“But do we have the staff? Tiffany can only work a short time and I usually take Christmas to fly out and be with my family in Seattle,” I said, my heart starting to beat faster. I was already giving up Thanksgiving. I couldn’t believe they wanted me to miss Christmas too.
“You need time off over Christmas?” Dani asked, looking at me with confusion. “Kevin told me you would be working it.”
“What? No! I never said that. I told Kevin when you asked me to work over Thanksgiving that I would want Christmas off then to go to Seattle. I need to go see my family at some point. I haven’t seen them since last Christmas.” I could feel tears threatening and knew it was the exhaustion settling in that was making me fragile. I couldn’t miss Christmas. Not for this place. And why was Kevin making up stories about me?
“Oh. Well, okay, that might change a few things then. Maybe I misunderstood Kevin. But I could have sworn he said you would be here. Is your family coming here by chance? Maybe that’s what he meant.”
“No, and I can’t see that happening. My brother-in-law works around the clock and my sister has five kids under the age of nine. I don’t think traveling by plane on the holiday is on their list of fun activities.” Kevin had lied about my schedule, for whatever selfish reason.
“Hmm. I’ll talk to him. We’ll be in town this year, but we’re hosting Christmas at our house. I’m not sure when we’ll be able to watch the store.”
“So maybe we should be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas then? I’m sure a lot of businesses do it. I don’t think those are particularly busy spa days,” Allie said, and I shot her a grateful smile for sticking up for me. Or was she only sticking up for me because she had a grudge against Dani and wanted Kevin all to herself? My migraine pulsed.
“I don’t know. Kevin really wants to be open Christmas Eve.” Was it my imagination, or did Dani give Allie the evil eye when she said that? “Alex, just make sure you get those calls done today to the surrounding spas. Allie, do we have stylists that can work that day?”
“Morgan can work esthetics, Shawna’s the only massage therapist, and Sophia and Lindsey can work the floor. I can probably be there a little bit on Christmas Eve, but we’re traveling to Winlap that night,” she said, naming a city about forty minutes from Des Moines.
“That might be good enough. We’ll make a final decision after Alex makes the calls.” We all nodded, and I scratched notes for myself.
We paused when our food arrived, and I eagerly tucked into my trusty chicken ceaser salad. The hunks of chicken were smothered with finely shredded cheese and creamy dressing, and I struggled to recall the last time I had eaten a full meal. I had become accustomed to granola bars and bags of chips to keep my energy up.
“I had a question about scheduling,” I said, when I had eaten about half of my salad and felt a stomachache coming on from all the food I had quickly consumed. “Do we have any kind of system in place that tracks when employees request off and who gets time off–– such as around the holidays?”
“I don’t think so. What exactly do you mean?” Allie asked, picking through her salad and finding a piece of roast beef.
“I was just thinking, maybe we should have a system to track when employees ask off around the holiday time. That can be Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years’, Fourth of July, et cetera. And then we can show who actually got the time off, so the same people don’t keep getting the holidays off. Just try to make it as fair as we can. For example, say Sophia and Jewel both ask for Christmas Eve off. We give it to Sophia. Then next year or even just the next holiday, New Years’, they both ask off again. That time we give it to Jewel. Does that make sense?”
“Actually, yeah, it does. I’m surprised we haven’t thought of that before. That’s a great idea, Alex,” Dani praised, giving me a warm smile. I smiled back, feeling better after her remarks about my wanting time off. I just needed to keep coming up with ideas to prove my worth–– and show that I deserved some time off too.
“It really is. Even though salon turnover can be high, mostly with the front desk as opposed to stylists, it will still be a handy tool. Good thought, Alex,” Allie said.
“Thanks. I’ll get working on that when we get back,” I said, biting into a warm roll.
The rest of our lunch passed smoothly, even though I was constantly on the lookout for tension between my two lunch partners. Everything seemed to be fine though, and soon we were packing up and heading back out to the car.
I flirted with the thought of straight out asking Allie if there was something going on between her and Kevin, but quickly dismissed it. She wouldn’t tell me the truth. I didn’t need Lila’s intuition to tell me that. I would just have to try to figure out Blissful’s mystery another way.
