Bountiful Harvest

by Darlene Tallman

  One Week Hearing the chime ring over the door, Dorrie looked up and saw Frank holding the door while two stunning young women came into the shop, giggling and chattering a mile a minute. They were both tall like Frank, with athletic builds. Coming up to Dorrie, Frank smiled then said “Dorrie, these are my girls, Jessie and Josie. Girls, this is my Dorrie-girl.”

  “Hi, Josie. Hi, Jessie. Your dad has told me so much about you both! I’m glad you are here for the summer.” “Hi Dorrie. Dad’s told us a lot about you, too. He said we would get to meet your sons when they come home next week?” Josie replied.

  “Ah yes, they’ll be home next weekend. And fair warning, they will ask you two million questions, so I hope you wear your patient hats with them!” she laughed.

  Both girls laughed with her and looked at their dad. “Should we tell her how crazy we drove you asking you questions growing up?”

  Frank chuckled softly. “Nope. I believe the boys might have you beat, but they’re good kids, very mindful and they love helping others. Definite servant hearts.”

  “Awww, I cannot wait to meet them,” Jessie said. “They sound great! Better than the holy terrors we’ve babysat over the years, I’m sure!”

  “Omgosh, do you remember those Thompson twins? Jeez Louise, I thought we were both going to go bald.” “Hahahhaha, yes, and do you remember when the Clemons boys climbed up in the tree and got stuck? You had to go after them!”

  By now, both girls were doubled over laughing at the antics of some of their charges over the years. Frank just smiled. He could see how relaxed Dorrie was with his girls, and the fact that they were so open towards her gave him encouragement for the future for sure. He could see, in his minds-eye, all of them together at holidays, laughing and joking and making memories to replace the bad things from all of their pasts.

  “Do you have time to grab some lunch with us, sweetheart? I thought I’d take the girls over to the diner so they could try some of the homemade pies.”

  Before she could say anything, Renee popped out from the supply area and said “Yes, yes she does. Hi girls, I’m Renee, one of her besties, and her partner-in-hair.”

  “Hey Renee! Nice to meet you. Dad’s told us about you as well. We figure he wants us to know about all the folks who are important to him,” Josie said.

  “Well, since Renee has it covered, I guess that’s a yes, Frank. Let me grab my purse.”

  “Sweetheart, you don’t need your purse. You know the rules, or you should by now!”

  “Sigh. Really? You’re going to pull the rules out now? In front of your girls?” By now, both girls were laughing hysterically once again as they looked at one another and said, together, “When dad takes us out to lunch, we don’t need our purses or wallets because he pays!”

  Seeing the humor in the situation, Dorrie agreed and decided that heading to lunch was the better option.

  Once at the diner, they all ordered their drinks and then set about looking over the menu.

  “Frank, I think I want my usual today. I need to run to wash my hands before we get busy eating and talking and I forget.” “Okay, sweetheart.”

  “Hang on, Dorrie, we’ll come with, it’s the girl code,” Josie called out as she and Jessie climbed out of the booth and followed along.

  Frank just shook his head. He had already gone through the inquisition with his girls earlier as they peppered him with questions about Dorrie, her boys, the town, the club, pretty much anything they could think of to ask. When the waitress approached, he went ahead and placed their food orders and settled back, wondering how long they would be “washing their hands.”

  Meanwhile, in the ladies room, Dorrie could see that Josie had something to say, so she waited patiently. “Um, Dorrie, well, we both just wanted you to know that we are really happy for our dad and you both. He has been alone for a long time, and while we both aren’t naïve enough to think he hasn’t dated at all, you are the first woman he has ever mentioned to us, much less brought around. We both know how bad our mom burned him and we have been praying for years that someone would come along that would be the right woman for him. It seems like God finally heard and answered those prayers!”

  Blushing slightly, Dorrie looked at both of the girls, seeing so much of Frank in them it was unreal, and said “I honestly thought I would be single the rest of my life until your dad came along. I’ve not had an easy road either, and have worked through a mountain of yuck to get to good. Your dad is part of that now and I feel truly blessed.”

  “So….do you think you’ll have any more kids?”

