by Erin Lee
Tonight, I’m going to Pam’s. Pam lives six trailers down, just round the way. She works as a manager of a hair salon in downtown Endings. Because she’s known me forever, she said I could come over to practice hair styles. She said she’s going to “fix me up real good and make that boy cry when he sees ya, doll.” I can’t wait.
I rush through my chores, checking on supper—fatback and corn bread with beans and corn on the cob, Maggie’s favorites. I get lost in daydreams of how different up-dos might look with my veil while Maggie sits in her reclining chair watching “Jeopardy” behind a card table where she likes to eat her dinner. I smile at her, hoping she’ll smile back, and I’ll see where Austin’s dimples came from. On cue, she does.
***
“Girl! We’re going to fix you right up. You’re gunna be the most beautiful bride Endings’ ever seen!”
I laugh, hoping the pink in my cheeks doesn’t give my embarrassment away. “Thanks,” I mumble, unsure of what else to say but confident Pam knows what she’s doing. I wish I had thought to ask Austin how he prefers my hair, up or down. But, knowing Austin, he won’t care either way.
Pam pushes a tattered pile of magazines from her days in beauty school at me. “Here, sit down. Start looking through these. I need to get a feel for what you like, doll. Iced coffee or tea?”
I sit at an oval table in Pam’s tiny kitchen while she heads to the refrigerator. Scanning page upon page of bridal hair options, I wish I’d thought to bring Julie, Sonya, Maggie, anyone with me. “Wow. I had no idea there were so many choices. I have no idea where to start.”
“Oh, you’ll be fine, darlin. Have faith. We’ll come up with something great,” Pam assures me, over the grinding of her ice maker. “So, tell me everything! What’s been going on? How’s Maggie? I feel so out of the loop with the salon and everything. Ya’ll don’t talk to me as much, since the job. Tell me everything. I reckon I’ve missed a lot.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard you’ve been super busy. How’s that going?”
Pam takes my bait and immediately jumps into stories about her more interesting regular clients—from botched weaves to bad color jobs and women who “expect miracles every single time they walk in the building.” “You can’t fix everything,” she says. “Wait! Stop! Look at that one! That one would complement your facial structure. Loose curls, a little messy. Almost bohemian. Did you bring your veil?”
“I haven’t picked it up yet. Money. I’ll have it next week. And, yeah, I like it. Could we add flowers too?”
“What’s your color scheme again?”
“Purple and ivory. I’m using calla lilies, because, well, the obvious.”
“Oh! That will be pretty. I’m so glad you decided to do it here. This will be such a great time. Is everyone invited?”
“All the regulars. This place is home.”
Pam smiles, looking around her kitchen. “Yes, it sure is. And you know this place. People love a good excuse for a party!”
I laugh. Pam and I may not always agree on everything, but there’s no arguing with her that Happy Endings is known for its massive get-togethers and ability to put conflict aside for a good time. “I’ve got everyone involved and helping. I don’t know what I’d do without all the help. Julie is doing the favors, the guys are working on some sort of staging by the dock. They will deal with tents the morning of the wedding and most of the set up. A favor to Austin, I guess. I’m certainly not saying no.”
“What about Callie? Is she in the wedding?”
I shrug. “No. I wanted to keep it small. I’m just having Julie and my sister-in-law, Sonya.”
“What about Stixx?”
I raise my eyebrows and shake my head.
“Kiki?”
“Yeah. Sure, she can be the entertainment for Austin’s bachelor party!”
“Oh, you’re terrible!”
“Please, you opened me right up for that.”
“Yes. I certainly did! Okay, let’s get to work! We need a game plan. …But, can you imagine it? Kiki dancing on a pole at the reception?”
“Um. No. And Austin? He’d die. He’s way too shy. He isn’t even actually having a bachelor’s party. No interest at all.”
“Ya caught yourself a great guy, love.”
Pam twists and pulls my hair it into every size swirl and curl imaginable. She chatters about her work at the salon, her lunch with a “just-a-friend-don’t-tell Bess,” and asks about Maggie.
