by Joy Argento
“I’ll take it in my office,” I told Cindy.
I hurried back and took a deep breath before picking up the phone and hitting line one. “Hello? This is Beth Bellamy.”
I listened intently as Mr. Sullivan, the vice principal, explained that there had been an incident involving Maddie and another student. Words were said, and a slapping match followed. Maddie was being suspended for a week. She would need to be picked up.
Son of a bitch. That was all I needed. There was no way I could leave the salon. I called my mother and explained the situation.
“Oh, honey, of course I’ll go get her. Do you want me to drop her off at home?”
“So she can have the day off to do what she wants? No way. Can you keep her with you until I’m done here? I’ll pick her up as soon as I can.”
“Sure.”
My mom. My hero. “Thanks. I really appreciate it. Put her to work, make her weed your garden or something.”
My mom laughed. “I’ll think of something. See you later.”
I took several long moments to compose myself before going back out to my client. Cindy glanced over at me and I just shook my head.
“Everything okay?” Timber asked, catching my eye in the mirror.
I grabbed my spray bottle from the counter in front of her. “Just kid stuff. Nothing we can’t get through.” I forced a smile. “Um, maybe I should have asked you if you wanted a shampoo before I start spraying water on you.” I held up the bottle. I needed to get my head back in the game here. My mom could handle Maddie till I picked her up. She behaved better for her anyway. There was no way I would let her disrespect her grandmother after everything she’d done for us.
“I washed it this morning,” Timber said, bringing me out of my thoughts.
“I’m sor—” I started.
Timber turned her head toward me and held up her hand. She couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, but she looked at me with knowing eyes. “It’s no problem. Honest. Been through some stuff myself.”
I nodded, appreciating her patience. “We’re thinking about cutting this beautiful hair off, huh?” I lifted a few strands for emphasis.
“Is it long enough to donate what we cut?” she asked.
I said a silent prayer that Maddie would turn out as great as this young woman in my chair seemed to be. That kid was going to be the death of me.
* * *
“Thanks, Mom,” I said. Maddie hadn’t looked me in the eye since I arrived to pick her up. “Did she give you any trouble?”
“Not at all. Good as gold.” My mom was starting to show her age. I had offered, more than once, to dye her salt-and-pepper hair. She politely refused. “Come on, Mom,” I’d teased her. “Don’t you want to attract some hot guy?”
“Look who’s talking?” she replied. “You should be the one looking for a guy. Don’t you think it’s time?”
“Time for what?”
“Time for you to live your life again. Maddie is growing up. She doesn’t need your full attention anymore.”
Today proved that she did indeed still need my full attention—and apparently more discipline.
“Let’s go,” I told Maddie. “Give your grandmother a hug good-bye.”
Maddie did as she was told, followed me outside, and slipped into the passenger side of my car.
I had decided not to talk about this until the morning. I wanted to discuss it with a rational head and not from a place of anger. It would also give me the upper hand if I remained silent and let Maddie stew wondering when the hammer would come crashing down.
The ride home was completely silent, but my head was reeling. Everything I wanted—no—needed to say to her was running through my mind. All of the possible punishments I could bestow on her were on repeat.
“You’ll be going to work with me in the morning,” I told her when I pulled into the driveway.
I kept my face forward. I knew if I saw her roll her eyes at me I would lose it. What the hell was I going to do with her?
Jodi
Claire kissed me on the cheek. “See you later, babe.”
I wiped my hands on the dish towel and turned for a hug. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her in close.
“I’m going to be late.” She wiggled out of my embrace and headed toward the garage door.
I snapped the dish towel at her, catching the corner of it on her butt. She gave me a dirty look.
I laughed. She didn’t.
She didn’t usually work on Saturdays, but every few months they had a teleconference with managers from the Colorado office. Claire could have joined in from her laptop at home, but she said it was more professional if she did it from her office at work. I suspected she was afraid of the kids making noise while she was on the call.
