Love Gently Falling

by Melody Carlson

  “Tell her hi for me. And tell her I’m still here, trying to figure out how to make this place work better. That should make her happy.”

  “But I’m not going to mention the chairs.” Charlene shook her head. “I’ll leave that to you.”

  Charlene left and Rita sat back in the chair, wondering what she really could do to make this place work better…as well as make her mom happy. But she had a feeling the answer was going to be found in these lime green chairs. And not necessarily in selling them, either.

  Rita was just sliding the fifth chair into the back room when she realized that someone was trying to get in through the back door. She glanced at the clock by the washing machine and, seeing it was well after seven and way past closing time, she got worried. Who would be coming here at this hour? Remembering what Charlene had said about local break-ins, she crouched down behind the chairs and tried to come up with an escape plan.

  “I’ll start up front and you start here in the back,” a male voice announced as footsteps came into the room and the door closed.

  “I always have to start in the back,” another man said.

  “That’s because you’re the younger brother.”

  “But it’s harder work back here.”

  “I know.” He chuckled. “Why do you think I want the front?”

  “Hey, Mason, why are the lights on in here?”

  “And what’s up with those green chairs over by the bathroom?”

  Peering between the chairs, Rita could see these guys had on red and white jackets with the words Jolly Janitors stitched on the fronts. So that was it.

  “Oh, uh, hello,” she said a bit sheepishly as she stood up. And now both men jumped back as if they were afraid of her. They were young African Americans and, based on their conversation, she assumed they were brothers.

  “What’re you doing here?” the taller guy pulled a phone from his pocket, holding it toward her like a weapon. “Should I be calling the police?”

  “I’m Rita Jansen,” she said quickly. “My mom is Donna Jansen, the owner.”

  “You supposed to be here?” the shorter guy asked with narrowed eyes.

  “Yes.” She nodded.

  “Then why are you hiding like that?”

  “I heard someone come in and thought you were burglars.” She approached them, holding out her hand. “My apologies. I can see that you’re simply with the janitorial service.”

  “Yeah. I’m Mason,” the taller one said cautiously. “And this is my brother, Drew.”

  She shook both their hands. “But I thought this was Johnny’s account,” she said as she went to get her coat and handbag.

  “You know Johnny?” Mason sounded relieved, but still looked slightly suspicious.

  “Yes. I went to school with him.”

  “At JFK?” Drew asked with interest. “That’s where we go. Mason’s a senior. I’m a sophomore.”

  “You’re in high school and you work for Jolly Janitors?”

  “Just part time. It’s how we’re earning money for college,” Mason explained.

  “Well, good for you. And I have to say that everything seemed very clean and neat when I got here this morning. Jolly Janitors do good work.” She pulled on her coat. “I’m going to get out of your way now. I assume you lock up and turn everything off?”

  “That’s right, ma’am,” Drew assured her.

  She told them goodbye then hurried out into the cold dark night. They seemed like nice guys, and it was probably a good job for earning college tuition. But as she drove through the parking lot, she wondered about Johnny. What kind of job was it for a man going on thirty?

  Instead of going home like she’d planned, Rita decided to swing by the hospital. Visiting hours didn’t end until eight. If she hurried she’d be able to spend the last fifteen or twenty minutes with her mom. Of course, when she got to her mom’s room, she remembered that her dad would still be there, too.

  “Since you’re here, I think I’ll go home,” Richard quietly told her. “I still haven’t had dinner and I’m a little worn out.”

  “Yes, yes,” she eagerly said. “No problem.” She waited as he bent down to whisper something in her mom’s ear, watching as her mom’s eyes lit up. Then he gently kissed her, squeezed her hand, and said goodbye.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Rita told her mom as she went to her bedside. “But I was eager to talk to you tonight.”

  “Hah-lo,” she said slowly.

  “Hello to you, too.” Rita said. “How are you doing?”

  “Gooo…” Donna made a half smile.

  “Glad to hear it.” Now Rita began to tell her mom about finding the green chairs. “They’re such cool chairs, Mom. I can’t believe you kept them all these years. Charlene thinks they’d bring a good price on eBay or—”

  “No.” Donna held up her left hand. “No.”

  Rita patted her hand. “I know. Charlene also said you don’t want to sell them. And I agree with you one hundred percent.”

  Donna’s left eyebrow went up. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” Rita nodded. “The chairs are in fabulous shape, Mom. I sat in them and they’re comfortable, too. I think we should put them back into Hair and Now. I think we should bring Hair and Now back to its former splendor. I was looking at the old photos in the back room. It was such a cool place, Mom. I never really saw it as a kid. At least not that I remember. But it would be a great-looking salon. Very uptown.” She paused. “Am I talking too fast?”

  “Nooo…”

  “Do you like this idea, Mom?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Will you let me go ahead with it?”

  Now Donna looked perplexed.

  “Are you worried about money?”

  “Yeah…”

  “I have a little money to spare. I’ve been really good at saving. I want to invest some of it in your salon. I think it’s a worthwhile investment.”

  Donna’s left eyebrow arched again. “Yeah…?”

