“In a completely innocent way, I assure you.”
“Yeah, right.”
Natalie opens the tube grudgingly and pulls the sun visor down. “Well, I definitely need a mirror,” she mutters.
It feels strange putting on red lipstick, but Natalie has to admit the color is right. It’s not a clown red, but more like the color of ripe sweet cherries. She puts her sunglasses back on and turns toward the two of them. “How do I look?”
“Not bad,” Blair says. “Not bad at all. There’s something missing, though.”
Lindsay reaches behind Natalie and pulls the ponytail band out of her hair, so it flows freely.
Blair grins. “Perfect! You should wear your hair down more often.”
“That’s what I’m always telling her, but she won’t listen.”
Natalie checks herself out in the sun visor again. She’s surprised by her appearance. Between the lipstick, sunglasses, and her hair flowing loosely, she looks okay.
She leans back in the seat and rests her arm on the door, feeling glamorous. It’s a foreign sensation, but she has to admit she sort of likes it. Maybe Blair is on to something with this whole traveling in style business.
“So do you know what you’re going to say to Lena?” Blair glances over at her as she drives.
Natalie has been thinking about it all morning. “I’m going to ask her how she can do it, you know? How she can be with a married man. I want her to know there are consequences from her actions and that she’s hurting people.”
Blair nods. “That’s not a bad approach.”
“Well, if you ask me, I think you should go in there swinging.” Lindsay leans forward. “Forget talking to her. That bitch deserves a world of hurt.”
Natalie laughs. “I’m not exactly the violent type. Besides, did you see her yesterday? She looks more muscular than Peter.”
“So what? If you need help, we can take her. What do you say, Blair?”
Blair shrugs. “I am pretty strong.”
“Plus I just started a boxing class last month, so I’ve got moves,” Lindsay says.
“Oh, I was just reading about boxing for women recently,” Blair exclaims. “How is it?”
“It’s totally awesome. Way more fun than I thought it would be. Plus it’s great for self-defense.”
As the two of them talk about the boxing gym Lindsay goes to, Natalie thinks more about what she plans to say to Lena. She needs to hear how she’s destroying my family.
They park across from the yoga studio and case the joint. Like a lot of the buildings on the street, it’s in a small house that was once someone’s home. The outside is painted lavender with light blue trim and there is gold trim around the door. Herbs are growing neatly in the front yard and an elaborate wind chime hangs near the entrance. The sign is written in what looks like both English and Sanskrit. The studio is called “Lotus Flower Yoga.”
“I can’t believe Lena works in a yoga studio,” Blair says. “I’ve done yoga off and on for years to help me stay focused. It’s hard to believe someone into yoga would be a home wrecker.”
“Oh, she’s focused, all right. The problem is where she’s focused.” Natalie leans back in her seat, trying to stay calm.
She continues to study the small house and notices a green flower hand painted on the front door. It looks like it was done with care. She thinks about how ironic it is that both she and Lena are small business owners. The thought helps calm Natalie. Maybe I can reach her somehow. Get her to go away and leave Peter alone. Then somehow we can put the pieces of our family back together.
“All right.” Natalie lets out a deep breath. “It’s now or never.”
The three of them get out of the car and make their way up the sidewalk to the studio. Natalie is in the middle with Blair and Lindsay on each side. She suddenly imagines them walking in slow motion together like an old western movie—the gunslinger and her posse.
Natalie opens the door to the studio and is immediately assaulted by the smell of incense. It’s overwhelming. She thinks of how La Dolce Vita always smells like delicious things—fresh cakes, butter, and espresso. There’s no comparison.
A young woman in tight yoga clothes is standing near a wooden counter. The front room looks like it was once a living room, but has been converted to a small shop. There are clothes for sale along one wall, along with books, candles, and more incense.
“Can I help you?” the woman asks.
“Yes.” Natalie clears her throat. “I’m looking for Lena?”
