by Misty Simon
With another loud bang of the door against cheap fabricated wood paneling, Bella came steamrolling into the bathroom and stood before me with her hands on her hips. “You’ve been gone for ten minutes,” she said. “That’s long enough. Ben is not annoyed or turned off by your mistake.” I’m telling you, she was clairvoyant. I didn’t care what she said anymore. “He’s out there waiting for you.”
“Yeah, waiting for me to come out and make a bigger fool of myself,” I said. “You do realize that I am three for three.” I ticked items off on my fingers. “I insulted his education, speculated on his underwear choices, and almost made my own in-depth study of the latter right through his pants. What reason, other than further embarrassment, could he possibly have for waiting?” I was close to tears. A burning started in the back of my throat, and my eyes felt itchy. Never a good sign, because I was so not one of those pretty criers who dab at their glistening eyes with a fine handkerchief. I was the puffy-eyes type, snot-honking into plain tissues.
So now I had a choice to make. I could go out and face Ben and see if Bella was reading all the signs right, or I could find an exit that didn’t pass by our table and hope to never see the magnificent Ben ever again in my natural life. The Pre-Inheritance Ivy would have run like the devil was on her ass. But the new Ivy... Well, I took stock of myself, swiped a quick hand (not the one that had landed in Ben’s crotch—I thought I’d wait to wash it, or maybe I’d never wash it again) over my chunky highlights and told myself I really had nothing to lose. What was the worst that could happen? He could laugh at me and tell me I was a joke. Well, that would be his loss. And since I’d already copped a feel, I was all the more interested in pursuing something that would get me skin to skin with him, without the denim in between.
Chapter Six
In the end, I decided not to hide in the bathroom like a virgin on prom night and instead went back to the table, but I took my time getting there. Would things be weird now that I’d acted like a freak?
“Hi,” I said, and jumped back into my captain’s chair. I figured I’d try to act like nothing had happened and see how that went over. I didn’t think I’d be able to get too cozy with Ben again, but I at least wanted to be able to feel comfortable looking him in the eye if I saw him around town.
Bella and Ben both said “Hi” at the same time, then looked at each other and started laughing. I felt curiously left out of the loop.
“So, Ben, how long have you been working for Martha Point’s only paper?” Not a great question, but if I wanted to eventually get a more intimate hold on him, as in sans clothing, I really needed to know more about him. My body might want him, but my mind needed to want him, too, or it would never work. I’d had one one-night stand when I was twenty, and even four years later it was still enough to convince me never to participate in something like that ever again.
“It’s been what, like seven years now, right, Bella?”
Again I felt left out and then reminded myself everyone who lived in Martha’s Point had been rooted here for a lot of years, if not their whole lives. I’d never have the kinds of relationships they had. Well, maybe when I was sixty and still here, but not any time soon. I was the new girl, and probably would be for the next ten or eleven years.
“Yeah, I think you were twenty when you started. But don’t forget, you also had a paper route, so you have to add a couple more years. I can’t believe they let you throw papers for that long.” She paused and looked at me for the first time since she’d said hi. “He had a mean arm, but the paper just never made it to the front porch. He’d throw the right distance but in the wrong direction. My mom wanted to tan his hide for ruining her perennials every year.” She smiled at Ben, and I got a weird feeling in my stomach.
Oh, God, was I encroaching on her territory? She had asked me to come with her tonight, and told me Ben was someone worth knowing, but Bella hadn’t come right out and said he was available. How could I ask without making a fool of myself? And then it came to me. “So you two have known each other for a long time?”
“Oh, yeah,” Ben said. “Forever. We went to kindergarten together, and Bella was my first kiss.” He smiled fondly at Bella, and I was torn between choking my new friend and puking because I’d had my eye (and my hand. Oh. My. God.) on someone who was already taken. That was a big huge Absolutely Not in my book on how to run my life. I was back to wanting the floor to open up and take me.