Chapter 15
“Alex! Come on, the guys are here,” Lila yelled for me. I stood in my bedroom on New Year’s Eve night, dressed for a party in a shimmering black and white dress, black lace booties, and patterned tights. My hair was pulled out of my face and sat on the top of my head in a thick bun, and my makeup was flawless thanks to the help of my friends. I was ready to party. I wasn’t ready to confront the text message on my phone from Kevin Dohlman.
“Alex! Don’t make us leave without you. Get out here, girl!” Carmen hollered.
I snapped my phone shut, trying to erase his words from my mind. I didn’t want to be a Blissful employee tonight, or Kevin’s prawn, or anyone’s manager and confidant. I just wanted to relax, be with my friends, and welcome in the New Year. Without breaking down.
“Coming, I’m coming,” I said, grabbing my phone and hurrying out into the living room. My four friends stood by the door, all wearing glittery frocks as well. Hannah and I stuck with simple black and white, but Lila, Carmen, and Emma were donning purple, green, and pink respectively.
“Finally. Everyone got everything? Phones? Extra shoes?” Emma asked, and we all held up our phones and a pair of much more comfortable shoes for the end of the night.
“I have our overnight bag,” Hannah said, holding up the tote that contained five sets of T-shirts and shorts and various face washes. We planned on spending the night at Peter and Henry’s house, since they were driving to the party. We were going to get a cab at the end of the night though, just to be on the safe side.
“All right, let’s go. They’re already here.” Lila shooed us out and we tromped down the steps, laughing and giggling like we were in a commercial featuring college kids ready to party hardy.
We reached Henry’s vehicle and piled in. I sat in the back on Lila’s lap, and Emma sprawled vertical on our laps, her face in Max’s crotch. Neither seemed to mind. Nine people in a vehicle that fit five, maybe six, seemed like a good idea when the plans were being made, but now...not so much. A cab would definitely be necessary later. No reason to give out free passes for cops to pull us over.
We drove towards the party house, some friends of the guys, and chatter ensued the whole ride there. I tried to distract myself from my work issues by meeting Henry’s eye in the rearview mirror. My body tingled when he winked at me. I couldn’t wait for the ball to drop so I could kiss him. Though technically, I would probably kiss him sooner.
Henry and I were teetering on the edge of the official boyfriend/girlfriend status. Since our awkward Saturday night date that left me sleeping alone and confused over Henry’s status, a lot had changed. Our double date with Hannah and Peter had been amazing and insightful. We kicked their asses at mini-golf, which led to them having to buy the movie theater snacks on our next double date, but Hannah and I also found out why Henry left me alone on the couch. Emma had been right. Religion. Turns out, Peter was indeed saving himself for marriage, which thrilled Hannah. Henry was not, as he had already lost his virginity at the beginning of college to the girl that he thought he would marry one day. They had dated in high school, and she attended college at a Des Moines nursing school. She cheated on him, he found her cheating on him, and he swore off sex until he was actually going
to be married. Both were firm Catholics, and I had to appreciate and respect Henry’s decision. That cleared up a lot of confusion, and put me more at ease around him. Our dates continued from there, mingled with long phone conversations and even spending some nights with one another–– stopping before rounding all the bases, of course.
I was able to go to Seattle for Christmas, but only spent three days there instead of the usual seven or eight that I typically took. That was the compromise between me and Kevin and Dani. My sister was beside herself when I told her all about Henry and the fact that he came from a strong family with religious beliefs. Though our mom and dad raised us Catholic, after Mom’s passing we drifted away from the church. After having her children Alicia found her faith once again, baptized all five kids, and went as many Sundays as they could. I tried to follow suit and Lila and I often went to services ourselves, she coming from a religious family. Hannah attended every week.
Learning that we had our faith in common, Henry quite a bit more serious than I, had helped our relationship tenfold. The awkward moments weren’t there, and we respected the boundaries.
