by Susan Wiggs
“Why am I only now hearing of this?” asked Alice.
“My friend Kim mentioned it that day she came over. It’s just a silly name. A group of women friends get together at the Hilltop Tavern every Friday to hang out and gossip, listen to live music sometimes.”
“Perfect,” said Maxine, tying an apron on her. “I’ve been dying to get my hands on you.” Then she turned to Alice. “And you. I hope you’re prepared to lose the spinster bun.”
“In case you haven’t noticed,” Alice said, “there’s a reason I wear my hair pulled back. I have special needs.”
“Honey, we all do.” Maxine draped a large smock over both Alice and her wheelchair, then turned to her sisters. “I’m thinking foils for both of these ladies. Highlights are always a good look for summer.”
Tina and Leah concurred, but they suggested doing more than hair. Tina insisted that they each needed a manicure and pedicure. Leah was a talented makeup artist, and she promised amazing results.
“This is a first for me,” Faith said, staring at herself in the mirror. The foils lay like fish scales, overlapping on her head. “My girls won’t know their own mother.”
“It should become a regular thing, then,” Alice declared. “Keep them guessing.”
While they were under the warm lights, Tina and Leah took turns doing their makeup and nails. To Faith, it felt like an incredible indulgence, but she loved it.
“You’re looking at me funny,” Alice said to her. “Why are you looking at me funny?”
“I’ve never seen you more chatty and relaxed.”
“That’s the magic of a salon. It’s a safe place to talk about anything, like a confessional.”
“Well put,” said Maxine. “Get things off your chest.”
“My husband was unfaithful to me,” Alice said, instantly grabbing the attention of the three stylists.
“Oh, honey,” said Tina, carefully shaping Alice’s nails. “Join the club.”
“I suppose Mason told you all about it,” Alice added, holding Faith’s gaze.
Faith didn’t confirm or deny it.
“I’d kill the bastard,” Leah added.
Alice caught her breath, but then she said, “It’s already been done. He died in an avalanche, and I ended up in this chair.”
“Oh, my gosh.” Leah turned the shade of one of her designer rose blushes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound flippant.”
“Don’t worry, it’s been more than a year. I’m adjusting to the idea.”
“An avalanche.” Maxine shuddered. “You must have been so brave.”
“I don’t consider myself brave,” said Alice. “It happened very fast, like being swept into an ocean by the coldest wave you can imagine. It’s hard to express the thoughts going through my head—panic, mostly. Regrets. My children’s faces. The rescuers say I survived because I had a beacon and an airbag. So I can’t claim to be brave.” She bit her lip and her eyes shifted away. “I’m working on it.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” said Tina. “Even though he cheated, I imagine it was awful to lose him.”
“It was,” Alice agreed. “But I struggle with feeling so betrayed by someone I’ll never be able to confront. You see, I never found out about the cheating until he was gone. Sometimes I fantasize that I get to face him one more time. To ask him why. To tell him how I feel about it.”
“You could tell us how you feel,” Faith said, amazed at Alice’s openness in the salon.
“I thought I was doing that.”
“You’re doing fine, honey.”
“Not if you ask Faith, here.”
“Hey,” said Faith.
“You made my son move in with me, for heaven’s sake.”
“I didn’t make him. He wanted to. And tell me you don’t like having him around.”
“I do,” Alice conceded. She sighed. “I’m working on having no regrets about marrying Trevor.”
“You have your three great kids,” Faith pointed out.
“Excellent point. I suppose Mason, Adam and Ivy are proof that there was a reason I was with Trevor.”
“Adam Bellamy’s your son?” asked Tina. “The firefighter?”
“My sister’s had a crush on him forever,” Maxine said.
“She’s actually thought about calling 911 just to get him to show up,” Leah added.
“Cut it out, you two.” Tina fanned Alice’s nails while blushing furiously.
“Good grief, don’t fall in love with my son. With either of them,” said Alice.
“Why not?” Faith was startled to hear her say this. She wondered if Alice had given the same advice to Regina.
“Because I worry that my sons—and maybe Ivy, too—are damaged.”
“I haven’t met Adam yet,” Faith said, “but Ivy and Mason are wonderful.”
“You’re right, but I worry about their relationships. They never saw the kind of love that lasts. My marriage was a lie. Even if I didn’t realize it until recently, there must have been some sense of that in the family.”
“It was real. You raised a family, traveled the world, did humanitarian work.”
“But I do find myself regretting that I stayed with Trevor.”
“Regrets are poison,” Maxine said. “Do yourself a favor and don’t go there.”
“She’s right, Alice. You have really great kids. Give them some credit for being good people. And they do know how to love. They saw your love every day.”
“They—well, Mason, certainly—saw me being cheated on.”
“I really doubt that’s how he defines your family, or yourself, or anything else, for that matter.”
As Maxine guided Alice over to the sink to rinse, Alice was quiet. She shut her eyes as Maxine sluiced water over her hair, carefully cradling her head. Then it was Faith’s turn. She found the pampering to be utterly relaxing, and intimate in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time. In the course of her work, she did a lot of touching—but no one ever touched her back. She liked the simple sensation of her head being gently supported in the rinsing sink.