“Oh, are you guys signing up for her new class? Because it’s starting in just a few minutes.” She motions to the next room and Natalie can see a sheer curtain separating the two rooms. There are a number of people sitting on mats.
“No. I just need to speak with her. It won’t take long.”
“I think she’s upstairs in the office. I’ll get her.”
The young woman leaves and Natalie starts to feel nervous again. She can’t believe this is what her life has come to. Standing in some hippie den, gagging on incense as she waits to confront the hussy who’s cheating with her husband.
Blair gives her a supportive smile. “You’re doing the right thing. We’re with you all the way.”
Lindsay waves her hand in front of her face. “Jeez, I can’t believe how much it stinks in here. Are they trying to hide the smell of B.O. or something?”
Natalie laughs nervously. “I know. It’s hard to even breathe.”
She hears footsteps and when she looks up an attractive blonde woman walks toward her with a sexy sway to her hips. She’s wearing the same kind of tight yoga clothes the younger woman at the desk was wearing.
It’s Lena.
And for Natalie, it’s as if time has stopped. She feels sweat break out on her forehead. Dear God, please don’t let me faint or make a fool of myself.
Lena stops in front of the three of them expectantly. “Can I help you?”
Up close, Natalie can see that Lena has an air of command. Her toned body looks like she’s in permanent boot camp. She’s definitely in her forties, too. She looks older than she did from a distance. That hair is something else, though. Natalie has to admit that Lena’s long blonde hair is striking and glamorous. She’s as blonde as Britney Spears, but while her hair might look like Britney’s, her face sure doesn’t. It gives Natalie a sense of satisfaction to see all the lines at the corners of Lena’s eyes and on her forehead.
She’s also deeply tan. Tan just like Peter. That image she had of him on the beach in Mexico lounging next to some hazy figure is now replaced with the sexy clarity of Lena. A wave of outrage comes over Natalie.
“What kind of person are you?” she says, trying to keep her voice from shaking. “Have you no shame?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m Natalie. Peter’s wife.”
Lena’s blue eyes widen, but she recovers quickly. “I see and what exactly can I do for you?”
“I want you to stop sleeping with my husband!”
Lena frowns and looks around to see who overheard. The class in the next room seems oblivious. She erases the frown and starts speaking in a compassionate voice. “I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time with all this. I really am, but Peter and I love each other. You finding that hard to accept, Natalie, doesn’t change anything.”
“How can you be with a married man? What’s wrong with you?”
Lena sighs patiently. “He’s not married to you anymore. Not really. In his heart your marriage is over.”
“Is that what you tell yourself? Peter and I have been married for fourteen years. We have a daughter together. You’re breaking up our family!”
“Yes, I know about Chloe. In fact, I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
When she hears her daughter’s name coming from this woman’s lips, Natalie’s anger becomes a black and ugly thing. “Stay away from Chloe. She doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
“I’m sure we’re going to get along great,” Le
na goes on. “Peter and I were thinking about taking a trip together with her. It would be a nice way to get to know each other. Possibly Europe next summer? I understand she’s never been.”
Natalie grits her teeth, crazed at this woman making plans to travel with Chloe.
Lindsay suddenly speaks out. “Look, you can forget that. You’re not taking Chloe anywhere!”
“Yes, what’s wrong with you?” Blair chimes in. “Don’t you have a conscience?”
Lena looks at her. “Who are you?”
“I’m Natalie’s friend and business partner.”
“I see.” Lena turns to Lindsay. “And you must be the wacko sister—I’ve heard all about you.” She gives them a hard smile. “I suggest you both mind your own business though, because this has nothing to do with you.”
In response, Lindsay and Blair glare at Lena and take a step closer to Natalie.
“Don’t talk to them like that,” Natalie says. “And my sister is not a wacko!”
There’s movement from behind the sheer curtain that leads into the next room. People waiting for the yoga class are starting to notice their conversation.