  “Yeah.” Rita nodded eagerly. “Please, let me do this, Mom. I’ve never been so excited about a project before. I think it’ll be fun and exciting. Is it okay?”

  Donna just looked at Rita now, as if trying to decide. “Yeah…” she finally said. “Gooo…”

  Rita bent down to kiss her mom’s cheek. “Great. You won’t be sorry. And don’t worry about a thing. I’ve already started putting together a plan.”

  Donna looked like she wanted to say something more. Probably to give some advice or some warning or ask a question. But finally she just let out a deep breath and gave Rita her funny little half smile.

  Rita went to the salon again on Saturday morning. It was slightly busier than the previous day, but that wasn’t saying much. And it was never so busy that anyone asked her to take an appointment. But that was fine with her. She spent most of the morning just measuring things, making notes, and doing research on the Internet. Then about an hour before she was supposed to meet Marley for lunch, she went down to Cabot’s Upholstery Shop at the far end of the mall. Using her phone to show the proprietor the boxy-shaped waiting room chairs, she asked him how much it would cost to have them recovered.

  “Depends on what you want them covered with.” Mr. Cabot adjusted his glasses to peer more closely at the photos. “These chairs look pretty straightforward. How many are there?”

  “Five. Not that we usually need them, but you never know.” She quickly explained the Hair and Now situation, including her financial and timeline limitations.

  “I heard about Donna’s stroke.” He shook his head. “Such a sweet woman. Too bad about that.”

  “I want her to be completely wowed by this makeover.” Now she told him about the lime green chairs she planned to recycle. “So I want something that goes with that. It could be a solid in a similar shade, or maybe even a print.” He excused himself to get some samples then returned with an interesting book of retro prints, including several with lime green. “I really love this one.” She pointed
to a bold green and white print that was reasonably priced.

  He nodded, removing the piece from the ring so Rita could take it with her to help her make other decorating choices. “You need these when?”

  “As soon as you can get them done.”

  He scratched his chin with a thoughtful expression. “Lucky for you it’s a slow time of year. By the time the fabric gets here—you say five chairs?”

  “That’s right. But I’d settle for three.”

  “I could maybe get all five done by mid February.”

  She frowned.

  “That’s all five though. You could have the others as soon as they’re finished. Maybe two or three in ten days.”

  She brightened and they shook on it. Mr. Cabot promised that someone would be down to pick them up in a few days. “Not all at once,” he said as he wrote something down. “That way your folks will have something to sit on.”

  “Yes. That’s a good idea.”

  With that settled, she went out to meet Marley for lunch at Noah’s Ark.

  “This is so fun,” she told Marley as they settled into a booth. “Just like old times.”

  “I’m so glad we’ve buried the hatchet.” Marley smiled.

  “We should’ve done it a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, but we’ve both been busy with jobs…and life.” Marley’s eyes lit up. “Which reminds me, I forgot to ask you about your love life yesterday. I can’t believe you’re still single. What’s up with that?”

  Rita gave her a condensed report, explaining how her career took a lot of her time during the first few years and finally confessing how her skill at picking guys was challenged at best. “At first I thought it was the general shallowness of living in Beverly Hills, but the truth is I just consistently attract the wrong guys.”

  “You and me both.”

  “So…how are things with you and Rex?”

  “Didn’t Johnny tell you?”

  “What?”

  “We’re separated. Just this fall.”

  “Oh…I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.” Marley’s mouth puckered in a frown. “Okay, maybe that’s not true. I mean, no one likes to fail at something. Especially a marriage. But the truth is I was holding on to our marriage these last few years out of nothing more than pure stubbornness. So many people predicted we’d never make it five years, let alone ten…I just wanted to prove them wrong.”

  “So it’s been hard?”

  “Hard? It’s been sick and twisted and dysfunctional and painful…yeah, you could say it’s been hard.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  And now Marley unloaded her whole sad story on Rita, telling how Rex had started cheating shortly after their wedding. “For all I know he was cheating before that, too. I don’t think he knows how not to cheat. It’s like he’s got WOMANIZER stamped onto his forehead, but only a certain kind of woman can read it. You know?”

  “That’s got to hurt.”

  “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t really know about his affairs for the first few years. Looking back, I think I knew on some levels. A lot of little things felt off…and I often suspected something was wrong. You know what they say about twenty-twenty hindsight. But just the same, I was in total denial.”

  “That’s not so unusual.”

  “When my parents helped me get my shop started—that was about four years ago—I got so caught up in setting everything up, getting inventory, and making it work that I sort of forgot about Rex.” She made a pathetic laugh. “And, no doubt, he’d already forgotten about me.” She leaned forward peering into Rita’s eyes. “But you know what really sucks now?”

  “What?”

  “Rex doesn’t want to divorce.”

  “You gotta be kidding.”

  “Nope. He swears he still loves me. But I know that’s not true. You don’t treat people you love the way he’s treated me.”

  “Then why does he want to stay married?”

  “I think he knows a good thing when he sees it. Secondhand Rose is making profits. I’m becoming independent for the first time in my life. His job doesn’t pay that well…why not hang on to me, let me pay the bills, take care of everything at home, and he can keep running around with all his girlfriends? Nice, huh?”