We pulled up to the house, vehicles already cramming the street. Our clown car exploded as we all jumped out, us girls pulling our dresses down and patting our carefully coiffed hair. No precipitation was in the forecast tonight but the air was damp and cold, the promise of snow looming on the horizon. Our group trundled to the house, Peter and Hannah hand in hand, Carmen and Emma chatting animatedly with Max and Lila, and Kyle falling into line. Henry swung his arm around me and pulled me close, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Well, hello there. You look beautiful tonight,” Henry said, causing my smile to widen.
“Thank you. You’ve all cleaned up quite nicely,” I responded, giving his hand a squeeze. “Are the guys all cool with a house party instead of the bars?”
“Oh, yeah. We actually prefer it this way. New Years’ Eve is just like St. Patty’s Day–– amateur hour,” Henry said as we reached the doorstep. Kyle opened the door without knocking, and a blast of music hit our ears. The party was already in full swing.
“Amateur hour? What does that mean?” I asked, following my date into the kitchen. He whipped out a ten dollar bill and paid the pimply guy in a flannel shirt that held the cups, then offered to pour me a beer from the keg. I nodded my answer.
“Amateur hour. Where everyone thinks they can drink and drink and drink and then get beyond belligerent. Fights, puke, passed out people on pool tables–– that’s what those holidays are all about. People that don’t normally party all of sudden get it in their head that they can do eighteen shots in one hour and still function. The bars are a mess. House parties are the way to go.”
I nodded in agreement, taking my red cup from Henry and waiting for the foam to disappear before I took a sip. Cold and delicious. Kind of. For a beer. But I wasn’t going to complain. “That makes sense. We just have to make sure we call a cab tonight. No one needs to get a DUI.”
“Of course. How comfortable was the ride over here?” Henry asked with a laugh.
“Ugh. Not so comfortable,” I replied. We weaved our way through the crowd in the kitchen, finding the stairwell that would take us into the basement. Loud music thumped from speakers in the area, and a guy stood in the corner scrolling through an iPod.
“That’s one of our friends who lives here. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Henry took my hand and led me to the guy, who was tall and lanky, with closely cropped brown hair and shiny brown eyes. He also looked bombed.
“Hey, Lance, how you doing, buddy?” Henry and Lance did a slap hands/half hug sort of move, where Lance was a little too enthusiastic and ended up pouring beer down Henry’s back.
“Aw, dude, I’m so sowry!” Lance slurred, trying to wipe the beer off Henry’s shirt but really just soaking it in further. I didn’t know how to help so I just stood back and watched, cringing. My first impression of Lance was that he was a hot mess. More accurately ––a drunk mess.
“That’s okay, man, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Henry tried to get Lance to stop touching his shirt, and finally just took a step away from him. “Anyway, thanks for having us tonight. I wanted you to meet someone. This is my girlfriend, Alex.”
Girlfriend? I looked at Henry with raised eyebrows. We hadn’t called ourselves boyfriend and girlfriend yet. Henry just grinned back at me, winking.
“Well, hello, Alex,” Lance said to me, holding out one hand. I stuck mine out thinking we were going to shake, but instead he brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. Sweet yet creepy. “The pleasure is all mine.”
“Nice to meet you, Lance,” I said, trying not to laugh.
“You take care of this fella here. He’s a good fish,” Lance continued, looking at me through squinted eyes. Was this guy going to make it till midnight? Something was telling me no.
“I’ll do my best. Thanks for having us, and it was nice to meet you,” I said, biting down on my lower lip so I wouldn’t laugh in his face.
Henry put his arm around my waist and led me away from Lance, who went back to his iPod and sang along with the music. “Sorry about that. Lance is our soak.”
“Soak?” I asked.
“Alcoholic. Lush. Drunk. Soak.” We were about halfway across the room, heading in the direction of two tables that were being used for a massive flippy cup game. I stopped Henry before we could reach the group and join in.
“Gotcha. But bigger question. Girlfriend?” I asked, staring into his blue eyes.
“Beautiful. Special. Alex. Girlfriend,” Henry answered, before finding my mouth and placing the most romantic kiss on my lips. I positively melted into him, feeling euphoric. Henry was officially my boyfriend.
