"Will you marry me?"
"Yes."
The words echoed in Molly's ears as she stepped into her house, the click of the door shutting seeming loud in the quiet. She moved almost mechanically, hanging her shawl on the coat rack and moving to her kitchen to fill her old tea kettle with water. Placing it on the stove and turning on the heat, she turned and finally allowed herself to sink into one of her dining room chairs, the day's events making her mind spin.
Ned had proposed to Florence. And she had said yes . Granted, he had been under the influence of a very high fever, but the fact remained. Florence had said yes. She supposed one could argue that the other woman had simply been indulging a man in the midst of delirium, but the look her friend had given Molly before answering gave her the sinking feeling that the answer had been real .
A knock sounded through the house, startling the redhead badly, and her gaze snapped to the door. Letting out a sigh, she stood and made her way over. Swinging the door open, she was surprised to find Florence on her porch.
"Florence." she did her best to force her voice to remain even, though judging by her friend's flinch, she had failed. "Shouldn't you be at the infirmary? With your fiancé?"
"Molly..." Florence's face fell, and she cast her eyes to the ground. "May I come in? So we can talk?"
"If you can spare the time between wedding planning." Molly retorted, turning to walk back to the kitchen and leaving the other woman to shut the door behind them. Busying herself with getting her teapot from the cabinet rather than looking at her friend, she spoke once more. "So? What is it you wish to talk about?"
"I...Molly, I don't know what to say."
"You knew what to say to Ned." Shutting the door with more force than was strictly necessary, Molly spun around in time to see Florence flinch again. "This is not what we agreed on, Florence. Not at all."
"I know. I know." the brunette sighed, unable to meet Molly's eyes. "But-"
"But what? We agreed to flirt. To act as though we were interested in these men. At no point did we agree to marry them!" Molly snapped before closing her eyes and taking a breath to curb her voice into a more acceptable volume.
"I know what we agreed on, Molly, but please, try to understand." Florence said desperately.
" Understand ?! I have done nothing but understand for six years!"
"I know, but-"
"But what? Florence, I know you are afraid to tell people about us, and I have respected that. For God's sake, I'm afraid too! But for you to go and accept a marriage proposal from Ned , of all people? It's just too much." Molly shook her head, turning back to the stove to remove the kettle as it whistled.
"Molly-" Florence began only to be cut off as the redhead raised her hands.
"Please don't. You should just go. I'm sure you're just dying to get back to him anyway." She refused to look at the other woman as Florence slowly turned and made her way to the door, giving Molly one last glance before opening the door and leaving the Sullivan home.
As soon as she was alone again, Molly dropped back into the chair she'd vacated, resting her elbows on the table and placing her head in her hands, the tears she'd been holding back for hours finally falling.
Genuinely I have no idea how the writers came to the conclusion that these women are straight. They are very, very obviously gay for each other. But of course, this is hallmark, so they had to give them relationships with men that make no sense for them lmao.
