Kevin O'Brien - Disturbed

Molly shook her head. “No, it’s fine. Erin’s in bed, reading, and I think Chris is taking a shower. In fact, I could use a friend just about now. . ” Molly couldn’t help it. She started crying.

“You poor thing, what’s going on?” Rachel asked.

“Jeff still hasn’t come home from work yet,” she admitted. She led Rachel into the living room, where they sat down on the sofa together. “I’m so worried about him — and so mad at him! I have no idea where he is. I talked to his assistant. Jeff took off from work at noon, and he never came back. I keep calling his cell, and I keep getting his damn voice mail. . ”

Even though she didn’t give Rachel the whole story, it felt good to cry on someone’s shoulder. Molly went through three Kleenexes from the pockets of her jeans. She was just wiping her eyes, when she heard Chris coming down the stairs.

“Dad?” he called. He rounded the corner and stopped at the living room entrance. “Oh, hi,” he said to Rachel. “I thought you were my dad. . ”

“Well, there’s my hero,” Rachel said, “the handsomest fireman in North Seattle. Chris, could you do us a huge favor, and pour Molly a great big glass of wine?” She patted her arm. “That’ll help take the edge off. What do you want, white or red?”

“No, I can’t,” Molly said, shaking her head. “I — thanks anyway, no.”

Rachel gave her a look. Then she turned and smiled at Chris. “Never mind, honey. We’ll give a yell if we need you.”

He nodded. “I’ll be downstairs, watching TV.” Then he headed toward the kitchen.

“He’s a sweetie pie,” Rachel said.

Molly just nodded. She heard the basement door yawn open, and then Chris’s footsteps on the stairs.

Rachel took hold of her hand. “So — what’s going on with the no wine?” she whispered. “Are you pregnant?”

Molly hesitated, and then nodded. “Nobody else knows yet,” she said, her voice still hoarse from crying.

“Oh, that’s so exciting!” Rachel whispered, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “And guess what?”

Molly numbly gazed at her and shrugged.

“I’m pregnant, too, Molly!” Laughing, she squeezed her hand. “I’m about eight weeks along. That’s what I get for sex with the ex. But I’m keeping it. . ”

“Well, congratulations,” Molly said, with a dazed smile. But then she started to cry again. “I’m sorry. I’m happy for you, really. But I’m such a mess right now. I’m just so worried about Jeff, and so uncertain about everything. . ”

“You’re just so hormonal , is what’s going on,” Rachel said. She dug into her pocket, pulled out a tissue, and handed it to Molly. “Believe me, I know. I’m going through the exact same thing. Every day I’m on an emotional rollercoaster ride. And nauseous? Let me tell you, I’ve got a tiger in my tank.”

Molly blew her nose, and leaned back on the sofa. She laughed.

“Don’t worry,” Rachel said. “I’m sure Jeff will be home soon.” She leaned back on the couch so they were shoulder to shoulder. She took Molly’s hand and placed it over her belly, and then she put her hand over Molly’s belly. “Meanwhile, the four of us will all wait up for him.”

“Rachel, thank you,” Molly whispered. “I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t here. . ”

Maria was listening to “Walking on Sunshine” on her iPod, and she was in a pretty good mood that Saturday morning. The guest who had checked out of room 102 had left a five-dollar bill on the TV — along with a Thank You! scribbled on the notepad. Plus they’d left behind a People magazine, two unopened cans of Coke, and an unopened bag of Cheetos. Not a bad haul.

Wheeling her cart to the next room down the hall, she noticed there wasn’t a sign on the door. Putting her iPod on pause, she plucked out her earplugs, took out her passkey, and knocked. “Housekeeping!” she called.

There was no response. Maria unlocked the door with her passkey, then propped it open with the cart. “Oh, phew,” she grumbled. Every once in a while she got a really smelly room. This one was a mess, too. The bedspread and sheets had been pulled off the mattress and strewn onto the floor. On the nightstand were a glass, a tipped-over ice bucket, and some powdery substance that had to be drugs. The flickering TV was on the adult channel menu.

Maria started across the room so she could open the sliding glass door. She stepped on something lumpy beneath the white sheet. She almost tripped over it. That was when Maria noticed the blue-gray hand sticking out from that sheet.

She realized she’d just stepped on someone’s arm. Then she saw the man, lying there naked on the floor. Maria screamed so loud she might have woken the dead.

But she didn’t.

The clipping from Jeff’s T-shirt was under the doll’s right leg — just where she’d left the shirt. One of the dark-haired doll’s little arms was covered with the miniature bedsheet.

She was almost finished with the hotel-room scene, which was slightly bigger than a large shoe box. It just needed a few more flourishes. She’d gotten a head start on the project. She’d been in several hotel rooms with Jeff, and they all looked alike after a while. She just needed to capture the essence of it. She was particularly proud of the tiny light that flickered in the miniature TV. It cast an interesting shadow on the nude doll when she turned off the lights in her workroom. She could imagine it was how Jeff looked last night, on the floor of the hotel room — nothing on but the TV.

And nothing on him , she thought. She was toying with the idea of drawing on the doll to make it anatomically correct and accentuate the nudity. And the thought of drawing a penis on the doll gave her a melancholy smile. She would miss him in bed. She’d have to do Jeff justice with her rendering.

Justice, she thought, gazing at the unfinished Dennehy dollhouse on her worktable.

Her cell phone rang. It was also on the worktable.

She checked the caller ID and let out an exasperated sigh. She answered it anyway. “Hi, Elaine,” she said. “Now really isn’t a good time.”

“Well, Jenna,” her sister said on the other end. “Why don’t you tell that to your son? He asked me twice today when you’re coming to see him.”

“I’ll be there next weekend, I promise,” she said. “In fact, let me tell him myself. Is he there? Can you put him on?”

She heard her sister mumbling something, and then after a minute: “Hello, Mommy?”

“Hi, Todd,” she said, tearing up a little. “How’s my guy?”

“I just killed a bug,” he said.

She smiled. “I killed one yesterday. Do you miss me?”

There was no response on the other end, and she knew he was nodding. He still did that over the phone sometimes. “When are you coming back, Mommy?” he asked, finally.

“Soon, maybe next weekend,” she said. “And we’ll definitely be together for Thanksgiving, don’t you worry. My work here is almost done. Sweetheart, can you keep a secret?”

“Yes!” he replied eagerly.

“You can’t even tell Aunt Elaine. Cross your heart. Did you cross it, honey?”

Again, silence. She knew he was nodding.

“Next time you see me, I might be bringing you a sister. She’s a little older than you, and she’s very sweet. Her daddy just died yesterday. . ”

Jenna Corson wandered back to her worktable and the Dennehy dollhouse. She put her hand on the roof. “And her brother and stepmother will be dead soon, too. She’ll be all alone. So we’re going to be her new family. Won’t that be nice, sweetheart? Won’t that be lovely?”

She listened to the silence and knew what it meant.