Fleeting Fire

«C h a p t e r O n e»

     I have never been in love. I have felt the sensation of heartbreak too many times to put myself in such a position. I will never again long for the touch of another man nor they will me. I'm perfectly fine on my own. This is what I have to tell myself daily in the care of my pregnant sister, Mollie. Entering her third trimester, her stripes on her gray and white maxi dress are beginning to widen.
     Right now Mollie is combing her dark chestnut hair with her fingers. She's stressed. "Jolene, could you help me out, please? This needs to be ready by the time Austin comes home. Besides, you'll need to learn how to do this someday." Austin is currently stationed in Iraq and won't be home until November.
     I sigh at her nesting and ignore her last comment, "Mol, that's still almost two months from now. Can't it wait?"
     "No, actually, it can't. I need help finding the," she squints at her paper, "allen wrench."
     We start the search through the stock pile of crib supplies. I grab the instruction manual. "It says sold separately, great."
     "Well you're just going to have to go out and purchase one, then. I am in no condition to head out in this heat."
     I roll my eyes and scowl at her. "Fine, I'll head out. Only for that precious niece or nephew in there."
     She smiles as she throws me my bag and I'm out the door.

     The convenience store is as busy as ever for a Friday afternoon. I would have offered my allen wrenches to her, but I will take any excuse I can to get away from crib building and breathe the fresh air. I park my bike along the provided rail and head inside the double doors and go straight for the candles. Yankee scents are too difficult to resist, especially since they just brought out their new Autumn merch; I see the empty broken down boxes near the front door. My favorite candle is directly beside someone.
     "Excuse me," I say probably more mute than I should have because the guy just seems to be fumbling in place. I tap his shoulder. Out goes his right hand, ready to back hand me from the looks of it, but instead of my face it's my favorite candle. A look of shock instantly spreads on the guys face as well as mine. Looks about my age, but far more reckless I can tell by the items he was trying to steal are falling out of the front of his pants. Whatever hasn't fallen is inseemingly hidden.
      "I....." He begins.
      "No need, I'm no snitch," I begin. A flash of relief spreads upon his stubbled face. "But I do have a couple comments." I shake the shard of glass off my boot and pick up my candle off the shelf. "You're lucky there are more of my favorite candles, otherwise I wouldn't be as nice."
     He smirks, revealing just slightly crooked teeth. "Oh, is that right?" Clearly believing he would have gotten away with it.
     I don't answer. "One last thing..I do believe you've overestimated how large you are." I smile and direct my eyes towards his zipper and back at him.
     I rush towards the tools to grab an allen wrench set and check out, unable to tell if I'd made him blush of embarrassment. I feel more embarrassed for actually stating such a bold comment out loud.

     "Moll-" I hollar.
     "Oh, thank God you're here. I did a thing.." she slants her face and begins to bite off more of her nonexistent nails.
     Oh no. I know it's bad because no one ever gives Mollie a chance to do "things" which only happens whenever she's alone. I take a deep breath, "just show me."
      We step inside the nursery. Nothing.
     "What'd you do?"
     And here begins she dramatic storytelling. She's waving her arms around and points to the window. The air conditioner is gone. I tune in. "..so then the baby hiccuped and it scared me because I just was so fixed on lifting it out by myself so I could see if the baby changer would fit and I flipped it out the window entirely." The look of hopelessness washed her face as tears spring in her eyes. "And now it's hot." She pouts.
     All I can do is try my hardest not to laugh in her face. She can tell. Whoops.
     "It's not funny! Air conditioners are expensive!" She explodes, full on crying now.
     "Well, what else do you want me to do, fix it?"
     Gleaming, "can you?!"
     Unfortunately, she took my sarcasm as literal content. I'm going for it anyway.
     "Yes. Along with that I'll fix my car."
     Puzzled Mollie turns into parental Mollie. "You don't have a car. When did you get so sassy." Her green eyes stared me down.
     "Since the store, actually," my sarcastic streak at an end. I feel like I just told on myself. Luckily, my cellphone saves me- it's my best friend, Jamie.
     I scurry down the stairs into my room, Mollie signalling our conversation is far from over.
     "Do you need a ride tonight?"
Jamie is an excellent multitasker. She always makes it seem like her full focus is on you, although it never truly is.
     "What are you wearing tonight? I want to match you." She waits on my answers.
     "I'm actually coming over now," better to escape Mollie. "I'll wear whatever of yours you want me to." I hang up the line; quick to never say bye or hear it from the other end.
      I pack for the night, as always, just in case. My father taught me to always be prepared. I miss him, even if he's supposively in prison. I haven't heard from him in a while but Mollie just blames his, her words, "shitty" personality. I knew dad as a different man than she did. We are around seven years apart. I thought her being 26 would give her some maturity over whatever beef they had but if anything she hates him more each day. He gets out near Christmas so hopefully she'll ease up for the holiday.
     The last item I grab is a little spending money. I don't trust banks with my money. I like it where I can see it. I keep it inside a Christmas gift card box inside a shoe box on the floor in my closet. The box also has memorabilia, like pictures and trinkets; nothing special to a thief.
     I apologize to Mollie as I tell her my plans. She may act like a guardian but she's never held me back from doing what I wanted. A little respect isn't hard to give, especially when anyone can see how hard she tries to make it work. I test her but at the same time I test everyone. She shooes me away with an "okay" on her hand. She is ordering a new HVAC system, I overheard her in the nursery upstairs. One thing I love about Mollie is that she doesn't hold a grudge...with me anyways.