Leah added the final touches to their makeup, and Maxine took care of the blowing out and styling. When she swiveled the salon chair around for Faith to inspect, a stranger greeted her in the mirror. Her hair was done in long, golden-brown waves that caught the light. The makeup was subtle, giving her skin a smooth glow.
And then there was Alice.
“I need a tissue,” Faith said, feeling an unexpected surge of emotion. “I might cry.”
“Don’t you dare ruin your makeup,” Leah warned her. Then she smiled. “You both look fantastic.”
Alice was beautifully groomed, the pulled-back bun gone in favor of a dramatic, short cut, a rich blond that highlighted her skin tone, graceful neck and lovely cheekbones. She looked remarkably like the young woman in the keepsake book her children had made, chronicling her adventures. And she was smiling in a way Faith had never seen her smile before—but not at her image in the mirror. At Faith.
“Look at you,” she said. “You’re gorgeous.”
Faith blushed. To her knowledge, no one had ever called her gorgeous before. Not even Dennis. He’d loved her, but he wasn’t delusional. “We both are,” she said.
“We’ve got a problem,” Alice said as she settled up the bill. She had an e-wallet on her phone, an adaptive device to help her make transactions easily.
Faith tried not to gasp at the cost of the pampering. “What, we can’t afford this?”
“Don’t be silly. No, the problem is our wardrobe. We need something new to wear. Let’s go to Zuzu’s Petals.”
Faith wasn’t familiar with the boutique. The only kind of shopping in her budget was window-shopping. “It’s just down the street, isn’t it?”
They said goodbye to the Dombrowski sisters, and Faith propped open the door. Alice held her chin up and drove herself outside. “I haven’t shopped here yet,” she said, making her way along the sidewalk. “Ivy loves the place.”
The boutique had a scalloped awning and a display of silky scarves and sundresses in the window. Faith was happy to see a wide door with a flat threshold, making it easy for Alice to navigate. Soft music and the scent of potpourri drifted through the place. There were a couple of women browsing the racks and a shopgirl dressing a mannequin.
“You must be Alice,” said the woman behind the counter. She was fresh-faced and petite, all smiles. “Adam’s mother.”
“Does my reputation precede me?”
“He works with my husband, Jeff Bailey. I’m Suzanne.”
“Nice to meet you. Is your husband away for special training, too?”
“No, he’s home. We— He misses Adam.” She came out from behind the counter. “How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for something to wear to the Hornets game tonight,” said Alice. “Faith is going out for a girls’ night, so she needs something, too.”
“Oh, that’s not nec—”
“Stop being tedious, Faith,” said Alice.
“You came to the right place,” Suzanne said, her face lighting up. “With your nice blond coloring, how about something in turquoise or royal blue? Something pretty and flowing...” She was a woman on a mission, showing Alice graphic tops, wrap skirts, pretty sandals to show off the pedicure. Alice was quick to decide on a gorgeous aqua silk wrap dress by a trendy Japanese designer. It had fluttery sleeves and the main selling point—it could be donned front to back and had shoulder fastenings.
“That’s lovely,” said Faith, holding the dress against Alice in front of the mirror. “You’re going to be a knockout.”
“We’ll see about that. Your turn.”
“But—”
The protests were futile. As she had in the salon, Alice insisted on treating her. She left the shop with the first new dress she’d had in ages, a fabulous halter sundress in a nice plum-colored print, and a pair of cork wedge sandals. They stopped at the Sky River Bakery, choosing an umbrella-shaded table where they could enjoy the breeze. As Faith had hoped, Cara came out to wait on them.
Her daughter stood there for a moment, gaping comically. “Holy crap,” she said, “look at you two.”
“We had makeovers,” said Faith. She felt slightly self-conscious, but laughed at her daughter’s expression. “Success?”
“Oh, my gosh, yes. You both look so pretty.”
“We’re going out tonight,” Alice said.
“Alice has a date,” Faith added. “With Rick, the motorcycle guy.”
“No kidding. That’s cool. Are you going, too, Mom?”
“On Alice’s date? I don’t think so. I’m just going to the Hilltop Tavern with some friends to listen to the live music.”
“Nice,” said Cara. She quickly brought them their favorites—Paradise iced tea and blackberry kolaches. Then she had to go wait on other tables. Faith watched her daughter with pride. Cara took her job seriously. She was just friendly enough, attentive and intuitive.
“She’s doing well,” Alice said, following Faith’s gaze.
“Yes. Sometimes I feel guilty that she’s working rather than hanging out with her friends and having fun.”
“Looks to me as if she’s doing both. I don’t think you need to worry about that girl, Faith. She’s smart and scrappy, and she’s going to do well at anything she tackles. She told me her dream is to go to medical school.”
“She said that? She never told me.” Faith’s heart softened as she watched Cara taking down an order at another table. Cara had grown up with her father’s illness, and now Ruby’s. She’d always been interested in all things medical, but she hadn’t told Faith her secret dream. “She knows I worry constantly about the expense of college. Now I feel guilty about putting limits on her dreams.”
