruben continued to smile, but there was something Jack wouldn’t have recognised in his eyes that made it false. Molly saw it though. The smile dropped from his lips as though it had never been there.

For several moments neither of them spoke. Molly cleared her throat then the smile returned on Ruben’s face and the shimmer of it made it seem as though it had been there all along. “We’re about to eat,” he said. “Why don’t you come in? You could join us; it would be nice to get to know you.”

Molly stared at him, angry, but felt guilty and hoped that Jack hadn’t seen.

“Er… I wouldn’t mind staying actually,” said Jack. “It sounds nice.”

“Well that’s decided,” said Ruben and stepped back, fanning his arm in an arc to gesture Jack through the doorway.

A splash of foreboding hit Molly in the small of her back but she allowed her brother to take charge of the situation. He placed his hand on Jack’s shoulder and led him toward the back of the house. Molly closed the door and padded after them in her bare feet.