Finding Molly Parsons, page 7
“Do you know where she moved to?” Carmen asked.
Enid scratched her chin. “Vermont, I think. Hang on, I’m sure I have an address somewhere. Molly left it with me in case I needed her. I’m not sure what she thought she could do from the other side of the country but, the offer was nice.”
Enid pushed off the door and hobbled inside her house. Carmen and Faith shot a quick look of triumph at each other. “Are you coming in or what?” Enid called.
“I can’t wait to rib Mateo,” Carmen whispered to Faith as they went inside. Faith snickered.
“Wow,” Faith breathed as she took in Enid’s house.
“Do you feel she would rather be somewhere tropical?” Carmen asked. Enid’s house was adorned with bright colors, plastic flamingos and pineapple pictures. It was an interesting choice of decor, that’s for sure.
“Ernie made me move to Seattle, when I wanted to move to Hawaii,” Enid shouted from another room. Jesus, did the woman have bionic hearing? “The old bastard made me live in a rainy state, so I made him live in a tropical nightmare,” Enid chuckled.
Carmen laughed, thinking how she would have done the same to Mateo. “Did you not think of moving after Ernie passed?” Carmen asked. Not sure if that was an inappropriate thing to ask a stranger.
“I thought about it. I still do to be honest, but I’m used to this place now.”
“I like it,” Faith beamed.
“Here we go,” Enid said, handing over a piece of paper to Faith. “That’s the address she gave me.”
Faith clutched the paper to her chest as tears welled up in her eyes. “Thank you.”
“She didn’t mention a daughter.” Clearly Enid was out to get some gossip.
“I’m Molly’s niece.”
“She didn’t mention a niece either.”
“I doubt she knows I exist,” Faith sighed.
Chapter 7
Faith
Finally, Faith was getting some answers. After everything in her plan had gone wrong, once she’d arrived in Seattle, it was a relief to know that Molly wasn’t just a myth; she was real and there was someone who knew her and by all accounts liked her a lot.
“Molly moved in about two years ago. I wondered at first how she could afford to rent that house. It’s a three bedroom and let’s be honest, the prices around here are fucking atrocious.” Enid barked from the kitchen where she was fetching the three of them some iced tea.
Hearing such language spill out of such a lovely old woman was a little surprising. It’s not like Faith had been around a lot of curse words. Even her father refrained from cursing, mostly.
“Did you know her well?”
“Oh, yes,” Enid said, shuffling into the tropical monstrosity that was her living room. “Molly came over the day she moved in.”
Faith noticed the disapproving look Enid shot at Carmen. Carmen noticed too and ducked her head causing Faith to chuckle. “She came over with a batch of muffins. Introduced herself and spent an hour with me chatting. Well after that, Molly would visit me several times a week.”
“Did she tell you what she did for a living?” Faith was eager to learn as much as possible about her illusive aunt.
“Something to do with young people, I think. She didn’t talk much about work. Whenever she came over we chatted about all sorts of things. She told me a little about her home life.”
“Molly is my dad’s sister. He’s…”
“Difficult,” Enid answered. Faith nodded. She didn’t have the energy to explain all the terrible things that her father had done and said.
“Well, Molly turned out to be a wonderful woman. A right looker, too.” Enid shot Carmen another look. Carmen scrunched her eyes up in confusion.
“She’s a lesbian, you know,” Enid commented, clearly aiming it at Carmen again. Faith wanted to laugh. Enid was relentless, and Carmen looked petrified.
“Oh, right…”
“I bet she’d be right up your street,” Enid continued.
“Um…”
“Heart of gold, long gorgeous hair. A figure to die for.”
Carmen looked from Enid to Faith pleadingly. Faith didn’t know what to do to curtail Enid’s clear enthusiasm at the prospect of Carmen and Molly.
“Are you single dear?”
“Ye… yes.” Carmen shuffled in her seat.
“You should ask Molly out when you find her. You’d make a striking couple.” Carmen shot iced tea through her nose and then began coughing.
“I don’t… we…” Carmen spluttered.