  “Um, well, seeing as he hasn’t asked me that important question, that’s a bit premature, don’t you think?”

  “Jessie! Good grief, you’ve embarrassed her! Sorry, Dorrie, sometimes she speaks without thinking.” Laughing, Dorrie looked at Josie and said “Yeah, I have that problem sometimes too! No worries on my end, but I’m sure that will be something your dad and I would discuss between the two of us first. Now, since we’ve used our time wisely, we should go back out to that man before he sends the waitresses in after us!”

  Returning to the table, Frank stood and let her back in, sneaking in a quick kiss to her temple. “Just in time. I was about to send in the new waitress to see if you fell in!”

  “Hahaha dad, very funny! We were just talking; sorry we took so long.” “Well, if your food had come, I would have eaten your fries.” “What?!??! Why my fries? Why not Jessie’s? Or Dorrie’s?”

  “Because I am pretty sure that it was you who started the talking, so your fries would have been sacrificed.” Dorrie looked at the girls and at Frank; she could see the genuine love and affection pouring from each of them and something deep inside her heart settled a bit more. She couldn’t wait for the boys to meet his girls; she had a feeling that it would be a mutual lovefest and could foresee being able to have lots of date nights with Frank this summer once the boys came back home.

  After lunch, they walked back to the salon, with the girls deciding that they wanted to stay for cuts and color (“just highlights dad!”), Frank headed over to the market to see what he could get himself into.

  “So, Josie, what exactly were you wanting?” “Well, I would love blonde throughout and then maybe some light rose-colored pieces. I have a picture I found on Pinterest, do you want to see?” Josie responded.

  “Yes,” Dorrie answered, taking the girl’s phone from her and looking at the picture and then at the girl. “I think this would look really pretty. Did you want the cut as well or did you just want to trim yours up?”

  “I’m not ready to go that short yet. Let’s just trim it for right now if that’s okay?”

  “Absolutely. I am a firm believer in ‘less is more’ when it comes to cutting hair and if you’re not ready to go that short, you’re not ready. I will say that when you are, you have the perfect bone structure to pull it off!” replied Dorrie, as she headed to the back to mix up the color and bleach. This was the part of the job she loved, being creative with someone, and the fact it was one of Frank’s girls? Made it that much more priceless.

  Three hours later, both girls were done and had taken a number of pictures of themselves to post to their social media accounts when their dad walked back in and saw them. “Wow. You’re both always beautiful but now? You’ve reached a new level. And, I see you both decided on some major color changes. Looks good!”

  “Dorrie and Renee know their stuff, dad! I wanted to do a whole mermaid color scheme but they explained how quickly it would fade so I went with some peekaboo places in those colors instead,” Jessie exclaimed.

  “Well, my girl knows her stuff and I’m sure you’ll see color changes with her as well this summer,” Frank laughed. “Hey now, it’s the benefit of being a hairdresser! Bad mood? Color the hair. Season change? Color the hair. Want to mix it up a bit or show off a new haircut? Color the hair,” Dorrie responded. Now she was worried that perhaps her color changes were off-putting to him. That was something he needed
to realize she wasn’t going to change about herself. She loved being able to change it up frequently, and since she had been widowed, she explored the variations on the color wheel with almost cheerful abandon.

  “Dorrie-girl? Sweetheart, look at me,” Frank said softly. He had realized something was off and wanted to get it straight before things went sideways. “I love all the variations of you

  – from the blonde to the red with blonde to the red to the blue…it’s your hair and I will never tell you what to do with it, that I can promise you.”

  Moving closer to him, she looked up briefly and then apologized, saying “Frank, I’m sorry. I let old words from something that doesn’t matter cloud my thinking. You’ve always told me you liked my hair, and unless you are a consummate liar, I’ve always believed you when you said it. We’re good if you can forgive my blunder.”

  Leaning over until his lips were at her ear, he softly said, “No need to apologize. The only thing I want to be able to freely do is mess your hair up and you’ve got plenty for me to do that with whenever you’re ready.”

  Now blushing, and with the girls and Renee laughing, she tried to give him “the look” that she gave her boys when they pushed too far, but he was having none of it. Grabbing her into a hug, he reached down and tugging a lock of her hair, he pulled her in for a quick kiss.

