The Past Ain't Through With You

“What happened to your hand?” Alicia asked as soon as Holly walked into the kitchen the next morning.

Holly hoped that Gerard had remembered what she’d told him. She really didn’t think it wise that people knew she’d gone to his house last night. “Of you know glass is sharp.” She smiled.

“Damn, you need to be more careful.” Alicia said believing Holly had injured herself working on a wind chime.

“It’s nothing.” Holly answered. In truth the cut was deep and probably should have had stitches but now it didn’t matter. No doubt it would leave a scar but she didn’t care.

“Lindsey just called and said she’s on her way over to get B. Guess I should get her up.”

Holly nodded, “I’m surprised Molly isn’t awake yet. This California lifestyle is changing her sleeping patterns.”

Alicia laughed, “Yeah, laid-back lifestyle. So you still wanna hit some places today for supplies?”

“I need to.” Holly said as she poured a cup of coffee.

“Cool” Alicia nodded, “I was thinking maybe Mikey could watch Molly.”

Holly laughed, “Think he wants too?”

“Sure, I mentioned it to him last night and he said that would be fine.” She smiled, “Uh but he did request a favor in return.”

“A favor?”

Alicia laughed, “Yeah, he wants you to make burritos for dinner tonight. You know the ones you used to make?”

“The ones I backed in the oven?”

“Yep, that’s them. Those are so good.” Alicia nodded.

“No problem but before we go I’ll make sure you’ve got everything if not we’ll have to stop by a grocery store.”

The doorbell rang interrupting the discussion.

“Well crap that’s probably Lindsey already. Hey can you get that while I go wake up B?”

“Sure.” Holly agreed.

When she pulled open the door Lindsey smiled slightly, “Morning Holly.”

“Good morning. Alicia is getting B.”

They walked into the kitchen where Holly offered Lindsey a cup of coffee.

“Sounds good.” Lindsey said pulling out a chair at the table.

“Here you go.” Holly said placing it in front of her. She noticed Lindsey glanced at her bandaged hand but made no comment.

Holly pulled out a chair. “Molly’s still sleeping. The girls had a lot of fun together last night.”

Lindsey sighed, “I didn’t realize Gee was gonna leave her here.”

Holly could hear the disapproval in her voice, “It was no problem. Molly was grateful to have someone to play with, well other than Mikey.” She laughed.

“Mikey will make a great dad.” Lindsey said placing her hands around her coffee cup but making no move to take a sip.

“He will.” Holly agreed. “And Alicia will be a great mom.”

“I kinda thought they would have started a family by now.” Lindsey said softly.

Holly nodded, “I’m sure they will when they’re ready.”

Lindsey looked up into Holly’s eyes. “So what happened to your hand?”

“Uh.” Holly felt trapped. “Glass.” She hoped Lindsey would believe as Alicia had that it had happened while working on her wind chimes.

Lindsey nodded then looked down.

“Here we are.” Alicia said carrying B in. “She really wasn’t to happy about waking up.”

Lindsey stood. “Baby B.” She took her from Alicia. “Mommy missed you.”

Holly could see the love in Lindsey’s eyes and hear it in her voice.

“Thanks for watching her.” She said to her sister-in-law.

“No prob.” Alicia answered. “It was fun.”

Lindsey sighed, “Well we better be going. Thanks again.”

They all walked to the front door.

“Holly, I was going through some of my supplies in my studio yesterday and I came across some pieces of glass I thought you might want.” Lindsey said as they reached the door.

“Oh.” Holly was surprised, “Thanks.”

“Yeah, I’ve got them in the car.”

Holly nodded, “Okay.” She followed Lindsey out.

“I hear Molly moving around.” Alicia said, “Go ahead.”

Once they reached the car Holly opened the door and waited while Lindsey secured B in her seat.

“They are in back.” Lindsey said moving towards the rear of the car. She opened the hatchback then pulled out a flat box. “I was going to use these pieces of stained glass but never got around to it.” She lifted the lid to reveal several large pieces of glass.