  Rita groaned. “That does suck.”

  “So…it’ll be an interesting ride this year.” She held up her hands. “But already I feel better. I like being free.”

  “Yeah…freedom is good.” Yet even as she said this, Rita wasn’t so sure she still believed it. Sometimes she really longed for a good man to love, a loyal man who would love her enough to partner with her for life. Kind of like how her parents had done. But for some reason it had escaped her.

  Marley slowly shook her head. “Man, Rita, what was I thinking? Getting married when I was only twenty? I must’ve been certifiably crazy.” She made a sheepish grin. “Oh, yeah, you tried to tell me that, didn’t you?”

  “Not in a very helpful way, unfortunately.”

  “That wasn’t your fault. I wouldn’t listen to anyone back then. Not even my best friend. I was so over the moon that Rex Prescott wanted me—little old me. And then I was head over heels about having the perfect wedding. It was like my fairy tale coming true. I thought for sure we would live happily ever after. What a fool.”

  “You know what they say…love is blind.”

  “So, seriously, you haven’t fallen in love yet?”

  “Not seriously. I mean, sure, I’ve put my heart out there a few times…been hurt a few times. But I wouldn’t call it real love. Usually it’s just because I trust a guy who turns out to be a jerk.”

  “And there’s no one you’re interested in right now? No one you’d like to get to know better? To date perhaps?”

  Rita felt her cheeks grow warm as a certain unexpected name flashed through her mind—a certain Jolly Janitor’s name. But there was no way she was going to say that name out loud. Not because Johnny was a janitor, she told herself, but simply because she knew it was ridiculous to get involved with someone in Chicago when she lived in Beverly Hills.

  “Aha,” Marley said triumphantly. “There is someone.”

  To distract her old friend, who used to see right through her, Rita told Marley a little about Dr. Wright.

  “A doctor…hmm…that wouldn’t be too bad.”

  “But I’m really not interested in him. Mostly I find it amusing.”

  “Amusing is a good place to start. Especially with a doctor.”

  “Yeah, I was teasing Mom the other day, saying she didn’t have to have a stroke just for me to meet a doctor. I mean, really, that’s taking it a little too far.” They both laughed, making good-natured jokes about moms picking out future spouses.

  And then, finally, after they’d talked for more than two hours, Marley announced she had to end the reunion and get back to the shop. “The girls will need a break by now. And I don’t like having just one girl in the shop by herself.”

  They hugged and promised to stay in close touch, then parted ways. As Rita went back down to Hair and Now, she was already back to mentally planning the big changes she had in mind for the salon’s renovation. She knew she’d need to go about the whole thing very carefully. She would keep their doors open as long as she possibly could because she knew the hairdressers’ needed their income just as much as her mom did. But she also knew that she needed to move fast if she was going to accomplish this monumental task in less than two weeks—and that was her goal. Whether it was possible or practical or sensible remained to be seen. But, for the sake of her mom and her family, she was determined to give it her best shot.

  Chapter 7

  Rita wasn’t surprised that the appointment book was blank after five o’clock for Saturday night. And she could tell that the hairdressers weren’t too disappointed to go home early.

  “Although we’ve been known to have a walk-in on a Saturday night occasionally,” Charlene said as she buttoned her coat. “Some desperate yo
ung woman with a big date who can’t get into Zinnia’s.”

  “Well, I’ll be here,” Rita assured her. “Even if I’m in the back room, I’ll hear the buzzer. Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

  “And you know that Donna quit being open on Sundays a few years ago.”

  Rita nodded. “Right. But I might come over here and try to get some things done tomorrow anyway. I don’t have much time to pull this thing off.”

  “So, I’ll see you on Monday morning.”

  Rita locked the back door and continued her sorting and moving program, which was quickly filling the back room with a lot of junk. Her plan was to thin that horrible storage room down so that it could become a usable space for her upcoming renovation project. She would borrow her dad’s pickup on Monday to take boxes of throwaway and giveaway stuff out of here. Then she would continue cleaning and oiling the lime green chairs and store them in the cleaned-out space.

  She was just stacking another cardboard box by the back door when she heard the buzzer ring. Was it possible she had a customer? When it was almost closing time? She frowned at her dirty hands and messy clothes. A client was a client. The least she could do was to get the woman comfortable then come back here and quickly clean herself up.

  “Hello?” she called out as she hurried into the salon.

  But instead of a woman, it was a man. Johnny Hollister was walking through the salon like he owned the place. Of course, she remembered, he cleaned the salon…it would only be natural he’d feel comfortable in here.

  “Sorry to intrude,” he said as they met in the middle.

  “That’s okay.” She put her hands behind her back. “Isn’t it a little early to clean? It’s not quite closing time yet.” Now she noticed that he was dressed in neat tan cords and a dark brown zippered sweater. “But you don’t look like you’re here to clean.”

  “No. I’m not working right now.”

  She studied his curly brown hair. “A haircut then?”

  He grinned. “Think I need one?”