“She’s good. She doesn’t get out as much lately. It’s kind of sad. I reckon she misses Austin. I don’t know, something. I keep telling her we need to get a dog to keep her company. Austin and I aren’t going to be there forever.” Not if he has his way, anyway.
“Well, it’s hard. Especially for a woman like that. Oh, Maggie: She was a sassy one. I remember the time she and Francine ran off with the motor boat. The guys needed it for the derby but your grandmother and Maggie insisted they would not get it back until that old RV on Maggie’s lot was gone. She was sick of looking at it. Those two. Stayed out there two whole days! Stubborn mules, they were,” Pam, says, reaching for a bottle of hairspray. “Loose? Like this?”
I nod, trying to picture either Maggie or Grandma young. The last time I saw them together was the summer before Austin decided—for sure—to enlist in the guard. Maggie was a mess, convinced he’d somehow wind up in Afghanistan, no matter how many times he reassured her. By then, Pappy was already gone and Austin was on his own in convincing Maggie the guard would help with mechanic school.
Maggie held her ground and made him wait until he was eighteen to sign his letter of commitment. She simply wasn’t going to have any part in “losing another of my kids.” She’d already lost her son and daughter-in-law. “Enough was enough,” she’d said.
“Yes. I’m thinking bohemian. I want this to look as natural as possible without being a mess.”
“Shabby chic.”
“Yeah. That.”
“I gotcha, girl.”
Pam fiddles with a curl, decides against it, and pulls out a straightener. It sizzles on my gelled hair, tossing a coconut smell into the air.
“I feel bad for her.”
“Who? Maggie?”
“Yeah.”
“I can’t imagine. She’s had it rough. Losing her kid, then Austin moving. Losing Francine, too. She and your grandma were awful close…”
I roll my eyes, sure that Pam’s referring to rumors from Bess that Grandma and Maggie had a “thing” at one time. No one seems to remember that, for all their bickering, my grandparents had true love. Grandma would never have left him, even for her best friend.
“It’s not just that. I mean, she’s just been so sick. A heart attack. Two or three strokes. I just worry about her. I’m hoping she’ll be feeling better than usual by the wedding. I mean, she seems okay, but she doesn’t talk all that much.”
“Maggie is a listener.”
“True.”
“I reckon that’s why she’s always hated Bess.”
“Oh, I think there are other reasons, too.” Telling everyone she and Grandma were lovers, selling Grandma’s stuff before Grandma was even in the ground. Oh, a million other reasons…I wonder how many Pam knows…
Pam laughs, reaching for a hand mirror. “What do you think of this?”
My mouth drops open, and I can’t help but smile, seeing the way she’s pulled my fine, limp hair back—just enough—to give it an elegant look. I’m afraid to move.
“Oh my gosh! It’s perfect! But is it going to get messed up?”
“Every window in this trailer is open for a reason, love. I only used an entire bottle of hairspray. There’s no moving that. Not for nothing. Go ahead, shake your head and try it.”
Reluctantly, I do as she says, but am pleased to find Pam is a pro. My hair doesn’t move at all. “Pam, this is art!”
“Why thank you! I try. Okay, so we can do this and add a calla lily to it. It’ll be perfect. You’re going to be a beautiful bride. Austi
n’s very lucky.”
I stand to give Pam a hug. “Thank you. Really.”
I wish my grandmother could see it. I know she’d be pleased. It reminds of how she wore her hair without even trying. Blessed with natural curls that eventually turned a snowy white, Grandma would get ready for any occasion in under ten minutes. She said it was a woman’s right to be fussy, but also a waste of time.
“Any time. I’m so excited for the wedding. I’m going shopping this weekend to find the perfect dress. Might bring my new friend along too…”
“Yes. I think it will be a really fun time. Low key. Casual. Honestly, though, I think I’m most excited to finally see Austin. Four months seems like a really long time.”