“They’re beautiful.” Holly said, “But are you sure you don’t want to keep them?”

Lindsey shook her head, “No, you can make better use of them, I’m sure.” She replaced the lid. As Holly moved to take the box Lindsey said softly, “Sorry you got hurt because of my husband.”

Holly stilled.

“He said he’d broken the glass on the door but I could tell he was lying. When I saw your hand I figured it out. Neither one of you can lie very well.”

Holly stepped back to look at her but remained silent.

“It’s okay.” Lindsey sighed, “Even if I hadn’t seen your hand I would have known someone was there. Gee never would have thrown his clothes in the tub. If he could have made it to the bed he would have just crawled in it dressed.”

Holly sighed, “He was upset because you called saying you weren’t coming home.”

“Yeah, I guessed that. I’m just sorta surprised he called you.”

This was a very awkward situation for Holly. “We used to be really close friends.” She said honestly, “Whenever he was upset he’d talk to me. I think that’s why he called. But he was so drunk..” She sighed, “I was worried. When I got to your house he didn’t answer the door. I went around back and could see him on the floor. I didn’t know what else to do. Sorry.”

Lindsey stared into Holly’s eyes. “So you think it’s bad I’m not doing something about his drinking?”

“Only he can do that.” Holly answered honestly. “It has to be his decision no matter how much anyone wants to help, it’s up to him.”

“Yeah, it is. I wish…” Her voice trailed off. She suddenly shook her head, “Well anyway I hope you make something beautiful out of these pieces.”

Holly understood Lindsey was done with the conversation. She lifted the box then stood back, “Thank you.”

Lindsey nodded, closed the hatchback door then moved around to the driver’s door.

Slowly Holly made her way back towards the house.

“Holly?” Lindsey called out.

Holly turned and waited.

“I was wondering if maybe tomorrow you’d like to visit my studio?”

“Sure.” Holly answered surprised by the offer. “I’d love to.”

“I’ll pick you up about ten?”

Holly nodded then watched as Lindsey got in the car and drove away.

“What’s that?" Alicia asked from the doorway.

“Some beautiful pieces of glass.” Holly said forcing a smile. Sadness settled in her heart about the situation with Gerard and Lindsey. As much as she wanted to see both of them happy she was afraid her presence would only make the situation worse. Again she entertained the idea of leaving feeling helpless to change anything.

************************************************************************

“This place is insane.” Alicia said glancing around the large architectural salvage warehouse. “I love this shit.”

Holly agreed, “Yes, they have some beautiful pieces here but I’m afraid nothing I can use.” The pieces they had were mostly in good condition ready to be displayed.

“Maybe you should ask if they have other stuff that’s not so good.” Alicia suggested.

Holly spotted one of the employees. She quickly explained what she was looking for and within a few moments had the name and address of a store not far from this one.

As Alicia drove towards the next store she glanced over at Holly, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothings wrong.” Holly answered quickly.

“I know you Holly, you’re being too quiet.”

Holly sighed. She couldn’t help it but her earlier discussion with Lindsey kept running through her head. This was something she couldn’t discuss with Alicia. “Really nothings wrong, I’m just sorta tired.” She was surprised when her cell phone rang. Taking it out of her pocket she answered.

“Oh hey, Christa.”

“Hi Holly. Am I calling at a bad time?”

“Nope Alicia and I are just out trying to track down some art supplies. What’s up?”

“Well I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the shelter with me tomorrow.”

“Oh, I wish I could but I’m Lindsey invited me to see her studio tomorrow.” Holly answered.

Christa thought a moment, “Okay then how about Wednesday instead of tomorrow?”

“Well, I’d like that but I need to find someone to watch Molly for me.”

Alicia laughed, “Uh, that would be me. I was gonna ask you if me and Mikey could borrow M on Wednesday. We wanna take her to the new Disney movie.”