Bella hit his upper arm playfully. “You are an idiot, Ben. That was in second grade, and I haven’t let you touch me since.” She laughed, Ben laughed, and finally I could laugh without gagging.
“And have you kissed every other girl in town, too?” I asked the question before the inner tact-ometer could filter. Shit!
But Ben didn’t even miss a beat. “Only the pretty ones.”
Well, then, I had no chance in hell of finding out if those lips were as firm as they looked.
Ben leaned forward. “So, Ivy, you want a kiss?”
My fallen angel smiled as he waited for my answer. I could tell he thought he already knew what it would be, and I wanted so badly to show him I wasn’t some naïve girl who could fall so easily under his charms. Or under him, period, just yet, though that thought did make my innards tingle. But it might make him take notice if I was a little aloof. “Hmmmm. Well, I don’t know. I mean, who knows where else those lips have been? And we haven’t even danced yet. I don’t think you’ve done anything to earn one of my kisses.”
“Then we’ll have to take care of that right now.” He stood up and made a move to grab my hand.
“Actually, Ben, as nice as that sounds, I need to get going. How about some other time?” I’d looked at my watch and noticed it was getting late. I wanted to get home early tonight because tomorrow was the day before the Ball and I had a bunch of people scheduled to pick up their rentals for the big evening. I’d probably have quite a few last-minute items purchased, too. It was going to be a busy day, and I needed to be fresh to face it.
I wasn’t really trying to be coy, but I think it came off that way, because Bella winked at me, and Ben looked like he’d been sucker-punched for about a second before he recovered.
“I’ll hold you to that, Ivy. Save me a dance on Saturday, and we’ll see if I can’t earn a kiss. And maybe more.” Picking up his beer, he walked away backward, waving goodbye. Then he turned around and I was treated to a view I was coming to love.
“That certainly got his attention, Ivy,” Bella said with approval and a nudge to my arm. “I don’t know that anyone has ever played hard-to-get with Ben. This ought to be interesting.”
Interesting? Maybe, but who was that girl flirting with Ben and coming up with lines like “You haven’t earned a kiss”? I was so not the old Ivy I used to be. But was I really ready to take on this new persona? I could only hope.
The next day I went home after the busy day I’d anticipated and spent hours tossing and turning until I finally fell asleep, only to be visited by some pretty hot dreams of Ben in nothing but a pair of socks—green striped ones. I don’t know what it meant, but it was some view. Sigh.
Those dreams kept me entertained through another long day of battling with the antique cash register and dealing with Kitty and a number of frantic customers who needed that one last thing to make their outfits complete. Now there were only three hours left before the Harvest Ball started, and I was still trying to figure out what to do with my hair. Bella had given me this great new cut and worked some serious magic so that layers fell around my face, softening it. My highlights hadn’t grown noticeable roots yet, and although the new look was a good one for me, I didn’t know how to fix it. I should have waited until after the Ball. Note to self: don’t change hair right before an important function unless you are really good with hair. Which I wasn’t, and so my dilemma.
I’d already changed into my flapper costume. My legs actually looked fabulous in the fishnet stockings, and I’d solved the whole fear-of-flab-on-the-arms thi
ng by making a great web shawl.
Tonight promised to be a blast. Only Bella knew what costume I’d chosen, and I was excited to show it off at the Ball. I’d never looked this good before. The mask I’d found was perfect for the outfit—feathers and sequins captured the light and reflected it back from the black mask. It covered my eyes, and something about the way it was cut made my cheekbones look sharper. Very flattering.
All in all, I was extremely optimistic about tonight. Anyone who hadn’t made it to my shop within the last two weeks would get an eyeful of what I could do with a few simple pieces, and my beauty would dazzle the rest.
Yeah, I know, that was going a little far, but tonight was all about the possibilities. I’d talked Ben into a Zorro costume that showed off his very fine rear end to the best advantage. Maybe he’d carry me away on his stallion before the night was through. That thought alone was worth a good fifteen-minute trip to fantasyland, but we’d been so busy today, it would have to wait until I could get my hands on the real thing.