“No need to choke, dear. It’s not that outrageous. I just think you could do with a nice girl. Heaven knows you haven’t brought a good one back to the house in a while.”
Faith had to pinch her nose to stop a snort from coming out. Carmen looked at Enid agog. As far as Faith knew, this was Carmen and Enid’s first interaction, although by the looks of things, Enid had been keeping an eagle eye on the Ruiz household.
“You need to tell that fella you live with to ask out Daniel. What are they messing about at? I’ve never seen anyone eat as much pizza as you two.”
“You… what…” Carmen shook her head. Faith silently laughed. Poor Carmen.
“Oh, don’t look so surprised, Miss Ruiz. I’m an old woman with sweet fuck all to do. Your comings and goings are my entertainment. Well, not as much as Ted across the street, that is. You should see him try to walk in his wife’s stilettos. Why the woman thinks it’s sexy is beyond me. It’s not like Ted is built to be on stilts. The man weighs as much as a bus and has the balance of a potato standing on its end.”
Faith couldn’t stop herself after that. Her laughter ricocheted through the house. Enid sipped her tea as if nothing had happened. Carmen looked shell-shocked before bursting out in tears of laughter. Both Carmen and Faith held their bellies. It took them a good five minutes to calm themselves down.
“So, will you go to Vermont?” Enid asked.
Faith nodded. “That’s the plan. I traveled to Seattle thinking Molly would be here, but… well, you know how that turned out. Carmen and Mateo were kind enough to take me in and help me out.”
“I’m glad there are still some kind souls left in the world. Is there anything I can do to help, dear?”
“If you think of anything else about Molly, I’d love to hear it.”
“I’ll see if I can find some pictures for you. I’m sure I have a couple. How about I fetch you over when I have them?”
Faith beamed in delight. Would she finally get to see what her aunt looked like? “Oh Enid, that would be wonderful, thank you.”
“My pleasure, Faith, you’re a chip off the old block. I can see that.”
Faith felt a chill run through her. She naturally thought of her parents when she heard comments like that, but after a moment’s contemplation, Faith calmed. Enid thought she was like Molly, not her parents. Finally she had someone worth measuring up to in her family. That meant more than Faith could articulate.
After another glass of iced tea, Faith and Carmen said their goodbyes with a promise to visit again soon.
“Enid’s lovely,” Faith mused as they walked back to the house.
“She has a toilet mouth,” Carmen laughed.
“I think it suits her though. Do you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, you’re right. Now, how are you feeling about the information she gave you?”
“Honestly, relieved. I just hope she’s still there.”
Carmen let them through the front door. The sound of salsa music boomed through the house. Faith strained to see what Carmen was staring at. Oh boy. In the living room was a very pink and glittery Mateo. Dancing his heart out to the music, whilst vacuuming the floor.
“Why?” Carmen shouted. Mateo looked up and smiled. His eyes were just as glittery as his body.
Shutting off the vacuum, Mateo danced his way over to them. “What did you say, chica?”
“I asked why,” Carmen replied.
“Why what?” Mateo looked confused.
“Why are you vacuuming dressed as a unicorn on steroids? And where the hell did you get that tutu?
“Oh, it’s fabulous, isn’t it? Luis gave it to me. Anyway, I’m wearing it because it’s my dress rehearsal. I need to see how I move in the outfit. Don’t want chafing.”
Faith stood silently watching the two converse. She’d never tire of their back-and-forth. “What the hell are you rehearsing for?”
“I think you look spectacular,” Faith interjected. He really did look magical.
“Don’t encourage him,” Carmen mumbled.
“Thank you, Faith. At least someone around here appreciates my style. And, Carmen, I knew you would forget. I can’t believe it.”
“What did I forget?”
“It’s Pride on Saturday. This is my outfit.”
Faith’s ears perked up. She’d heard about Pride events. They were supposed to be spectacular. Her heart raced. Would Mateo and Carmen let her go with them?
“I have the cutest outfit for you, Faith,” Mateo said, answering her question without her needing to ask it.
“Mateo, do you think that’s a good idea?” Carmen asked. Faith’s heart immediately sank. Carmen didn’t want her to go with them. Faith couldn’t blame her. Who wanted a kid hanging around when they were sure to be with their friends.