  “Okay, sweetheart, we’re going to get out of your hair now. Tell me what we owe you ladies and I’ll get you squared away.”

  “Well, they’re MC kids in a manner of speaking, so they get the same discount as you guys and the old ladies, so the total for both is one hundred and eighty dollars,” Dorrie said, after filling in the customer file.

  “All right, here you go, sweetheart. Thank you for making my girls even more beautiful than they already are.” “Thanks Frank. Josie and Jessie, it was such a delight to get to spend time with you both this afternoon. If neither of you have found anything yet this summer, we could use some help. The pay isn’t much, but it’s cash money!”

  “We’d like that, Dorrie. Thank you,” Josie said. More and more, she was seeing what her dad saw in this woman. She was nurturing without smothering, and she wasn’t acting like she was their best friend, instead letting a real relationship build, something no one she knew had ever done before.

  “Okay, then come in tomorrow. Work wear is casual, but not too casual, no daisy dukes or spaghetti straps, but you can wear shorts and tanks and tennis shoes because it is summertime in Kentucky and the forecast is hot, hazy and humid,” Renee called out.

  “Thanks! We’ll see you tomorrow!” both girls responded, as they got ready to leave.

  “Dorrie-girl? We’re headed back home; do you want me to look in on the puppies?” “Oh gosh yes, that would be a blessing! I usually run home at lunch and let them out and feed them again, but didn’t today of course. I would appreciate that greatly.”

  “Okay, sweetheart. Give me your keys and I’ll run back on my bike when you’re done if you need me to.”

  “No, spend the time with your girls. There’s a hide a key in the front flower beds and you know my alarm code.” “Alright. I’ll talk to you later then, yeah?”

  “Absolutely. Bye girls; see you both tomorrow! Bye Frank.”

  Walking over to her, he gave her a quick kiss on her forehead and said quietly “Love you, Dorrie-girl. Hope the rest of your day goes well.”

  Smiling, she looked up at him and said “It’s been a great day so far, can’t see it changing.” With that, they headed out the door, leaving her and Renee alone for the first time that day. “Holy smokes, girl, he gave us double what you asked!”

  “Wait, what? Are you kidding me? I think that’s the best tip we’ve ever gotten! What a blessing. Going to tuck that back for school shopping.”

  “So, with regard to the girls, we can teach them how to shampoo, keep up with the laundry and towels, and maybe do an inventory for us. I know we’re getting low on some of the things we need but we haven’t had time lately.”

  “That sounds good. What were you thinking pay-wise?” “Do you think twelve dollars an hour apiece is too little? Too much? They’ll probably be running errands to pick up lunch and go to the bank and stuff too. Maybe make appointments.”

  “No. I think that’s perfect and we can put a tip jar over the shampoo bowl and they can split those.” “Yeah, that’s a good idea too.”

  “What do we have left today?”

  “Two old ladies are coming in for highlights. I figure we can each take one and maybe get out of here a bit early. I’m going to start the washer now so it can go in the dryer before we leave today.”

  “Sounds good my friend. So, about this old lady thing. What are the rules, exactly?” “Respect the man, respect the club, never argue with him in front of his Brothers even if you are pissed to the max, support the decisions they make. It’s not too much, really. They are a different MC than those books we read! All of them are believers, so you know we go on runs periodically up and down the Coast whenever it’s called for, in fact, we have one coming up soon.”

  “Really? Where? When? I hope I can go.” “Oh, that one is a family run; there will be vehicles going to haul the kids so even if the boys are home, they can come with us!”

  “They would be so excited. What’s it for, exactly?” “There’s a biker rally and our club puts on a VBS for the kids of the families who attend. We are kind of glorified babysitters, but there’s lots to see and do, and our guys make sure that the other non-believing clubs know that we are ‘hands off’ so to speak.”

  “Sounds like I’m in then, huh? Let’s get ready for our last two so we can leave when we’re done. It’s been a long busy day.”