I’d shaved my legs and made sure to pay special attention to my knees. I had issues with my knees. I never had a problem shaving any other part of my body to perfection, but for some unknown reason the knees thwarted me every time. But not today. Today I used wax and Nair and a pair of tweezers with a magnifying glass. I was so not taking chances, especially with these very airy stockings.
The Ball was scheduled to start at seven at the Old Barn, which Bella told me really was a barn in another life and used to house horses and pigs. Fortunately, that was about a hundred years earlier, and she assured me the smell had long ago dissipated. Some enterprising farmer had decided to ditch the whole livestock thing and make an elegant hall available to the town in the early 1920s—hence the flapper costume. Sometimes I was way too clever.
I spotted a wig left out on the counter and walked over to put it back on its fake head just as the bell over the door tinkled. I was seriously considering taking the bell down and getting one of those electronic chime things. But I was afraid the missing bell would create a catastrophe. Take the fountain Kitty’s son was putting up on the far wall. He was doing an incredible job on it, and I’d taken a liking to him despite his awful taste in girlfriends. And his mother? Well, you can’t pick your parents.
Unfortunately, you would think I’d razed the store and started a porn theater the way people were gawking at the wall where my pretty mermaid statue would swim. It had already come to my attention that any changes to anything—from the brand of coffee served at the local diner to the flowers set in the tubs on the sidewalk—could set off a town-wide panic.
In response to the irritating tinkle, I turned around with the wig still clutched in my hand. Please don’t let it be a last-minute customer, I thought. And there stood Kitty. Things were still a little weird following the Taking Of The Key, but I hoped they’d go back to normal some time soon. Kitty really was a big help, no matter how annoying she could be, and I’d be sad if I lost her.
“Hey, Kitty.” Here Kitty, Kitty. Come closer so I can stroke your fur backward.
“Well, hello, Ivy. Closing things up a little late, aren’t you?”
Everything she said seemed to come out with a bite, and I was a little tired of it, but I held my tongue. Maybe she was still trying to figure out how to treat the new girl. Besides, the store was mine and nothing would change that, so I could afford to be a little forgiving.
“Just finishing up, Kitty. What brings you here so late? Aren’t you going to the Harvest Ball?”
“Of course I’m going to the Ball, silly.”
Silly? See what I mean? It came out like “you big freaking idiot.”
“So what brings you out to the shop, then?”
“Oh, you know.” No, I didn’t know and that’s why I’d asked. “I was coming to see if I could pick up that adorable bonnet I saw yesterday. I think it’ll be a great compliment to my Little House on the Prairie costume.”
“Oh, sure. The bonnet is in the back. Let me get it for you.” I placed the black wig on the counter next to a royal blue mask and walked into the room directly behind the counter to rummage around in a box of odds and ends.
“So is this the mask you’re going to wear, Ivy?”
She’d raised her voice to be heard, so I did the same thing, yelling back, “Yeah, I think it’ll look great. How do you like the flapper outfit? Do you think it will bring in more business?”
“Oh, um, of course, dear. You look lovely. I’m surprised you were able to find something so form-fitting in your size.”
Thank God I was in the storeroom with my back to her. I really thought I saw red for a minute. How dare she? I turned around to ask her that very question and the look on her face was so innocent, I wondered if I’d misinterpreted what she said. Or was I so bent on showing everyone who was the boss I looked for insults and ways to prove my leadership all the time? Nah. But who cared about why, anyway? I didn’t have time to make a comprehensive list of my faults right now. I did take a moment to appreciate the use of “comprehensive.” I missed having someone to appreciate big words with me.
Anyway, I still had the Ball to go to and the stolen lingerie thing to figure out. Kitty could say whatever she wanted and however she wanted to say it, because I had better things to do.
