by Rachel Hanna
Oh, no. Surely she hadn't gone to the hair salon and allowed Betty Sue to do something to her hair. Now he knew exactly what was wrong.
He walked back outside, the extra bottle of water in his hand, and set it next to her. She obviously needed to start hydrating, given the amount of wine it appeared she had been drinking.
"Here, drink some of that. You're going to get dehydrated."
He walked over to the chair next to her and sat down.
"Why are you sitting there?" she said, still not looking at him. He could tell that her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
"You let Betty Sue do something to your hair, didn't you?" She slowly turned and looked at him, her eyes wide.
"How did you know that?"
"I saw the receipt on the counter."
"I think we should kick her off the island."
Bennett stifled the laugh. "I could've told you to never go to that salon. It’s not exactly equipped for your sort of hairstyle."
"Why is she here working on the island, then?"
Bennett laughed. "Look, everybody here has a job. Betty Sue was a hairdresser, as my grandmother would've called it, for many years. Decades, actually. She's not exactly well-versed in the latest modern hairstyles."
"I can never leave here again."
"Don't you think maybe you're just being a little dramatic? You don't strike me as the vain type."
She took the top off of the water bottle and then took a long sip. "Do you like clowns?"
"Not particularly. I pretty much have a lifelong phobia of them."
She almost cracked a smile. "Well, then you're going to love this." Without missing a beat, she took the hat off of her head, dropped the blanket, and allowed her hair to hit her shoulders. It was the brightest shade of red he'd ever seen on top of someone's head.
"Wow."
She smirked. "Yeah, wow. I could've strangled her with my bare hands, but I figured that was frowned upon and might get me fired."
"I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
She put the hat back on her head, this time not being particularly careful about stuffing her strands of hair into it.
"Yeah, you can leave me alone to drown my sorrows. Enjoy the beach party."
"You have to go to the beach party."
"Are you crazy? Did you not just see my hair?"
"Danielle, you have a job to do here. You can't stay in the cottage for weeks on end waiting for your hair to grow out. Besides, these people are going to think it looks nice."
"They're not all blind, Bennett! Nobody is going to think this looks nice except for Betty Sue who needs to see a psychiatrist because she has lost her mind!"
"How about we make a deal?"
"Unless the deal is that I can shave my head, I'm not sure any deals are going to work for me."
He tried to imagine her with a shaved head and then shook the image from his mind.
"You will not need to shave your head. I know there's a great salon over in Seagrove."
“Seagrove? Where is that?"
"We can take the boat to Seagrove Island and then cross the bridge into the little town. I'm sure they can fix this for you."
"That doesn't help me tonight."
"No, it doesn't. Tonight, why don't you wear that beautiful hat and go have a great time at the beach party with your wonderful boss?"
"And you think the salon will be able to fix this?"
"One time, one of the resident’s daughters made the mistake of going to see Betty Sue. She got a terrible perm, and we had to take an emergency boat over to Seagrove to get it fixed."
Danielle started laughing. "An emergency trip for a bad perm? That's something I've never heard before."
“Now, will you go get ready so we can have a delightful time at the beach party?"
"Okay, but if Betty Sue is there, I can't promise that I won't push her into the ocean,” she said as she stood up and walked toward the house.
Bennett leaned back in the chair and sighed. Then he burst into laughter, hoping she couldn't hear him.
Chapter 10
Danielle couldn't believe that she had let Bennett talk her into going to the beach party. As they pulled up into a parking space, she had second thoughts.
"I don't think I can do this."
"Why is this bothering you so much?"
She didn't have a good answer for that. Other than the fact that she had been expected to be perfect for her whole life. Her mother was a fashion icon, even for somebody who should’ve had nerd stamped on her forehead. Smart and fashionable - it wasn’t fair. Then there was her late father, a brain surgeon. How was she ever supposed to measure up to those standards?
When she’d opted to become a nurse instead of a surgeon - which is what her parents wanted - they were visibly disappointed. At her nursing school graduation, they smiled and congratulated her, but she could tell they wanted more. Always more.
Being criticized was something that was her Achilles' heel. It was one reason she hadn't stayed at her last job after the complete debacle with Richard. She just couldn't have people criticizing and judging her every day.
And now it was playing out on Wisteria Island. Here was a group of people at a beach party, and she was too afraid to walk down there on the off chance that they might see a strand of her new red hair popping out of her hat and judge her for it.
"I don't know. I just don't want people staring at me."
"Listen, most of the people here don't have very good eyesight, anyway."
Danielle laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Not funny."
"In all seriousness, we are an island full of misfits. I think you've seen that. Even I’m a misfit."
She looked at him. "How are you a misfit?"
"I'm one of the richest men in the world, Danielle. I've chosen to live on an island full of old people that nobody else wanted around. In South Carolina. By myself."
"Yeah, why aren't you living the highlife?"
He chuckled. "Nice try at distracting me, but we've got to get down to the beach."