It was fine. I was taking Annie to get her hair cut at Beth’s salon anyway. I was looking forward to seeing Beth again.
“Annie,” I called up the stairs. “Are you ready to go? Come on, honey.”
Andrew could have used a haircut too, but he balked at the idea and I didn’t push it. He was responsible enough to spend a couple of hours alone while we were gone. He probably wouldn’t come out of his room the whole time. Video games certainly kept his attention. I tried to limit it but was grateful at times like this that it would keep him occupied.
Annie trotted down the stairs and sashayed by me on her way to the door.
“Andrew,” I called. “We’ll be back in a little while. Remember the rules.” Don’t answer the door. Don’t tell anyone who called the house phone that he was home alone, and no cooking or eating until I got back. And under no circumstances, short of a fire, was he to leave the house.
“Yeah, Mom.”
I followed Annie out the door and locked it behind me. The drive was quick, and Annie and I chatted along the way. She was excited to try a new look with her hair. She had worn it long since she was about three and decided to get what looked like a modern day bob. She’d found a picture of a girl about her age on the internet with the exact haircut she wanted. She emailed me the picture so I would have it on my phone to show Beth.
“This is Annie,” I told Beth when she greeted us from behind the counter. “Annie, this is Miss Beth. She will be the one cutting your hair.”
“Nice to meet you, Annie,” Beth said. “Your mom’s told me a lot about you.”
A slight blush traveled up to Annie’s cheeks. Always shy around new people, she surprised me by looking Beth straight in the eye and responding, “Nice to meet you too.” She reached across the counter to shake Beth’s hand. I could see it wasn’t just me who found Beth warm and welcoming.
“Maddie,” Beth said to the young woman sweeping hair from the floor toward the back of the salon. “Come here. I want you to meet someone.”
Maddie leaned the broom against the wall and headed in our direction. She forced a smile.
“Jodi, this is my daughter, Maddie. Maddie, this is Jodi and her daughter, Annie. Jodi is the one who did the new sign out front.”
Maddie’s smile seemed to turn genuine. “Oh yeah. Cool sign. I like it.”
“Thanks.” It was always good to get the stamp of approval. “Very nice to meet you. Do you help your mom out here on weekends?”
The corners of her mouth turned down. “Only when I’m being punished.”
It was Beth’s turn to blush. I wasn’t sure if the red that colored her cheeks was from embarrassment or anger.
“Long story,” Beth said, but offered no explanation. I probably wouldn’t have either in a similar situation.
“Nice to meet you,” Maddie said and went back to her broom.
“My mom has a picture of the haircut I want,” Annie announced.
Annie nudged my ribs, my cue to pull out my phone and show Beth.
“Ah yes,” Beth told her. “I think that will look very cute on you.”
The blush on Annie’s cheeks rose until her ears became involved in the embarrassment that a nine-year-old expe
rienced for no particular reason.
“Do you need my phone as a reference?” I asked.
Beth smiled at me. “Nope. I’ve got this covered.” I took a seat in the small waiting area and watched as my daughter was led to the same chair I had sat in weeks ago and the black plastic cape was draped over her shoulders. I couldn’t hear their conversation but watched as they chatted away, and Beth snipped at her hair until it looked like the young girl’s picture that Annie had found. I was impressed.
“What do you think?” Beth asked me when they were all done.
I nodded my approval. “Great job. Annie, do you like it?”
“I love it.” She tossed her head side to side. She looked up at me and whispered rather loudly, “Ask her.”
“Ask her what?” I whispered back, also too loudly, truly confused.
“Ask her if she wants to go to the play with you. I heard you and Claire talking yesterday. You said you wanted to go, and Claire said she didn’t. She told you to see if one of your friends could go with you.” Claire didn’t seem to take much notice of the fact that I really hadn’t made any true friends since moving here.
I glanced at Beth, who had obviously heard our less than quiet conversation. It really was a good suggestion. But I didn’t want to put her on the spot in front of Annie. She probably wouldn’t want to go to a play with someone she barely knew.