“Natalie, I’m not just a yoga instructor. I’m also a life coach. So I understand why you came here today to confront me. But as a life coach, let me tell you it’s time for you to move on.” Lena is trying to sound patient and guru-like, though Natalie can tell her façade is slipping. “I truly hope this meeting between us has given you a sense of closure. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a class to teach.”
She’s dismissing me. After wrecking my life, now I’m being dismissed!
“How dare you!” Rage clouds her vision.
Lena opens her mouth to say something more, but Natalie doesn’t give her a chance. Without a thought, she raises her hand and then . . .
SLAP!
Natalie’s hand stings as she stares at Lena in shock. My God, what have I done?
Lena appears shocked, too. Her fingers go to her cheek, which is turning bright pink. She seems momentarily confused. But then her eyes narrow and all semblance of the peace-loving yoga guru is gone.
“You fat bitch!” she snarls. “You’re dead!”
She shoves Natalie so hard that she loses balance and lands on the floor. Pain shoots through her right shoulder. She tries to get up, but Lena is suddenly on top of her.
Natalie panics as Lena tries to punch her in the face. She nearly succeeds. Lena is fit and toned, but it turns out Natalie is just plain strong. Hauling around big bags of flour and sugar all these years has its rewards.
“Get off me!” Natalie demands, grabbing Lena’s wrists. “That’s enough!”
“You’re going to pay,” Lena growls, struggling to free herself. “No one slaps me and gets away with it.”
In desperation, Natalie releases one wrist and slaps Lena again.
“Stop that!”
“Then get off me!”
Infuriated, Lena tries once more to punch Natalie, but Natalie blocks her and gets in another loud slap.
“Bitch!” Lena sobs with frustration.
Lena pushes downward and manages to grab hold of Natalie’s hair, jerking her head back. There’s a roar in Natalie’s ears. It hurts like hell and, as she tries to loosen Lena’s grip, the pain brings back memories. She and Lindsay used to fight when they were kids, and when they did, Lindsay fought dirty. Eye poking and nipple twisting weren’t beneath her.
Natalie reaches up and shoves her fingers into Lena’s eyes. Immediately her hair is released as Lena starts howling. Hands are grabbing Natalie. Somebody is pulling them apart.
That’s when she realizes people are yelling. There’s a bunch of strangers standing around them.
“Stop it! Someone help! Do something!”
Finally, they’re separated. Natalie tries to catch her breath. Her hair hurts and her shoulder and butt ache from when she hit the floor, but as far as she can tell there’s no other damage.
“Are you all right?” Blair asks. She and Lindsay are kneeling down beside her. “I can’t believe she jumped you like that!”
“Although I’ll bet she regrets it now,” Lindsay says with a smirk, glaring over at Lena.
“I’m fine.” Natalie tells them.
Lena’s hair is a tangled mess and there are red slap marks on both of her cheeks. She’s rubbing her eyes. “Hey, are you okay?” Natalie asks her.
A crowd of people has gathered around, though most of them seem bewildered. This isn’t exactly the kind of scene you expect to find in a yoga studio.
Lena gives Natalie a nasty look. “Just go away. I never want to see you again!”
“That works for me.” Natalie pushes herself up and straightens her clothes. Lindsay and Blair join her. After a quick search, she finds the sunglasses that were knocked off her head and puts them back on again. Just before she leaves, she goes over to where Lena is leaning against the wall, still breathing hard. “You know what? You were right about what you said earlier. I think I do feel a sense of closure.”
And then Natalie turns and heads toward the door.
Taking her posse with her.
THE RIDE BACK over to La Dolce Vita is a quiet one. Natalie doesn’t feel like talking, and sensing this, Lindsay and Blair keep their thoughts to themselves.
When they get to the bakery it’s nearly closing time, though the place is still busy, filled with students and people chatting over coffee and working on their laptops. Luckily, a corner table opens up and Natalie immediately heads for it. It has a small red love seat on one side and she collapses onto it.
Lindsay and Blair take a seat, too. No one says a word.
The familiar sounds and smells of the bakery settle around Natalie like a comforting blanket. Finally, she breaks the silence.