“Are you sure?” Holly asked.

When Alicia nodded she spoke to Christa, “Wednesday would be great. What time?”

They made their plans before ending the conversation.

“Well that worked out.” Alicia said as she spotted the street she was looking for. “But what about tomorrow? You gonna take Molly with you?”

Holly hadn’t considered the thought. “I don’t know. I suppose I should ask Lindsey.”

“Yeah, probably.” Alicia agreed, “She might want you to take M along because she has Bandit with her lots of times when she works at her studio. She set up a great place for Bandit to play there.”

“I’ll call her when we get home.” Holly decided.

****************************************************************************

“She’s asleep.” Lindsey said walking into the living room where Gerard sat reading a book in the rays of the late afternoon sun.

He nodded wondering if she was ready to talk. This morning when she’d come home it had been tense. She’d seen the broken glass on the French Doors, and his clothing in the tub. Her only comment was “So I guess you really tied one on?” At the time his head had been pounding so he’d remained silent. She’d left soon after that to retrieve Bandit from Mikey’s. By the time his family had returned home, he’d showered and cleaned up the glass.

Lindsey sat down across from him. “So what happened last night?”

Gerard looked down, “Drank too much, way too much.”

“Yeah, I figured that.”

He looked up, ‘I was upset. Fuck, I’m tired of you not coming home.”

Her eyes narrowed, “You think I would have wanted to come home to your drunken ass?”

“My ass wasn’t drunk until you called saying you weren’t fuckin’ coming home.” He answered angrily.

“So it’s my fault you drank yourself into a stupor?”

As he looked at her face his anger faded, “Shit, I don’t want to fight with you. I’m tried of fighting.”

“I am too.” She said softly, “But it just keeps happening.”

“I want it to stop.” He said passionately, “I want us to work through this. I love you, Linds. I want us to be happy.”

Tears filled her eyes, “I want that too but I’m not sure if it’s possible.”

He had to grab on to any hope. “It is, I know it. We’ll work through this.”

Lindsey wiped her eyes, “We’ll try, Gee.” She started to stand but fell back in the chair, “Gee, I need to work in my studio tonight.” She saw his face fall so she quickly added, “I’d like you to come with me.”

His heart lifted, “I’d like that too. I’m sure Mikey and Alicia wouldn’t mind us dropping off Bandit for a few hours.”

Lindsay smiled slightly, “They might be getting tired of our little darling.”

Gerard shook his head, “No, especially since Molly is there.”

Lindsey’s smiled faded slightly, “I suppose that’s true.” She got up intending to clean the kitchen but Gerard stood and pulled her into his arms.

“I love you Linds.” He whispered holding her close.

“Love you too.” She whispered closing her eyes.

****************************************************************************

The couple didn’t drop off Bandit until after dinner. Holly was out in the garage taking stock of the supplies she and Alicia had found today.

“Hey.”

Holly looked up and saw Gerard and Lindsey standing in the doorway. “Hi” She smiled.

“Oh wow.” Lindsey said walking over to the piece Holly had half way completed. “This is beautiful. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a six-tier wind chime. And certainly nothing this intricate.”

Holly laughed, “I’ve sorta been rethinking it in my head. I’m supposed to supply the gallery with as many as I can and this one is taking up a lot of time.”

Lindsey walked around the hanging piece taking it in from all sides, “Yeah, but you have to finish it. This is incredible.”

“Thanks.” Holly said. She looked over and saw that Gerard was staring at her bandaged hand frowning.

“So we’re still on for tomorrow, right?” Lindsey asked turning around to face Holly.

“Yes but I meant to ask you something. Should I bring Molly with me? If not Alicia volunteered to watch her.”

“Bring her along, I’m gonna have B with me.” Lindsey smiled. “I’ve got a great play area set up.”

Holly nodded, “Alicia told me about that.”