The rest of the party passed quickly, too quickly for my liking. We played multiple games of flippy cup, beer pong, darts, and pool. I danced with my girlfriends to the tunes Lance cranked out. I did jello shots, drank too much beer and snacked on chips, chips and more chips the owners had been thoughtful enough to provide. I didn’t think about Blissful or Kevin or the text message on my phone. I just partied like the twenty-year old college student I was, surrounded by my best friends and new boyfriend.
“It’s starting!” A girl wearing hot pants, fishnets, and a hot pink jersey shirt called for everyone’s attention at exactly 11:59. She turned up the volume on the TV, and we saw a shot of New York City and Times Square, overflowing with people as they watched the ball drop.
Henry slipped behind me and placed both hands on my waist and I leaned into him. Lila was to my right, and I wondered if she was going to kiss anyone. She and Joel had finally called it quits a few weeks ago. Hannah was on my left, holding onto Peter’s hand. I could see Carmen and Emma across the room, and raised my cup in salute to them. They raised their cups back and continued to chat with Max.
“Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight!” More people in the room started to chant, watching the TV screen and pairing up. I glanced again at Lila, wondering if she was okay. She seemed to take her breakup with Joel fine, but New Years’ Eve could bring up some sour feelings. She caught me looking at her and winked at me.
“I’m happy, Alex,” she told me, without me even asking her. I winked back, relieved.
“Nineteen, eighteen, seventeen!”
“Quick! What was your favorite part of this year?” Henry asked me.
I turned to face him, already knowing my answer. “Meeting you,” I said, smiling up at my boyfriend.
“You stole my answer,” he smiled back.
“Ten, nine, eight!” the crowd roared, eagerly anticipating the final seconds.
“Happy New Year, Alex,” Henry whispered, his face coming close to mine.
“Happy New Year, Henry,” I said.
“Three, two, one. Happy New Year!” everyone shouted as someone threw confetti, poppers popped, and people cheered. The pandemonium was silenced by the kiss I shared with Henry.
$$$
�
�I feel like it’s cruel and unusual punishment to clean the apartment the day after New Year’s Eve. Why are we doing this again?” Lila asked as she listlessly squirted some blue ammonia onto the glass.
“Because our place looks like a train wreck, I have to work all week, and you’re going to be flying on a jet plane in three days to meet with an agency in Los Angeles. Or have you forgotten about that already?” I asked my friend, a smile on my face.
“I know! I still can’t believe it. I wake up every morning and ask myself if it’s true.” Lila shook her head in amazement, the forgotten Windex streaking down the glass. “I’m so nervous, but that has been the best diet. I’m seriously throwing up everything I try to consume.”
“Lila! That is disgusting. Please don’t turn into some crazy bulimic once you get out there. Please, please,” I begged my friend, running my eyes over her body. She did such a good job working out and watching what she ate the weeks before she met with Mary Strubaker. I would hate to see all her efforts be thrown away because she started to vomit everything back up.
“Trust me, that won’t happen. And I don’t throw up after every meal. Just when my nerves get the better of me. I have real casting calls that I have to do. I have to speak lines and make faces and pretend to report news and put my voice infliction lessons to the test and,” Lila started to turn red in the face, “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I rushed over to my friend. “No! No, you are not. Just breathe, okay? Big yoga breath in. Do it with me.” We breathed in together and exhaled. Breathe and exhale. Breathe and exhale. “Feeling any better?” I asked, concerned.
“Much.” Lila finally turned and wiped the bathroom mirror, and I turned my attention back to the toilet, squeezing the bottle of cleaner and watching blue liquid fill the bowl. I hated being on toilet duty.
Lila and I chatted a bit more about her upcoming week, where she would be flying to LA with Mary Strubaker and two other girls from Mary’s agency. Mary had lined up casting calls and meetings with “important people” out in sunny California, and it would definitely be a make it or break it moment for Lila. Who knew if she would ever have this chance again? Lila tried saying if she didn’t get any offers in LA then at least she would still have Iowa and Mary’s agency. But appearing in a farming ad versus having a shot as an entertainment reporter paled in comparison. And I mean really paled. Vampire pale. I was nervous but thrilled for Lila. Not so thrilled that if she got offered a contract or job that she would be moving away from me. Life without Lila...I sniffed a bit, feeling the tears start to threaten.
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