“It’s okay. I can stay here.”
“Absolutely not. Faith, this is Pride, an essential rite of passage for any baby gay.”
“But you don’t think it’s a good idea?” Faith asked Carmen.
Carmen smiled at Faith and then looked at Mateo. “I fully understand that Faith attending Pride would be a great experience. But Mateo, I don’t think taking her with you and your friends is a good idea.”
Faith slumped her shoulders. “It’s fine, really. You guys have fun.”
“I’ve already called Luis and told him I won’t be with them,” Mateo huffed. “Do you really think I would subject Faith to those crazy bitches?”
“Well, alrighty then,” Carmen laughed, her posture instantly relaxing. Faith wondered why the idea of Faith being around Mateo’s friends would be a problem.
Mateo pulled Faith by the hand and twirled her. “My friends are intense. They party hard and I… no, we want you to really enjoy your first Pride. We will follow the parade and then…” Mateo paused for dramatic effect, which worked because Faith was on tenterhooks. “We will go to our friend’s place. Rita is a doll. She throws amazing parties at Pride. There will be a bunch of people of all ages, so hopefully you can meet someone your own age. I can’t imagine how awful it is for you to be stuck with us old folks.”
Faith laughed. “I can’t wait. Really, thank you. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited.”
“I knew you would be. Oh girl, we are gonna have a blast.”
“Okay, before you kidnap Faith to play dress up, we need to tell you what we found out.”
In all the excitement, Faith had totally forgotten that Enid had given her Molly’s location. A pang of guilt buzzed through her stomach. “Yeah, Enid knew Molly.”
“Who the hell is Enid?”
“Enid is our neighbor, and she knows things,” Carmen laughed. Mateo gave her a puzzled look.
“She also has the tongue of a sailor, oh and one leg, I think.” It was a complete guess that Enid had a prosthetic leg, but from her comment and the way she limped, Faith would bet she was right.
“What do you mean, she knows things?” Mateo asked in a hushed voice, his eyes darting around the room comically.
“That woman is the neighborhood curtain twitcher.”
“Oh, I have to meet her,” Mateo chuckled. Faith shared a look with Carmen because she knew damn well what Carmen was about to say.
“Enid also mentioned… you’re as smooth as a Ken doll, and to tell you to stop all the manscaping.” A beat of silence settled in the space between them before Faith giggled, Carmen slapped Mateo on the shoulder with a shit-eating grin, and Mateo stood aghast.
“Smooth as a Ken doll. Well, shit.” Mateo huffed. “Did she happen to notice that you have enough hair on your body for the both of us?” His quick comment earned him a jab in the ribs by Carmen. Faith giggled before running to the bathroom. These two were gonna make her pee her pants.
◆◆◆
Pride morning arrived, swept in with a shimmering sea of sequins and glitter. If it were possible, Mateo had somehow become even gayer. His limits for all things shiny and queer were endless.
After the conversation with Enid, the three of them decided to drive to Vermont the Monday after Pride. Faith was happy with that. Carmen and Mateo needed the rest of the week to organize themselves so they could travel without worrying about work.
“Faith, get your cute behind in the bathroom. I need to start your makeup.”
Faith had been looking forward to Pride all week. Mateo’s enthusiasm was infectious. He treated the whole thing so seriously, as if it were an integral part of Faith’s lesducation, as Carmen liked to refer to it. Not only had they had multiple fashion shows that week, but Mateo had also given Faith homework. Every day, she had to watch something queer. It hadn’t taken her long to exhaust Netflix’s LGBTQI+ content. Carmen had set Deezer up on her phone so that she could listen to the list of songs Mateo had instructed her to get familiar with. By Friday night, Faith was feeling gay as hell.
Wrapping her fluffy robe around her body, Faith sat diligently in the salon chair. Mateo laid out a myriad of tools to help him complete his work. “Let the magic begin,” he announced, turning up the music.
What felt like hours passed as Mateo painted Faith’s face. They agreed to a rainbow flag on one cheek and the lesbian flag on another. Glittery eyeshadow and blush. Her hair was given a slight curl and, of course, sprayed with more glitter.