“Stop it. She’s doing great, and she’ll find a way to get what she needs, and you’ll be there to help her.”
“You’re right, Alice. Thank you,” Faith said. “And thanks for everything today.”
“We both needed a lift,” Alice said.
“True. But please don’t make me a charity case.”
“You have a problem accepting gifts, don’t you?”
“No, I...” She didn’t receive many gifts. Her favorites were homemade things from the girls—cards and napkin holders and picture frames. “Thank you,” she said again.
“And thank you. This was a special kind of therapy for me,” Alice said. “It was good to talk about the things that happened in the past. I don’t want to keep being haunted by them.”
“Then don’t allow it. Savor all those great memories of your family and the adventures you’ve had.”
“The adventures were wonderful. It’s just that I wish we—Trevor and I—had been more in love. We were partners, but there was never that deep emotional connection. Perhaps it doesn’t exist. Perhaps I only dreamed it could.”
“You didn’t dream it, Alice,” Faith said softly.
“Spoken by one who knows.”
“Yes. I was very lucky to have found that with Dennis.” Slightly flustered, she looked away.
Alice sighed. “I envy you those strong, clear memories of love. I don’t have that, not anymore. I don’t even know how to grieve for Trevor. I thought I missed him. But I missed a person I didn’t even know. He was my main focus, but now I’m looking back and seeing us through a different lens.”
“There doesn’t really seem to be a right or wrong way to grieve,” said Faith. “I used to think Dennis would be indelible, that he would stay with me forever. Lately, I worry that my memories of him are fading.”
“Why do you say you’re worried?”
“I’ve already lost Dennis once. Now I’m forgetting him in pieces—the shape of his hands, the sound of his voice. How do you hold on to someone who’s been gone so long?”
“Maybe you’re not meant to remember the details. Just the feelings. Just the lessons. Just the love.”
Faith stared at her. “Wow.”
Alice laughed. “You don’t get to be as old as me without learning a thing or two.” Then Alice grew thoughtful. “Perhaps it’s supposed to work this way. The details fade because it’s time to let them go. Time to move on to something new.”
“I’ve moved on.”
“I mean something new, as in a new relationship.”
“Oh. Maybe.” Her cheeks reddened. “I’ve dated here and there, but nothing ever comes of it.”
“Clearly you’re not dating the right sort of men. Listen, if I can do it, at my age and in my condition, it should be a cakewalk for you.”
“Point taken. But I’m still going to stick with my girlfriends tonight.”
21
“I could get used to this kind of rush-hour commute,” Mason said to his buddy Logan O’Donnell. They had knocked off work early and ridden their bikes to the Hilltop Tavern for a Friday night beer.
Mason had helped Logan line up financing for the Saddle Mountain resort project, never an easy sell to investors. Both he and Logan shared a taste for extreme sports and high-risk business ventures. Now they shared office space in a vintage brick building near the Avalon Free Library.
“Completely different from the financial district in the city, eh?” Logan remarked.
“Yeah. When I ride in Manhattan, it feels like I’m in some kind of urban combat video game.” They went inside, letting their eyes adjust to the dim, cool interior of the bar. The yeasty smell of beer filled the air. A chalkboard listed the specials—Dogsbody IPA and a local band
called Inner Child.
Logan checked his watch.
“You need to be somewhere?”
“Naw, man. My kid’s with his mom for the weekend. My wife was in the city today, but this is our usual Friday night hangout because of the good beer and live music. Nightlife around here can be limited.”
“A microbrew and a basket of chips is all the nightlife I need lately.”
“Sounds as if you’re settling into the small-town scene,” Logan said as the waitress set two cold ones on the table, along with a basket of chips and peanuts.
“It’s definitely a change of pace,” said Mason. “I guess I could get used to it.”
“This place grows on you. I originally moved up to Avalon from the city to be near my son, and ended up staying. Now I’m dug in as if I’d been born here—new wife, new baby on the way.”
“How is married life treating you?” Mason asked.
“Fantastic. And I never thought I’d hear myself saying that about being married. The fact that I got married again was totally unexpected. After my divorce, I had nothing good to say about the institution. Never saw myself going there again, not without a suit of full body armor. And then Darcy came along and exploded all the excuses and hesitation.”
“That’s great,” Mason said. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks. I’m not saying it was easy, but once I fell for her, it felt like something I’d been waiting for without even knowing I was waiting for it. Now I can’t imagine life without her.”
“To Darcy, then,” said Mason, lifting his glass. “Glad it’s working out for you.”
“I used to think relationships were hard work. Now I know they don’t have to be, not if they’re right.”
“My friend, the philosopher.” Mason drank again. It sounded impossibly romantic. Maybe Mason had felt that way long ago, when he was a dumb, hormonal kid, crazy about his captivating foreign girlfriend...but that seemed like a dream, or another life. Regina sometimes told him they needed to “work” on their relationship, but Mason was never quite sure what she meant about that.
“How about yourself? Adam told me you have a girlfriend in the city. Says she looks like a supermodel.”