“I don’t blame you on that one bit! He’s going to be so excited. Ya’ll make such a sweet couple. Even back in middle school. It was just so obvious. Meant to be, I guess.”
“Yeah. I’m really lucky.”
I say my goodbyes to Pam, thanking her again and reminding her not to spend too much on a dress.
“Don’t be a stranger, Callie! Come visit again soon. And give Maggie my best.”
“Will do.”
Chapter Two
Esmeralda—Es for short—Boswell is a psychic. She’s been doing readings for as long as I can remember. For years, she did them out of her trailer to raise money for her daddy, who had Alzheimer’s. Seasonal residents or week-long guests paid her a fortune, literally, to hear what Es saw in her magic crystal ball. I’ve missed her.
Es moved out of Happy Endings for a bit, but has finally returned. I’ve waited more than six weeks for this reading; a gift from Maggie. I tell my stomach to knock it off as I wait for Es to return to her living room with cards. Out her trailer window, I spot Willow, a woman in her seventies—at least—walking her dog. Her fluorescent jogging suit and spray tan remind me of something out of the 80s movie Flashdance. I slide to the edge of the couch to get a better look at her. Didn’t she already run this morning? She’s practically jogging. Why can’t Drake walk her dog? And who wears all those bracelets to exercise? One of a kind, that’s for sure. I want to be like her someday. Or, no. All that exercise seems like a lot of work. No wonder she’s so darn skinny. I rub my temples, wishing Es would just start the reading. I feel a headache coming on.
“Relax, love. This is supposed to be fun!” she says, appearing from behind a metallic china cabinet, sitting across from me, and resting her hand over mine.
“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”
“Well, you have big things ahead! This isn’t like when you were a kid,” she says. “How are wedding plans going, anyway?”
“Great! I’m waiting for my dress to come back. They needed to take it in. And Julie and I are working on favors. I just need to get the invitations printed and check in with Brandon and Jason about the trellis. So, things are progressing. I just wish Austin was here.”
“Oh, I’m sure! When is he back?”
“Two months. He’s home a week before the wedding. He reckons it’ll be enough time. Not so sure about that, but you know Austin. He’s a guy…”
Es fidgets with the cards, sucking on her bottom lip and mumbling. I almost expect her to break into a chant and wonder why Maggie was so insistent I did this. It felt way different as a kid—more magical or something. Maybe I don’t want to know what the future holds. She probably can’t see the future anyway.
“Two months isn’t so bad. Ya’ll have the rest of your lives together. Time will pass quickly,” she says. She looks up at me, her long dark hair pulled tight behind her ears and a warm gleam in her emerald eyes. “Ready?”
Maybe she can see the future. “Yes ma’am.”
In thirty minutes, Es answers every question I have. She tells me that Austin and I are perfect for each other. She assures me that his relationship with Anna, a soldier he’s grown close to at boot camp is on the up and up and not to worry about her. She tells me that Austin and I will be together forever. But, she says, it won’t be easy.
She warns me to expect bumps along the way and reminds me that I need to stay open-minded. She tells me to concentrate—for now—on the wedding.
“I can certainly do that,” I laugh. “Aside from taking care of Maggie, I don’t really have much else to focus on. Classes don’t start until September.”
“That will be a busy time for you.”
“I know. The wedding. The honeymoon. And, let’s face it, by then, Austin will be begging me to leave Endings. I’m sure that will be one of the bumps.”
Es nods. “Yes. One.”
“I don’t get why he wants out of here so bad.”
She shrugs, looking—not so casually—at her watch. How she can see the time with the myriad of dangly bracelets on her arm is beyond me.
“Okay, well, I should get going. Thank you so much! That was fun!”
“Anytime, dear. Have fun planning that wedding!”
“Thanks!” I stand, turning toward the kitchen to leave, when she stops me. She grabs my arm and tells me “one last thing.” Her deadpan expression makes my heart skip. “Yes?”
“Callalily, remember that I said this. It may sound silly now. But it’s important.”