Gerard was still frowning. He hadn’t known Lindsey and Holly had anything planned for tomorrow.

Lindsey walked over to him. ‘Well be better be going.” She said as she linked arms with her husband. “See you tomorrow. Ready?” She smiled looking into his eyes.

He smiled, “Yeah.” He answered before dropping a kiss on her lips.

Holly looked away.

*********************************************************************************

It was nearly midnight before Gerard and Lindsey returned for Bandit. Gerard told his wife he’d just run in and get their daughter. She’d smiled then leaned back to close her eyes. The last few hours had given her hope for her marriage. While she and Gee hadn’t discussed their problems there had been a definite closeness between them that had been missing. Her whole body still gently ached from their lovemaking.

Gerard’s mood was better than it had been in months. He kidded with his brother while he waited for Alicia to get his sleeping daughter out of her play pin.

Mikey has pleased by his brother’s happiness. “So you and Lindsey have a good time?”

“Yeah, man. It was great.” Gerard answered happily.

Holly, who was in the kitchen taking a break, overheard them talking.

“Anytime you want us to watch Bandit just bring her over.” Mikey offered.

“I will.” Gerard answered. “Me and Linds need time alone like tonight.”

Mikey laughed believing their discussion was private. “Oh man, Gerard got some.” He kidded.

“Shut up.” Gerard laughed. “Of course I got some I was with my wife.”

Holly tried to silently creep back across the kitchen to reenter the garage but Mikey saw her. “Hey, Holly. You done for the night?”

“No, just came in to get a drink of water.” She smiled appearing in the doorway.

Gerard smiled at her. “Hey I gotta talk to you.” He turned to Mikey. “Be right back.” He moved towards the kitchen.

‘Yes?” Holly said as he neared.

He put his arm around her leading her through the door and into the garage. “I wanted to ask you about the wind chime you’re making. Lindsey really loves it and I was wondering if I could buy it for her for Christmas.”

Holly tried to hide her surprise, “No, but I will give it to you for her.”

His smile faded, “I don’t want you to do that. I know how much this would sell for in the gallery. I want to buy it from you.”

“Gee, I’m not gonna sell it to you.” Holly said shaking her head, “If you want it for her, you gotta accept it as a gift.”

He knew by her tone she was determined, “Well talk about it later.” He said softly then added, “Hey, I just want to tell you again how sorry I am you got hurt last night and that I’m sorry I called you.”

Holly’s eyes grew wide, “You’re sorry you called me?”

He could see the hurt in her eyes, “I didn’t mean that they way it sounded. I’m sorry you had to see me like that.”

“Wasn’t the first time.” Holly said crossing her arms. “But I get what you mean. I’m sorry if it caused you any problem with Lindsey.”

“What?” He asked clearly confused.

“Well I just thought she might have been angry I broke your door.” Holly answered. “That was stupid of me. I should have just told Mikey about your call and let him handle it.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Gerard asked, “I didn’t tell Lindsey you came over.”

Shock showed on Holly’s face, “Gee she knows I was there. She saw my hand this morning and told me she had been sure someone was there not just because of the door but because I’d thrown your clothes in the tub.”

“Fuck.” Gerard muttered, “She never mentioned that to me.”

Suddenly Holly felt bone tired, “Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I explained to her we used to be close friends and I was sure you’d just called me because you were upset she wasn’t coming home.”

“You told her that?” He sputtered.

“Well yeah, it’s the truth.” She countered.

He ran his hand over his face. “Shit.”

Holly shook her head, “Was there something wrong with admitting we used to be close friends? Was I supposed to keep that quiet?”

“Fuck no.” he answered. “Of course not.”

“Go home, Gee.” Holly said tiredly.

He turned back to the door but stopped suddenly, “Holly, I’ve never had a better, closer friend than you.”

She had sat back down at the workbench. “Same here.” She answered refusing to look up. As he walked back into the kitchen a single tear rolled down Holly’s cheek.