She groaned loudly before finally stepping out of the golf cart. They walked down the short path, and she could hear the music getting louder and louder. It was mostly seventies disco music with a few sixties songs peppered in for good measure. She realized she wouldn't be hearing any modern day pop songs anytime soon.
"Look at that hat!" Morty said as soon as he saw Danielle step onto the beach. She was terrified he would try to take it off of her head. "Darling, I love it! You'll have to tell me where you got that!"
She smiled. "When I'm finished with it, I'll be glad to pass it along to you."
He leaned in and quietly whispered. "I heard what Betty Sue did. I cut my hair at home just to avoid going to that place."
"How did you hear?"
"Oh, Betty Sue was proud of it. She thought she did a fabulous job, but I can only imagine what you've got hiding under that big straw hat."
"I look like the cartoon version of The Little Mermaid," Danielle said, hanging her head. Morty laughed.
"I don't believe I've seen that film, but I can tell you that there's a fabulous salon over in Seagrove…”
"I already told her, and I'm taking her there tomorrow," Bennett said as he walked up.
Morty nodded. "Thank goodness. We can't have you walking around with a giant hat on all the time. Now, why don't you go over and pick out a hamburger or hotdog that suits your fancy!"
As the minutes passed, Danielle got more and more comfortable. It was obvious that nobody was paying attention to her. They were all having a good time laughing, dancing and eating with their loved ones and each other.
She stood there surveying the group of people before her and realized they were all a couple of decades older than her at the very least. They were footloose and fancy free, as her grandmother would've said. They were having a good time, not worrying about what they looked like or what anyone else thought.
What would that be like? To just live her
life without caring what other people thought. She watched Bennett as he worked the crowd, hugging the women and shaking the hands of all the men. He fit in there in a way that was inexplicable. He too was decades younger, but he’d been adopted into this group like one of those news stories where the cat adopted the abandoned baby ducklings.
"Hey there!”
She turned to see Gladys standing there, her niece off in the distance, with a scowl on her face, as usual.
"Oh, hey, Gladys."
"I heard about your hair thing. Betty Sue is an awful stylist. One time she turned my hair this weird shade of blue. I looked like one of those Smurfs from that cartoon in the eighties.”
Danielle laughed. "So you heard about it too?"
"Betty Sue has told just about everybody here. If you're wearing that hat because of it, we already know. We all feel just terrible for you."
"I'm hoping to get it fixed tomorrow."
"Well, I guess we all have to learn our lesson. Say, have you figured anything out about my brain?"
"No. I'm sorry, I haven't. I promise that I've got some people working on it."
"Well, I sure hope they're quick."
"Why?"
"Because my niece told me this morning that she thinks Wisteria Island is way too expensive. If she gets a hold of my finances, she's going to take me away from here and put me in some nursing home near her house."
Danielle felt the rage welling up within her.
"What?"
"She told me that this morning at breakfast, as she was packing her bags to go home. She said this place is way too expensive and that I'm wasting too much money out of my estate."
"She actually said that?"
"She did. That woman is a piece of work."
"Well, she's certainly a piece of something," Danielle said, trying very hard not to say more.
"I hope I don't have to leave. This place has been my home for the last two years. I love it here. It's my family now."
Danielle put her hands on Gladys' shoulders. "I'm going to do everything I can. I promise."
She saw Gladys' eyes fill with tears. "I just hope it's soon enough."
"Come along, aunt Gladys,” Stephanie said, giving Danielle a look of hatred. "You don't want to monopolize the nurse’s time."
"Oh, she's not monopolizing my time at all. I quite enjoy spending time with Gladys. And I plan to do more of it."
Stephanie eyed her carefully. "Well, you have a good evening," she said, pulling Gladys away. As Danielle watched them walk toward the street, she wondered what would become of Gladys if she couldn’t help her. Would she end up in some old folks’ home where she got abused? Would she end up alone where no one understood her?
She simply couldn't let that happen. She had to do whatever was necessary to protect Gladys.
"Having a good time?" Bennett asked as he walked up. He had a hotdog in one hand and a hamburger in the other.
"Are you hungry?" Danielle asked, laughing.
"Hey, I don't limit myself when it comes to the beach party. We only do this once a year, and I plan to go home as full as a tick."
"Well, you're certainly on your way," Danielle said. "Listen, Gladys just told me that her niece is planning to move her off the island to save the money and put her in some nursing home."
Bennett stared at her, almost dropping his food. "What? You've got to be kidding me!"
"I just feel so helpless. I haven't heard back from my mother yet, and I'm not sure what else to do."
"Danielle, you've got to prepare yourself for the fact that Gladys may end up leaving here. It's not what I want, and I'll do whatever I can to stop it. We are not her legal family."
"I wonder if we could become her legal family? Could we adopt her?"
Bennett laughed. "I admire your enthusiasm, but I'm not sure that's a legal maneuver that’s possible. Then we look like we’re trying to steal her money.”
"I just hope my mother can come up with something."