Several beats of silence followed as I tried to read the look in Beth’s eyes. Annie tugged on my sleeve. I cleared my throat. “Well, the play is at Geva Theater a week from today at noon. It’s called Tom Hannagan Goes Home. Have you heard of it?”
She hadn’t. I continued. “Anyway, Annie’s right, it would be great if you wanted to go. My treat. I already have the tickets.” I was really hoping she would say yes, but fully prepared for her to turn it down.
“That would be great,” she said to my surprise.
Annie smiled wide. Well, if I hadn’t made a new friend, I knew that Annie had. Truth was, I was starting to consider Beth a friend. I was hoping she felt the same.
Beth
I followed the directions Jodi had given me and parked in front of the two-story house. I loved plays but hadn’t been to one in quite a while. Too much work and not enough play, my daughter had often said to me. I realized she was right. This was the first Saturday I’d taken off since I opened the salon.
The house was bigger and nicer than I expected it to be. The sidewalk leading to the house was lined with the young flowers of June. I rang the bell and waited. The door was opened by a woman about my height, with very short, faded red hair and a thin face. My first thought was that a different hairstyle would suit her better, but quickly chastised myself for being judgy. Sitting by her side was what looked like a collie mix, tail wagging so hard that it made a thud as it thumped against the tiled floor. The woman gave me a smile and extended her hand.
“Hi,” she said. “You must be Beth. I’m Claire.”
I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Claire.” I put the back of my hand out to the dog. “And who do we have here?” She gave my hand a sniff and then a quick lick.
“That’s Tess. I’m sure she’ll make a pest of herself,” she answered. “Tess, go lie down.”
“She’s okay. She’s beautiful.” I ran my hand over the fur on her head.
“Come on in. Jodi will be down in a minute.”
The large foyer was painted white, not eggshell, not off-white, not bone white, but pure white. I had never seen such a white white before. It extended up to the second floor. A chandelier hung from the high ceiling. An oak banister off to the left led up the stairs. Claire turned toward them and called up. “Babe, your friend’s here.”
Jodi came bouncing down. “Hi,” she said to me. She had a big smile on her face. I had come to expect that whenever I saw her. I looked forward to it. I smiled back.
“Would you like a cup of coffee or something to drink?” Claire asked me.
“Sure, that would be great. Thanks.” I followed her into the kitchen, with Jodi right behind me. It was as impressive as the foyer had been. The white cabinets stopped just short of the ceiling, and wicker baskets of varying shapes and sizes sat on top.
“Claire’s collection,” Jodi said when she noticed me looking.
“Very nice,” I said more out of effort to be polite than any real admiration.
I could tell by Jodi’s smile that she knew that.
Claire poured two cups of coffee and put them on the table. Jodi got a small container of half-and-half and put it on the table as well.
Claire sat at the head of the table and motioned for me to do the same. She pushed one of the cups in front of me.
Jodi handed me a spoon and sat across from me.
“Do you need sugar?” Claire asked me.
“Just cream,” Jodi answered for me. I was surprised she remembered.
I snuck a look at Claire. I’m not sure what I expected, but this wasn’t it. Jodi was very pretty. I guess I thought her partner would be equally nice looking. She wasn’t. She wasn’t what I would call ugly; maybe plain was the word that seemed to work best. She didn’t seem as warm as Jodi was either, at least at first glance. I realized I was making assumptions again.
“Claire,” I said. “Jodi tells me you work for Benderson. My uncle retired from there. How do you like it?”
She took a sip of her coffee before answering. “I like it a lot. I’m in charge of the warehouse. Inventory, that sort of thing. It’s a busy place. I like to keep everybody hopping.”
“That’s great,” I said. “Always good to like what you do for a living.”
Jodi slid the container of half-and-half in my direction. “How was your morning?” she asked me.