I came out, gave her the bonnet, and said a fond farewell instead of kicking her scrawny ass out the door. Score one for Ivy.
I took the wig to its head for a second time and threw the royal blue mask under the counter. I’d do the rest tomorrow, after I woke up from my night of revelry and—dare I hope?—hot monkey love.
The bell tinkled again, and I stifled a sigh. It was probably Kitty again, trying to see when I was really leaving, or throwing another pot shot at me. And I should have been gone already, on my way to a party where I was hoping to cop another feel on Zorro.
But it wasn’t Kitty. It was a woman I’d seen a couple of times around town. I’d heard she was a graphic designer who worked out of her home, and I kept reminding myself I needed to talk to her to get some kind of new advertisement going.
“Janice, right?” I said. Another little piece of business savvy I’d picked up from another trusty book, Ways to Make A Customer Show Loyalty Like a Faithful Dog. Remember the customer’s name and they’ll come back again and again.
“Wow, I’m impressed. Some of my own clients still call me ‘girl.’ ”
We both laughed, and she had one of those light, airy laughs that invited you to join in.
“Yeah, some of the older people here are having a hard time getting past the fact that I’m not over ninety and white-haired, like Gertie. And without the white hair and knee-high stockings, I can’t possibly do this shop justice.”
“I know exactly what you mean. Us youngsters need to stick together. I haven’t had a chance to welcome you to town, Ivy, and I’m really sorry I haven’t made the time to come over to introduce myself. I’ve had this client from out of town—I think he called it Hell.” She laughed. “Anyway, he’s this big account, so I haven’t even seen the light of day in the past two weeks, much less gotten out to say hi to anyone but my dog.”
“Don’t even worry about it,” I said, thinking I might have found myself another friend. But I’d wait to make a final determination. Reference the Jackie Sturder debacle and my lack of good judgment there. Although there was something genuinely nice about Janice that made me feel like we were already friends. “What can I do for you? Do you need a costume?”
“Yeah. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before tonight. But as I said, this guy has been a pain in my ass. Everything I did was right until it came time to send it to the printers, and then he started freaking out on me about tiny color changes and the way certain things were set up. He’d already signed off on everything, but I was trying to keep him happy in case he could send more clients my way. Turns out, all I got for my trouble was a headache.” Janice paused and shook her blond head. “Sorry, again. I seem to
keep saying that, but this time I feel I’m keeping you, and boring you at the same time.”
“Not a problem. You weren’t boring me at all. Actually, it’s kind of comforting to know I’m not the only one dealing with cranky people.” I smiled and knew I was in the process of making another really good friend. I wondered if she ever got together with Bella. We could have some awesome Girls’ Nights. “So what’s your fancy tonight?”
“I love what you’re wearing,” she said. “Do you have anything else like it?”
I knew there was a reason why I liked this woman. “Let me see,” I said, thinking about the extra flapper costume that hadn’t been picked up this afternoon. I doubted the customer who’d ordered it would want it this late into the evening. Besides, I was locking the door right after Janice. Maybe we could go to The Barn together and I wouldn’t be left looking like the only wallflower in the place.
“I do have one flapper get-up left. Size twelve, right?”
“You hit it right on the nose,” Janice said.
“Just a little leftover skill from my last job.” I walked around the counter, picked the costume out of the rack on the left wall, and took Janice back to the dressing rooms. She ducked into the first curtained cubicle, and we talked while she was changing.
Two minutes later, her sweatshirt and old jeans were gone and in their place was a great fringed skirt and a sleeveless top in a cool blue only two shades different from my own. We could have been twins. “You look fantastic.” But the hair was all wrong with the colors in the short outfit. I remembered the black wig I’d put away and went to retrieve it.
I helped her tuck all that blond hair up under the wig and grabbed the royal blue mask from under the counter. She put the mask on and looked... “Perfect.”
“Thanks so much, Ivy. I really appreciate you helping me out on such short notice.” She patted her new ’do and waited while I locked up behind us.