“Okay, you’re done. You only need to get dressed and you’re good to go.”
Jumping out of the chair, Faith hugged Mateo tightly. Carmen received the same treatment seconds later after she left the bathroom.
Pulling on her black short dungarees and rainbow tank top, Faith almost toppled over with excitement. Literally as she hopped around trying to put on her Converse. “Calm down,” she muttered to herself. Picking up her phone, she snapped a selfie and sent it to Alice. Faith knew her friend would be shocked at the transformation. Seconds later, she received a reply. It mainly consisted of OMG, flame emoji and Pride flags.
“Faith, let’s go,” Carmen bellowed. “Mateo, you do not need any more fucking glitter.”
Faith grinned, slipped her phone inside her front pouch, and headed to the front door. “Wow,” she breathed when she saw Carmen. “You look awesome.” Carmen had old black Doc Martens, ripped skin tight black short shorts and a camo tank top. Her hair was up in a topknot and her eyes painted smokey. Faith saw Carmen as an older sister, but that didn’t mean she was blind. This Carmen was very attractive.
“She’s hot right?” Mateo said, sliding up next to Faith, leaning his arm on her shoulder.
“Yeah, she is,” Faith answered honestly.
“Now do you understand why I badger you? Your body is killer and there are going to be so many thirsty lesbians wanting to get all up in that.”
“Gross. Don’t speak about thirsty lesbians. I agreed to this,” Carmen said, waving at her attire, “to shut you up. My ears were bleeding with all your whining. That does not mean anyone will be ‘getting all up in this.’ We’re going to have fun as a family, end of discussion.”
“She’s gonna get so much attention,” Mateo whispered, and Faith had to agree.
◆◆◆
Faith’s jaw hit the floor when they arrived. Her eyes couldn’t process what she was seeing. Thousands of people lining the streets waving flags. Couples and families standing together holding hands and kissing. Joy and excitement rippled through the air, and Faith wanted to soak up every last drop.
“You okay?” Carmen shouted over the music and whistles.
“I am fantastic,” Faith shouted back.
They wound their way through throngs of Pride goers, eventually finding a place to stop. As the parade passed them by, Faith couldn’t stop the tears from falling. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she would get to feel like this. The atmosphere around them was alive. The crowd was electric and Faith felt every bolt of joy and pride zip through her body. This is why she’d risked everything. For this feeling.
Suddenly a hand grabbed her arm and Faith felt herself being pulled forward. Looking behind her in a panic, she saw Mateo and Carmen following. Carmen gave her a wink which settled her raging pulse. The crowd parted and Faith found herself in the middle of the parade. A six-foot Amazon of a drag queen held her hand and encouraged her to join in with the other dancing participants.
Mateo didn’t hesitate. He twirled Faith and then Carmen. To Faith’s surprise, Carmen got right in the middle of it all, moving to the music. As Mateo predicted, it took less than a minute for Carmen to be surrounded by… what did Mateo say thirsty lesbians? Faith hadn’t really understood what he’d meant, but now, seeing it with her own eyes, Faith understood. Each woman circling Carmen looked like they wanted to inhale her.
They danced all the way to the end of the parade. Faith was completely high on adrenaline. “That was so… wow, oh wow.”
“It’s not over yet,” Carmen called, her voice hoarse from singing and shouting.
“Let’s get to Rita’s before all the good booze is gone.” Mateo hooked Carmen and Faith by the elbows, pulling them out of the crowd.
Rita’s house was enormous, with two gigantic Pride flags posted on either side of the wooden door. Music was already blaring, and the house looked full to capacity.
“She’s gone all out this year,” Carmen commented.
“Her niece is here this year, so I think she wanted to make it special. Faith, did you put on a bikini like I said?”
“Sure did.”
“Excellent, let’s find Rita, then grab a drink.” Mateo strutted off before either Carmen or Faith could answer.
“Hey,” Carmen said, turning to face Faith. “I’m not your mom or anything, but you are still underage. Have a drink if you want, but be reasonable.”