“I guess it was a mistake confronting Lena.”
Lindsay scowls. “That woman is a lunatic and here she was calling me a wacko!”
“I agree,” Blair says. “She’s nuts. I still can’t believe the way she jumped you. I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Natalie just shakes her head. “It’s my fault, though. I started it.”
“How?” Lindsay asks.
“By slapping her.”
“Well, I think you’re wrong,” Blair says. ”It sounds to me like Lena started it. She started it months ago by sleeping with Peter.”
“And now she’s talking about taking Chloe to Europe?” Lindsay scoffs. “That’s going to happen over my dead body, I can tell you that.”
“I hated even hearing her say Chloe’s name. My God, what did I ever do to this woman? She stole my husband and now she wants to steal my daughter, too?”
Lindsay shakes her head. “Not going to happen. Not in a million years. Chloe would never go with her anywhere.”
“Lena has Peter, though.”
They’re all silent again and the mood is somber.
Finally, Blair speaks up. “Okay, it’s probably inappropriate, but I have to ask. What did it feel like to let her have it?”
Natalie thinks about how satisfying it was giving Lena a taste of pain. She bites her lip. “It felt good, but it was still wrong.”
“You took her by surprise, that’s for sure. She definitely didn’t see it coming.”
Lindsay looks at Natalie admiringly. “I’m sure she never dreamed you were going to give her an ass-kicking. We would have jumped in to help, but you didn’t look like you needed it at all.”
Blair nods in agreement. “You definitely had it under control.”
Natalie considers this. “Do you guys really think I kicked her ass?”
“Are you kidding?” Lindsay says. “You slapped the slut right out of her!”
Natalie and Blair’s eyes meet and they both burst out laughing.
“Hey, it’s true!” Lindsay says, laughing with them.
While they’re still laughing, Carlos comes up to the table. “I don’t mean to interrupt your pow-wow, ladies, but would you like anything?”<
br />
Natalie tries to get herself under control. She nods at Carlos. “Would you mind getting me a latte?”
“No problem, anyone else?”
Blair and Lindsay say they’ll take one, too, along with a piece of caramel cake for Lindsay.
As Carlos turns to walk away, Natalie stops him. “Can you make my latte with two percent instead of whole milk?”
Carlos eyes her. “Are you sure?” Natalie is notoriously picky about her coffee.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Okay.”
Natalie sighs and lets her eyes wander around the bakery. The place is still buzzing even though it’s almost closing.
“I wonder if we should consider staying open late again,” she muses. It’s something she and Blair have discussed a few times.
“I’d love to, but I think we need to wait until we can get the space next door,” Blair says.
“You’re right. It all hinges on that, doesn’t it?”
Both Natalie and Blair turn and stare with frustration at the brick wall that connects them to the empty shop that sits on the other side.
Lindsay looks confused. “This place is always hopping. Why can’t you guys stay open later?”
“Because it’s more expensive,” Blair explains. “We’ll have to hire more people and we need more space to pay for that.”
“Plus, we’re still in a bind with our ovens, so it’ll be impossible to make enough food to sell,” Natalie continues.
Carlos comes over and brings them their lattes, along with the caramel cake.
Blair glances down at Lindsay’s caramel cake. “That reminds me! I’ll be right back.” She gets up and runs into the kitchen.
“What’s up with her?” Lindsay asks, stuffing cake in her mouth.
Natalie shrugs. She takes a sip from her two percent latte. It’s surprisingly good. Not as good as whole milk, but she thinks she can live with it.
When Blair comes back, she has a mischievous grin on her face. “I forgot to tell you who came in the other day to order a cake. Espresso Breve!”
“Is that right?” Natalie keeps her voice neutral, pretending to be surprised.
“Yes, and I found out his real name.”
“Wait a minute,” says Lindsay. “Who’s Espresso Breve?”
Year of Living Blonde (Sweet Life in Seattle, Book 1) Page 5