“Okay.”
“Just remember, every wedding needs a ‘something blue.’”
“A something blue?”
“Yes. You know. Something old, something new, something—”
“Of course. I was thinking a blue garter. I’ve got the rest. My new, of course, is my dress. My old is Grandma and Pappy’s rings, my borrowed is Julie’s shoes from her wedding…”
“Just remember that, okay? It will help you.”
“Got it. Don’t forget the something blue. Like I said, I was thinking a gar—”
Es smiles. “Exactly. A wedding’s no good without it. The blue will be essential. Think of it like the blue is for good luck.”
“I never took you for so traditional. It’s kind of cute.”
“Blue isn’t always traditional, dear. But sometimes, traditions are traditions for a reason. In your case, it will really apply.”
“But what does that mean?”
“Nothing, dear. Just remember your something blue.”
Wow. A lot of fuss about a garter belt. But, it’s Es. Why am I surprised? She’s always been quirky. “Okay. I won’t forget. It’s not a bad thing, right?”
“No. Your something blue will be very special. I promise. Just remember I said that and you will be fine.”
Chapter Three
“This is so nice, Callie, thank you. I needed some girl time. I get lonely. I’ve been looking forward to this all week long.”
I smile at my older, most dependable friend, blowing on a dandelion I plucked off her wild lawn. I wish I could make things right for her, too, to get her set up with a man who’d make her happy like Austin makes me. I’d give anything to make her son speak in full sentences so she didn’t have to worry so much. But I don’t have the words to tell her these things; experiences I know I have no way of fully comprehending. For a moment, I feel guilty. I make the dandelion wish again, trying to come up with something to make her feel the appreciation she deserves. She has no concept that—to me—she is the mother figure I never really had, besides Grandma. Finally, “I couldn’t do it without you. Sonya’s way too far away and Stixx thinks wedding planning is boring. She’s more about the party than any of the sentimental stuff.”
Julie laughs. “Well, it takes all kinds, I guess. And let’s face it, without her and Kiki around, things might get a little boring.”
“Austin says that all the time.”
“What?”
“That Endings is boring. He wants out of here so bad. He says, the second we save up enough money, we’re gone. He’s just fixin’ to get in a fight over nothing, I suppose. Just like Pappy, that man. Always something.”
Julie frowns. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“But what about Maggie?”
I shrug. “Don’t worry, I intend to remind him of that. I just can’t see us leaving Endings. We aren’t leaving her behind, and I reckon she’d give him a hell of a time if we tried.”
“I’d miss you if you left.”
“Well, we wouldn’t go far. Right now, he’s talking about Raleigh. I guess he figures I’ll be happy back in the old stompin grounds.”
“But you sorta grew up here, too. Heck, ya’ll met each other here!”
“Yeah, I know. Don’t worry! Really! I already talked to Jason and Brandon. They said they might be able to get him a job at the garage. Once he sees money coming in, he’ll want to save up. Austin’s a planner. It’d be dumb to leave Maggie’s too soon. We want to buy a house, and I’ve got nursing school.”
Julie sighs, then, her lips curl into a slight grin.
“What? What’s funny?”
“Nothing. It’s just so cute. Don’t get your heart set on anything. I mean, stay open-minded. Life has a way at throwing curve balls, love. You best be fixin’ to be ready for them. Look at me—thought it was love. Never saw it comin’ that man’d be drunker than Cooter Brown. Not everything is a fairy tale. Ya’ll been lucky so far. But life has a sneaky way of throwing surprises at ya.”
“You know, it’s funny. Es said something like that to me, too. But that’s just Es. I think she’s a little nuts. She went on and on about the wedding and how I can’t forget my something blue.”
“Oh, Es! Gotta love her! I don’t bother with those readings anymore. Bess is always trying to get me down there, but no. I’d rather just not know, ya know?”
“I hear ya. I figure if my biggest problem is coming up with something blue, I’m in good shape. I’m thinking—”