“Fine. Maddie was in rare form this morning.” I turned toward Claire. “Maddie’s my daughter,” I told her, not sure how much she knew. “She’s seventeen.”
Claire nodded.
“Anyway,” I continued. “She usually argues with me about everything. But this morning she got up before I did and made me breakfast. I was kind of waiting for the shoe to drop. Wondering what she was up to.”
“Did you find out?” Claire asked in a dull voice. Dull. That was the word I think I was searching for to describe her. Jodi seemed so animated, so full of life. Her partner, on the other hand, seemed dull, monotone. If Jodi was a movie she would be in full Technicolor. Claire would be in black and white. Grainy black and white. I wondered what Jodi saw in her. Maybe Claire was different when they were alone together.
I smiled, more at my thoughts about Claire, which I admitted to myself were not very charitable or Christian-like, than at Claire herself. “I have no idea. It kind of scares me.”
“I can understand that. Teenagers in general scare me. Make me crazy in fact.” There was no hint of a smile or that she was somehow kidding. I knew Andrew, Jodi’s son, was a teenager. I wondered how hurtful Claire’s statement was to her. I glanced at her but couldn’t quite read her face.
I sipped my coffee and looked around the kitchen. It was remarkably clean for a house with children in it. No matter how much I picked up after Maddie, mine never even came close to this. “Where are the kids?” I asked Jodi. “I was hoping I would get a chance to meet Andrew and say hi to Annie.”
“She had a play date and Andrew has lacrosse practice. I’m sure you’ll get another chance.”
“Thanks again for inviting me to this. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Claire piped up. “You’re doing me a favor. It got me out of going.”
“Not a fan of plays?” I asked.
“Hate ’em. I find them so boring. Jodi’s dragged me to enough of them. I’m glad she found someone else willing to go.”
Yeah. I didn’t like her. At all.
Jodi spoke before I had a chance to respond to Claire’s comment. I wondered if she did it on purpose. “You’re welcome. I’m so glad you agreed.” She looked at her watch. “Maybe we should get going just in ca
se it takes us a little while to park.”
“Sure.” A sense of relief washed over me at the thought of not trying to make further small talk with Claire.
Jodi got up, took my cup, and dumped it into the sink. She rinsed it, put it in the dishwasher, and rinsed the sink with the sprayer.
“Well, Claire,” I said, pushing my chair from the table and standing up, “it was so nice meeting you.”
“You too.”
“Bye, honey.” Jodi gave her a kiss on the mouth.
I turned my head, a little embarrassed at the intimate act and wondering if I would have turned away if Jodi was kissing a man good-bye instead of a woman. I wasn’t sure.
As soon as we were in Jodi’s car, she turned to me. “So, that was Claire.”
I laughed. “I know.”
“Sometimes she comes off a little…um…short. She doesn’t mean it. She really is a great person.”
“Of course she is. She must be, if you love her.” And it was obvious that she did. I just wasn’t sure why. “She was fine.”
“Thanks.” Jodi backed the car out of the driveway, deftly avoiding my car parked on the street, and pointed us in the direction of Monroe Avenue and the play I really was looking forward to seeing with her.
Jodi
I was actually glad it was Beth sitting next to me instead of Claire. It was funny, I didn’t seem to miss Claire like I normally did when I was with Beth. Of course, I hadn’t really spent too much time with Beth. During the play she whispered comments or funny remarks in my ear. Claire would never do that. Claire had a lot of great qualities. Her ability to enjoy a play was not one of them.
“I loved that,” Beth said when the play was over. “I’m so glad you invited me.”
“I’m so glad Annie insisted that I did.”
She laughed. “She’s a great kid.”
“I like her.” I folded my program in half and stuffed it into my back pocket as I stood up. “Would you like to go get some late lunch?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket, turned the ringer back on, and glanced at the time. “It’s…wow, it’s almost two o’clock already. Time flies when you’re having fun. And, Beth, I did have fun. Thank you.”
