Page 82 of The Last Autograph
“How’s Jake.”
“Okay, I guess. We keep missing each other’s calls. But honestly, he’s not one for talking on the phone, so when we do, it’s kinda awkward.”
“Oh well, he’ll be back soon. But I know the type.”
“Yeah. Anyway, I’d better get out of here. I’m starving. See you next week.”
When she arrived in Tulloch Point, the time difference meant she’d have to wait until after dinner to call Jake. However, as she lay in her childhood bedroom that evening, a familiar confusion surrounding him surfaced. She sometimes found him difficult to read. He’d withdraw into himself when he thought she wasn’t watching, and the longer they spent together, the more apparent it became.
It all seemed to happen so quickly, this trip, and Molly imagined him swanning around Paris, enjoying the northern summer while he and Ava reconnected.
She was about to switch off the light when her phone lit up with an incoming call, and Jake’s name appeared on the screen.
Molly sat up and plastered on a smile as she hit the FaceTime icon. “Hi there.”
“Morning.” Jake flipped his phone to scan his surroundings.
“Wait,” she said, “you’re at the airport?”
“Yep, I caught an earlier flight. I’m in Singapore.”
“So you’ll be home soon?”
Jakes face filled the screen again. He looked exhausted, his hair and beard almost scruffy. “Yes, late tomorrow. Are you in bed already?”
“Only just.Actually, I’m in Tulloch Point for a couple of days for Mum’s birthday.”
He hesitated. “When will you be home?”
Home?Clifton Falls didn’t feel much like home right at that moment, especially with all the rumors and innuendo about Jake and Ava floating around. “Saturday. I thought you had another week yet.”
“I did, but I have some things to sort out over the next few months, so… And I need to get back to the patisserie.”
Molly didn’t dare ask what thosethingswere. If he’d decided to move back to Paris, she didn’t want to know about it just yet. “Well, you left it in good hands anyway. I saw your dad in there last week. We had coffee together.” Molly thought back to her time with Henry with fondness. “He’s such a charming man.”
Jake chuckled. “He can be.”
“I can’t believe you’re on your way.”
“Yes, well. Another week would’ve been too long. And it’s been so hot.”
They talked a while longer, but nothing much was said. Both of them disliked small talk, so the rest of their conversation seemed forced.
“Anyway, I should get some sleep,” Molly said. “I’ll text you when I’m back in Clifton Falls. Sorry I won’t be there to meet you at the airport.”
“No problem.” He paused as if wanting to continue their conversation. “Molly? Is everything okay?”
Molly slid down into the bed until her head was on the pillow. “Yes, fine. Safe travels.”
When their call ended, she held on to her phone for a moment as she swallowed the lump in her throat. She longed to see his face again but realized she’d not taken a single photo of him—all those pictures of Jesse and not even one of Jake.
34
Jake rolled over onto his front, hit snooze on his phone, and punched his pillow into shape. Sleep had been a tussle of weird dreams and frustration, not unusual for him after a long flight.
Now, he didn’t want to get up, and as he lay there in dawn’s half-light, he thought about Molly—how supportive she’d been at the cemetery and that feeling of emptiness when he called her from Singapore only to discover she was in Tulloch Point.
After a shower, Jake grabbed his phone from the nightstand to text her, but when he opened his messages, she’d beaten him to it.
