Molly
You're in a dark corner of a very elegant restaurant. Your table is lit only by a few low burning candles. You are finishing off the remnants of possibly the best meal you remember having that year. Laughter booms across your table and you force another smile as you look up at Adam...and his new assistant, Molly.
She laughs at every one of his jokes, even the lame ones. They love the same movies. She's so fascinated by magic. They have so much in common it makes you want to just...well, truth be told, punch out her bonded smile. You've been third wheeling it all night with your boyfriend and his new little friend. You've barely spoken at all, and they've hardly noticed.
"Excuse me. I'm going to the restroom." Neither look at you. You're tempted to say 'And then I thought I'd streak naked through the restaurant with my hair on fire' but you know they wouldn't hear that either. You sigh and make your way to the bathroom.
You look in the mirror. You're not exactly what anyone could call vain, but you look good tonight and you know it. You know you look at least as good as Molly out there. But, she's new. You're feeling very like the child's favorite toy that gets thrown to the back of the closet Christmas morning as the fad gift gets full attention for that week. You wonder what Adam will do if when he goes digging for his favorite, it's long long gone.
You apply a new coat of lipstick and carefully blot it on a tissue. At that moment the bathroom door opens to admit Molly. She catches your eyes in the mirror, and smirks. Your eyes narrow and you turn to face her. "So I see you've dropped the pretense of civility, since Adam's not around?"
"Why bother? You and I both know what's going on. And Adam won't believe you're anything but irrational and jealous if you try to tell him."
"You don't think Adam's seen your type before? Like on every streetcorner?"
"Maybe. But maybe he likes my type."
"Maybe." You turn back to the mirror, feigning disinterest.
Molly enters one of the stalls behind you and locks the door. "It's really a shame you had to drive yourself over here from your little job. I mean, you're going to have to drive home all alone and poor Adam's going to have to drop me off. I think I might ask him up too. You know, for a drink...whatever."
"Look, I don't police Adam. If he turns you down, it's because he doesn't want you, not because I took a rolling pin to him. Likewise, if he accepts, then I don't know him as well as I think I do, because the Adam I know may flirt to high heaven but he wouldn't touch you if someone paid him to." You eye the door of the stall with a wicked thought running through your mind. Before your better sense can nix the idea, you find yourself moving forward and pulling a bobby pin out of your hair. With a skill you haven't employed since high school, you unbend the wire and swirl it into the lock, making sure it gets good and jammed.
"Do be a dear and let Adam know I ran along home won't you? Oh, when you get out that is."
You can just picture the realization on Molly's face as she frantically tries the door, which doesn't budge. You smile victoriously as you head for the bathroom door. "You'll probably have to crawl, or in your case ooze, under it on your stomach. Have a nice night." You leave the bathroom and then the restaurant, finding your way to your car in the crowded garage.
Yeah, you may have been all brave talk in the bathroom, but you can just see Molly playing up the deranged girlfriend angle, and using it to try to play Adam all the way to her bed. The more you think about it, the more you get upset. Soon your vision blurs over with tears. The next thing you know, you see headlights coming in your direction. The sound of your tires squealing as they swerve is the last thing you remember hearing before you black out.
Your eyes open again to the dim florescent lighting of a hospital room. You then feel a weight settle on the bed next to you and Adam's concerned face looms into view. He tucks a stray hair behind your ear and smiles weakly. "Love? How are you feeling?"
"Wh-what happened?"
"You had an accident. You managed a nasty bump and a concussion. You've been out about an hour they figure."
"Did I...did I hurt anyone?"
"No Love, it was you that got hit. A drunk driver. He, by the way, was up and walking without a scratch. Bastard." He strokes your cheek gently.
"Adam I..."
"Oh she's awake. How is she?" At Molly's voice, a flash of pain shoots through your head.
"You brought her with you?" Before Adam has a chance to answer, you close your eyes and turn over. The fact that a tear slips down your cheek doesn't escape Adam's notice. "Get out."
"But Love..." You put your hands over your ears.
"You're upsetting her. I'm afraid you and your friend will have to leave." The nurse quickly ushers Adam and Molly outside. He sits down in the waiting room.
Molly stands with her hands on her hips. "Are we going or not Adam? She doesn't want to see you, remember?"
He rubs his temples tiredly. "Do shut up won't you?"
She huffs. "Are you going to sit here waiting for Her Highness to see fit to admit you? Or are you going to come and be all warm and cozy with me tonight?" Adam stands and puts a $50 bill in Molly's hand. "What's this?"
"Cab fare, whatever. Just go." She looks at him as though he can't be serious. He sits back down and leans back, looking up at the ceiling. She turns on heel to walk away. "Oh and Molly?" She turns with a smug smile. "Don't bother showing up at the theater tomorrow. You don't work there anymore." Molly leaves without another word. Adam rolls his jacket up for a pillow and stretches out on one of the uncomfortable sofas.
At 3 am, with the floor practically empty, Adam chances sneaking back to your room. He sees you laying there, quite awake. He knocks lightly. "Love?" You look his direction. Only when you see that he is alone do you raise the back of your bed so that you are sitting. He takes that as a positive sign and enters. He sits next to you on your bed, takes your hand and kisses it.
"So where's your little friend?"
"I sent her off in a cab hours ago. I don't know where she is. I don't care. She's not my assistant anymore."
"I won't pretend I'm sorry about that."
"I guess you wouldn't be." You notice him grinning.
You smile too. "How did she get out of the bathroom?"
"She crawled on her stomach. Trust me, I got an earful of every whining detail on the way to the hospital. She got quite upset when I laughed about it."
"You laughed?"
"Course I did. Personally I think she needed it. I hired her as a favor for a friend. They were supposedly dating. I guess she saw that I was a bit better off than he, and made her move."
"Oh Adam, what am I going to do with you?"
He kisses your hand again. "Anything you want Love."
"Can't you ever hire an assistant that isn't after what's in your pants? Wallet or otherwise."
"Whom would you suggest?"
"Oh I don't know. How about a 6 foot 4, blonde, muscular titan named Bruno?"
He smiles. "Do you think he'd fit in the sequined leotard?"
You sigh. "I'd sure like to see him try."
"You really think that'd be a better assistant?"
"As long as you didn't flirt with him, yeah."
"As soon as you're well, you're getting tickled for that."
"But not tonight?"
He leans forward and kisses your forehead, just to the left of the bruised knot there. "Not tonight, just rest now Love."
"Stay with me?"
He nods and lays back on your pillow, gently lifting you up and placing your head on his chest. You fall asleep with the feel of him stroking your hair and the sound of him whispering, "I love you."
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| The character of Adam Klaus and the show Jonathan Creek were created by David Renwick and are © the BBC. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made. |