  With that, Dorrie went and got the laundry going, then found a jar they could use for tips for the girls and put it by the shampoo bar, while Renee got the bleach, foils and bowls ready. Minutes later, the last two women of the day walked in and they got busy.

  “So, Dorrie, you’re Frank’s old lady now, huh?” Tressa asked.

  “Um, yeah.” “He’s a real nice guy. My old man said he’s never seen him angry or upset, he’s always calm and collected, even when stuff gets heavy. You deserve a guy like him, Dorrie. I know we don’t know each other really well, but now that you’re part of the family, we’ll get to know each other better. I wanted to tell you that Maxie and I have always had your back and both of us are thrilled that you got a good one, right Maxie?” Tressa asked her friend.

  “Yep. Just so you know, us old ladies stick together. Even when you weren’t one, we had your back, and have done what we could to stop the gossip. Both of us came from bad situations before we found our old men and we could tell that what was being said was bullshit, plain and simple. So we would ask the person talking if they knew either of you firsthand to have that knowledge. Then, if they said no, we would remind them that words had the ability to kill and it appeared you had already had enough of those, so they needed to stop spreading the lies,” Maxie responded.

  Holy cow! Two women she knew only because she did their hair every few months did that for her? Humbling. Very humbling.

  “Thank you. Other than my parents, Renee and Nancy, and likely their men, and my therapist no one knows what I lived through. No one. I appreciate you having my back like that and am humbled because we don’t really know one another all that well.”

  “Ha! That’s gonna change, girl, that’s gonna change!” Tressa replied. “Hell yes it is! I know we’re a Christian MC and all, but I gotta say, my mouth does run away at times,” Maxie said, giggling.

  About then, Renee piped in with “We’re having a girls’ night out on Friday, you two up for it? We may as well get her good and indoctrinated to the MC old ladies, right?”

  “Yes!”

  “Absolutely! We going uptown? Gotta get that LBD out if we are!” Oh lordy, what had she gotten herself into? More thoughts than she knew were possible were flying through her head as she applied the bleach to the foils.
Once done, she got Tressa up under the dryer to process, then went into the back for a few minutes. Seeing her phone, she sent off a quick text to Frank to let him know that she was doing a girl’s night out on Friday.

  Dorrie: Hey Frank! Renee and I both thank you for your generosity today! By the way, we’re apparently doing a girls’ night out with several of the other old ladies on Friday night.

  Frank: Sweetheart, you both deserved it! The girls are excited about tomorrow. Keep them busy! Make them earn their pay if that’s possible.

  Dorrie: No worries there. We are pretty booked the next few weeks. We may work with them on how to do basic men’s cuts if all they want used is clippers if need be!

  Frank: Ha, they’ll like that I’m sure. The boys come home Saturday right?

  Dorrie: Yes, about midday. Frank: Think your folks would want to go out to Buckner’s again? That would be an easy way to introduce the girls to them and the boys.

  Dorrie: Sounds like a good plan to me. Okay, gotta check on Tressa.

  Frank: Later sweetheart. Going back out into the shop, she checked Tressa and saw that her hair was where she wanted it, so she got her shampooed and set to trim up. Once both women were finished and gone, she looked at Renee and said “What a day!”

  “Right? You spent time with your man and met his girls and we made some money!” “I’m so glad, too. I am so close to having this place paid off, then it’s just the utilities, taxes and supplies. I may be able to start saving some money. The Jeep needs some work but I haven’t had the extra to take care of it. DJ’s medical bills are nearly paid off as well. Us having the Market now has been a blessing to me; I don’t think I’ve had to spend money on groceries since they opened, just on supplies to make the stuff I use to barter with and that’s been minimal!”

  “Girl, the hard times are nearly over. I’ve watched how hard you’ve worked and am so proud to be by your side on this journey we call life. If I haven’t said it lately, I love you to pieces and am blessed to call you my friend.”

  With eyes that were suspiciously bright, Dorrie looked at one of her best friends and simply said “Ditto. I couldn’t have done all I’ve done without you and Nancy by my side. I was content to be by myself the rest of my life and you two? You helped me heal so that God could bring Frank into my life. I can never thank you enough for that, and the prayers, and the countless glasses of wine.”