"You’re a nurse. You know you can't save everybody."
"I know. I just have a feeling that there's more to Gladys’s situation than meets the eye."
"I hope you're right, and I hope you can figure it out. In the meantime, don't be a party pooper! You need to get out there, mingle with everybody."
"Fine. But I'm not ready to give up on that whole adoption thing yet," she said, chuckling as she walked away.
The morning came early for Danielle. She didn't have any patients to see today, and the beach party had worn her out. She’d never expected the residents to stay up so late. It was after midnight before Bennett had dropped her off at her front door. Eventually, she had taken off her hat and let her red hair flow in the breeze. It would be the only time in her life she was a redhead, after all.
He would arrive at her house within the hour to take her over to some little town called Seagrove. She looked on the map, and it appeared to be a literal dot. It was a few miles outside of Charleston, and it had its own little sea island right off the coast.
Bennett had explained that he was going to be taking her on an adventure, but all she wanted to do was get her hair fixed. He said they would take the boat and make a day of it, visiting some of the local sites and maybe even taking a marsh tour. She wasn't sure about all of that. She just wanted to have her normal hair color back so she could be seen in public again.
As she poured her first cup of coffee, her phone vibrated on the kitchen counter where she had left it sitting overnight to charge.
"Hello?"
"Hi, dear," her mother said on the other end of the line.
"Oh, hey. How's everything going?"
"Well, I have some news for you. One of my colleagues got back to me about that list of medications."
Danielle set her cup of coffee on the counter and waited for the information to come out of her mother’s mouth. “Okay. What is it?"
"Well, the medication she's taking for sleep has a very rare side effect of hallucinations. That is especially true if it's mixed with the medication that she's taking for her thyroid."
"Really? That could be it! So all I have to do is talk to the doctor about changing those medications to see if it makes a difference."
"I just wouldn't get your hopes up, Danielle. It's a very rare side effect. The medication has an excellent track record and is well tolerated by most patients.”
"Mom, don't squash my hope. It's really important that I help this woman."
"I've never heard you like this before. Why is this so important to you?"
"I just hate to see someone get taken advantage of, and that's what's happening in this situation. The longer I'm here, the more I realize that older people need more protection in this world. I'll never look at an elder abuse case the same way again."
"Well, I'm proud of you for that."
Danielle almost dropped the phone. Her mother didn't hand out compliments easily, and she knew she didn't agree with Danielle working on Wisteria Island.
"You're really proud of me?"
"Of course I am! I mean, it's not what I would've chosen for your life, to be working on an island full of older people, but if it's what you want, then I say give it your best."
"Really?"
"Listen, I've had a lot of time to think about this while I sat up at night worried about you. I know what Richard did was a horrible thing, and I just didn't want you to let it stop you from pursuing your career. If you're happy where you are, then I'm happy for you."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This didn’t sound like her mother at all. "Have you been taking any new medications?"
Her mother laughed. "No. But, I have been seeing someone new…"
"Oh, I see. What's his name?"
"Walter. He's a fellow researcher, and he had a former career as a psychotherapist."
"Wow. That was quite a change in careers.”
"It was, but it makes him a great listener and a great counselor. We've had a lot of long talks abou
t this, and I've come to realize that you have to pave your own way, Danielle. My path is not your path."
"I appreciate that, Mom. I really do."
"Well, I better go. Walter is coming to take me to breakfast.”
"I'm happy for you. I hope things work out, and I get to meet this Walter one day."
"And I hope you find someone who loves you and supports you. That's the only thing that makes me sad. How are you ever going to find someone on an island full of retirees?"
"Hey, there are some nice-looking centenarians here…"
"Goodbye, Danielle!" she said, laughing before she ended the call.
As Danielle sat down at the kitchen table with her cup of coffee, she couldn't help but smile. Her mother had given her a compliment and accepted that she was working on the island, at least for now. Then she had given her the best news about Gladys and her medications.
It might be a long-shot, but she was going to cross her fingers and pray that the change in medication would help Gladys stop seeing things that weren't there.
Riding in the boat with Bennett had been an adventure, to say the least. It was obvious that he wasn’t a trained boat captain, but at least he got them over to Seagrove Island in one piece.
A friend of his had lent them a golf cart for the day, and they immediately went over the short bridge into town. She thought it would be some boring little place with nothing to do, but Seagrove actually impressed her.
It had an adorable town square complete with a bookstore, bakery and even a nice-looking yoga studio. She decided that if they had any extra time, she might want to check out some of those places.
"So, what do you think?"
"It's really cute. I think I kind of expected it to be this backwards country place with nothing to do."
"It's really just a much smaller version of Charleston."
She smiled. "A much, much, much smaller version."
Bennett laughed. "Well, at least they have a really great hair salon."
She was suddenly reminded of her Pippi Longstocking red hair. She had pulled it into a ponytail and worn a baseball cap to hide at least some of it.
"Yes, I am thankful for that."
